Chapter 9

Design Appl ications In Hyd ro logy

- By James F. Thompson

Open channel improvements in Houston, Texos.

9.1 Th ischapte r add resses many fundamen tal design applications in hyd rology that
INTRODUCTION arc routinely uSt:d in engineering and n:laleu ana lyses. The basic design ele-
ments of dra inage co ll«tion systems for urbanized areas are presented along
with Ihe applications of sy nthet ic design SlOrnlS used in common design and
an alysis situations _Culvert design is prese nted at a fundamcnt al lcvel. and ap-
plk<llioru; of dClenl iUfl oosins for pe<1k runoff control arc alw di.<;cussed as ap-
pl ied to Iypical ur ba n deve lopments and improveme nt projects_D esign i~ues
applied in flooxlplain management for the pu rposes of flood d.1mage reduct ion
arc disc ussed. along wilh an exam ple of various stages of applications
De tailed exam ples of design applications arc presented in this chapter, a nd
much of the discussion builds upon othe r topics in hydrology presented in other
chapters. De5ign <approaches commonly used in e ngineering app li ca tio ns ore
descri bed. employing conventional hand-calc ula tion met hods as well a5 com-
pu ter modeling using HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, and o ther softwla re programs.
 De$ign Applicobon5 in Hydrology 547

Typically, a dwi n:l ge desigll is initi:lted based upon a nced eithe r for facilitat- 9.2
ing dminage of a parti cu lar project area or for improved drai nage as wo ul d DRAINAGE
be re quired to address the flood reduc tion of a particular area. Five steps COUfCTJON
are no rm ally taken in the des ign of drainage collection systems: SYSIlMS

Define the d raina ge areas servi ng the project area.

2. Delerm iM Ihe hydrologic response and runoff from these drai nage
areas. given a partic ular design or act ual storm eve nt.
3. Design th e storm water conveyance condui ts.
4. A nalyze the effects of increased stor mwater quantity. if any.
S. Mitigale any project negative effects.

Another compone nt commonly included in des ign re lates to sto rmwa-

leTquality. Many references address Ihe issue of the ma nage ment of runoff
qual ity. Local or regional j urisdict ions usuall y control the design pa rameters
and cri teria to be employed for a particular collec ti on system.
A typ ical urban storm watcr syste m consists of streets constructed wit h
curbs. gutte rs. inl ets. and roads ide ditches: underground stonn sewers: and
ope n oud,11I channe1~ ~ uch a~ ~ t re;ml~. bayous. and ri ver~ receivi ng runoff.
[n designin g a syste m. the fin;t basic step is 10 deter mine the co ntr ib uting
drai na ge areas to the system. so that the runoff may Ix: estimated. T his en-
tails the deve lopment of a drainage area map based upo n the topography of
the project area. Figure 9- 1 i1Iustrat~s a typical urba n setting, upon ""hich a
dnli rmge area map IlHs been deve loped to define the co ntributing drainage
areas to storm sewer s)'1ilcm junctions.
More explicit maps are ofte n prepared deli nea ting the individual drain-
age areas based upon inlet placement. T he drai nage area llIap ill ustrates a
si mplified layoul to be used for des ign of the storm sewer system. Inle t design
and placement ore critical and arc discussed later in this chapter. In Figure 9- 1.
eac h individ u,ll d ra inage area drains 10 the associalcd ma nhole junct io n
(drainage area A9to manhole junclion MH-A9. and so on).
The deve lopment or a prope r drainage area llIa p is a fun dn ment al build-
ing block of any urban stormwater syst.:m. Existing topographil: maps and
other map sources illustrating rc lative topographic co ntours may be used to
deve lop th e map. More advanced melhods mny be employed. such ,IS aerial
photography. wh ich is in (Urn used to deve lop a digita l e levation model
(DE M). Furt h': Tdeve lopments in remote sensing tedmiques arc bei ng "pplied
today, such as light detect ion and rangi ng (LlDA R). wh ich is used 10 produce
ve ry accu rate thre.:·dimensional digital maps for use in th e develo pmen t of
drainage area boundaries. Regard less of the source. it is imperative that the
drain age area map reflect the Irue pall ern of the surface flow of rai nrall runoff.
Once these patterns and contribllling drainage areas are known. t he qua nt ity
of storm water runoff may be determined. Chapter 10 prese nts more details
on topographic analys is usi ng geographical information syste ms (GIS).
548 Chapter 9

116 "7

. ~ m ·l

figure 9- 1
Typ ical drainage oreo mop for on ur ban project.

Synth.tic Design StofTm

Synthetic design storlllS, as explained in Chapler 6, are commonly used in
design applicatio ns to size particular collection elements such as inlets, co n-
du its sueh as storm sewers and open ditches or channels, and storage cle-
men ts in the form of dete ntion basins_The basic princi ples of esta blishing
synthetic storms entails the creati on of a particular storm event hye tograph.
as shown in Figu re 9-2, rela ting the inte nsity (inches per hour) to storm

Figure 9-2
Typicol1korm
hyetog(oph. '"
"0
~ 1.00
~
c 0.80
>
.~ 0.60
"~
0.'"
0.20

000
3 5 7
n I
9 II \J 15 17 19 21 23
-lime (hr)
 Design Applications in Hydrology 549

Tobie 9-1. Design Evo>nt Fr"<1uenc ie. ond Probobility of Ckcu""nc"

'-
Design Event Percent I'robobility of
O«urrenr:. in Ally GMn V_ Cootwnon Applicationl in De.ign
2 50% locol rood, ond minor chonn"l,
5 20% locol rood. ond minor chonnel.
W
25 ''''
.- Pr incipol road. and channel.
Principol rood. ond chann"l.
50
'00
500
""
0.2%
Majo' highwoys ond ,honn,ls
Criticol infra. trucllJre and channel.
Critical inlro.trUCfIJre and chonnal.

du ration (hou rs). Pa rticular syn thetic storm eve nts arc typically associated
wit h a parti\:ula r ret urn frequency. as shown in Table 9-1. This lable also
lists co mmo n applications fo r the various synt hetic design storms.
Collection systems are designed to convey a particular design storm
for a given return period as typ ically specified by a local governing agency.
Some entit ies (i.e .. city. county. and state agencies) requi re more Siringent
standa rd design capacit ies for local collection systems than do others. The
va riety of design eve nts utilized for various applications is extensive. In some
loca tions, a 2-yr design storm is SlIitabk for local eoJle.:.:tor sys tems. whereas
in ot hers. established criteria may req uire th at a larger design storm eve nt
be manage d by the collection system. such as a I O-y r design storm. For spe-
cial stoTmwater management featu res such as pump stations. even greater
design storm eve nts may be req ui red. The particular req uiremen ts in tenns
of collection and conveyance are com monly a fu nction of occurrcnce, cost,
and the associated benefit derived from lower stormwater levels in channels.
ditches. st reets. and ot her re lated infrastructure fea tures.

Rational Method as Applied to Design

The most commonly uscd met hod for determining peak !low rates from a
given project drainage area is the rational method using the formul a
Q = (CA)'l (9- 1)
where Q is the peak ru noff flow in cfs, C is thc di mension less runoff coeffi-
cient. A is the drai nagc area in acres, and 1 is the rain fall intensity in inches
per hour. The rat ional method is simplistic in that it re lies on the basic ph ys-
k al d laracteristie of a drai nage area (i.e .. size and runo ff coefficient) multi-
plied by a rainfall inte nsi ty as based upon the des ign event bei ng considered.
The runoff coefficient, C, varies dramillica ll y based upon the developed state
of the drainage area. Table 6-6 lists commonly utilized runoff coefficients.
Section 6.2 present~ mon:: details o n the rational met hod.
The rainfall intensity is a function of the return frequency or design event
and the time of concentration (Te). T,' is normally thought of as the equilibrium
time for rn infntl at the most remote part of the drainage area tocontribute !low
at the ou tlet or design point-i n other words. how many minutes it takes for a
water particle to tl1lvelthc longest distance \vithi n a contribu ting drainage area
550 Chopter 9

Figur.9-3
Rotionol formulo
hyetogroph ond
nmoff hydrogroph.
.~~.
, f-- - - - - - - ----,
.:~

,-. Qpe ..
:I; - ----- -.~----______

!/i::
..::: Runoff hydrosr.ph
/
r,
TIme (min)

being considered. The basic fundamental assu mption of Tc in th e rational

method is th at the timt! to pt!ak, Tp, is t!qual to Tc and thatthc runoff hydro-
graph for a projcct area has a simplified re lationship. a~ shown in Figure 9-3.
A critical function in the rational formula is the rainfall in tensity, i.
While specific rainfall intensilies can be used for a given projcct area. il is
common to use established inte nsity- dura lion- frt!q ut! ncy (I 0 F) curves.
Using sources relating total rainfall depth to a ra infall duration period
(Le., 5- 10 6O- min ute; and 6-, 12-, and 24-hour, an d so on), such as Technical
Pape r No. 40 <l nd Technical Mt! morandum Hydro 35 from the Nationa l
Wemher Service, we may develo p IO F curves which relate Tc. the design
event or freq uency. and the ru noff intensity measured in inches per hou r.
Most major municipalities an d stale entities have IO F curves, or formu las
used to create specific IOF curves, rea dily available for usc. Furthermore,
these same entities Iypically specify the design event to be utilized on a given
project. Typical lDF ,",uTves aTe illustrated in Figure 9-4.

Figure 9-4 ..
t D F a... r~c

Typical lDF
curVe$.

'I1me of Conccntralion. Tc ( min)

 Design Applications in Hydrology '51
Tobl. 9-2. Coefficients for Rational MetOOd Inten.ry Form ula
De.ign 510""
2- J_
'- 10 yr
"- '00-
•b 0_8315
75.01
0_8075
77.27
0.7881
8<1. 1<1
0.77<12
93.53
0.7808
115.90
0.7500
125 .<10
d 16.2 17.1 17.8 18.9 21.2 21.8

By fi n ing the var ious dala poi nts along a curve for nil ex tended ~erie~
of times of concentration. the curves can be used to I:reate an intensity for·
mula whi ch represents the IOF curves. For Figure 9-4, the form ula is:

b
, ~ ~("~'~+C-C'0'" (9- 2)

where i = intensity (in.lhr). and the e. b. and d coefficients are give n in

Table 9-2.
Numerous reference materials deal wit h the nbove a pplicat ion of the
rational met hod. The re a re also scve r<tl other met hods for determin ing run·
off rates fo r given d rainage areas. Some of these other met hods arc listed in
Table 9-3.
The ratio nal met hod is ge ne rally conside red ~l pplicab le to drainage
a reas smaller tha n 200 acres. Whe n dealing with contribu ting dra inage areas
larger than 200 acres. other methods listed in Table 9-3 may prove more
a pp li cable.

Design 01 Conveyance ConduM

O nce a desig n SlOrm is created in compliance wit h the maximu m sto rm fre-
q uency. the peak now ofl hat storm can be used to design an adequate conduit.
Two ly pes of cOll veyance conduits are rout ille ly used with drainage collectio n
systems: closed cond uits <t nd o pt!n ch<t nne ls. Closed cond ui ts in dud ~ <tlllypcs
of sewer systems, ind uding round pipes. square culverts. and other shapes of

Table 9-3 Cornmon R~nolf Dete,m inorion Method,

Mothod Drtw:ription
Rollonol Simple>! and me>! commonly used """"ad
fer ",bon .torm d,ain
.ysrem •. U\fx,11y ~milt>d 10 ....:rter.hed. <i Ies. thon 200 ",.e.
Area/runoff (regional Uwally u,ed to ft'~mote peak discharge. Jr.. klrger wo", .. Md,
"gr...ion e'luo'on .1 in a 'pe<:ific geogrophico l "'gion 01 on ungovged ,ite .
TR·Waod TR-55 NRCS hydrology meth"",, for ,moll to large rang ing 'y,tem. 10
e$limale peok di scho'ge ond runoff hydrogrophs
HEC-HMS Used in large. complex drainage 'Y.lam. wher. 5Ior09'" mulliple
"ibut(lr;o" ond hyd'oulic .troo",,,. wcf, o. dam. and _ if>
come into play. ond where rainfo'l and runoff ""'Y <Wef both
tim .. and . poc:e.
552 Chaptef 9

cond uits. Drainage-system open chan ne ls come in all sizes, from small drain-
age swales that are only bare ly notict:able to major ope n channt:1s. Major open
channels commonly enco unte red in floodplain man ageme nt are disc ussed.
from a design stand point. later in this chapter. Fordrai nage collection systems,
the most common form of opt:m channel enco un tered is the ordinary roa dside
ditch. Roadside di tches, like closed eond u i l~. come in all si7.es.
Tht: actual design of urban storm sewers and ope n channels, or con-
duits. is a process of si7.in,l!, the conveyance cond ui t to facilitate the estimalCd
peak fiow rate at that point in the system, co nsidering the upstream drai nage
area(s). In using the ralional method. as the dra inage areas arc summ ed
moving downsneam alo ng the new or proposed storm drainage conduit. Tc
is na tu rally increased. This refiee ts the dampe ning or attenua tion of the
storm flood Wlwe as it propagates downstream through the conduits. To si7.C
the cond uits themse lves, it is common to use Ma nni ng's equation.

(9-3)

whe re Q = flow (cfs). ' j = Manning's roughness coefficient = 0.0 11 to

0.013 for concrete ami 0.022 10 0.035 for turf-lined ditches (see Ta ble 7-1 for
an expanded list of n-va lues), 11 = cross-sectional area (ft2 ), R = A l P =
the hyd raulic radi us (ft ), and P = welled perimeter (ft).
In parallel wi th the sizing o f the conduits. the rela ti ve position of the
resulta nl water surface profile sho uld be examined. This is achieved by cal-
culating the hydra ul ic gradc line (HOL), starting althe most downs tream
poin t in the system. typ ically the storm drainage system outlet. Sometimes
callcd a backwatcr calculation, the HGL rcp.·cscnts the locus of clevations
to wh ich the slormwale r would rise if open to atmospheric pressure, su,h as
wi thin piezomcter lUbes; it can bc uscd to evaluate the adcquacy of the de-
sign and identify areas of polential surface floodin g. The difference in eleva·
tion of the water surfa ce ill successive cond uit reaches refl ects the friction
and other mi nor losses ill the conduits due 10 drops an d bends. assuming
graduall y varied flow conditions. If the condu it has a slope equal to the fric-
tion slope. the n the HG l will be parallel to the conduit. Considering Equa-
tio n (9-3), the condu it slope. S. is equal to the fr ic tion loss. hI' divided by the
length of condui t. L . in full-flow conditions. ignoring minor losses. Solving
for hI> Equa tion (9-4) represen ts Manni ng's equation as uti lized for deter-
mining the fri,tion head loss of a conduit reach:

h, = L (1 .49~~2f3 Y (!>-4 )

where h, = head loss in cond uit reac h due to friction (ft), L lengt h of
cond uit reach ( ft ). and other terms are as previously sta ted.
II is also impo rt an t for a designer to und erstand the relations hip of
the HGL to the energy grade li ne (EG L). The EG l represe nts the to tal
 De'ign Appl ication, in Hydrology 55'
figure 9-5
Relalion~hip o/the
hydroulic grode
line [HGL) ond the
energy grade line
r Pioromclcrs- IEGL) in dosed
- conduit systems
under pres.wre.

-
energy head. or the HGL pl us the ve locity head at any given point along a
l'Onuuit l'Omputcd by

EGL = f-lGL + -
v' (9--5)
2,
wh ere V = velocity of flow (ftlsec). a nd g = gravitational co nstant
(32.2 ftlsec 2).
In a physical sense. Ihe EGL would be represe nted by a se ries of pitot
tuhes (s mall tubes wi lh their end openings poin ted upstrea m) inlerccpt i n~
the ki netk: energy of the now. where as t he HGL is represented by piezom-
eters that register on ty press ure head. Fig ure 9-5 it lustri1tes t he re lat ionship
between the HGL. the EGL. and a conduit (in this case a sto rm sewer pipe),
Notice th at if the starting water surface elevation of Ihe downstream oUilet
ofa condui t is below the soffit of the conduit itse lf, then the conduit may be
flowing partially fulL Conversely. if the oUllet is fully submerged. then the
conduit will be under pressure. at leas t at the outlet. assuming that the con-
duit is a pipe. O pcn chan nels behave similarly as d osed conduits excepl that
there are no boundi ng physical conditions that wou ld ca use an open channel
to becomo:': pro:':ssurized. as typically occurs in II dosed conduit such as a pipe.
Consult ing furt her refere nces on the behavior of open and clooed conduit
systems is encouraged for fu ll undersuwd ing of the behavior of such systems.
The relat ionship of the HGL to the surroundi ng environmen t is critical
in the design of II stor m drai nage system. In a co mmon urban environ men t.
storm drainage systt:ms usually exist as roadside ditches. roadside ditc hes in
com bi nation wit h an unde rgrou nd stor m sewer. or a depressed curb-a nd-
gutler street wit h an underground stonn sewer. When IWO phys ica l dra inago:':
faci lit ies exist in conju nction with each other. such as with a depressed cu rb-
and-gutter street and an undergroun d storm sewer system. the storm sewer
sys tem acts as the primMy drainage mechanism and the street as a secondary
one (i.e .. storm water nows with in th e strt:tt as an ope n channel). Th is rel a-
tionship demonstrates the importa nce of the relative positio n of the primary
 4'--;' Waler surface
de,'alion in $t,...,( Street Chan Dd

-L--l---'''''~,,:' :,~~~~l'I-C-''-O_' '-:-:_~H~G~_~'-:-':-:-:-:-:-~_c_'_!':_\--'C''-''"'(wal~r >u,face

clev'lion
Inlet lead Sturm ~"'crOUIOow pipe in channel
M .n~ole F1o"" ___

Figure 9-6
Reloliom hip 01 HGL to mfoce flooding.
drainage system HGL. For example, if a calcula ted HGL elevation is shown
to be above the natu ral ground elevation along a projec t route, then surface
nooding, even beyond the street. is indicated. Figu re 9--6 is a simplified il-
lustrat ion that demonstrates the critical relatio nship between the HGL and
the surface features of a project area, such as st re ets and structu res (ho mes.
buildings, ctc.). If there is 100 much rr iction loss in a give n scwc·r, su rface
floodi ng can occur whe reby the stree ts are impassable to traffic and struc-
tures are in danger of flooding, What is ignored in the illustra tion is the other
contributing losses due to the manhole, inlets, and inlet leads. These are very
impo rta nt factors in urban storm water ma nage ment design, and their design
to provide connectivi ty be tween the primary and seconda ry drai nage mech.
anis ms is ex tremely important and is disc usso::d la ter withi n th is chapter.

