School of Engineering and Architecture

Department of Civil Engineering

Hydrology

Phase 5
Important Phases of Hydrologic
Cycle
After this chapter, the student should be able to
Objective  Analyze the different Surface and Subsurface Runoff Phenomenon
 Calculate the Flood Prediction using Graph Analysis
 Construct the flow route using different Flow Routing Techniques

• Surface and Subsurface Runoff Phenomenon

Content • Rainfall-Runoff Processes:
o Mechanisms,
o Cycle, Water Stage-Discharge Relationship
o Measurement and Interpretation
• Graph Analysis:
o Flood Prediction Characteristics,
o Unit Hydrograph Theory,
o Instantaneous Unit Hydrograph,
o Synthetic Unit,
o Hydrographs,
o Applications.
• Flow Routing Techniques:
o Channel Routing (Muskingum Method and Reservoir outing),
o Hydraulic Routing (St. Venant Equations and Numerical
Solutions),
o Block-Box Models.

Related  https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/hydrology/

Readings
J. E. Gribbin, P.E., (2014). Introduction to Hydraulics and Hydrology with
References Applications for Stormwater Management. New York, USA: Delmar, Cengage
Learning
W. Brustsaert, (2005). Hydrology an Introduction. Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK:
Cambridge University Press, New York

Hydrology
 Phase 5
Important Phases of Hydrologic Cycle
Surface and Subsurface Runoff Phenomenon
Surface runoff is water, from rain, snowmelt, or other sources, that flows over the land surface, and
is a major component of the water cycle.

 Runoff that occurs on surfaces before reaching a channel is also called overland flow.

 A land area which produces runoff draining to a common point is called a watershed.

 When runoff flows along the ground, it can pick up soil contaminants such as petroleum,
pesticides, or fertilizers that become discharge or overland flow.

 Urbanization increases surface runoff, by creating more impervious surfaces such as pavement and
buildings do not allow percolation of the water down through the soil to the aquifer.

 It is instead forced directly into streams, where erosion and siltation can be major problems, even
when flooding is not.

 Increased runoff reduces groundwater recharge, thus lowering the water table and making droughts
worse, especially for farmers and others who depend on water wells.

Subsurface runoff is the water that infiltrates in the vadose zone (unsaturated zone), from rain,
snowmelt, or other sources, and moves laterally towards the streams. Vadose zone extends from the top of
the ground surface to the water table. It is one of the major components in the water cycle. Subsurface runoff
can be expressed in water volume (or mass) per unit of area per unit of time.

Rainfall-Runoff Processes

Mechanisms

Runoff is generated by a combination of two mechanisms, saturation excess and infiltration

excess (Yang et al., 2015).

Saturation excess occurs when the soil becomes fully saturated with water, exceeding the
water holding capacity of the soil; when the surplus rainfall can no longer be held in the soil, the
water is directed to another location through overland flow (Johnson et al., 2003).

Infiltration excess occurs when rainfall intensity exceeds the maximum rate that water can
infiltrate into the soil, and water must flow over land to a different area (Yang et al., 2015).

Instructor: Instructor’s Name Page 1 of 9

 Phase 5
Important Phases of Hydrologic Cycle
Cycle, Water Stage-Discharge Relationship

Continuous records of discharge at gaging stations are computed by applying a

discharge rating to stage data. The discharge rating curve transforms the stage data to a continuous
record of stream discharge. The rating curve is also used to transform forecasted flow hydrographs
into stage hydrographs. The discharge rating curve may be simple or complex depending on the
river reach and flow regime. The objective of this lesson is to examine simple stage discharge
concepts where the discharge is only a function of stage. A typical simple stage discharge
relationship is shown in Figure 6.1.

Discharge models, also known as rating curves, stage ratings or stage-discharge relations are
typically developed empirically from periodic measurements of stage and discharge. Discharge is
computed current meter data. These data are plotted versus the concurrent stage to define the rating
curve for the stream. For new gaging stations, many discharge measurements are needed to develop
the stage discharge relation throughout the entire range of streamflow data.

Generally periodic measurements are needed to validate the underlying stage-discharge

relationship and to track changes or shifts in the rating curve. The USGS recommends a minimum
of 10 discharge measurements per year, unless it has been demonstrated that the stage discharge
relation is invariant in time. Of extreme importance is the capability of the stage-discharge relation
to be applicable for flood or extreme flow conditions and for periods when the rating shifts as a
result of ice formation.