EXAMPlE 9-1 STORM SEWER COlLECTION SYSTEM DESIGN

Figure 9- 1 shows an actual drainage area map of a project arc", and I.Irba ll
storm sewcr layout. Figure 9-4 shows the appl icable ID F curves for th is
region. and Equation (9-2) provides a useful method for cillculating the
intensity va lues. The sizing of conduits for this storm sewe r can be com-
pleted with a typical storm sewer design spreads heet, as shown in Table
E9-\(a). Complete the llnfinishedl ines (shaded cells) of this sp readshet:\
(Manhole A6 to A3) using the llata provided in the table and fin ish cal-
culating the HG L elevations up to Manho le A9 in column 24 of the table.
This will determine the eu rrect ~ize of eac h condui t ne eded to mx:om·
modute a given design storm and will calculate the HGL or water surf:1ce
profile of Ihe system. Given that this is a new storm sewe r system in an
existing urban area, many of the conduit chnracteristics are se t in order
to avoid connicts with existing ut ili ties. In Ihe co mpletion ofl his example,
only thc conduit size is 10 be determined as a design variable based on th e
other fixed charact eristics (U/S and DIS elevations, lengths, and slopes),
A minimum of 3 ftlsec shall be used in th e sto rm sewer. assu min g full·fluw
conditions in order to mainta in a mi nimum self-deaning velocity in Ihe
sewers. Use standard reinforced concrete pipe sizes in the design (o.s. rl
diamete r increments in ~ i ze). Ignore minor losses of manholes.
 • ~ ~
:::: ;:;
;!;~a
:::::: ;;;

,.
00
&':::~
000 •
o
!
i
• •
"
.I !:!C!%
•••
8
1 ;
•

1
1

5SS
.556 Chepler 9

SOLUOON Once the fuooarncnl.lls of the abo\'C cqWl tions arc undt'rstood. the actual de-
sign dc~eJopment is falher straightforward. Referencing back to Figure 9-1
as a fundamental basis for th e design. proceed from upstream to dO"'ltStream
in the calcula tions of the Moml sewer sizing. Visualize the connccti\lty of the
s}'Slem. Une A goes frum the OUlletto Manhole A9. Line B connects to Line
A al Manhole A I and continues I1p to Mnnhole 131 The following steps are
worked forever)' conduit reach (a t"Olld uit reach hems from one manhole junc-
tion 10!l t"011Tlt"cting manhole jun ction) ond :lpply to all lines in the sprelldshee t.
I. Multiply the given C <.:ocfficient and co ntrih utin g drainage area
fu r the receiving upstream llIan hole location. Tabulate the result
in culumn 6.
2. Sum the w mbined CxA va lues from the rat ional method in col-
U01l1 7, thus \u O\'iding a we ighted ex A value to acco unt for di f-
ferent C values along the project rout e.
Nott": Fo r the last row (rench A I to Outlet). add the upstream
renehes in Li ne A an d B tugo!l her for the Total Drainage A rea
and S U1l\ ex A (incl ude its ow n drainnge nrea, 5.42).
3. Determine the vario us intensi ty v.dues from IDF eurves or the re-
lilted intensi ty formula using the determ ined Te (in this example.
the es tablished Te) and tabulate in column 10.
NOlI': The Design Storm is n 2- yr. 24-hr eve nt. a~ sta ted at the
top of the spre ad sheet.
4. C..lcula te the fluw rdles. Q, for each des ign reaeh in column 11 us-
ing Equation (9-1 ).
5. AI this poin t the conduit can be ~i:tcd m:cordingly. A roughness of
0.013 is used. as the conduit shall be rei nforced concrete pipe (sec
column 21 ). ln this example. all conduit.s ~hall be round pipe and thc
conduit span ;lnd rise dimensions (t'Olumns 14 and 15) are the same.
Since the geometry o f the storm sewer system is rued, as described
above. the design entails fi nd ing a suitabl e pipe size that will meet
now an d velocity criteria. T,~u meall~ cun be u~ed at this stage to
desig n the storm sewer size. The first method can en tail the reHr-
rIlngemcnt of Equation (9-3) to cxplidl ly find the pipe diamet er
in fect , since all ot her variables are known. Once this is done , the
nearest l;trger standard pipe size can be used. The seco nd met hod
is si mply by trial and e rror in the spreadsheet (try a sizt:ost:e if it
works. and adjust if needed). Both met hods. using the explicit col-
cul"tioo of Ihe conduit size or trial and error, work suitably well.
Remember. there are two basic checks to make when designi ng
eVery conduit size:
(a) Is the c(lpacity of the Sl;:wer reach greH ter thAIl or equal to Ihe actual
now (column 22 eompnrcd to 1! )?
(b) Docs the Actual ve locity of the sewe r rea<:h mee t or o:cecd the min i-
ilium 3 It/sec requirement?
 Design Applicotion$ in Hydrology ,,,
The design intent is to use the smallcst standard-sized reinforced
concrcte pipe th~t will meet th= criteria, because this will providc
the most cast benefit. In addition, if ~ conduit is too large for a given
flow, the aclual velocity uf Ihe flow in the sewer will be too low.
6. Once the pipeline diameter is de termined, use the usual form of
Man ni ng's equation [Eq. (9-3)] to calculate flow capacity fur the
designed conduit (column 22). Dividing the actual flow (coluomll)
by the designed conduit area (column 17) gives the actual velocity
in the conduit, assuming full-flow conditions.
7. After the conduits are si7.ed, it is common then 10 calculate the
HGL or watcr surface profile of the sy~tem. We do so by calcu-
lating the friction loss in each storm sewer reach and Ihen add-
ing those together, on a reach-by-reaeh basis. slarling at the most
downstream known water surface location-in this case, the outlet.
Unlike the slOrm sewer system itself. which is designed from up-
stream to downstream, the HGL is determined from downstream
10 upstream. Minor losses. including manhole junction losses, can
be employed for a more accurate HGL computation. but in many
instances. and in this example. the minor losse~ are ignored.
In closed conduit systems, the friction loss in each reach call be found with
Equation (9-4). The HGL is funned by adding those los.~es, on a reach-
by-reach basis. 10 the starting water surface elevation at the outlet- hence
the importance of defining a proper starting water surface elevation at the
outlet (31.00 ft in this example-see the lap of the ~pre adsheet). Given
the starting tailwater elevation relative to the storm sewers, the sewers
are fl nwing fu ll in this example, and the friction loss is computed in a
straightforward manlier, as described above.
In completing the design as stipulated above (using the smallest sta llda rd-
sized re inforced concrete pipe. in half-foot incrcmenUi, that has sufficien t ca-
pacity Oll1d .\Iields alll:asl the minimum full-flow velocity required). the design
solution for the reaches'left hank is tabulmed in Table E9-I(b). A profile
plot of the storm sewer design for line A is included in Figure 9-7, and im-
partlln! conside rdtions of overland flow are discussed following this example.
Table E9- I(bI. 0..;9n Sol ...."". b- SIo"" Sewer R"""he.
"",h
UIS DIS Span ond UjS Manhot.
Mo ...... Mo..... (Itt HGI. fJ (ft)
A9 AB ,
Rile
36.49
A8 IV '.5 3509
IV A6 ,
M A5 , 34 .22
33.82
A5 M ' .5 33.15
M .,
" 32.70
558 Chapler 9

Casc..odinc l)V~rtand flow

in Rood e"\~nt

- ------ ------
__:I ->--:f
NOll11al WlIltr
surl."" elevalion - -\-o--j--"

Sims Bayou
rtgun 9-7
Typicol pralile plot of urban slofm s_er system.

'Ille ove rall way a slOrm sewer design work:s hand- in-hand with surface
drainage features iscrilicallo Iht performance orlhe combintd subsurface and
surface drn inuge componenls (i.e., the undergrou nd co nduits and the above-
ground dminllge mechan isms like the surface st ree ts). Figure 9-7 is a profile plO!
oTthe design TCliults of Line A in Example 9-1. Notice that the HO L is suitably
below the natural grou nd and streel gutte r li nes, thu.~ ind icating Ihlll surface
floodin g is not anticipated for lhal particular design event. assuming the inlets
are designed adequately, as discussed laler in this chapter. Also notice that Ihe
surface streets are graded 10 allow for an overl3l\d flow path of SIQrrnW8Ier. in
an Clllrcme storm cvent Ihal would exceed the designed capacity of the storm
sewer syste m. lo flow to the receiving outfall, in this case a bayou. in a cascading
fashion over the street profile grade line (POL) high poi nts.. Referring both to
Figures 9-0 and 9-7 gives a visual represe ntation of the re lationships between
the storm !iCwer design, the flClSition of the HOL of thc :;ewer system. and the
design of the ove rland flow mechanisnu such as the surface streel~.
In designing storm sewer systems, it is importan t to consider the effect
uf lhe dow n stre~m starting wate r surface elevll tion lit the OUllet or outfall.
T he waler surface elevation chosen ror Ihe (lutlet diclalcs the regional stornl's
effect on HO L heigh t in thc 10Cil1 system. This eleva tion musl have some rela -
tion and may be use<! as pro,~ded by olher studies and anal}~ or as dete r-
mined from approximations, if acceptable, USing normal deplh calculations
within th e outlet receiving channe l. In many instances, the dcsign criterion
1I110W!' for sim plified asswnpt ions pertsining to starti ng water surrace eleva-
tions at the outlct for the purposes of compu ting the HGL along a designed
storm sewe r system. This may be the soffi t (top or crown) of the last reach of
pipe al the outle t or even perhaps some arbi trary elevation as prescribed by
a govern ing flood conLrol age ncy. In any ca'le, Ihe HOL is computed upstream
 Design Applications In Hydrology 55'
throughout the siorm sewe r syste m 10 detect instances where SIgn incant hea d
loss may exist. Increasing the size of the conduit increases the hydraulic radi us
of the oollduil. Iher.::by r.::ducing the friction loss a nd the slope of the HGL
In cases where ce rtain HGL .::rit.:: ria m ust be:: met. a uial -and -error type of
,tpproach is ofte n exercised to final i7.c a design that 5.1 tis fies the design intent.

Minor \.o»e$ in Storm Sewers

Manhole and j unc tion 1<::6SCS as ....·e ll as be::nd losses may be considered ill the
development of the HGL profile. In some cases. these losses are considered
minor and 1II.~ignirlCall t: in other cases. especially wnere relali\'e \'elocities are
rat her high . the losses may beconsidered sign irlCant and thereCore added to the
condu it frict ion losses at the junt1 ions. Equation (9-6) repr=nt~ the equation
(or the calcu lation of manhole/junction losses. Notice the primary in n uencing
parameter in these equa tions is the velocity term. When the veloci ty is ralher
low. these looses are indeed very minor ( thousalKlths of a foot): howevt: r. Ihey
do add up and can exacerbate a poten tia l nnodi ng problem due to high- HGL
problems. such as illust rated in figure 9-6.. In general, it isdcsirable 10 keep the
mi nimum velocitk-s within cond uits abo\'c 3 feel per second. Maxim uill veloci-
ties should not exceed 8 reet pers<.'cond without due conside rat iOn o f the use of
t'nergy-dis:.;ip'lIion featu res to control the effects of high velocities such as ero-
sion. Agai n, loca l design guid el ines gene rall y d ict ate this con trolling criterion.
In sume dcsign circumstances. th e friction coefficien t. II, is used to
co nsi de r the minu r losses ant icipa ted. In Example 9-1. had the friction coef-
ficient been 0.011. a reasonable /I-val ue found in labo ratory case studies, in
lieu of the used 0.013 val ut'. the total friction loss would have been red uced
o,'c r 1.5 ft throughout the en lire Line A sys tem. Heoct'. the /I-value can be
used to a id Ihe o\"erall design in terms of tryi ng to marl': accu ra te ly estimale
Ihe tot al loss th ro ugh the system when Ill inor losses (be nd s. mllllho le junc-
lions, an d in lel losses) a re ign ored.
W hen manh ole junction losses are desired to b~ \:onsidcrcd. we may
use the equ alion

('>-6)

where hJ is the ma nholeJjunctio n loss without a curved deneaor (ft). V is the

"elocity through the manh ole in fwe. I; - gravitat ional constan t (32.2 fllse<?).
and K; is as shown in Figure 9--8.

Inlets Used with Storm Sewers

Eq ually importa nt as the design of the l'OuduilS is the design of in leIS and other
stomm"a ter captu re facil ities. An inlet is simply a s torm .....ater ClIpturc feat ure
that phYliically rcce i.'cs n ow from o\'erl:llld sheet flow or mOfe cha n nelized
flow such as within a. gutler. a nd the imparlance o f properly s ized inlets can not
be oversta ted. A fte r 1111. the condu it system may be sized adeq ua tely for a
certain design even t, but if the sto rm"mt er C8 nllot e ll ter the co nduits atlhe
 ,-
560 Chopte.9

Figure 9-8 , •, Kj

..
Manhole iundion
10.. coefficient•. ,
""
" ,-"
'20
• ""' ,.w
,.~

.,
" '.TI
Manhole wilh no 'l""'i. 1
shaping or d<:neclor

rate designed for, then the hydra l.llic connectivity of Ihe system i~ com pro-
mised. This is especially true of depressed curb-nnd-guller street sections using
conve nT io nal on-grade an d sag inlets. Inlets work hand-In-hand wilh Inc sur-
face streets in urban ized storm sewer systems. As previously mentioned, [he
storm 5Cwers act as the primary drainage system while Ihe surface S1rCCIS act
as the secondary system. Th06e Slomll'''aler flows not facilitated by the storm
sewe rs are conveyed overland by the strect system. Inlets provide the vi tal
function of hydraulic connectivity between the prima ry and secondary sys-
Icm_~. Much study has been done o n the subject of inlet be havior, and st ud ies
are still o ngoing. The inlet capacity is designed based upon allowable street
ponding wid ths, st reet gutter flow rates. street phys iCilI rcat ures s uch as slope
an d frictio n va luc, and the inlet phys ical features. It is hi ghly recomme nded
that inle t co mputa tions be preci$Cly (,."onsidered using established guidelines
such as those developed by the H ydrau lic Enginec ri ng Circular No, 22 (H EC
22) as published by the Federal H ighway AdminiSlratio n (FH W A).
There are all type:s and shapes oC inle ts. In general. inlcts act as weirs until
submerged, and then they lrnnSilion to nct llS orifiCCII. In cur b opening inlelS at
a roa<lwaydepreMion,lIS illustrated in Figure 9-9, the weir and orifice behavior
transitions li t depths between 1.0 and \.4 times the inlet opc.ningheight. ln these
cases, the inlet be havior should be analyted using OOlh the wei r and o rifice
equations, a nd the lesser of these two capaci ties L'Omputed should be used in
the design (a conservative appTOHch). Tcst studies have shown that inle t phys-
ical fea tu res sueh as inlet throat depressions and grate Iypes greatly affect the
actual performance of an inlet. For these renso ns, it is recomme nded to rd er
to de tailed guidelines as previo usly me ntioned o r to check wilh local governing
agencies, which likely will have published nJIo ....'lIble in let capaci ties fo r those
types of in lelS commonly ut ilized in the project area. Absen t of these detailed
procedures, inlet behavior may be approllimaled usi ng weir and orifice eq un-
l)ons, 8s depictcd in Eqs. (9-7) and (9-8): }'CI. due considerat ion mUSI be gi\'Cn
to the Olher pammelers that may limi t inlet Cflpacities, such as inlelS on st~ p
grades, wh ich induce the likelihood of sua;tanlial inlet bypass flow:
Q = C...( f. + J.8W)d l.$ (9-7)
where Q = weir condition inlet flow (ds), C ... - weir coefficient = 2.3 (if no
gu lte r depression, CO' = 3.0), L - le ngt h of curb inlet opening (fl), 11= depth
 De sign Applications in Hydrology
'"
figure 9--9
Siandord cu rb
in~1 wilh guller
Manhole top
depression o j 0
sog in 0 roodWO)'o
Inlet box

Gutter
depression

of wate r atl he inlet curb measured from the nor ma l cross slope of the pave-
mcnl (i.e .. depth 81 curb just upst ream of Ihe inlet oul of the guller depres-
sion) (ft), and W = lateral width of inlet th roa t dc:pression (ft).

Q = C,.,hL(2gd,.,l'~ (U)
where Q = ori rlCCoonditioo inlet now (cfs), 4. = otificcooefrlCient = 0.67. L =
lenglh of curb opening (ft). do = effective head o n the cenler of the inlet
Ihroa l (i.e., the dep th of water measured to the ccnler of lhe inlet throM
con~iderin~ Ihe gUller dcpre~sion deplh ) (ft), g = accelera tio n due to gravity
(32.2 ftfsel-). and II = height of in lett hrOal eurb opening (ft).
The importance of the be havior of the primary and seoondary drainage
syste ms, work ing collectively, cannol be overe mp hasi7£d. When su rface
nooding docs occu r, ponded sections within roadways an d other areas act as
sto rage junctions. These j unctions delain stormwate r nO\\'S unti l the primary
drainage system ca n fac il itate that stored volume. In cases where the re is in-
sufficien t ~lOrage volume on the su rface for a pa rticular storm event, then tile
water su rface elevation (WSE L) of the nooded scl-o nd;u y system. wOlmonly
a stree t. increases to a poitil in whiell struct urnl nood ing of adj ace nt homes
an d buildin gs may OC(:ur. Fnrthermore, stormwalcr typicall y nows overland
be tween lhe su rface storage junctions. T his is a vcry co mmon OC(:urrence in
urban drainage systems where overland flow is conveyed betwee n surface
storage j unc tions. which may t!XiSl as street in te rsections, for exa mple. In
the se cases. the re lative position of lhe ovcrland flow rou tes in a project area
.562 Chapler 9

must be rully understood, so liS to li mit the potential for build up of flooded
WSEL 10 thc poin t at which Ihe structural flooding of homes and busi nesses
occurs. Such surface cond uits (i.c., the strCCI~) may be considered using weir
cq uations or even calculated as convent ional upcn cha nnels. r..'lothcr Nature
developed flow patterns along O UT surface topography long before we in,
duced urbanized development upon our lands. These natural flow pa tt erns
mlll!t be recogn ized an d respected. as the re is always anmhe r na tural storm
that mlly 01· CVCllt ually will occur above an d beyond that which was pla nned
for in the design developmen t of our urhan drai nage systems.

' .3 Fundam!!lIItQI$ 01 Cuf.t.er1$

DESiGN Of
C ul ve rts are comm only referred to as those OOD\'eyance condui ts construct ed
CULVERTS
within embankme nts for the purposes of support ing a roadway. a railroad. or
for the particular functionality of the embankment itself, such as would be
the case in a le\'cc. Culverts are different than siorm se we rs in that they are
tYllkally much short cr (although there are cases of long.span cul\·em) and
arc exposed at ooth ends to accommodMe unobst ruct ed inflow and outflow
of Sior m water. Th e si mple culvert I:rossins of a stre et connecting two road-
side ditches i~ one of the most common cul vert applicHtions read ily ident ified.
C.:uh·ert crossings. ns Ihey are commonl y known. come in all shapes and $i7.C5.
A variet), of mat erials arc often used in culve rt co nst ruct ion. in a variety of
Shal>t!S, such a$ circ ular. box. and elliptical. As needed 10 collvey a given
amou nt of stormwater flow. given pa rticu lar depth rcquirementS. mult iple
barrels of culverts may be used al a single loc:lt io n. While appearing simple.
cul\'e rt be havior and cul-·crt design are deceptivel y complex.
Referring to Figure 9-10. th e fa ctors th at aUect culvert design includc
the headwa ter (1lW). the la ilwater (ny). Ihe length eLl. Ihe size or diameter
( 0 ). the slope (S), and the friclion factor (n). Many other {actors also affeci
the performance of culvcrts. such as Ihe inle t and outl et geometry, which
would includc the use of headwal Lo; and even the shape of th e culvert edges.
The basic driving culvert design p<l ramctcr is considered to be the allowable
head watc r dcpt h. Aftcr all. the intent of a culver! is 10 allow SlormW,l{ cr to
pass through an embankme nt at a plan ned ra te. I<'hich relates 10 an allowable
headwat er dept h on the ups tream side of Ihe culv ert , given an established

Figun 9-10
Rekmooship
01 cu....... t
lea ..... '!!' ond
cha,acteristics. !.englh. L
 Design Applications in Hydroklgy

lailwa tc r "ondilion downstream of the culve rt . Look ing fit Figure 9-10. the
simple bal,meed eq u.. tion for compari ng the water surface clevlllions on bu th
sides of the culve rt is
HW+Ls - nV +H (9-9)
where HW is the upstream headwater atlhe inle! of !he cul-'e rl , LS is the
prod uct of the lengt h multiplied by Ihe slope oflhe culvert. 1W is the down-
stream tllilwater al the ou tlet of th e cul vcrt. and H is the lot:ll hea d loss
through the culve rt. as desc ribtd in furt her de tail below.
Cul verts arc ge nt rally divided into two cJ~ifiea t i ons; Inlet controlled
o r outlet rontrolled. Inlet-cont rolled eul"erts an: governed by the inlet of
the "ul'·en. and the diS(:harge through the cul\'"rl is predominately affccted
by the culvert en!ranoe. In a simplislk ~nsc. inl et con trol exists when the
discharge through Ihe culvert itself c.. n be til <I greatcr ratc tha n what is
"apable of enteri ng inlO t he culvert a t tile inlet. Inlet-eunl ro lled culverts are
no t arrcctcd so much by the in ternal culver! chara"teristics. such as rough-
ness and lengt h, as by the headwater depth. en trance g"Olllctry .. nd configu·
ration. and type of inlet edge. Cuh'crt5 do not flow full throughout th cir
ent ire length under inlet control conditions. and ge nerally fl ows are super-
cri tical in the culve rt s. If the culvert applic:llion is in <I n enviro nm cnt o f
rel:ltively Sleep slope. inlet control is more li kcly. Figure 9-1 I illustrates an
example o f inlc \-(:ont rol condi tions (or a culvert; ot hcr in let·control now
conditionscxist as w",11 (see refe re noe materiul for a more dct:l iled descript ion
of oth",r flow conditions).
Inlet cont rol t an be somewha t invoh'o;:d in terms of the calculations
employed due to the partiall y full -flow conditions of the cuh·crt. Man y
ll ulJlicalions doc ument lhe be havi o r of culvert cond il ions in a variety o f
applications. A s would be typ ical. inlet-control cond itio ns requ ire the use of
tables. char ts. nomogra phs. or ot her available rd ere nce materials from Ihc
Federol Highwa y Ad min istration (rnWA) or Ot her sources that will aid the
designer in defin ing the be havior of the culve rt in terms of hydnUJl ic pe rfor·
mance basc<l upon extensive research. The des ign of inlcl-controllcd culverts
ca n be complex fo r th e reason s sHlted above. and in lieu o f us ing th e
de scribed pub lishcd culvert bt: h3vior tables. cha rl s. and so on. it is common
to apply readil y availabl e software progra ms. such a5 I-IEC-RAS. as
described latcr ill this chapter.

Figure 9-11
m.{~rial
exomple of inle!
control conditions
For 0 cul~ert
crossing .
. _- .. _.. .. _......... _- .. .
564 Chople< 9

Figure 9-12 Ro"dway P'.'~''"' m"terial

Example of oudel
control condition
fo. 0 cul"'llrt
craning.

Outlet Control - Square End Pro;cdi"8 From Fill

Outle t cont rol for culverts e xists if the rat e of flow tha t can e nter the
cu lvert is greate r thnn that possi ble through the culvert. In Qu tlet-controlled
cu lverts, th e physical characteristics of the cul vert playa significant role. as
do the tailwa ter cond itions fo r a particular storm eve nt being applied. If the
culve rt a pplicat ion is in an e nvironment of re la th'c ly mild slo pe. outle t con-
tro l is more likely to gove rn. G e ne rally. cu lverts fl ow full throughout all o r
most of their lengt h in outlCl-con trol con d itio ns. and the flo w is ei ther s tl b-
cri ticul o r unde r pressure throughout the cu lverts. F igure 9- 12 ill ustrat cs lin
e xample of outlet-co ntro l conditions for a c ulve rt: howe~·e r . ou tl e t-control
circumstances ca n exin whereb)' the culvert outlet is not submerged (sec
reference material fo r a more de tailed description of othe r flow cond it iOns).
Look ing at Figure 9-12, the tailwater is llbove the o utlet crown of the
culvert pipe (t he crown of a pi pe is the inner top of the pipe, ofte n called the
pipe soffi t). If tho:: ta ilwaler is be low the crown of Ihe pipe, then o ut le t-
control condi tions can still tXlllt. but the calculation of the tail water de pth
will be mo re involved. For the condit ion shown in Fig ure 9-12,
(9-10)
where lien! equals the entrance hea d loss ill feet. l luit equals th e exit head
loss ill feet, a nd HI eq uals the friction head 1055 in feet.
The en tr:mee loss is com puted by,
ff~"l "" Ky2/2g (9-11)
where K~ is an entrance loss coefficient and the othe r tenns a rc as applied pre·
viously. Table 9-4 pro\ides St:\'cral commonly applied entrance 10M ooefficienlli.
The exit hea d loss computa tion can be simpl ified by assuming the
down stream c ulve rt e nd e mpt ies in to a non flowing body of wa te r, in whic h
cnse Ih e e xit head lo:;s is co mp uted by tnk ing the full velocity hend a t the ex it
of th e c ulve rt (Vl/ 2g, using I' as the velocity in the culvert). A more accurate
mea ns is 10 recognize the downstream velocity in the chan nel. downstream
of th e culve rt. l 11erefore. the e xit head loss is computed by
(9-1 2)
where Vequals the \'elocity of !\ow ill the culvert o r doY.'IlStream channel as lip-
propri;lte in feci per secood, a nd g equals Ihe gnwil8tionaJ constant of 322 ftJscil.
H, is the friction loss within the culvcr1 and ism1culatcd by Equation (1)..4).
 Design Appl icOfions in H)ldrology ,.,
Tobie 9-4, C"'-1 fntro"". los. Coellic~, 14
Type of Strudur. and Design of Enlr'arlu eo.ffident. I("
Cone,... PiptI
I'rojecling from U , oo<k&l end (groove end) 0.2
Projeding from lilt >qUOre cul....d O.S
Headwall or heocf...o:ll wi'" wingwa"
Socie!end(srooveendj 0.2
Sqvore .... d 0.5
Rounded end 0.2
MIefN Jo conlorm Jo ~H ,Jape 0.7
Convgat.cI Metal Pipe or Pipe A",h
Projecl"", r,,,,,, hi lno ~eocIwo'q 0.9
Heodwoi or headwol ond wingwo", """'" edge 0 5
Milefecilo conform 10 ~fI .lope 0.7
Concrete Box
Heod_11 paro'lef 10 emban~menl lno wlng_II,1
Sqvo •• edged on 3 edge. O,S
Rounded on 3 .dges 0 2
Wingwo'i. 01 30 10 75 degr.... 10 be.
Squoo. edged 01 Crown 0 ...
Crown edge rounded 02
Wing .... afl. al 1010 30 degree. 10 bo~
Sqvo r. edged at crown 0.5
Wingwon. pcrallelle.... n.. on dlllle.1
Square edg..d at aown 0.7

Eq uation (9-9) in conj unction with Eq uation (9-10) provides a simple

approach to solvi ng ou tle t-control culverl co nditions when Ihe tailwater has
lx:cn comp uted by mea ns of dow nstream nonnal dep th co mput atiolls or has
bee n provided by other means. The sizing of the culvert or culverts is based
upon 1\ simple iterative proccSl> whereby vllrious cul-'ert sites for a given
length are used. losses nrc com pu ted . and the resultant hcadwlltCr is deter.
mined. If unsatisfactory in terms of headwa ler height. enlarging the culvert
or eulvcrts or adding mo re cull'ert barrels 1ll00y be em ployed.
In looking nl the design of a cul ve rt sys tem at a given location sus·
pected of being under outlet-contro! condit ions (i.e .. a ve ry mild or flat
sloped environment). a basicstarting point is determining the actualllli!waterele-
vation at the given location. This can be adlieved by many mea ns. If a known
nearby st udied stream is lI$SOCiated with the Ioca! drainage network, perhaps
a backwate r a n~lysis u.~ing HEC-RAS would be warranted. But in many
cases where few or no dlllHexist to readily establish a givcn tll ilwatcr eleva·
tio n nt a given loca tion. it is common to com pute the runoff at the location
of interest usi ng [he ration al mcthod or some unit hydrograph met hod as
described in Chapter 6 and then use a norma l depth calculation using Man-
ning's equation !Eq. (9-3)1 to detemline lhe depth of now for thaI particu-
lar location.
566 Chapter 9

DESIGN OF CULVERT CROSSING

A new cuille rt is to be designed and constructed replacing an existing
cul\'crt ill a ~lI1 a ll cha nnel at a location wh ich rcceives drain3ge from 160
acres of park land ncar Housto n. Texas. The design criteria requi re that
the culvert be sized suc h thM n IO.yr sy nthctic design storm for Ihe project
<lTCIl will not c,lUse stormw,\ ter to overtop (i.e .. go over) Ihe roadwny. 1I S
sho wn in Figure E9-2(a). Due to the two·l~ne roadway p(l ve ment RIlU
pa\'ement base material. the maxi mum rise or height of ;, eul ~c rt to be
used is 3 fL Note tlmt a box cul\ert must be utilized, since a 3-ft·di ameter
rou nd pipe culve rt exists in this location now (lnd h(ls proven inadequate.
(a)Use the rationa l met hod wit h T,'" 18 min .. C '" 0.1 8 (fo r park
land), and the IDF curvcsshown in Figure 9-4 along wit h Equa-
tion (9-2) for a \()...yr storm.
(b) Estab lish the tailwater (7W) depth in the channe l hy calculating
th e oorm nl dept h at the do wnst ren m end of the culvert using the
Manning's equation npplied to the chann el cross seclion shown in
Figure E9-2(a).
(c) Estnblish Ihe allowable 10illi head loss. H.
(d) Size the cul verl us ing a 3-ft max im um ri~ or heigh t. Use a sq ua re·
cui end en trance projecti ng from Ihe fi ll of th e emb'lIlkmen1.

F'9IIre E9-2(Q) RUld ... a, emwn cL - 1:16.0 It

Culvert crossing '\
characteristic..
d. - so.o I",
~/
Concn:te box
Of 0.002 ftlft
max rise - 3 fI
n _ U.012

Cul.-crt ROO ro.'Id ..."y

crOH sectIOn
(Il0l t05C1lllc)

- - -""-- -
Grass ~ned
" - 0.030

Olannel c...... section

at pro,«1locauoft
(n", tosc3Ie)
 Desi9 n Apptico~ons in Hydrology 567

Compute the runoff 10 the cul~er. crossing location. SOLIJ1lON STEPS

T,; : 16 min,
Q=(CA) · i.
I = 6.0 in.lhr [from I Dr cur~e. Fig 9-4: or Eq. (9-2)J.
A - 160 acres.
C = 0.18(seeOlaptcr6).
Qpeik (0.18)(160)(6.0).
172.8 cfs.
2. Citlculal t! Ihe nonnal deplh in channel 10 detl::rmine 7W.

Q~

where
Q = Qreak = 112.8 cr~,
" = 0.030 (friction coefficienl in the channel).
S .. 0.002.
Solve for AR2i3.

AR~:3 =
112.8

where
AR2i3 _ 77.797.
A .. area of nuw.
I' l'icllcd perimeter.
R = A l P.
Considering Ihe triangular fOltdside channel w;th 3:1 side sloJlCs as
shown in figure E9--2(b). and using Ihe calcuhtled ARl 'l abo~·e.
calculate the uniform depth of flow. d. through iteration.
d - 4.09 ft .

L,
•
•
,_.
Figure E9-1!bl
ClIonne! depff.

I
"
568 Chop/e, 9

3. Establish the maximum allowable to tal head loss. II. using the
known maximum upst ream water su rfllce elev:lIion allowed.
The cul,·crt is an outlet·cont rol scenari o OCca use. given th ~ lim·
itntion of a maximum 3·ft riw or heig ht of our box cu lver t. the
outlet is submerged (3 < 4.(9). and we have nn extremely fla t
slope ;llon8 the chan nel (0.002 ftlft ). which will resu lt in a higher
J/W relative to the conduit, due 10 the tota l hefld loss through
the system; therefor.:. the conduit barrel is under pressure ils
ent ire length. Additionally. given the slope and flow for the
chfl nn e l. the critical depth can be calculated as 2.91 ft (see
Chap\l:r 7 for descrip ti on of criti!::!l depth). wh ich is below the
actu al depth of flow cu1cuilltcd above. which indien tes the now
is suberil ic.. 1 ill the chan nel.
The upsueam invert or now. li ne elevation of the cul ver t is
80.0 ft. Therefore, Ihe downstream culvert flowline is
80 - 42(0.002) - 79.92 fl.
where 0.002 is Ihe slope of the cu lvert and 42 is t he leng th
o f the culve rt in feet. The TW eleva tion (the downst ream
WIli e r surface elewlIion) is t he n si mply the ele vat ion o f the
dow nstr ea m culvert flow line p lus th e normal depth. d. o f
fl ow in (he channe l.

nv = 79.92 + 4.09 "" 84.01 f\.

The maxi mum HW elevo tion (the upstream wate r su rface eleva-
lion) is 86.00 ft. since 11 project crite rion is to nOI hal'e roadway
overtopping. Therefore.

allowable 11 - 86.00 S4.0t = l.99 ft.

4. Size th e culvert.
Using a 3·ft maximum riM: in box sue. try diffe rent bo x spans
(\\;dths) of ~tandard sue (bo.~ culverts arc usually wil-Jlh x risc-
Le., II 6 x 3 would be a 6-ft sp. .m or width by a J..fI rise or height).
Standard box spans arc in I·ft incre ments. Try a 6ft x 3ft bo)(.
Q = VA (continuit y equation ignori ng sto rage).
172.8 = \{6 x 3).
V .. 9.60 fIIscc through the culvcrt.
lln« for the chann el wi th area A - 50.18 ftl calculat ed u~ing the
fl ow dep th or 4.09 ft .
V - 172.8/ 50.1R.
V = 3.+1 (tlscc in the eh:1I1IIel downs tream of the cull'ert.
 Deiign Applicotioru in Hydrology 56'
Calculate the ent rance head loss using the culvert velocity.

K, 0.5 (Table 9-4. squHe-cut cnd projecting from fill).

_K, (V
2,')
"'"' = 0.5(1.43)
~ O.nfl.

c-Ilculnte the e)ti t head loss using both the culvert ve locity and the
downstream chann el velocity.

lie,,! = ( V2/lK)'.h,,'! (V2 j2g),banntl

= [9.W /2{32.2 ft/s(2)} - r3.442/2(32.2 ftlscc")]
.. 1.25 ft.

Calculate the friction loss through the culvert.

~ = L (1.49~i2!3 r
~ 42 ( In'-x 6x3
0.012
)2:3 )
1.49(6 x 3) 2(6)
( 2(3)

(R 0-0 ;. culvert is nowing fun)

.. 0.25 ft.
H - /l",,! + lie>;! + ffJ
.. O.n + 1.25 + 0.25
= 2.22 It > 1.99 ft allowable.
incrcn'>C ~pan of culvert to reduce the total head Io<;s, II.
Try 7 x 3 culvert and use the same calculations as before \0
solve:

Hem = 0.53 ft,

flu;1 = 0.81 ft.
1,,= O.I7fl.
H = 053 + 0.87 + 0.17.
= 157 fl < 2 ft allo\\-lIble, OK.
570 Chaplet 9

TW - 84JII 1'1

7 )( 3 Box CUh'Cfl at O.ZO'''' - ->

Figu re E9-2k1
Finol design 01 CUIverI crossing.

5. Check the final design.

HWelevutiun = TWelevn\ion + H
= 84.01 + 1.57 = 85.58 ft < 86.0 ft, OK.
A note of cautio n Oll the use of clem/iolls versus (Ifp lhs. III the above
calculation. we are act ually using the Hit' and TWel"'·(IIiG/lS. In Equa-
tion (9--9). the terms used 10 balance the equation arc (it'prhs. The fina l
de!)igll is illustrated in Figure E9--2(c).
Due to the relatively high veloci ty through the box culvert (8.23 ftfscc) .
erooion~ontrol feat ures should indude concrete slope paving or broken
rock of sufficient size. grddation. a nd ....'Cight to not be rolled downstream by
the velocity of the water. placed strn tegically along Ihe channel slope face.

This same cul ve rt co nfiguration ,.m be modcl.::d in HEC- R AS wi th ve ry

much the sa me re ~uI IS. As can be see n from the culvert output window in Fig.
ure 9-13. the ent rance. exit. and frietionlosses are exactly the same as calcu latcd
a bo\'C. Th e minor d iffe rence in upstrea m water surface elevation is due to the
modeling methodology used in H EC· RA S for cul~ert routines. RAS cakul;ltes
the water surface elevation ~ t the fin;t cross seclion upstream of the culvert by
oomputing the water surface thai corresponds to th e e ne rgy for the given flow
m t ~. The inp ut is rat her stm igh tforwH rd. and. following the standard culv~rt
modeling procedu res ou tlined in th e IIEC·RAS User's Manual ~va ilable on-
line. the same input data as described in the above e)((lnlpie will yie ld the same
results illustrated III I-i gs. 9-13 and 9-14. (NOll': The e~act cross-section Ioc"d-
tions in HEC-RAS will \'ary the water surface clcva tion resul ts slight ly.)

Complex Culvert Design one! Anolysis Using HEC-RAS

As prev iously s ta tcd . cul \'crl design can be deceivi ngly com plex. For si mple
applica tions. as m u~tTflt cd above in EXamp le 9-2. ha nd calculations will
work vc ry welt and suitably for a given scenario. Thc re arc numerous good
rderenc~ m an uals for cu lve rt dcsig n with nomographs fo r various c ul ve rt
 Design Applicotions in Hydrology 571

.. (IIt..t1

"'"
I
-- ..
O"t~lIt "-l I'X F'II1In 9-13
HEC·RAS culv..n
output table of
homple 9-2.

on
.00
."
o.,
••
••

"' .... ..
PIg/tlo PIDt

Ruellal 1'1t I Profiles I~I!J

r.l61X1
A"'-dO"'1
Fogu... 9-14
HEC.J!AS
proFilo pial at
Example 9- 2.

"
M
O\Jtl ~t

--
PI,n outlet control

~-
"mw<
I
-
'" w,
~w,
-
....•...
•" • -
Ctl PI" 1

!• " ~-

•
00

"• ~ ~ 00
"
__ ChIot>not tut....,. (11)
•• .~ .
,
J
S72 Chopl&! 9

C(HJfigurHt ions and characteristics. The FHWA is an exccllent resource for

such infllrmation. as arc the va rious State Depart ments of Transpo rtation
throughout the Uni ted States. The prOl;cd urcs "'ithin thcse published refcr·
ence man ua ls are inte nded to aid:ll designer and avoid the use of more ardu·
ous co mput ational procedures by hand. Many culYcrt flow scenarios can
exist-partially full with inle t control, plITtially full for some culvert length
wi th ou tlet conl ro l, lind SO on. For Ihis reason, the discussion and exa mples
herein ure intended only 10 serve as an introduction to the meticulous issues
faci ng a <l esis ner when facins a culvert problem. an<l it is strongly recom·
me ndcd Ihat thc cite<l refere nce material be eXll mined for II much expanded
discussion on the theory be hind culve rt behavior and design.
Con~iderin g the complex behavior of culverts and culvert systems. an ex·
celle nltool tha t I:s readily available. rclativelysimple to apply. and is commonly
used is the HEC·RAS wmputerprogrnm discu~d in Chapter 7. HEC RAS is
free li nd, once the user is familiar with the culvcrt routines included wit hin Ihe
soft ware, it is relatively easy 10 usc. The main benefil of using HEC·RAS. Of
some O(her sort ofculvert analysis sofl ......"rc. is tha i the \'arious Oowregimcs that
elCl:st lit any given design location call be readily analyzed. and the complelC
CIIicui:Jtiollli thaI are required for \'arious flow scenarios are easily accommCJ..
dated by the program. In lIdd ition. the oulput of the software provides a great
deal of beneficial informat ion that is useful in refin ing a given design.
Not ,Ill culve rt applicaliolls are simple ones, 90 degrees to the cmb.1Jlk.
men!. Culvert ske,",,'S are common, as arc va rious other dcsign ele ments. such
liS complex st ream flows, that necessi tlll e n more complex anaIYl>; S. The HEC
RAS Use r's Manual is a good refe rence souJ"t-e for some of these applicat ions.
In kee ping wilh the basic design and analysis approoch presen ted thus far.
Example 9-3 involves the anaJysisof the same cul"crt crossing as described in
ElCllmple 9-2 bill with a Sleeper slope (I %)of the man·madc drninage chan nel.