Instructor: Instructor’s Name Page 2 of 9

 Phase 5
Important Phases of Hydrologic Cycle
Discharge measurements are usually lacking in the definition of the upper end of the rating
curve. As a result, the extrapolation of the lower parts of the rating curve is used to "approximate"
the higher stages of the river. The extrapolation of these data are subject to serious error that can
have significant implications for flood planning and the attendant loss in human life and property.
The extrapolation issues can be circumvented if indirect methods of determining unmeasured peak
discharge are used. Without such data, some of the uncertainty can be reduced by estimating
discharge associated with these stage values.

The stage discharge relation is controlled by a station control, a section or reach of channel
downstream from the gage. The control may be natural or man-made. A section control is usually
effective only at low discharges. At medium and high discharges, section controls are completely
submerged, and the relationship between stage and discharge is governed by channel control. Channel
control is the set of all physical features of the channel that dictate the river stage at a given point for
a given flow rate. The features include size, slope, roughness, alignment, constrictions and
expansions, and the channel shape. The channel reach that functions as a control may lengthen as the
discharge increases, introducing new features in the stage discharge relationship.

The development of the rating curve when there is more than one control effective and when
data are limited, requires judgment in both interpolation and extrapolation of the data. This situation
is partially aggravated when the controls are not permanent; the various discharge measurements are
then representative of changes in the positioning of the segments of the rating curve.

Measurement and Interpretation

Development of Rating Curves

The discharge and stage measurements are plotted on either rectangular (arithmetic)
coordinate or logarithmic plotting paper. Discharge is plotted as the abscissa; gage height or stage,
the ordinate. The discharge measurements are numbered consecutively in chronological order to
facilitate the identification of time trends.

Hand drawn curves are typically used to fit the stage and discharge measurements to produce
a rating curve. Considerable judgement is normally exercised to decide on the best curve. For
example, knowledge of the river is applied and consideration is given to such factors as the quality
and magnitude of each measurement. In the simplest case, when a single control exists, these curves
would be practically straight lines on log scales. The case of compound controls will be discussed
later in the lesson. A hand drawn curve is shown in Figure 6.2. Each point represents a stage discharge
pair.

After the hand drawn curve is established, representative points that lie exactly on the curve
are extracted. These points define the rating curve. The number of points extracted can range from
two for a very simple channel with a single control to 20 points or more for channels with many

Instructor: Instructor’s Name Page 3 of 9

 Phase 5
Important Phases of Hydrologic Cycle
controls. Figure 6.3 illustrates how these points lie on the curve in contrast to the actual stage-
discharge measurements. Once the defining points have been selected, one or more logarithmic
equations are used to mathematically fit the points. It is from these logarithmic equations that the
actual rating table values are derived, usually at increments of 0.01 foot of stage as shown in Figure
6.4. Figure 6.5 contains an example rating table that would result from the above process, with
explanations of the header information. Note that an asterisk by a value indicates that it coincides
with an actual stage- discharge measurement.

Instructor: Instructor’s Name Page 4 of 9

 Phase 5
Important Phases of Hydrologic Cycle

Interpreting the Rating Curve

Paired stage and discharge data are

commonly plotted on logarithmic paper (log scale
for both the ordinate and abscissa) since this
scaling tends to produce a nearly linear (or at least
piece-wise linear) fit to the observed data.
Assuming the rating "curve" is nearly a straight line
in situations with compound controls, changes in
the slope of log rating "curve" identify the range in
stage over which the individual control is effective.
The "linearized" rating line also makes
extrapolation or interpolation comparatively easy
compared to using the data on an arithmetic or
rectangular scale. Figure 6.5 shows how a rating
curve would look under logarithmic versus
rectangular coordinates. The benefit of using
rectangular-coordinate paper for rating analysis is
that trends and changes in the low flow portion of
the curve are more apparent and that zero flow
conditions can be identified. Zero flow cannot be
described in the log scale. For flood forecasting,
however, logarithmic plotting is preferable because
of its ability to identify control changes. This is
very useful during real-time flood monitoring.