EXAMPlE 9-3 ANALYSIS OF CULVERT CROSSING USING HEC..JI:AS

Using th e same basic cross·seelional channel geome try and roadwayl
culvert configuration as prc~nt ed in EXfl mple 9-2, but now wi th a channel
slope of I % (in lieu of 0.02% in Example 9-2). ana lyze the behnvior of the
7 x 3 box culvert crossing for the sa me ]()'YT storm c\'ent (Q = 172.8 cfs).
ln vesti gllte th e ability to 1Ilter the design of th e culvert crossing to a 6 x 3
box for the benefit of COS I savings; however. overtopping of the roadway
is not allo,"" cd (i.e.. flow o\'er the roadway is not allowed). Refer to Figure
E9- 3(a) fo r IIECRAS cross·section locations. These locations are sim·
plified for Ihis e'tample. In trUe app lications. due consideration shoul d be
given l()C(HJl rJct ion. expansion. ineffecti\,(! flow. an d so on in the develop-
ment of cross·section locations. All channel cross sections are parallel. liS
there nrc no (un'es in the channel (the chan nel. right overbank. and left
overbank hav e the same distances 10 the downst rea m scaion al all loca·
tions). The culvert cr05sing has no skew. Due 10 the slope of the challncl
 De ~i gn Appl ica~ans in Hydrology

L-- L
I- 20ft 36ft 20ft I

~I~J:::
_____ "o-"_' ~, =,=":::.='"==.,,=,,="====--------------JL
..
al pmjC<:I loc.lion
(nollO scale)
HEC·RAS HEC-RAS
eros,s""Clion
ft P avem~nt
1j(i,0
V local;On. ~

L-4~f1
'0 p
Slope - 1.0%
or 0.01 f11f1 -

RASS1.140 RASSla 100 RAS SI. 10

Cul,'crt "nd ",ad..-"y

cr""" "'<:I;On
(nolloscale)
Figure E9-3(Q)
Culvert crouing informalion lor u~ in HEC-RAS model.

a nd culvert system as well as the previously known behavior of the 7 X 3

box culverl, it is suspected thaI the I:ulvcrt i. under in let control.
I. Create a prujcl:t in H[C·RAS titled clilvert cxllmpic and with a
file name of m/l'l':rl.prj (Fill' __ Nfli' Projn·f __ type CII/verl.prj)
2. Create a new geometric data file with 4 cross sections and the cul-
vcr\. In the gcomet ry file. CTeate a River called Ditch and a Reach
called Roadway. Enter 4 cross sections (2 upstream and 2 down-
stream of the culvert), with river ~tations 10.50.100. and 140.
For these crosssections,ealculme the now·line and top bank eleva-
tionsbasedon maintaining the upstream in~ert set:tion4 feet upstream
and downstream of the culvert (stations 100 and 50. respectively).
Refer to figs. E9-3(a) and E9--3(b) for cTU;..'HSt:i:lion placement. and
base all elevations on the upstream culvert invel1 elcvation of OOJK) ft.
Th e upstream end of the I:ulvert i5 technically at river sta tion
96 (100 4). Rememberthat in RAS.station ing is upstrc.1m 10do"'TI.
and cross sections arc viewW looking downstream. The channel slopt:
amI all n:'sultant cTOss-section elevation changes are based upon a 1%
slope or gradient. ·!1IC centerline ~ta tion for the cross sections and cul-
vert is set at stmion 18. Otherdata arc as presented in Figure E9--3(c).
574 Chopre.9

G~om~trrc Odtd tnt~t control ~~~

..J.d.
• "" '"

r--------.,""iO ---->
.-..,

.,
Figure E9-3tb)
Geometric dolo pion view

~_t

• g-+---.---+-a

, •
•
I
•
"'!.c---c.c---'~.c---c.,---••
-"'
Figu... E9-3tc)
CrOlS-se<;tioo doto for stanon 140.
 Design Applications in Hydrology 57'

Figure E9-31d1
Culvert doto lor
~ C:w I ~UivWIO input.
S~[)j:"" IHv..tuS EG 3 a.......
s~le,", 3 s-- r - Alto

il
s.,. I !2. $.ido ,.._ 0.. _1ooa_...,.. ::::1
D_totkWTo>o:S I_ U_ _ EIw ~
t:-.L.yt.- 1'2 D_ _ EIw ~
E_Lo"Coo/I: :0, 5 !!.I ~ __ ....... r-
EOI L.ooo Coe/I
HII".'1lf.nIaTop: 1OO1'f"""11A u 0__

H,....,..,.nlaa_ ~IO~O="':::= ; 1Ii. 16.

OOl>Ol"..... e..... " ~
Od_ 10 •

A culvert is added at river station 75 using the options tab of

the Bridge Culver! Data window within the Geometry Editor.
Stalion 75 represo;:n ts the center station between the upstream nnd
downstream bounding stations of 100 and 50, respectively. The
culvert is 42 ft long. and with the 4 ft upstream and downstream
of the culvert ends 10 the neare~t stations, the 10lal distances add
correctly (station 50 + 4 + 42 + 4 = station 100).
For the roadway deck, inpUI the upstream and downstream
high chord elevation of 86 for 50 ft left and right of the culvert (a
lcngth greater than what i~ needed to fully span the ditch). The
elevation of 86 ft is the ccnterlinc elcvation of the roadway for
overlopping considcrations. Leaving the low chord fields blank
confirms to RAS that there are no openings in the embankment
other than the culvcrt.
Save the geometry file once complete.
3. Create a new steady-flow data file by selecting the Enter!
Edit Steady Flow Data shoncu t bu1lon and then selecting:
File ...... New Flow Da/a. Ento;:rfEdit Number of Profiles is 1. River
is Dilch. Reach is Roadway, and River Station i~ 140 (the up-
st ream project cross section for this example). Enter in 172.8 cfs
for Profile I.
Next select Reach Boundary Conditions. the Normal Depth
bulton, and Cllfer a slope of 0.01 in the pop-up for the slope as the
downstream slupe for the normal depth calculation.
576 Chapter 9

Save the Steady-flow fil e ns illlel.tol or another desired file

namc.
4. Select the Run short cu t bUllon (" Run ning Man") for a steady-
flow simulut ion. Open a ncw plan by seleding the new geome try
data file and new steady-flow file created in steps 2 lind 3 above.
Press Compute a nd view resuits such as the Cr05S Section plot.
Detailed Out put Table. Profile Plot. X- Y -Z Perspective Plot. and
the Culve rt Output under the detailed o ulpu l shorlcu!. From Ihe
Culverl O Ulput ",indow. note that the cuh'crt is unde r inlet con·
trol. A ~icw of the Profile plol illustrates the sflIisflletoT)' behavior
of the culvert system [Fig. E9- 3(e)].
5. Now Ihat th e 3nalysi~ has been performed on the 7 x 3 culvert
and Ihe results examined sntisfnctoril y. cha nge Ihe culvert size
to 6 x 3 in the Culve rt Data Edilur window and exam ine the
results as you did above. Notice that from th e Culve rt Output
tnble and as viewed in the profile 1'1 01 [Fig. E9-3(1)1. weir flow
mer the roodway (Le.. roadway overtopping) is occurring. Refine-
men t of the ro ilS will be needed 10 acc urdtely assess the true weir
flow; huwever, since rO<ldway overtopping was not pocrmitted in
th e initinl projec t parnrlu::lCrs. n 6 x 3 box culvert will nOI work
satisfactorily at this IOC lllion.

Figure E9-3(e)
L;J@f8:
Profile plot of
7 x 3 culveft
illu5lroting inle~
control behavior.
'" ""'"
Re:lchu _
...
Profile Plat

1.1t I Profiles
cu !ve~ example Plan: Plan 02 12124f.Dlj
.. r-----r·~"'~'-~·~·,·_1-----1,1
." /

66.54. B'1 'j

 O",igll Applicotion~ ill Hydrology on

Figure E9-3(f)
Pro/il" plot 0/
6 x 3 culvert
illu~trati ng
roodwoy
cuJve ~ e~ ampte Pl;m Ptan 02 t2l2~12COS
overtopping
, d1tcl1 '-"""Y 'I (weir flow over
'-'
~",
roodway).

~",

- --
.
./
. -"""'
Cr. PF 1

,
• 00 ,00

Detention Concepts and Applications 9A

DETENTION
The basic premise for the use for detention bllsi ns withi n drainage collection
BASINS USED
systems is to reduce the peak disctt3rges 10 predeveloped or pre project con-
TO MmGATE
ditions. In noodplai n manageme nt design. de tention basins can have other
PROJECT IMPACTS
us~s. as will be discussed later withi n this cha pter. Detention basi ns arc com-
monly used in conjuncti on with ot her infrastructure improvemen ts. such as
with th e design of ncw Innd deve lo pments and storm sewer and roadside
diteh collection system improvements.
T he developmen t of an improvement project wit hin an existing wate r-
shed ca n consist of not onl y the construction of new facilities on raw land.
but also the alteration of existing impe rvious levels and dm inage charactcr-
istics in previously developed areas. As such. lI ew de velopments. channel
modifications. roadway reconstructions. and othe r co mmon civil works proj-
ects may lead to the crea ti on of undesirable hydrau lic impacts in the form
of in<:reased pCllk ru noffs from va rious storm events. The identification.
qu antification. and mitigation of such impacts 10 receiving outtet channels
or condui ts and adj oining properties have become a primary focus in a typ_
ical project devc lopme nt li fe cycle _Th is is a main activit~ for design eng;-
nt:~en> and t;'ngineering hydrologists.
The lerm '·impac(· is used ex tensivcly in design as related to a particu-
lar project ·s development. By stricl defin ition. all changes 10 the ~havior of
578 Chap~r9

existing stonnwater flo ....'S as ro uted from or through a projen area could be
dee med impacK These impacts may be negative or positive. The alteration
of an existing ..... ate rshed's drainage characteristics. as caused by an urban
deve lopment project, for exa mple, o ften leilds to increilsed flow ra tes to the
recciving outlet or downstream collectio n sys tem. In many cases, these in-
creased 11010' rates equate to rises in open-chon nel waler surfacc elevations
or the surcharging of existing storm sewer systems. which in turn often di-
rectly relate to increased levels of surface flooding.
While the elimination or significan t red uction of the increase of surfal"t!
flooding is desired , not 011 increases in flow rates from a given projcct area
negatively impao;t recciving out let channels or closed conduit systems. T his
would be the case if an outlet system had sufficient capacity to faci li t:lle th~e
increased flows wit hout any effect or alteration to levels of surface flooding.
Considering t his discuss ion on various baseline pa rameters for the
identification of negative impacts, the term imp«cl act ually implies nril'crse
imp(lcl. An adverse impao;t would exist from a project developmen t stand-
point if the resulta nt increase in existing runoff 110w rates caused by the al-
teration to the w<l ters hed characteristics d irectly resulted in increased surfacc
noodi ng. erosion, or other such physically da magi ng phenomena. After an
im provement project is designed, using either advanced or conventional
mcans, the sys tem should be analyzed to aso:ertain if any adverse impacts do
indeed exist <I S a result of (he new or proposed improvcments. If these im-
pacts do exist, then mitigation measurcs should be undertaken. Typio;all y,
the determination and mitigation of hydrologi(; ilnd hyd raulic impacts ca n
entail a rat he r com plex analys is utilizing o;omplex tools. Simplified ap-
pro<lches are avai lable in urba nized areas wherc storage coefficients or other
such wate rshed parameters have been established to facilitate the devdop-
ment of storm water mil nagement improveme nts. This may be the case. for
exa mple, if de tentio n-basin require men ts are simplified 10 a per-ane-of-
dde ntion-ncedcd vs. the size of a given project area. As always, designers
are encouraged to check local gove rninge nlitics for such established criteria.
A common form of mitigation is thc use of a detention basin wi thin the
project design. There are numerous detailed refe rences on detention design.
but the basic fu ndame ntal sizing of a detention basin for the purposes of
mitiga ting increased runoff due to a partic ular project is based on the 0001-
parison of the existing to proposed discharge hydrogra ph at the outlet of the
drai nage collec tion sys tem. The needed storage volume is dete rmined from
the area difference under the proposed vs. under the existing hydrograph,
as ill ustrated in Figure 9-15. By provid ing th is storage in the detention basin
and properly sizing the outlet of the basin to govern the discharge to the
desired predeve lopment or preproject conditions, the negative effe(;ts or
impacts of the given improvemen t project ca n be mitigated to mimic the
existing-conditions peak flo ..... rate , as can be seen in Figure 9- 15. In other
words, a prope rl y designed ddention M in ca n rcd uce the peak flow for th e
project proposed conditions to approximate the projec t existin g conditions.
 Design Applicotions in Hydrology 579

,
" Figure 9-15
Existing and
proposed condi-
"" Hans hydrogr aphs
illu~troting an
"" cstimotion 01
required storogc.
'"
"!
~
>SO

" ""
""
""
'"
Time (m ,n)

In this discussion a nd throughout this chaple r. "ex isting l"Ondi(ions~ a re sy n-

onymous with "predcvelopmc nt conditi ons" and "preproject conditions."
Similarly. "proposed conditions" are synonymous wil h " IKlstdcvc!opmcn\
l"O nd itions" a nd ~postproject condit ions,"'
11 sho uld be noted 1ha11he volume of nm off. at limes. is indeed greater
in the postproject improvemen t condit ions (i.e" the proposed con ditions).
This is" common phenomenon when the impervious cover of a project area
is increased. By the use of a properly sized detention bas in. as described
a bove., the peak d ischarge of the proposed l"Ondilions is reduced to that of
the ex isting conditions, and the additio nal runoff volu me (stored in the basin
a nd in the dr<li nag~ colle<: ti on system) is rli'kased over time.
Mi tigat ion measures us in g delention basins a re nOI easi ly emp loyed in
densely developed urban arcas. In many ellSCS. ,1V,lila bJe la nd for detelltion
basins either doe~ nOI exist or i~ too costly. A~ is often th e cnsc. II co mplex
balancc of manipu lating ava ila ble storage wit hin storm sewers. d itc hes. and
even depressed curb-and-gutler stree ts in conj un ction with adjusting the
routill g of nows wi thin the sto rm drainage system is requ ired to successfully
mitigat e adverse impacts resulting from the proposed im p rovement~. For
these reaso ns, comp k x modding techniques usi ng soph isticated com puter
software such as the EPA 'sStorm Water Management Mode l (SWMM) are
often re q uired 10 properly analyze the project "xmuit ions. make a n accurate
determination of adverse impacts. and adequately des ign the needed mitiga-
tion m e~sures. which mayor may lIot employ a detent ion basin or basins
(see Chapte r 6).
Chapter 9

Detention Basin Design

The actual design process of a de tent ion basin is rat her straightforward. As
mentioned above. some conlili un i lic~ already have predetermined param-
eters for detention basin sizing that are based upon percentages of change
in imperviousness or othe r such critcrin. Given the abse nce of such prede-
tcrm ined criteria for design purposes. the basic steps in the design of a deten-
tion basin arc:
I. Develop the existing-conditions (preprojcct) runoff hydrogra ph fo r
thc project area.
2. After desigll ing th e cl rai nnge colleclion system or system improve·
me nts for tht: project area. develop the proposed-conditions (post-
projecl) runoff hydrograph for the projcct area.
3. Comparing the existing- to proposed-conditions hydrographs. dt:ter-
mine the detention vo lume needed to reduce th e proposed peak
discharge.
4. Size the dctc ntion outle t and basin to use the swrage provided and
w govern the dischargtl as desired.
The above stcps arc for commonly appl ied detention basins used in
conjunction with drainage cullection systems. This is know n as "'in-li nc"
detention. whereby the de tention basin is aClUally in li ne with the dra inage
collel:tioTl s~'sle ll1 . l ypicall y at the utmost downst ream end, as connected to
the o utfall or receiving channel or other drainage system. '" Off- line"' deten-
tion systems are commonl y applied in floodplain manageme nt and Iypically
in volve side-flow weirs for connectivity to the d rainage system. Detention
basins used with drainage colh:Clion systems may indeed be off li ne,
whereby the projec t area disc har ge cond uit is restricted to gove rn the flow
of discharge and a dC lention basin is connected to the collcction system in
a lateral sense; hence. it is an off-li ne basin. Orf-line de tention basins arc
discussed la ter in th is chapter in conjunction wit h floodplain manageme nt
design tech niques.
Many features and appu rt enances arc commonly e mployed in dete n-
lion basins. One such feature is the utilization of a fl ap ga te or pinch valve
at the outlet to the receiving outfall channel. Such a flap gate or similar de-
vice prevcnts backfl ow in to the deto::ntion basin as the outfall channel rises
during a stonn event, thereby utilizing the storage available in thc basin. In
some cases. the provision of detention storage within the watershed is viewed
as a positive feature regardless of whether thc inflow comes from a projcct
site or from back flow from the receiving outfall channel. The usc of fla p
gates or pinch valves with dctentio n basins is just o ne of many design deci-
sions in project plan ning. Should such a gate or valve be uso::d, the head loss
through it is sometimes ignored. as modern gll tes and valves can be specially
fitted or even custom made for each application. res ulti ng in rathcr mi nor
losses in their usc.
 Design Applico tion$ in Hydrology 581

DETENnON·BASlN DESIGN EXAMPLE 9-4

A 150-acre new land development is planned for a given area that
is currently undeveloped. open gra~s l and in good condition. Next to
the development siTe is a natural opcn channel that will serve as the
project outFall. A detention basin is to be constructed adjacent to the
open-channel outfall, as shown in Figure E9-4(a), to reduce (I.e .. miti-
gate) the lOO-yr proposed (postproject or developed) condiTion peak
discharge rate from the project area to approximate the lOO-yr existing
(preproject or undeveloped) condition peak discharge rate as required
by the local governing authority. A flap-gate or pinch.valve outlet
structure will be constructed in the basin outlet conduit to pn:vent
back flow from the outfall channel back up into the detention basin
(i.e., no reverse flow in The outlet conduit). Ignore the minor loss o f
the flap gale or pinch valve. SCS TR-20 methodology is to be used with
the following data to develop the existing (preproject) and proposed
(postproject) conditions hydrographs, and these hydrographs arc to
be used in the sizing of the basin and outlet to the receiving project
outfall channel.
Existing (preprojecl) 7i: = 1.0 hr
Proposed (postprojcct) 7i: = 0.45 hr
Existing Condition SCS Curve No. :; 61
Proposed Condition SCS Curve No. = 75
24-hr.lOO-yr Rainfall Depth = !Win.
Rainfall Distribution = SCS Type 11. 24-hr

Emcr~cncy spiUway
~nd !>a,in desi&"
D~'ign .aiiwa.~r Emer~ency spillway cinalion _ 23i.OO ft
- 223.00 f.
I ----- I
'L , 15.511/

Detention
jL _ 214.96 fI _ 2155f1~
l:xi,"ng project
oolf.It channel " basin
Slo~ P 0.i8%
.ingch~"nel
lIIal depth
2t3.96 f. \) Flap II"lc or
Fla'i~o'IC'
(Icn~II'_
oondui'
h)
2O(J.()()
incomiAsmrm
""wer from
pinch val<e and dc.'clopmcni
outlc. stlUC'urc
Figure E9-4a
Delention basin charocteristics ond design porometers.
582 Cho pkr 9

SOLUTION L Develop the e )l i~ting- and proposed·condi tions runoff hydro·

grflphs using SCS TR·20 methodology. There a re many m ean~ of
;!I:hicving this. Chapter 2 includes II brief description of this meth·
odology. As commonly applied. computer programs arc read ily
av,l ilab1c that quickly compute runoff hydrographs based on TR-
20 methodology. O ne such program is the WinTR·55 Small Wa-
tershed H ydrology program, available from the Nalural Re.<;()urce
and Conservation Service (N RCS: formerly the SCS). a branch of
the USDA. WinTR-S5 is a single·event rainfall-ru noff watershed
modell hal uses the TR·20 mcthodology for develop ing runuff
hydrogrn phs [see Fig. E9-4(b)]. The program can be downloaded
d irectly from the US DA flnd NRCS websitc (sec Appendix E).
WinTR·55 computes peak discharges and provide!; a graphic plot
of ru noff hydrographs. Furthe rmore. WinTR -55 produces a TR·
20 hydrograph text output file thai can be exported 10 any sprcad·
shee t fo r use in calc uktting required storage volumes or for o ther
rcasons in support of a given design.
Afte r input of the above data for the existing nnd proposed
conditions. WinT R-55 can be run to generate the hydrographs for
export 10 a spreadsheet (b ut the tabular TR·20 hydrogra ph text

Figure E9- 4!b)

rvlain wi ndow

_,_n...
01 WinTR·55
for ex i ~t i ng ­ . 1.1" 1£I:tI " 1:&1"1 LI ,1I1i:1.!J
on d proposed. WinTR - ~~ Small Watershed Hydrolog y
condiliOM

_
'-'- 1'1_
hydrogroph
generation. -- 1O<fVk'-_
....
I
.............. ,
_ ... _ '1~c
.c~=·~----o3

-,- _._,'' ' ' '- -_.

,..-"',... _c... ~ ....,.......,<koJ_,..........

. -.,
• ...... - - T j p o l l

_ E...... s.-

-
too.,."",
"",""","",f>n<~""'"

....._""""",... ~
~.
'""",,,,,k,
•••
•••
~-
"
~

"
.-
f .... )

".
NOIoO lI\al 'Oo PI"",,, Ar9a i. rwIy ofty 150 "c
80JIIl ~)"lfOo;l '8p M .... tIOonQ I)!.....ated in ,1>0 u rn. ,un

--~"")
 Design Applicalians in Hyd rology 583

data can be obtained from WinTR-55 and the data can be plotted
and utilized by hand methods equally as well!).
2. Within an electronic spreadsheet (or by hand methOlb). overlay
the existing and proposed hydrographs and visualize the impacts of
the proposed (postprojeet) conditions. Measu re the area under the
proposed-condition curvccompared to the existing-condition curve
to estimate the storage volume required. as illustrated in Figure
E9--4(c). Abo. note the maximum existing-condition discharge or
runofffrom this figure (or taken directly from the WinTR-55 output).
3. Sil.e the outfall pipe for a maximum discharge equal to the existing
peak flow at the maximum allowable head differential between
the tailwater elevation at the outfall and the max imum allowable
water surface elevation in tbe detention basin. A commonl~' used
equation for the head loss through a eulvert Oowing full is

1-1/.,... (I + Ke + 291Z2LjR1.J3)V2j2g.
However, this requires solving iteratively and ea1eulating R and v
repclltedly. For round pipe conduit (the type of eonduit that will be
used for the basin outlet conduit), this equation can be simplified to

where
H, = allowable head differential -=- 8.0 ft (231.00 - 223.00).
Ke = entrance I05S coefficient = U.S.
Figure E9-4(c)
.., Propost"d po.'ak Q
Hydrogroph. for
existing ond
- 710<1.
-" propo5ed
""." - .. " - -
conditions
developed from
Storage VotUnl~
1'"f000000d (PoslprojeCl) TR·55 output data.
•~ ""
- 24.3 ao;-fl
~
•, ""
0
Existing peak Q
" -mer.
" '" ," • Exisl'n~ (I'reproject)

,,
200

'00
\:.
/,,'
• 'I 10 tl '"
t2 13 14
1ime (hr)
,
1. 16 t7
--- .
18 19
5S4 Chapter 9

II = Man n ing's roughness coefficient = 0.024,

L = dischargl! con d uit lengt h = 200 ft,
R = hydraulic radiu s.
v = velocity in conduit,
if = diamt:l e r o f discharge conduit.
Q = d esig n discharge rate = existi ng peak flow = 279 cfs.
g = acce leratio n due to grflvi ty = 32.2 ftls2.
In the latt er equation. Ihe o n ly unk nown is tI. and only Ihi s one
equation need be solved ite rati vel y. which red uc es t he culculUlion
effort. By it era live trial and error, the discharge diameter is 5.48 ft.
Rou nd up to Ihe next nonnni stand ard co ndui t size (i n O.S·ft incre -
men ts); use stnndard condui t size of 5.5· [t (66·jn.) diameter.
4. Determ in e the approxi mu te dimensions o f t he detent ion basin,
a~suming the basin to be square with side s lopes of 3:1. as shown
in Figure E9-4(a). From the figure. the dep th o f the basin is based
on the flow lin !; of t he discharge pipe and the design wat e r SU T-
fa ce ele vatio n of the ba~in nl the lop of the eme rgency spillway,
which re;ult s in a dt:pth o[ 15 .5 n ( 231 .00 - 2 15.50). The require d
volume was previously determ in ed in step 2. With t he depth and
volume known.lh e equ a tion [or:t py ramid,l l frus tu m can be used
10 d ete rmin e Ihe dime nsions:

where

~}
V = volume ,
h = depth of bns in,
II = area.

A~a boltom

The resulting dimensions an: top side lengt hs o f 306.44 n ~nd bo t-

tom side lengths of 213.44 f1. However. s ince the basin would be
constr ucted hu ld ing depth . sid e slopes. and top side lengl hs con-
sta nt . and we are starti ng with an estim ale of the required volu me .
we will use top side lengths of 310 ft (s liglHly larger th a n the cal-
culated 306.44 ft) with nil o th e r depth (!5.5 fl) and slope (3:1)
information Ih e same. Should t his prove in adeq ua le in size ill
Icrmso[ the slonlge provided. we ca ll increase the top side lengths.
S. With the di sch a rge condu il size d ~nd the dime nsio ns o f t he basin
estublished. develop ~ stage-storagc-d ischarge relationship.
 De~ign Applications in Hydrobgy

This can also be done in conjunction with develuping data for a

storage-indication curvc that will be uscd in the routing. Eaeh
stage in thc table will have a specified amount of storage. S
(based on the geometry of the basin dctermined in step 5). a
specified discharge from the hasin. Q (hased on the differclllial
head between the tailwalcr and siage level in the basin for the
conduit sized in step3).llnd a value for 2S1AI + Q based on Ihe
Q and S for thai stage [see Table E9-4(a)]. This table will then
be used in the routing procedure.
A 1I0tl' of cautio/l at Ilris point aboU/ lerms: Chapter 4 gives
detailed descriptions of the routing procedures used herein. and
the terms used in the design can become confusing if not man-
aged. We have an inflow ratc into Ihe basin and an uutfluw rate
out of the basin. all working integrally with the change in storage
in the basin itself. The term "discharge" is used to refer 10 the
outflow It:aving the basin to the outfall channel, and the term "Q"'
is used in the tables and figure that follow to refer to this dis.:harge
rate. The inflow is referred to by "r as utilizcd in Chapter 4.
In the ereatiun of the table in step 5 above. the elevation data
are simply tahulated from the flow line of the basin to the emer-
gency spillway elevatio n. using an increment of tahulation that
will provide sufficien t detail 10 detcrminc Ihe behavior of the ba-
sin . Experience plays a role in making the determination of the
increments used. In this easc. 35 incremental steps in terms ()f
basin elevation were chosen 10 analyze the basin performance.
Once the elevations are tabulated, then thc stagc. storage. and
basin pool top area are calculated for each elevation increment.
The discharge is then calculated based upon the equations in step
3 above. But note that discharge from the basin does not occur
un lil after Ihe basin elevation ()f 223.00 ft is exceeded. since the
pool level in the basin must exceed the water surface elevation in
the outfall channel in order for discharge to occur out of the basin.
In addit ion, it should be noted that the flap-gale or pinch-valve
feature at the end of the outlet conduil is keeping inn()w from oc-
curring back imo Ihe basin from the outfall channel. which would
consume valuable storage in the basin. Should such a flap gate
or pinch valve not be included in the design. the storage needed
would havc to be above elevation 223.00 ft (the design water sur-
face elevation in the outfall channel). unless governing local cri_
teria dictate otherwise.
Finally. Table E9-4(a) includesacolumn at the far right that will
be used for the rOUling computations included in the next step.
In order t() complele this calculalion. the time step to he used in
the routing needs to be determined (sec Chapter 4 for a detailed
586 Choplar 9

expla na tion o f this proccdure and the equatio ns utili'l.e d). A

very ~m all t i m c step. of the order of. sa~' . I minute. wuu ld pro-
duce a very deta iled rout ing tabulation that might not produce
any add itiona l benefit. O n th e other ha nd, too great II timc ~ t cp,
say, I huur, would not produce cnough accuracy in th e rOll ling

.......
TbieE9-4la)
0

I"
215,50
2 15.96
-
lb
0 l ReO

[hI
0.00
0.46
0,9 1
•
l r,ng 5toroge on dO',schorge
,...,. ,....,.
(eu hi
0
217.3 9
44026
(<<·hI
0 .0
05
""" Top
I~ "
47089
48284
49493
""Discharge.
Olds)
0.00
000
0 .00
251::'1+0
I""
0.00
48.31
97.83
21 6.41
21687
217.32
1,37
1,82
66867
90270
"
IS
2. 1
50718
51957
0.00
000
148.59
200.60
217.78 2.28 114242 2.6 53212 000 253 ,87
218,24 2.74 138769 32 54481 000 308.-42
218,69 3.19 163918 55765 0.00 364,20
21915 3.65 189636 " 57065 0.00 421.4 1
219.60
220.06
4.10
4.56
215950
242867
"5.0 58379
59708
000
000
479.89
539.70
' .6
220.51 5.01 270393 6.2 6 1053 0.00 600.87
220.97 5.47 298535 6.9 6241 2 0.00 603.41
221.43 5.93 327300 7.5 63786 000 727.33
221.88 6.38 356695 8.2 65175 0.00 792.65
222.34 6.84 386726 8.9 66579 0.00 859 ,39
222.79 7 ,29 41740 1 9.6 67998 000 927,56
223.25 7.75 44872 7 10.3 69432 49.69 1046,86
223.7 1 8.21 480710 11.0 7088 1 83.49 1151.73
224,16 8.66 513356 11 ,8 72345 107.11 1247.90
224,62 9. 12 546674 12,5 73824 120.39 1341.22
22507 9 ,57 580669 13.3 75318 143.09 1433.47
225.53 10,03 6 15348 14.1 76827 158.04 1525.48
225.99 10,49 650719 14.9 70351 17 1.69 1617.74
226.4 4 10.94 686788 15.8 79889 184.34 1710,53
226,90 11.40 723561 16,6 81443 196. 17 1804,08
227,35 11.85 761047 17,5 83012 20733 1898.54
227,81 12.3 1 799251 18,3 84595 217.91 1994.02
228.26 12.76 838180 19.2 86194 228.Ql 2090.63
228.72 13.22 877842 20.2 87808 23767 2188 43
229. 16 13.68 918243 21.1 69436 246.96 2287.50
229.63 14. 13 959389 22.0 9 1080 255.9 1 2387,69
230.09 14,59 1001288 23.0 92738 264.56 2489,65
230.54 15,04 1043947 24.0 9441 2 272,94 2592.B2
231 .00 15.50 1067372 25.0 96 100 281 .06 2697.45
 Design Applica tion~ in Hydrology 587

computation. Again, experience comes into play. and for this

example 15 minutes is determined to be a suitable time step.
Therefore,!J.r = 15 minutes (900 sec). and the calculation> re-
lating storagc. ll.1. and discharge are made to complete Table
9-4(a).
The storage-indication curve as shown in Figure E9-4(d) is then
produced and will be used in step 6 to complete the basin flood
routing. This curve is a simple graphic relating the 2S/ll.1 + Q
value to the discharge. Q (see Chapter 4).
6. Route the proposed hydrograph thru the detention basin and
outfall conduit 10 determine if the peak outflow and the size of
the basin are adequalt:. using the data developed in the previous
steps and the roUTing procedure described earlier. In this example.
there is no rcvcrse flow into the basin from the outfall cha nn el
due to the flap-gate or pinch-valvc structure. and outflow from
the basin into the outfall channel does not occur until the eleva-
tion of the water in the basin is greater Ihan the lai/water eleva-
tion in the outfall channel. Usc the table developed in step 5 to
determine the outflow and stage at the end of each routing step.
Check the resulting routing to dctennine if the m,tximum stage or
diSl:h~rge exceeds design parameters. or if the basin was oversized
and can be reduced in size. I f either of Ihe de~ign p~trametcrs was
exceeded. the basin needs to be resized to avoid this.
The following steps can be taken to follow T:lhle ')....4(b):
(<I) Tabulate the time steps in hours and minutes based upon the de-
termined time step. .).1, in step 5.

Sloragc-indicalion cum:

""
,.,
'"
~ ,~
/'
~
'00 /'/
'", o
'''''' 2S1J.r '''''Q (d.)

figure E9-4(d}
Storog~indicohon curve used for oosin routing
588 Chopter 9

(b) De tenn ine the inDow, In+l. from the proposed·co nditio ns hydro-
grn ph or from the out put table of Ihe WinTr·5S run ltbove.
(c) Calc ula te Un + 'n+l) by simply summi ng Ihe inflow al n given
lime ~ Iep wilh the inflow from th e previous time slep.
(d) Refer to Ihe detlii led routing descript io n in C hapler 4. utilizing
Equat io n (4- 13) as restated below.

(I" + '~+l) + (25,, / ::'1 - Qn) ~ (25n+l / ~1 + Q,,"'I)'

Note that at the fi rst tn bulated time step of 6.20 hr. alt inl1ow,
dischnrge, Siage. nnd storage variables arc eq unl to lerO. AI
limc 6.45 hr. (25,, / ill - Qn) "" {} because 5;, and Qn "" 0 (the ~tor·
nge and di scharge at the previous lime step, 6.20 hr).111crcfore.
so lvin g Ihe abo"e eq unt ion yie lds (25n+ l / At + Qn ... ) "" 0.06 cis.
Qn+1 is then del e nnin ed directly from the stofllge. indication
cur\·e. interpolating belween the data points as prepared in
step S. Su bsequen t time 5tep5 aTe calculated in Ihe same
fash ion.
(e) Next. the sto rage is compu ted for each time slep by solving Sn +] '
Co nti n ui ng with the step al 6.45 hr.

(25" .. tI '::'l + Q"+I) = O.06cis.

Qn+l = 0,
fJ.f '" IS min = 9OOsec.

11lerefore.

5,,+ 1 = Sio rage = 27 f1 3.

The calculation is repealed for evc ry ti me Sh::p.

(f) For eve ry known storage vnlu e. Ihe stage is de termi ned via inter·
polat ion from T able E9-4(a) created in Slep 5.
The ro;ul ts tabula tt-d in Table E9-4(b )dc monstTa le thal lhc basin
flelS efficie ntl y. The maxim um stage elevation of 15.5 is not rl
exceeded: howeve r, the basin is '1imOSI fu ll y uti lizcd (maxim um
stage elevation of 15.02 fl). No ti ce that no out now occurs un til
the minimum stage of7.S0 ft is ac hi eved (223.00 ft - 2 1S.50 ft).
und in llctuality th e basin would drain out as the oulf:L II channel
flood water surface elevat io n recedes to its normal base now
de pth. The inflow a nd outflow fo r Ihe basin plo t sim ilarly 10
Ihat s hown in Figure E9.04(c). Notice the mux illl unt discha rge
from the basi n is 272.65 cfs. which is less than the exis ting-con.
d itions peak d ischarge of 279 cfs. the reby in dicn ting a mitiga ted
proposed condition.
 Desi9n Appl ication! in Hydrology so.
, ,
r_ r_ Io., ((. + '-I) I2s.1.11 - Q,J 12s..1/:11 + 0 .. ,) a., ...... ,.,.
""
6.20
1m..)
372
.hI
0.00
kh!
000
'm000
' Idol
000
id>'
0.00
"" ~ 0 "
0.00
6.45
6.70
6.95
'"
'"m
000
039
000
0.45
1.25
000
0."
000
0.51
000
000
27
230
0.00
0.00

7.20
7.45
'"
"7
086
139
1.95
2.25
3.34
051
1.76
4.01
1.76
4.01
7.35
0.00
0.00
000
'"
1805
3308
000
0 .00
000
7.70 2.53 4. 48 7.35 I 1S3 0.00 5324 000
7.95 '" 5.67
8.20
8.45
'"
'"
3.14
3.77 6.91
8.40
11.83
17.50
U.jl
17.50
2441
32.81
0.00
0.00
000
7875
10985
lA705
000
0.00
000
8.70
8.95
"7
522
537
'"
578
7.11
10.41
12.89
31.81
43.22
.(3.22
56.11
000 19449
25250
000
000
000
'.20 552 8.59 15.70 5611 71.81 000 32315 0.00

''''
9.70
567
582
9.85
10.94
18.4"
20.79
7181
90.25
90.25
111.0..
000
000
40613

"''''
0.00
000
995 597 12.65 23.59 111.04 134.63 0.00 6058' 0.00
10.20 6" 15.12 27.77 134 .63 162.40 000 73080 0.00
627 18.40 33.52 162.40 195.92 0.00 8816-'1 0.00
"'" 0.'
10.70
10.95 657
22.60
28.35
"00
50.95
19592
23692
236.92
287.87
000
0.00
10661 .4
129542
0.00
0.00
11.20 67' 36.06 644 1 287.87 352.28 0.00 158526 0.00
I 145 687 48.84 '''0 352.28 437.18 0.00 196731 000
11.70 702 8896 137.80 437 .1 8 57.4.98 0.00 258741 000
11.95 717 392.87 481.83 574.98 1056.81 52.82 451796 7."
12.20 732 683.58 1076.45 951 17 2027.62 22 1.42 812790 1247
1(l(l.t51
1270'"
12.45

12.95
762
777
320.93
159.87
9956
480.80
25943
1584.78
2043.99
1989.97
2589.29
252479
224940
27265
267.41
20.39
1042488
10 15821
902705
15.02
147.4
1350
13.20 74.79 174.35 1762.62 193697 211.59 77b421 12.04

"'" '"
137082'
607 61.85
5383
136.b4
11568
1513.79
1298.13
1650.43
!AU.81
176.15
139.53
663426
573 426
1065
9 ..4 7
13.9.5
14 .20
1445
637
652
667
47.51
42.33
38.81
101.34
89.84
81 14
1134.75
1027.67
972.59
123609
1117.51
1053.73
10.421
72 46
51.90
509346
470273
450824
...,
• .W

778
Note. Onao ... ..,.~ "~~'"".'" fOUIl"9 ""'Y bo ''''Ppood. ",!he """""'*'" >IOgO...;I1 """" be... ~ I'" "",s
""... 15.02 Ill.

..,
FlOOOPlAN
The re arc countless scenarios fo r design applications in mod ern floodplain
MANAGEMENT
manageme nt. Typieall y. a ma in object ive of such appl ica tions is flood dam·
DESIGN tSSUeS
Age reduct ion. In a ~jmplc :>enS/:. this involves the reduction of flood levels
590 Choprer 9

for a given storm cvent, such tha t properties and structures are not nega-
ti-'el y affected by high flood waters. In many cases. thc rcduction of flood
waters involves the protection of human life as well. In other applications of
floodplai n managem ent designs arc urtel! e mployed to provide prevent ion
of erosion :It bridge struct ureti and the protection of stream banks aud othe r
such physical featu res.
flood dama ge red uctio n is a who le area of risk and predictability
analyses. In all civilizations throughout history, in alllol;8tions Bro und the
world. flood d:lmage red uction in the form of pre vent ion has been a key
factor in the de\'elopme nt of hum:m com munities. It is common for com-
munit ies to be developed next to o r nea r cxis ting nalU ral channels (i.e.,
rive rs, streams, and so on) for reason~ of qual ity of life, trans port<ttioo. and
tra de. Riveri ne flood ing of prope rt ies ~n d structures occurs for three fu n-
damental reaso ns:
I. The properties an d structu res are in the floodplai n of a given stonn
event. In ol her words, they arc sim ply too close to the cba nnel or
within the chan ne l's associated natural flood-prone areas:
2. Thc channers flood level for a given storm c,'ent has risen due to
increased development of Ihe surroun ding comm unity. such that
morc peak runoff disc hargc~ resul t in higher wate r surface elevations
in the chaonel: or.
3. A combination of the above two.
Other flooding scena ri os can arise from IXM'r or inadequate siormwater in-
frastructu re . Re gardlcss of the reasons. flood damage reduction is sough t to
reduce repetitive fl ooding losses and the associa ted trauma.
There are many ways to employ flood dam age reduction teCh niques.
Waterproofing is a simple means of protectin g properties and str uctures, as
with the use o f waterproof flood doors, for example. Yet. it is comm only
deemed neccssa ry to red uce th e floodwaters of a givc n dW nnel, eithcr a
natura l or mlln-made cha nnel. via dcs igned improvement schemes. Two fun-
dam~n t 3l schemes co mmonly employed arc] ) chan nel impro\'cmeuts. an d
2) det ent io n. Channel im pro\'ement is simpl y increasing the conveya nce
cha racte ristics of a given chan nel reac h. Obviously. increasing the cross-
sectiomll area of a gi"cn chan nel reach, while keeping the sa me flow. will
red uce the water surface eleva ti on in the channel and increase th e sto rage
capacily of the channel reach. Figure 9-]6 givcs a simplc re illtionshi p of
(han ncl im provements >IS di~cu ssed herein.
AI first glance, it appears ide ~ 1 to si mply i ll crc~ se II given chllnnel cross
section (i.c.. cmplo)' channel im proveme nts) in order to red uce the water
surfacc elevJlti on fo r a give n storm eve nt: however_ related issues can have
nega tive effects on the surrounding environs if nm add ressed correctly.
When the W31cr surface elevation is redu ced due 10 channel im provements.
then the crfe<:t of storagc(hange must be considered. Looki ng at Figure 9-16,
thc red uction in waler surface elevat ion. give u Ihe same flow rate from a
 De~j9n Applications in Hydrology 5.,
Looking do"on~lrcam Figure 9-16
Chonnel impmve.
Left I{ighl men15 mode to a
o"orbank ,I' Chann.t
overbank nolvrol chonnel.