Instructor: Instructor’s Name Page 5 of 9

 Phase 5
Important Phases of Hydrologic Cycle

Graph Analysis

Flood Prediction Characteristics

Unit Hydrograph Theory

Sherman (1932) first proposed the unit hydrograph concept. The Unit Hydrograph
(UH) of a watershed is defined as the direct runoff hydrograph resulting from a unit volume
of excess rainfall of constant intensity and uniformly distributed over the drainage area. The
duration of the unit volume of excess or effective rainfall, sometimes referred to as the
effective duration, defines and labels the particular unit hydrograph. The unit volume is
usually considered to be associated with 1 cm (1 inch) of effective rainfall distributed
uniformly over the basin area.

The fundamental assumptions implicit in the use of unit hydrographs for modeling
hydrologic systems are:

a) Watersheds respond as linear systems. On the one hand, this implies that the
proportionality principle applies so that effective rainfall intensities (volumes) of different
magnitude produce watershed responses that are scaled accordingly. On the other hand, it
implies that the superposition principle applies so that responses of several different storms
can be superimposed to obtain the composite response of the catchment.

b) The effective rainfall intensity is uniformly distributed over the entire river basin.

c) The rainfall excess is of constant intensity throughout the rainfall duration.

d) The duration of the direct runoff hydrograph, that is, its time base, is independent
of the effective rainfall intensity and depends only on the effective rainfall duration.

Synthetic Unit

Sets of concurrent observations of effective rainfall and direct runoff are required for
the derivation of unit hydrographs. Thus, the resultant UH is specific to the particular
watershed defined by the point on the stream where the direct runoff observations were made.
When no direct observations are available, or when UH’s for other locations on the stream in
the same watershed or for nearby watersheds of similar characteristics are required, Synthetic
Unit Hydrograph procedures must be used.

Synthetic Unit Hydrograph procedures can be categorized as (e.g., Chow et al., 1988):
1) those based on models of watershed storage (e.g., Nash, 1957, 1958, 1959; Dooge, 1959;

Instructor: Instructor’s Name Page 6 of 9

 Phase 5
Important Phases of Hydrologic Cycle
etc.); 2) those relating hydrograph characteristics (time to peak, peak flow, etc.) to watershed
characteristics (e.g., Snyder, 1938; Geomorphologic Instantaneous Unit Hydrograph); and 3)
those based on a dimensionless unit hydrograph (e.g., Soil Conservation Service, 1972).

Hydrographs

Hydrograph Components

Total streamflow during a precipitation event includes the baseflow existing in the
basin prior to the storm and the runoff due to the given storm precipitation. Total streamflow
hydrographs are usually conceptualized as being composed of:

a) Direct Runoff, which is composed of contributions from surface runoff and quick interflow.
Unit hydrograph analysis refers only to direct runoff.

b) Baseflow, which is composed of contributions from delayed interflow and groundwater

runoff.

Surface runoff includes all overland flow as well as all precipitation falling directly
onto stream channels. Surface runoff is the main contributor to the peak discharge.

Interflow is the portion of the streamflow contributed by infiltrated water that moves
laterally in the subsurface until it reaches a channel. Interflow is a slower process than surface
runoff. Components of interflow are quick interflow, which contributes to direct runoff, and
delayed interflow, which contributes to baseflow (e.g., Chow, 1964.)

Groundwater runoff is the flow component contributed to the channel by groundwater.

This process is extremely slow as compared to surface runoff.0

Schematically in Figure
11.1, the streamflow hydrograph is
subdivided into a) Rising Limb:
rising portion of the hydrograph,
composed mostly of surface runoff.
b) Crest: zone of the hydrograph
around peak discharge. c) Falling
(or Recession) Limb: Portion of the
hydrograph after the peak
discharge, composed mostly of
water released from storage in the
basin. The lower part of this
recession corresponds to
groundwater flow contributions.

Instructor: Instructor’s Name Page 7 of 9

 Phase 5
Important Phases of Hydrologic Cycle
References:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/surface_runoff.htm#:~:text=Surface%20runoff%20is%20water%2C%
20from,point%20is%20called%20a%20watershed.

https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_file_download.cfm?p_download_id=533906#:~:text=Runoff%20is%20g
enerated%20by%20a,et%20al.%2C%202015).&text=Infiltration%20excess%20occurs%20when%20rainfa
ll,et%20al.%2C%202015).

https://www.engr.colostate.edu/~ramirez/ce_old/classes/ce522_ramirez/FloodHazards_Final.pdf

Instructor: Instructor’s Name Page 8 of 9

 Phase 5
Important Phases of Hydrologic Cycle

Instructor: Instructor’s Name Page 9 of 9