Ch~"ne l in
n~IU r" t , tal c

Ch"nnci aflcr I ~,,---<C----- __-I h ..,ullS in ,educed

improvcmenl< ar" .' ,,'aler ,u rr""" oIevalio"
made (" iden iog and climina lion nf flows
"nd . tlering ~idc a nd Slo r" ge in
slop"') overb.,,, ks

Siopoc-J channel bouot"

particular storm eve nt. might appear a \'cry desira ble outeoml:. However.
consider Ih..: e h angl:~ in storagc. Prior 10 the chan nel improve mems. there
was a given vo lu me of water in the left and righ t overba nks. With thc water
surfaec elevation red uced after channt!! improvements. th i~ storage is no
longcr utilized. and the volumc of water previously SlOreu in the overbank
regi on~ i~ now routed downst rl:a m within the cha nnel. In areas of la rge
floodplains where the stonlge with in the said overbank re gions is significa nt.
the volu me of flood water rO Uled downstream after channel impro\'ements
have been made ca n be equally sign ifican t. resulting ill dowllstrcam increases
in wa ter surface elevation. In df",ct. the im prove ment (i.e .. enl argemen t) of
a give n chann el cross section for the lowcring of water su rface elevatiOIiS
along a rive r or channel reac h can directly result in the rou ting of increased
nows downs tream. whieh in turn ca n res ult in increased water surface eleva-
tions downstream. n tis whole concept of chan nel improvements in rela tio n
to co nveyance. storage. and ro ut ing is fundamcnt al to the desired outco rne
of fl ood damage red uction without inducing nega ti ve affects alo ng the ri ver
or channel system ,
A not hcr commonly employed means of lowering water surface cleva-
tio ns for a give n storm eve nt in a river s~'stem is detention. T he behavior and
charac teristics are similar to those d isc u~s",d above dealing \\~th reduction
592 Chopler 9

, ,
\
,,, { Side: "'~ i,

\, 1\ 1 ""'.
Ban~
Channel
(I' nv~r
\

- ()a l i"
,!
i
,,
I rv j \

,
OUlnow
1 rond";1

;
,,! "'., \., Bank
j
In.Line O ff-Lin e

Figure 9-17
Open-cho nnel demnti on bolin type l,

of po::ak. di$(;harges. In esse nce, addi tional storage vol um e is added to the
channel syslem, and this storage, if prope rly phlllued and designed, can aid
in the reduction o f wate r surface e le valio ns for a give n stonn event (i.e ..
provide somc fl ood da mage reduction potential). If not prope rly plan ned
and designed. a detention basi n may add lin le to no posi tive effect in flood
llllmage reduction.
Detention basi n types-i n- li ne and off-line-were described ea rlier.
Figure 9- 17 illustra tes commo nl y applied in-line li nd orr-line detention Onsin
design~. Example 9-4 describes a re latively smull in-li ne basin at the end of
a drainngc collecti on system_In-li ne Onsins can be effectively co nstructed by
~im ply widening II channel to provide m()re storol gc at a plan ned location;
howeve r. in l~rge-scalc ope n-chan nel or river projects. in_line basi ns often
need to be substantial in size to provide the desired effects. A la rge dam and
rese rvoir in a rive r system is an exa mple o f a very large in-line basin. al·
though h:c hnically il is a r e/emioll basi n. (IS Ihe basin itself-in this case the
re.~e r"oi r-act ually is in tended 10 retait' water (It all tillles. In-line dete nt ion
basins for com lllon larger flood cot"I trol projects usu:dly in\'oll'C a large levee-
and-d:lm system integrated in-line .... ith Ii natural channel system. As a flood
eve nt oc.;urs, the flood .... aters are de tained behind th e levce-and -dam sys-
tem. and an o utlct struclU re or str uct ures oontro l the rc lease of flood waters
downstrc am. This is simila r to Ihe applied conce pts used in Exa mplc 9-4.
 5.,
deali ng with a n in-line d ete ntion basin for a de velop me nt p roject-s-just on a
muc h la rge r scale.
Th e second fundamental type 01 de lentio" basin commonly utilized, an
off-line basin. is adjacent to the dla nnel Of" river and is hyd raulically connected
10 the channel by means 01 a side weir or cond uit or bo th . An outllow conduit
i!; tYf'lcall~.. provide-d from the bottom of the off-line basm back 10 the channe l
to provide store d flow in the bas in 10 reen ter IhI: cha nnel as the flood waters
recede. A flap gate is commonly pr ovided in the o uujow conduit to prevent
Ilc ....'S from e nterin g the conduit from lhe chan ne l. The intent is to provide a
storage facility of an adequate size 10 help red uce the pea k of the flood hydro-
gra ph in the chann el o r river b}' setting the side weir (typically II broad-crest
weir) at the right elevation. such that flows e nter the ba..in atthe correct time
a nd flood -wave he ight in the chan nel. f[ the we ir is not set at the co rrec t height
(e .g., is se t too low ), the n the basin ca n fill up prio r to the peak of the flood
wave pW pal!'lting down the channel. resulting in allof the volume of the basin
being utilized before the sto rage is needed to red uce the pea k ol the channel
OM wave . It is co mmon 10 use terms like kclitt ing off the lop of the hydro-
graph- whe n discussing the propagation o f flood waves clown a given channel
in re lation to t!'le IN: of off-line delention basins, What th is means is that the
err
sid<: .... is sel at an appropnate e levation and sized correctly wnh the basin,
sud! that as the hydrograph at the ricer shniun adjacent 10 the twin rises in
terms ol nowre lat ive tc time.fbe hydrograph is ~CU I orr at a planned level, as
the now en ters the basin via the established side ...eir. 11K: e nd rc-;u1 t is a n o ff·
line basin that pn»idcs storage a t the desired lime so a s to reduce the peak
d ischarge in the cha nne l th us red ucing the peak water surface e le vation.

Flood Damage Redudion Design Uwng HEC·HMS onc! HEC·RA$

A fundame n ta l hyd ro logic and hyd ra ulic a nalysis and desig n process in -
tended to ad d ress the impacts o f u rba niza tion on a watershe d is the d e velop-
me n t o f flood da mage red uction ( FO R ) projects. FO R ca n ta ke ma ny forms,
ran ging from structura l so lut ions. such a s c han nelization a nd d ete ntio n to
red uce water surface ele va tio ns. 10 nonst ructural solut ions, such as b uyou ts
o f homes to red uce d amages caused hj.' the high wa ter su rface elevations.
Combinat io ns of structura l and no nstruct u re l activities lire "he n the most
cost-ettecnve 1.... lutions. Sim p ly e mp loying cha nnel impro vement" 10 red uce
.....a te r surface elevations and there by a llevia te rtoonng in o ne particular
location or area ca n e xacerbate flood ing in ot her areas, This is ge neTl'l lly due
10 the routin g of previously sto red flood wat er; do.....nstrcam. as d escri bed
previously with in th is chapter and in Chapter 12. A n im porta nt p rocc!oS in
an ove ran FOR analysis and d esign is to fu lly unde rsta nd the behavior and
re sponse of the .. atershed, give n the e xis ting co ndi tions and any planned
imp rovem en ts to red uce flood damage.
The re a re ma ny tool> for de velo p ing red uctions in ....ate r sur face eleva-
lio ns that yield fl<lud d am age re d uct ion benefits. So llie o f the most rea dily
594 Chop",, 9

available an d com monl y used art the II EC -H MS and HE C-RA S compute r

pr og rams int rod uced in previous chapte rs. H EC-H ~I S can be rea dil ~' used
10 evaluate the hydrology of a give n ..-ate rsh ed to exam ine the affec ts of
developme nt and urban ization . H EC· RA S can be used to ef fici ently model
the behavior of It given cha nnel o r river system and then evaluate se veral
design sccnanos to provide reductions in water surface ele vations. Fo r de-
te ntio n basin lksign, H EC -RAS along with H EC -HMS ea n be utilized fo r
full rou tin g and th e developme nt of stvrage-di!oCharge relatio nships. o r
H EC-R AS can be: use d in the unsteady simulat ion mode. where by a kno wn
hydrogra ph is m ute d along a chan nel syst em in conj unction with a deren-
lio n basin.
As the best way to illustrate the process de scribe d above, the following
example is pr ese nte d in sta ges that build upon o ne ano ther in the devel o p-
ment of an act ual FU R design sce nario.

EXAMPlE 9-, FLOOD OAMAGE REDUCTION DESIGN ANDMIl1GAllON

In this e xample ...e will observe the impact of urba nizat io n o n a simple
ware....hed a nd develop a structu ral Ilcod damage red uction (FO R ) pre]-
ec t to mitiga te the impact of th e urb aniza tio n. Th e site will boo: mod eled
at several ~tagc:<. of d evelopme nt . ranging from Preexistin g to Pro posed
co nditio ns. .... it h a struct ural FU R proj ect in place.
Th ere arc four mai n stagt"" of this exam ple . as out hncd below. The user
of this example may pe rfo rm a uy or ;111 stages. A t the conclusion of each
stage. , ufficie ut info nnatio n is pro vided to initiate the next stage.
Stage 1: Preexistin g-conditions IIEC-H :\1S and H EC· R AS a na ly~is
10 give a baseline of how the wa tershe d responded prior to
a ny human developme nt.
Stag e 2: Existing-conditions I IEC· H:\1S a nd H EC -Ri\S analysis
to understa nd Ill ''''' the watershed is perforrr ung uftcr urb an-
iznnnn has ta ke n the wa tersh ed to e xi"ing de velop me nt
conditions.
Sta ge 3: rr"p" .....d-condinons H EC· II MS and IIF.C· RA S analysis
lind design to develop channel imp roveme nts to red uce
OOlxli ng in th e overbank regio ns of th e channel fur flood
damage red uctio n (FDR) purposes.
Stage 4: Mitigated Proposed condi tions with an on·line detenuon
b asin H EC-RAS unste ady a nalys is to d cvc jop a d esign of a
dete ntio n basin to mit i)l3te do wnstr eam im pacts cau sed by
the chan nel impro vem en ts imple me nted in sta ge 3 a bo ve.
Th is ex am ple is comp let ely developed using I U: C· 11MS 3.1.11 an d
HE C-R AS 3.1.3 and assu mes ro me wo rk ing fllmiliar it)' with the so ftwar e.
 Design Applic: otions in Hydrology 595

US Junc:tion

os Junn","

Figure E9-5(o)
Schemcrlc of the watershed end il$ connectivity.

Bo th pr ogrnms have very good built-in help functions tha t should be o f

assistance in elise a nyth ing below is nut completely clear. (I IEC-HMS and
HEC-RAS arc available from hl tp;/Iww",'.hco;:.u"llf,.-e.anny.mi1.)
All of the examples use the same watershed .....ith the same bnsic con-
nectivity. The physicallayout. connecnvuy. and parameters of II water-
shed a rc en te red into a Basin Model in H EC- HMS. The Upstream
subbasin Ilows 10 an upstream junction (L"S Ju nction) and then through
a reach called Channelto a downstream junction (DS Junction).....'he re
its flo", combines with flow from the Downstream subbasin, as show n in
Figure E9-5(a). The clements of HEC·II\{S were covered in detail in
Chapter 5. Eac h item can be selected a nd its parameters can then be
assigned to it or modified.
For th e purpose o f this example. the same synthetic sto rm with II 1 %
cxcecdancc probabilit y (i.e.. II t m -yr synthet ic design storm ) will be used
for all four stages. The rainfall pat te rn is inp u t in to the Me te o ro logic
Mode l of HE C· HM S using the Freque ncy Stor m p recip ita tion met ho d
with the d atu sh own in T able E9-5(a). T he stor m d ura tion is 24 hr ( I d ay) .
the In te ns ity Position is a t 50% [ the peak rai nfa ll occu rr ing halfwa y

Table E9-5la). f~y Sb'm

l'recipittJlia<> M.thod o.pIh.1or
HEC-HMS ......... olag<. MacW

"'""'"'
5 ..in 1.2
15min 2,1
1 hr 43
2 hr 5.7
3 hr 6.7
6 hr 8,9
12hr 10.8
24 hr 13.2
596 Cnapa.. 9

th rough the Juratio n o f Ihe slOrm). an d the max imum In tensity D uration
i", S minutes.

Pree xisting conditions describe the watershed before u rban d e velopme nt.
In this case . the re a re two s ubbasins. each 2.0 mi2 in a re a. lind wit h thc
same hydrologic churacrcrisncs rep resented by the following Clark Unit
H ydro gra p h pnmme ters: T ime Uf C Ollccn lralio ll. "(f - 1.0 hr; and Sror-
aile Coefficie nt. R = S.Ohrs .
In H EC· H MS. th e ra infa ll data i~ en tered in a Meteorologic Model.
with a Frequ ency Storm pre c ipitat io n method . On c" the Me teorologic
:>t odel ha s been cr eated. it will need to be specifically authorized to \\'(111
IIo ilh a given Bas in Modd. Otherwi-,c. a n error message in H E C· H 'I,t S will
re mi nd you to ed d ress the iss...ue. Thi s example u.....·~ 1I 5-minu te time ste p
for the H E C- II MS models. The time-step sill' a nd the simula tio n start'
e nd d a tes for the mod el are set u, ing the Con trol Specifications.
The Ch a nnel will be modeled using the 'l,l odified· Puls me thod. wh ich
de term ine s th e ouulow [Will a cha n ne l segme nt based n n rhe inflo w and
a rel a tio nsh ip be twe en ch annel sto rage and outflow. T he s lm age-
discharge relat ionship (somcurncs called vS vs Q " o r "Sv, O " o r "SVSQ"" )
is typically dete rmined trom a hyd ra ulic model (i.e .. I IEC -R A S) <IS <I table
o f vol ume in the syste m for a sc ric... of differen t flow profiles. Chap te r 4
in this te xt a nd C hapter 8 of the IIE C· H MS Technical Refe rence \1anua 1
[included wit h the softwa re dllllo n io ad ) ha ve brief de scriptio n, o f (he
Mod ified- Pu l" met hod a nd how to d evelop S"'Q relationships. Onl~ a
brie f o utline o f the de tailed procedures is give n ..-ithin this example.
In this case. the Preexisting -co nditio ns channe l i" a n atu ral ch a nne!
with steep banks a nd a fair ly flat Iloodplain in the o vcrba n ks. The ove ra ll
to pogra phY" <If th e project a re a can be classified a s "cry fla t. T he cha n ne l
is 2.4 miles (12.672 ft) long. has a uniform channel , Inp.:: o f 0.0111175 ftlft.
and has the st unon/e feva uon da ta prese nte d in Tnbtc E9-5( b) . Figu re
F:9-5(b ) show s the d ow nstre a m end of the chauncl rRivc r Station n, RS O.
o r RS = 0). illong with the roug hness va lue s o f the ch an nel a nd the two
o vcrbnnks. Th e upstream e nd is an exa ct copy a t RS 2.4 tha t has ha d the

Tobie E9-51b1. h"",ple C...,...s.:I>on Slot1onlEle-<ulion Ol*:> lor Chonnel QI f~T

.
..... ...... ..... ........ .....
o-n ..• MM EN! IRS 0) AI s..:";",, 0 .... EIe.ot;on Ol*:> M
' F...
...-
-200
_WO
22
17 .,
. 1> s
0.' "
J2
I ,U
I>
15. 1
-3'
-32
15.1
I>
0
s
0

,
0.' "
"Xl 17
-20
I" I' 200 22
 Design Apphccnons in Hydrology ,w
H)1t l' u ml' lc Plan; Pr",,~iSlin~ Cond' liom
'" - 0
u

.. ,. .
,
. '\i / .::: :
Ill) o
S18lion (ft l
,.• ,.,
Figure E9-5 (bj
Chon",,1 cross section ot furlhest downllreom end [RS • 01.

ele vation adjus ted up 9.51 ft for all cross-section points and has le ft over-
ba nk (LO ll ), channe l, an d rig ht overba nk ( R O il) downstream reach
lcngrhs equal to the ch an nel length (Le.. there arc no ben ds in the chan-
nel). T he lefl and right bank slatio ns ure at - 29 fl and 29 ft. respectively.
S~sO relationships ca n be de ter mined seve ral ways. O ne met hod is to
take the flow profiles from various hypothe tica l simms (e.g.. 2· yr. S.yr.
l u-yr). This met hod produces good SvsQ curves. an d as a side be ne fit.
when the SvsO iteration process b complete. all of the various storms han :
abo been analyzed and the S\"SQ for each will be inte rnally consete nr. A
seco nd me thod. used in this example. uses the pea k flows frum the 10000yr
sturm and several multipticrv of the pcilk flow. These flows are entered
into the H EC-RAS steady-fkrw file. which ~ then run. calculating the stor-
a~e volumes. The multipliers used herei n are 0.0 1_ 0.05 . 0 . 1, 0.2. 0 .4. 0 .6.
0J!,.0.9. 1.0. I_ I. and 1.25.Th is melhod with the multipliers does nOI al...ays
correctly model storage fm other storms, as the 5vsQ relationship can be
impacted h~' when . in the curve, the low chord of a bridge is submerged.
for this example. since we are using only one design storm in our anal~~i.<;
and we are modeli ng a siraiPJI un iform chan nel. this method is sufficien t.
At this poin t. initia l Svo;Q values arc dete rmined using the II EC-RA5
model ou tp ut wilh an est imated lOO-yr peak flow (30)} cts is a good first
est imate). and S\'sQ iterations using the m ultip liers of the peak flow
should he pe rfor med. In the 5\'sO iterations. the 5\''S0 values fro m I IE C·
RA 5 are pasted into H EC-H \ l S. a new pea k flow is found. an d tha t ne w
pe ak flow an d its m ultiplie rs are used in Il EC'- RAS 10 get a new 5~sQ
rel at ion ship. This procedu re continues untilthe pe ak flow stops changi ng
within a suitable toleran ce (usually within a few percent or the peak). A t
598 Chaptef 9

Tcoble E9-SlQ. ~od-or9" RalobQn$h,p for Cho~""

in Pree.'.. 'ng-{: """',...... HfC-HMS ~

sec.... ""'" 100. .~

N/' 0000 0 000
0.0 1 x lQO.yr 11,190 288 07
0.05 X lQO.y' 35850 144,030
0. 1 x l00-yr 58770 288.070
02 , 97 .270 576. 130
0' , ' 00,
'ro,. 161.450 11 52.300
O. , 'ro,. 262 .270 1728..400
oe , 372 .110 230A.SOO

, "''''
0.9 , 'ro,. "25 .550 2592.600
' 0 'ro,.
, 'ro,.
..78 .290 2880.700
r.r 529920 3 168 .700
1.25" l QO.yr 605 980 3600.800

the conclusion uf this analysis. the res ults in Table E9--5(c) hnvc been
determined fnr the watershed and channel described above.
Figure E9- 5fc} illus trates the outflow hydrograph at the DS Junction
includi ng the two co mpone nt hydrographs rcsulun g from the Channel

,"",---------:-- - - - - - - -- - - --,

,-
~-

--_
_

-- - - - -
... ~..,nl MG CQMOfI"'OM. _ , Q
11>."...-_0:- _ _
~ _; Ct
Cl'lQto _

_
""""'"
00;00
I
...._
12;00

'"""""
00:00

Figure E9-S/c)
Oulflow hydragraph at DS Jund'an. wirh component hydrog<apl. slot p'ee,,;s~og candilooos HEC-HMS
model. PI!O~ oo tflow used in HEC-RAS . 2880.7 cI•.
 De. ig n Applicohon . in Hydrobgy '99

FDR 1.1lImrle Plan: Pf,:""i>lin~ C..ndili<....

,, - o
, _ JlH _

,.~

=
- "_: ..
...
-
WS\.",

"-'

..
.

\/ .... r
"->Jl) - lUll o
Stal ion ( ft )
'00 ,.
Fig..... E9-5(dj
l Q().year wafer surface e1evohoolor pr&e~i.ling coooihon. (RS = OJ .

flow and the Downst ream subbasin runoff. Since the Upstream an d
D o wnst re a m su h bavins have the same runo ff characteristics the impact
of th e c han nel can he seen hy comparing th e Dow nstream s uhhasin ru n-
off wit h the C hannel o ut flo w. T he channel ca uses a shift o f abo ut 2.5 hr
and 11 reduction in peak now o f a bo ut 43 cfs due to the timing lag a nd
atte nuation of the flood wave as it propagates do wn the channel. Figure
E9-5 (d) is a cross-section plot or RS It showing the IOO-y r \VSEL

Stage 2: Existing Condition. Demonl lnl hng Effem 01 Urbanization

Fur Stage 2. demonstrating the effects of urbanization. the only chnnges ro
the watershed a re that development has caused a reduction in th e time of
concen tration (Tc) and '>l.ot"age eueffident (R) associated with the t\\(l H EC-
HMS subbasins. Each of these values is CUi in halffor the e xample. toO .5 hr
and 2.5 hr. respectively. ReducinF: Tc a nd Rl<iuses the peak flOW!! to rise Dod
10 respond more quickly. The n.:w IIEC·II\-fS peak flows C8.1r;C the water
surface elevation in HEC-RAS to rise . chan~in!!- the values (b ut not th e
general shape) of the storage-discharge relationship. A fter runn ing the
SvsQ relationship iteranoos again a-, lk~Tihc d in Stage 1 above. but now
with the reduced Tc and R 1'8-1u.-, the II EC -H MS and HEC-RAS model
outputs are ,hO\\T\ in Figs. E9-:'i(e) through E9-5(g) and Table 9-:'i(dl.
A note about the nomenclature used in several o f these figures: HEC-
I IM5 a nd II E C-R A S have several huilt-in graphs that a re used be low. and
each can show a n "Observed Flew" on the graph-a very conve nient fea-
ture as uti lized he re in. In each o f Ihe graphs. "Observed Row" refers to
the flow from a previous mode l run. In this example. e ach figure caption
indic a tes which previous mode l run i, being shewn as an "Observed Flow."
 . . . . .................. ~ ....- ~-

.."J••
m:====;; ====== ======~
accc
~uw
"c~

,--_
!

-
"'.:b-=~~~ ~~-:o::--~
I
,"""""., _ ...,""
c....,""'.' _ ..m
-
_--
_ _ ....
I

_ " ", D" n• • <....,,"".,_ ..m _ -..o r..

_ _ "", ,nn•••• "0""""'.'_
___ co"" ,no. , _
"m '
u"... E<o.o,
""',...
_

Figure E9-5Ie)
Increase in ....b!xI~in peak flow- due to urbaniza tian. Pree.isling condition ~ ~own a , -Ob served
FIow.- lno-eose in wbbo~ n flow- appra. imoleiy 10Cl0 ch .

.. (" "l'~ lor JWlctlun ~ DS Ju ncllon ~ •

.J5U1

.1.U I I

f\~~\-
-- f i \ ~~
L } / : , -,
1.000 1 I"
..tI ...
"...-;-.
".
.. .. ..
~:-l-~~~~;.~-,.",..,-,~.~~:.:-._--------_.:.:~~:"',~;.;-s:;;-,"',;;::::::"';C==-
'-. - - - - J'
L ~ .... ,.
,
I ~I . OO l ~:Ol
0 1 I,m 21~ ~ J
_
02
I ~ , I( )

J"" 21111
•.•• ~. . . ."."" " ,... "",,, __ co. ~ .. ~. ' ........, n ~ ',"",,' ," ... .. ~ ,0.- ~ ,~ • ...,.,.,,_.-....

FIgUfe E9-5(f1
Increase in tolol peak Row at OS Junelion due to vrban;zalion . Preex j~ng conditions shown a ,
·Ob_~ed Flow - Note rhol "'e I0Io1 increase in pea k Aaw is abovt 1000 ch, which is the some c s
the tocrec se for the 1ubbosin flow. This is due to the timing a nd a~rwalion a l "'e 1Iow~ in the chon.......
The pea k llow under Existing (urba nized l Cond itions i1 38 0 1 cis.
 Des;gn Applications in Hydrology 601

FOR Eu ltlp,," ...... p'"",iOlin&and E... tin, I""

RS=O

"
tz -ffl-
." •

20 - ~-------------- -- -- --- --
- ------- ---
ws biitJol
.-
-,§ W<l f'rft>.i.. ,",
.-
"
" m
(]"..,..t
• ~t.
" 11.1'1'

5
\!
"-"" -It.) o ' 00
Station (hI
F"tgUIlI E9-Slgl
Increa se in WSEl due to urboniZ:Olion.

l.... f9.5+dl. S~~ R....,ship lor Channel

1'1 b ,sm.g.condir,ons tEC./iMS Mod.l
HEC.aAS ProfiIt
NtA .000 "'00
0.0 1 x l()l).yf 13080 36.010
O.OS x l ()l).yf 43,620 190,050
o. , x l OO-yr 7 1.790 380.100
0.2
0.' "
""
''''''
''''''
119 300
221.610
760 200
I520 .J00

" ''''''
'.6 367.620 2280.600
0.8
0.' ''''''
" ''''''
507.050
574630
3040.600
3420.900

''''''
1.0 640.370 3801.000
"
1.1
" ''''''
1.25 x 1()l).yf
700.500
761 .050
4 181. 100
4751.250

Stage 3: Prop:.Hd ConcIi6ons wit+o a--IlmplO¥elneUB

Nell. chan nel modifications are pe rfo rmed to develop a chan nel geom-
etry that can carry all of the flow fro m the existing system with in banks.
Th e imennon to pe rform channel improvements 10 invo ke flood damage
redu ction (FOR ) in the overbank regions. as shown in Figu re 9-16. Chart-
ne l impr o vements. (mod ificatio ns) ca n he computed by H E(;· RAS using
the Channel Mod ificati on tooltn calculate the new bank sta tions and eleva -
tio ns, which is II very con ven ie nt fea ture. In esse nce. we are leavi ng the
602 C ha~e, 9

F f)II. F..~m f'lc Plan: I l Prop 1% 1.~-Ex .nJ h

.
R S ~ CI

-. --- ...
~-
~ -- -
,. ' _-----J E•
_..--.r.
,• • Co_ _

•
"tz _~~ """ · E.-J E ,

• : fi,..0.1 . ""'" 1'"

0
• _ SUo _""'" 1"-
s
• "s
,:i' ,
•
•
z
o
~, -fI() -II) -20 o 20
"'
.,
Slal;',n(II)
F'9ure E9-S lhl
Cha nnel mod ifica tions 10, Proposed cond itions. Note tha t the botlom Ih,ee points ol tha Proposed
section motch th.. Existinl.l section.

bottom thre e poin ts o f the exis ting c ross section the sa me in te rms 0 1-t a -
tio n a nd ejcvnnon an d the n we arc cutting bac k the side slopes a t 4:1 to
me e t the c x i~{ i ll !! ove rba n k re gio ns. Using the U E C-R A S C ha nne l Mod-
ificlltio n tool in the geometry editor. the fo llo wing modification p a ram -
eters to the E...isting-conditiens ch an nel cross sections [see Fig. !:9- 5h j
can be invoked: Bott o m wid th = III fl: kfl and right slopes = -1:1: Man -
ning·~ ro ugh ness = 0.0 .111: the ne w CUi cha nnel invert elevation (nul to he
contused with t he ch a n nel now-line invert ele vation it selt-c-in othe r
wo rd s, th e pointe where the 4:1 CUI sjde slt>pc beg ins ) = 0.5 ft u p from
the c han nel Ilow-line ele vation . The cha nnel CUi shou ld be projected fro m
the lower RS atthe same slope a.. the e,isling co ndil iore> (slope = IHU 175
f1!ft)_ Note that th e p roposed c ha nnel-s bottom ..:c1io n is the same as the
e xistin!!l cha nnel. as shown in Figure E'>l- Slh ). hut the cha nnel han k.. have
move d ou t d ue 10 th e 4:1 side slope chan nel cuts. The IIEC -RA S Use r's
Man ua l gives a good d escription o f the Ch an ne l Mod ificat ion 1001 a nd
ils usc. Thc rO!J@;h ne ss alo n!!l lhe bollo m ul lhe ch a nne l in the new geom-
e try file s hould be cha nge d to the ne w rough ness value or
0 .1»0. Th e
o verha nk ro ugh ne ss re m a ins u nc hanged. O nc e the c ha n ne l im p ro ve -
me nts a rc r nnd c in H EC-R AS. Sv, Q ite ration s a re a ga in perf ormed o n
t he ne w cha n nel improvement geom e try. resultingin a pe a k flo ...., l l f
4267.5 cls.
 D~ig n Application s in Itydrolog y 603

FDR Example Plan' l) Prop 1% 2) P",-E.and E.

I{S .. ()

"
~- -"------ - - - -- - - ----- ws E ","n~ I~· Pre· I', .nd E.

------ 0" ·,: v_ ---- . _---_._-- ---- _.

WS I're·E>"lt n ~ I ~ _ I'.-<-E, "n d b

~ ~J !""_"£ ~~ ~~~P.J =". .

i, , _~~!'~r.!.~: ~'5:. !...%__

1
Goo"nO· Pre_E>.an" Ii>

, \,
\
,: : •
!l"nk S.. • !'To·!:> " n~ 10.
Uro"no • I'mI' I %
•
U""kS,".Pr"pl %

-ftn o '00 '00

SlaIion ( II)
Figure E9-S lil
C hannel mod ifica tions and W SEls lor Preexisting, Existing, and Proposed co nd ition •.

Figure E9- 5(i) shows the existing and proposed channel ban ks, as well
<IS the preexistin g, exist ing and pro po sed WS E L~ for the ana lysis. Notice
the proposed WSEL (Prop 1%) is now be low the bank s uf the cha nnel.
Table E9-5 (e ) lists the storage-discha rge relationship prod uced after the
SvsQ iterations a rc performed again, and Table E9-5( f) is a su mmary
table of the flow and WSEL resul ts fo r the Preexistiug-. Exisriug-, and
Pro posed-conditions mo dels.
Looking at RS O. once the chan nel improvement modific ations arc in
place , the water su rface elevation is reduced to 15..54 ft. from an Existing-
conditions level of2 1.76fl. The new channel banks at this f.tS arc at an eleva-
lion of 16.116 n , >;(/ the new project has 05 2 ft of freeboard above the HO-yr

Tobie E9-5Ie). Storoge-Oi"f.orye R"I",tj",nship for

CoonM I ,n
' P' op o,e d-C on d'iI IOns HEC HMS WIOd I •
HEC-RAS Profie
N/ A
,- 0.000
(ac·ft) Disd "" e (efs]
0.000
0.0 1 x l 00-yr 9 .940 42.675
0.05 x l 00·y' 32.730 213.380
0. 1 X l00-y' 54 .900 426.750
0 .2 X t oo,« 92 ,200 853.510
0.' x l 00-y' 154 920 1707.000
o.e x 100.,,, 209 ,930 2560.500
,
0 .8
o.v , 10""
10o.y,
260.460
284.490
341dOOO
3840 ,800
r.o x l00-y' 307.790 4267,500
11 X l00-y' 330 ,130 4694 ,300
1.25 X 100-" 36 1,640 5334.400
Chopler 9

Table E9-S(f1 s."""'>C'Y Flow and WSEl Dola "" /'<eex;\hr.g-,

bshng- . and Pr~<J;I;on. Modth
WSB. jhl
l'nte";il;"lI 1'4 2881 29.n
"2.'
2 .' E..irJi"ll I'!IO
Pr~ I '!IO
3801
.267
31.27
25.05

o Preex,.-g I '!IO 288 1 20.21

o E";"'''lI I'!IO 3801 2L76
o
"--' " . 267 15.54

pea k WSEL These channe l modifications. howe ve r. ca use the pea k 00100.....
from th is reach o f channel to inLTI: a...: from 3/1(11 cts tn 4267 cts. a bou t 12%.
At the same time , the storage in the overbanks is reduced from about 4-111
ac-ft ltlOoc-ft.a.~ there is no Ilow urstora~:" in the pr' '1l(l'\Cd ov erbank re gions,
"' hiJc the volu me be low the new channe l han ks is increased from about 2lkl
ec-ft to a bout YJ7 ac-ft. Thi s incr ease in flow rate and the co rresponding ttltal
red uction in stora ge o f abou t 333 ac-It will cause a si~ n i ficant impact do wn-
str eam of this secti on o f channel. as previously d..-scnbcd in th is chap ter . In
a n actua l de tailed project situation . Ihe downsnenm channel (o r rece iving
stream) wou ld be rnndcled as part of this stud y to de termine whether there
is no adve rse impact. Fur this exam ple . we will nssurnc that if th e pe ak Ilow
rate can be reduced bac k to the Existing-conditions ra te o f :.wJl cfs from
4267 cfs, the impacts of the channel mo difications will hnvc bee n fully miti-
gated. Th e abo ve steady-state ana lysis can he expanded to include unsteady
sta te as sho,," n below. hut this presemv a more co mple x solut ion.

Sloge 4: Mitigc;rtecl1'n;opose<l e-d",tia.n witt. an OfJ-Line Detention Basin

Tbe fina l ~Ia!!-c of the example is ec inlroduction of a n off-line de lt'n tiun
basin. similar to the one illustrated in figure 9- 17.10 mit igate the impacts
o f the channel imprmemt"nt mudifica liort<; inl mduced in Stage 3. De tent ion
basmscan he modeled by seve ral method>. including steady-state di...: r.ion
and dctt'ntivn in H EC-H~1 S . In this a nllly!\is. we use a mo re so phistica ted
unsteady modeling a pplicatio n in IlE C· R A S IU pru vidc a view of advanced
design techn iques. A main be ne fit 01 using on~tead}' HEC- R AS at th is
puint is Ihat once th e unstead y Ilow data is ente red into the mudd. a large
num ber o f trials ca n be easily run 10 cxammc the behavior of II detention
basin in vnno uc configurations. a nd sizes, All o f Ihe channel a nd detentum
basin ru uling is perform ed in HEC-R AS. Tn ensu re the best comparison
be tween conditions ....it h a nd without the de tention basin. Exi-t ing con di-
tions a re alsomodeled in H EC -RA S u nstea dy-state mode.
Th e d e te nti on ba sin is to be II peak -ccr-crr' or "shavin g" b asin . ;l~
p reviously described in this sec tion. d csi ~n cd 10 red uce the peak o utflow
 Design App lications in Hydrology .,
in a channel by removing water from the top of the hyd rograp h. An off-
line detention basin, like that shown in Figure 9-17, with a side-flow weir
will perform this task most efficiently, as the basin will nut begin to fill
unti l the hydrogreph is already rising, and will, if designed p ro pe rly.
reduce the peak now rate downstream of the basin.
For the unsteady H EC- R /\ S model. several changes to the Existing-
conditions geometry arc necessary. None of them change the results when
run with the steady-flow profiles. First, some cross sections need to be inter-
polated. with a maximum spacing of .'irK) fl. to improve model stability. allow
for assignments of f1011::; along the channel, and allow for the placement of
the detention basin. HEC-RAS cross-section inte rp olat io n assumes thai
there are linear changes between the end cross sections and allows the user
to determine which points along the channel are 'equivalent.' For this exam-
ple, since the original cross sections arc the same, all of the interpolated cross
sections will have exactly the same shape. but will he shifted vertically. and
the distances between the cross sections ....ill he adjusted. When interpolating
cross sections. the user-enters a maximum spacing, and HEC-RAS calculates
the largest spacing for an equally spaced set of in terpola ted cross sections
just closer together than that maximum. Reach stations for the ne ..... cross
sections are calculated from thc upstream and downstream reach stations.
and interpolated lTOSS sections are marked with an asterisk (. ) at the end of
their na mes. The re must he two cross sections between most boundary con-
ditions. such as bridges. weir>. lateral structures. and the upstream and
downstream ends of river reaches, so more cross sec tions tha n actually nee-
essary were used to allow the detention basin to he placed closer to the end
of the channel. The results of thc eros-section interpolation and the addi tion
of the off-line detention basin are illustrated in Figure E'J.--..'i(j).
All of the ro uting in the unsteady model will be performed by unsteady
HEC-RAS. thus eliminating the SvsQ iterations necessary with the steady-
flow models. T hc outflows from the Upstream and Downstream subbasins
will be applied at the appropriate locations along the channel. Since the
outflow from the suhb""ins for Existing a nd Proposed is the same for
developed condi tions. flows from eit her one can be used for the unsteady
analyses. T he Upstream subbasin's flo ..... should he applied at the upstream
end l1S 11 flow hydrograph. and the Downstream subhnsin's flow should he
app lied as a uniform lateral inflow hydrugraph between RS 2.2153S· and
RS 0.184616·, T be downst ream boundary condition will he normal depth
at a slope of IUII XJ75 It/ft. When these changes arc made, the unsteady
Existing-conditions model can he run. The resulting model has a do .....n-
stream \VSEL of 21.60 ft. which is 0. 16 ft lower than the downstream
WSEL in the steady-state model. The unsteady model's peak flow rate is
J704cfs. which is about HXJ cis lower than the now rate from the steady-stare
model. It is typical for unsteady models to differ slightly from their steady
counterparts due to changes in TOut ing and timing of the hydrograpbs. These
 Chaple r9

Fogure E9-5(j)
HEC-fl:AS
schema tic
lhowir>g the
del8nlion bo$in
and the weir , 2.0-'07(,0'
19:1lU6·
connectir>g illo
!he chonreL
HK-ltA.S requir es
, 1.7H'4 ·
I.lUhl~ ·

two Cl OSS sedions 1"U1y

"""""'0 the
S!r\O<:flJr8 and
~, --
.."
~/
I Mt ~3·
__<HID'

model boondory
(RS 01.

,IOU7f1'<·
. , .73Mn2·
Mt>1 <;4•
• .... .5"~i ·
.,. ,..lIi1 53S·
.» -'16'1231 ·
27fH.!J·
. 1 ~ 1 6·

vlighr d ifferen ces are deemed s uitable for the utilization of H EC- RAS
un!>lead~' in o.lc"dopme nt ot lho: detentio n t>a~in for this project example.
f igure E9-5(k) ~howo; the dow nstrea m hydrogru ph:. Irum th e two Existing-
cenditjo ns models hh:ady ~, un-ready]. The change in timing is dearly
"h..wn. with the unsteady model ha~i"g a slower nse aoc iocer pea k. hut
the same time 10 pea k as tho: "kad)' mu....d. These differe nces are 'Why the
Exis ring-co nditions mode l wus con vene d to uustcady mode such lha t we
ca n ma ke ap pr opriate comparison s. us ing the uns te ady model da ta.
between the Existing- and Mitigate d Pr0fM)Sed~'Undit ion" models.
Next. the same cross-section iruct polations nrc made 10 the Proposed-
conduions geome try file wit h th e cha nn el modifica tions. <l nd th e sn mc
 Design Applica tions in Hydrology 607

Plan: l ln<I'.xi<t Ri".r: FIlR Ri_. r Reach: FO R Re ~~h R$: O

«m

3000 0'" !- Iow

~a em

" '000

0 ----~----~---
24m Df>l kl 1200 I Il1KI 24tH) 0600 12m 1800 2400
I 01 Ja n 2lXXl I U2JHII 2lH I I
TIme
Figure E9-5(1<)
Downstream hydrogroph fro m steady and unsteady models . Steady model is show n as "O bs Flow_'

bo undary conditions ar e a pplie d. At this stage. a mod el run of the Pro-

posed conditions without any m itigat ion can be ru n. The results of this
run nrc shown later alo ng with the resu lts o f the run that inclu des the
dete ntion basin (t he Mitigated Pro posed conditions) .
Finally . a storage are a and lateral str ucture can be added in HE C-R AS.
A fter sever al mod el ru ns varying the dete ntio n volume, t he weir eleva-
lion , and the we ir width, a 120 ac-It basin with a 130-ft weir was designed.
This result can be dete rmine d by many me ans, bu t a trial-erro r process is
easy 10 appl y an d ve ry suitab le. Th e det entio n ba sin storage area 's eleva-
tion vs. volume data ar e sh own in Table E'J--5(g), an d the latera l st ruc-
ture's weir is defi ned in Ta ble E9--5(h). T he lateral stru cture will be at RS
0.15 and \\; 11 flow into the sto rage area . Th e weir should be 1l'(2 ft from
th e upstream cross sec tion. with a wei r coefficie nt of 2. T o allo w th e
det e ntion basin to drain at th e en d of the storm. a 36-in. corrugate d meta l
pipe (CMP) culvert will be installed at the downst ream end of the weir
(120 fl from the upstrea m end ). T he ll KI-ft lengt h of eMP has a roughne ss

fable £9- 5191. Delenlion Be.in Storage

Area Ele",,!,an v, . Volume (X, 1a lor
Propased-Cond,t'on. Un,~y HEC-RAS
Mod.
Eloffl,tion (ft) Volume (oc-It)
0.61 o
I I
5 50
ts '20
m
"
608 Chapter 9

l obi. E9- Slh). Deteotion Basin Latera l

Struc!ur.. {\N"i' l Slolio n v•. Eleva tion
Dolo for Proposed.conditioM Un,teady
HEC.RAS Mod,,1
Stario n(frl Elevo~on (hJ
o
10 "
''6 "ra
10'
"
of 0.024. an ent rance loss coeffi cient of 0.5. an upstream invert of 0.61 ft.
which is also the bottom o r wet basin elevation of the detenuo n basin, and
a do wnstream invert of (l.51 n, which is appr o ximately t he channel invert
at the outfalllocation. Finally. the culvert shou ld have 'No Positive Flo w
FI<Jps' applie d, which will keep water from entering th e re servoir thro ugh
the c ulvert. Wit ho ut the flap gate , the basin will begin to fill du ring th e
rising limb of the storm, thu s decreasing its ef fectiveness.
Figure E 9-5(1) shows the resulting hyd rographs at th e dow nst ream end
of the chan nel. The " U nsNoD et" model results show the impact chan- or
nclizetion witho ut includ ing detention (i.e .. the Proposed co nditions with
the FO R channel imp rovem ents in place). T he "Unstrct" model results
show the ),1itigated Proposed condi tions with the dete ntio n basin in plac e.
T he time to peak of th e byd rogruph shor tens by 75 minu tes , and the pea k
flow increases by abo ut 700 d's when comparing the Proposed-co nditions
(" lJnsNof)e t" ) hyd ro gra ph with the E xisting-co nditio ns (" U nsE xist ")
hydrograph. Introd ucin g the detention basin reduces the peak flow rare

.... - ..
..
,
. ._' , ,, .. ..
,, '
.,. > •

-_..
--. - Flm.. ·1 ' n,'1nn"

,,- ,.
,. -.-. . ., ',_. , \ .,
. , .,.. Flnw . Und ' ,;"
.,
"" .,. -,
"
. ,-,•... . , . .,- \
....
.,. .
, ..

u
24U ) IHO! 240) 0600
, I U2 J,," 2IOJ
lime
Figure E9-S~1
Downstraa m hydrog rophs co mpa ring Exi.tirog ("Un.Exi. I"" Proposed with no detention (UUn~NoDet"l ,
ond Mitigoled Propo.ed with detention ("UnsDel").
 Design Applications in Hydrology

of the Pro posed- to the Exi sting-co nditio ns level. though the time to pea k
is still much earlier, By reducing the peak nul'.' rate [i.e.. the Mitiga te d
Proposed peak flow rate.-v'Unsfjet" in Fig. ElJ-5(ll]to that ofthe Ex ist-
ing condit ions. the project example is deemed fully mitigated of a dverse
impac ts downstrea m.
Ch anging any of the three pr imary weir/basin parameters (le ngth of
the weir. elevation uf the wei r, and vo lume of the deten tion basi n) will
change the general be havior of t he basin as a whole. Increasing the lengt h
of the weir will cause it 10 fill faster . lowering the weir will cause it to sta rt
filling sooner. a nd changing the volume of the basin will c hange the time
when the basin is full .
In this example. the basin fills up be fore the Flow fa lls bac k to the
Existing-conditions peak flo w, a llowing a second 'peak ' in the final hyd ro -
grap h [sec Fig. E 9- 5(1)]. Reduc ing the weir le ngth will increase the height
of the first pea k. a nd the wa ter surface will recede before ti lling the basin
comple tely, Incre asing it will redu ce the first peak. but the basin will fill
befor e t he upstr ea m bydrogr aph fa lls be low the Ex isting now rate. caus-
ing that higher now ra te to be passed dow nstream. Expe rim en tatio n with
varia tions in weir/basin geometry, as we ll as the elimination of the outlet
cond uit flap gate. is encouraged at this po int to develop insights into how
these ite ms affec t t he o perat ion a nd effectiveness of the basin.
Figur e E9- 5(m ) shows the m aximu m ..... mer surface profiles a lon g the
c ha nnel fo r the same three mo dels. In tro d ucing the dete ntion basin

FOR bampt~ Plan: 1} Un,Exist 2) Un,D~1 3) Uns"loD.t

".., "n""" _lJm.",-.I"',

o ,
n llXU) raoo

FigureE9-5Im)
Chan nel profiles of unsteady Existing ("UnsExist"l, Propmed without detenlion ("UnsNo De!").
ond Mitigot~d Proposed with deten tion I"UnsDet") models. The "Ground" pro~le illustrates til e
chonn el slope.
610 Chaprer9

Ta ble E9-S{i). Summoty flow an d wsa DoIa for Un.teody Pree"isting.

ExiSling , Pr"P""'d, and Mitigatea'Propoled CondiOions ~,
River Q Total
Sla~on Prome Fs
2.J Pr....xi' ling 1471 27.2 1
2.4 Exi,ting 2 186 29.0 7
2.J Propoled 2322 23.00
2.4 Mitigo >ed 2339 22.98

.184 6 16 " Preexi,t ing 2728 20 ,64

.1846 16" Exi,~ n g 3705 22 ,33
.184 6 16" Pr0p""'d 446 5 16 ,54
. 184616 " Mihgot8d 3645 15,33

0 P' M xisting 2728 19,91

0
0
Exi,ting
Ptopo. ed ,...,
3704 2 1,60
1582
0 Mitigated 3697 14 68

red uces the Dow rate at the down st ream end. which reduces the WSEL
at that stage as we ll. This example . however, docs not account for the
cha nne l cond itions downstream of the project. Un derstandin g the full
impact of a given chan nel modification project would require modeling
or the full downst ream reach as well unless the outfall is into a large res -
ervoir or ba y for which the downstrea m boundary condiuon is essentially
an infinitely large hydraulic sink. Table E'ol-.'i(i) lists the final summa ry
results of all fou r st ages of this exam ple as ru n with unsteady H EC-RAS
(Preexist ing, Existing. Pro posed. and Mitig ated Proposed} for review.
N01~ that the " Mitigated" flow <I I RSO is slight ly !CS, than the "Existing"
110w. indicat ing the mitigated conditions.

SUMMARY Chapter 9 prese nts design applications in hydrology with delailed cxph nat ions, su-
ing e,am pks ufthc des ign procedures commonly used ill urban, rural, and flood plain
hydrology applications.The design de velopment of dr ainage collec tion sy' lem, using
the raTi onal met hod is prese nte d alo ng with th e appli cation of synthetic design
storms. Tile design explanat ion continues with the prcsenla lio n of t he concep ts of
over land flows combined w;tll under grou nd conveyance systems. T his is a very com-
plex subjec:l , as it involves the dynamic nalu re of ur han st" nn water ma nagement.
E xam ple 9--1 pru vidL'S a detailed example uf the des ign of an urban stor m sewer
reconstruction project. and t he HGL is developed and pl"tted in Fig"", 9--7 10 ii ,
lustra tc the comple led desi gn: however, a mo re det ailed design including the des ign
of street inlets would usuall y be pcrformed. Minor los"", fur slo rm sewers as well as
the behavior of inle ts are discussed art he conclusion "f Section 9,2.
In Section 9.3 the theory of culvert behavior is presented, and E xample 9--2 is
a dcta ilctl exam ple ",ing hand ca ku latioll lllethods for a culvert under out let control,
 Design Applicolio ns in Hydrology 611

T here is much mo re Information ,m ~' u l ,·", rt a ndl~~i~ and dcs illn. an<! o lher re ference
""UrIX' are ilk ntifled to de' ...·1op a bcnc r underslan.Jin'1. of eulvert!\.. ~"r e ~....nple ,
culvert design and an alysis i~ I'rescnlc.J, and an na mpk of a culvert un <kr Inkl
m ntrul modeled usinlll lE CRAS is ind u<kd. C<WIsil.krinll the impac h .... urbamz a-
t '<WI.detent ion ooo;;n tk:~ iSn;'" indlKlc<.l in Scct i.m 'JA a looll ....il h a de laik...J e u ml'k.
Tnc procedures in Ih i ~ eumple can be inpUI into a spreadsheel ec e om, e nlCnl toot
f"r delention basin siri ng. In Seclio n 9.5 l1oo.Jplain mana!emenl lit:";! n ~ are
prl:'Cn led wilh " com plete fit ....! .Jam ..~e red uction project e..ample, II i. req uired
th ai the user of t hIS final e....mplc I>c ra ther fami l;ar "ith H E C-II ~ S and RAS. ....
11M: Urk,.... ~tcl'" me this sof l.'a re n len si.dv. 1bc ul\<;lea.n H E C·RAS m"dd in!!.
lech n,qu es presented til I::::wmple 9-j are v.:rJ m lJ<.i l real "1'I'1ic:uiorn.. and Ihe~ I'm-
.itk: an eacelje r nOJ'POrIun ilJ for lhe user to understand lhe rdali<WI~h if" o f ~"ra~
and roul i n~ in IIoodpl ain mana[!.Cme nl t!C'ij!n and an a""'lois,

9.1. Co nfirm the data for a 1O'}" ~1Urm nom Eq uation (11- 2 ) and Table 9-2 for PR06lfMS
l fj-min, IS-min. 30-mln. a nd fill-min d ur.. l i"n~. Com rare 10 Fiilurc 9--1.
11..2. Co nstruct the IU"yr. 24-hr s~ nlh" lic d" sil!Dhyctol'r aph using Eq ualilm (.....2)
an d t -hr time inte rvals. Center t he maximum intensity (Ihe l -hr inten.i ly ) at
hr 12; the next high ~1 inlen~ily (dd crmined by Ih<.' dcplh f,n m 2 hr - 1 hr over
Ihe l -hr interval-e-he nce inlens ity) al hr I I; Ihe ncx l -high e~t intensily (d" pth
fro m 3 ht - 2 hr) at h t 13: urc neXI·h igl1cst int,·nsi ty (depl b rrom ~ h r - .~ hr ) at
hr 10; and hack and for th similarly. C heck the hllalvol ulIle unde r rnc hyel"-
graph and see Ihat il m" lchcs lhe 100a i rain fall de plh.
'1.3.. Octermine the run" n Q using Eq u"lion (<I - I) for a projcct wilh A - 211 ae,
e- 0.55. Tc = 12 min. and an i ·valu<.' tk' c1'>pcd frum Eql1<l I'On ('l-2) fur a
j-yr dcsign slm m.
9A. Oclcrm ine Ihe .......Ik.. .1 fC<luired mncrelc muml pipe and redanl/.u1ar bwt ~"' eN
lor Q - Ifl l. ISll 2Ul. and 250ds. .s = 0.005 h1ft.and .. _ (W l .~ LN~ Fqualit...
(9-3). T a!>urate " .. nIb an<! '-"'...-.pare C'.lpacilin anti areas or lhe muntl to t><>ll "C'Vo'-
ers. L!~ srandard incrcmcnl .un'" 0.5 ft for round pipe and 1.0 fl f" r t><n; ...:-wen.
9.5. Derive Equation (9-4) from Eq uat<Oll ('l--J ,.
IIA For a Q = SO crs. cakutate lhe h, - lor a 3.5-lt -dia"""ter. ~ ft-Ionj!. rou nd
piro: sewer .. ith /I = 0.012 flu.. inJ full .

11.7. Usinjl the same fl",,' and t h.: "" me jU" ft-kMlg round pipe ....... er '" ill P,.. t>lem
9 h. lki<:rm ine- an d plo l Ihe HGl an<! EGl fot" t he sewer reac h. ""c n the lul-
k>wIng addillonal ,"formalio n; lJ iS pipe im 'cn d e':alion - 110.00 ft; OjSpipe
in>e n ekv'ali,," - % .00 II; and Ihe la;h>alade' -lOtlon lo r the s.c-....: r u.e.. lhe
outlel water su rface elevation j = ]()6.(KI ft .
11.8. Referring to Table E9 -lt a ). dou ble (he I1m..s in C" fumn I I rOt each .......cr
reacb an d detcrm inc Ihc minimum commercially availa ble concrete Ixn . ius
required [availa ble in 1.u-1Iincrcnte nls) fu r eac h ,;,:..-"r reach u~i nl! " minimum
bo x . pan and rise of 2.0 fl. Keep all c!c>,,,ti,, n. lell):lh. slore. and roujthnc.. d.,la
Ihe sam" as pre....nt" d ,n the lahl". AUer ~'ling t he IxIx s... ,",en;. ,c~'''''I'''l c Ihc
6 12 Cha pler 9

IIGL for Ihc c nlire system. Evaluat e any prob lerm wilh maintaining II mini.
mum ecnual .'e1ocity of 3 fpt..
9.9. ('. . kulale t~ man hole I~ hI" o f 90-. 6lJ.·, 4~ • .\II-. and l$-degree manhole
juncti0n5 ...~ th 1I<>5Jl'.-cialdenoxIOT for a 4.S·h ·dl.llmeter round pipc sewer n.o,.. .
ing full wilh Q _ lOUcts. Tab ulal e and OOlIlpa re I ~ ....,. ull~ .
9.1/1. G iven Ille inle l in Figure 9-9 ",'ilb Ir - OOS f1 and W _ 15 h . determine ...hat
mil\imum l=J1h. L. oX inlet (in ...- htk·fnoc increments ) is requi red fur Q ~ 6 en,
such thal ille depl h of fImt,. al lM curb does not e x=c:d O.S n .
9.11. Given Ihe inlc1 in Fi~ure 9- 9 wllh Ir - OoS II. W - l oS fl. 1_ = 4.0 fl. and a
f:uller df:press>oo depth = 0.33 ft . det ermine ...tIa t is the Q into I~ ink l iftbc:
de plh ul "-or m "' ,aler al I~ curb IS 1.0 fl (i.c., the re is 6 inches of waler def'lh
eecve tbc: sta ndard curb heighl 016 inch<.. fur. tol.1 <lepch 81curb of 1.0 h).
9.11. Repe~ t J:::umplc '1--2 using J- fl--diamcl<:' undcorrue,ated meu l pipe culvertS
wilh an" - 0.024. De lermi ne lhe minimum number or euls'en balTel, n"..,<led
to convey the now without overlo pping It..: n .....h• • y.
9.13. R"peat Example 9-3 using H EC RAS but use a \l»-~ , eroam at this location .
Ilecak ulat" Q fo r a 1tl0"~T stor m using Ihe ume C. A . and Tc info rma tion
provided in Example 9---2. Evaluate Ihe hehn ior or the 7 )( 3 bo~ culvert and
then n" mine Ihe behav inr " f a (, )( 3 bo ~ culvert at lhis location . Document
the diffe rences in culvert performanc e. ind mling weir now dept hs for com-
r»t ralive purposes. Determine Ih" minimulli sl'a ll (widllt) 01box culvert needed
10 prevent over top ping of Ihe ro ad"" ay il the hn~ culver t rise (he ighl ) ~ lIo"'ed
is increase d 10 4 fl.
'U4. Repea t E ~a mplc 9-4 but ,..ilh the fnlltWoing cn enges 10 Ihe data:
(I ) Sc.s TR.W melhodology data
(i) b isling (prc project ) Tc - 1.3 hr; ch an~cd from 1.0 hr
(iiI Propo<ocd (p<>'lpcO,iccI) Te '" 0.4 hr: I;h<tn~ tro m 0.45 hr
(b ) Figure E9----4( . ) dala
(i) Eme rltenC}' s-pill""a,. and basin~gn ele,alion ~ 229.50 ft; d lllnltcd
from 231.00 h
(ii) Mu imum bas.in deplh - 14.0 fl (229.50 - 2U .50J: changed fro m
is .s fl
A ll .>lher <bla and infonna r;on rema in unchanged .
9. 15. Repel t E....mplc 9-5 USUlg the l.1me ....13 e ~pt rM l lhe I......><IbN-.i", (t.:p-
$Iream and I)mo,.,,' t n,:am) an:: 2.l1S 00: each nuw (chan/Ecdlrom 2 .0 mi~ each).
A ll OIher da ta remain unch-anged . TIt;" will l'\eCCl'll,la le exlending the existing
overbank rqc1n\l'; of t he Preex isting- and Exi$lin/E ·oond,tlOn1 CfcKS SL'Clion.
al.>olIlh" ....me 51~ lo prope rly analyze the bc:h,,\'iur of the cha n",, 1in $Ieps
I a.w. 2. In $lep 3, inerea.., Ihe !>Ottu m wiulh o r the Proposed CTOS$ i<:ction
hc, ":III UlO ft. keeping t he same 4:1$ide CTo!; $ 51opc$. until lhe nuw is conta ined
within t he channel banks. Adju, t the we i, lind lkte nl ion basin ge...metry as
neeue d in 'IeI' 4 10 fully miligate the m icects. as descrihcd in the e xample ,
 De~ig n Applkolio ...s in Hydrology 613

Am.:.io;.an Concrde Pipe "', 'OOCialio.... 2tU}.CQ,,,:t(,t' Pipe Dn iS" .\lam",l. Amencan REfER£NCES
Concrete Pipe A:\SOCialiun. I" ing. TX.
Ame llca n 110<1 a nd Steel l n' liiU 'e . 1999• •\fodan S"u" lH~i~n• .l1h ed .• Ame. ica n
Iron and Steellns ntute, Wu hingl,m. D.C.
U. " lEl. E. F.. H. W. K,, (;. J. E. r.I' IlU l.. and C. Y. WEI. 19'\16. HWI,If><,,,' of 1I.v-
drolllia. 71h ed. , Mo:Gra...·Hill Book Compan}'. Nev. Yu. k ,
0 10"', V . T .• 1959. O~n ·Ch.>nn ..f H.-dt _ Ii o . McGraw-Hili. 11K.• New Yon..
Natiuna l Wea thc. Scoia:. 19n... Fi~ .. '" t>O-mutUl.. P~ipil,,'i<Ht f"r"lllt llC' f.... m..
F,m 1<'rn lI"d Ct,,"ai V nilM 51111es, NOAA Tech nica l Memo NWS HYORQ.35.
Silvc. Spring. Maryland . June.
Nat ional Weal h.... Seni~ , I'alional Oceanic and Alm""phcric A " m i n i~lI ati(ln .
T~h"Kill PcI~t Xo. 40. Rai,,-'al/ ' "'I""nr;' AI/ilf of lht (j" i/td SIal.." hllp;ll'Nww.
~lh_ nnaa. go " .1 uh!o'i~"rea "Jrcq/prmp _inde x. h l rn .

Tex a~ Department ol Transpon anon DES. 2(. )4. H.,'tlm ll i ie D , si!:" M ilm,ai. March.
U.s . Arm y Corp 01 Engtncc rs HE r. ltK12. HE C-RA S, Ri,.,t A ll lff)'Jis S~JI"'" I(~­
,It ''lIlie RI.'t l.'ft llct MlllUu.i. version 3.1. Nu\ -ernher.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers l lE C, 2m2,lfFC-HA !i Riva Analy.•i. S.~slml Usa '~
M"IIIwf. v ersion 3.1. Nu~cmhel .
t 1.5, Ar my emp of Enginccl1' lIF e. 2tkJlJ. /I\'</m /" Kic lfmi<'lill8 Sy.•1<'1II 1{FC- HM.~
'l ~dmi<'<l1 ReJimmr:e M<IIlIwl. Mar ch.
( l .S. Army Corps of Enginee", HFC, 2IKll. ll.wlr()/ogic M()(/elm g S.H/,"" I IF:C-H MS
l!w " J M il llllal. v ersion 2.1.1a nuary.
U.S, D"p artmen t of Tran'purlatio n. Fede ral lI igh "' a ~' AJ ministrMiun. N~ l i"na l
Highway lnstiull e. 2001. H.• d" ",'ic Dni(" uf lIi (h 'HI.'" C"" ·tm . t>u t>liealion ~o.
FHWA·Nll l.Ql -020. Il ydraulic De~l g n Se, i"" Numhc. 5. 2nd cd.. Sc:plc mhc r.
U.S, Depa rtment of TnlnSpofl atiUl1. h J eral It il!h"ay AJ rninis1nuju n. Na lional
H iv." a~· ln'<lit"le . 200 I . Url>all n roill op:t Dnipl .\ium Ull. Publication No. FI IWA ·
NI U.QI-02I. lI ydra ulic Engin«ling Cil<'UIa, No. 22. 2nJ ed . A UIl""'"
l: SDA. Satur al R~l"Ce, Con ...: rval km Servece. Com.eoali" n Enjtineeri ng Dlvi-
o;un. 19M. Utho" If.l"droln~.. /<... SnUllI lV" ,,,. hnl•. TR -H . T<"'C hnical Re in "",
55. J une.