Chapter 1 Hydrology and the Hydrologic Cycle

1.1 Definition of Hydrology

1.2 The Hydrologic Cycle and the Human Impact
1.3 Interrelationships of Phases of the Hydrologic Cycle:
Evapotranspiration, Precipitation, Infiltration/Percolation,
Surface/Sub Surface Runoff, Groundwater
1.4 Philippine Watersheds: Delineation of Drainage Area.
Sub-Basing/Physical Properties Determination
HYDROL GY
The term hydrology comes from the Greek words, ὕδωρ, hydōr, "water"; and λόγος, logos,
"study" which basically means hydrology is the study of water. Hydrology treats of the
waters of the Earth, their occurrence, circulation, and distribution, their chemical and
physical properties, and their reaction with their environment, including their relation to
living things. In other words, hydrology is the study of the distribution and movement of
water both on and below the Earth’s surface, as well as the impact of human activity on
water availability and conditions.

THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

The Hydrologic Cycle is also known
as the “Water Cycle”, a way of
describing the material flow of
water throughout the Earth. It
involves the continuous circulation
of water in the air, on the surface of
and below the Earth. This cycle is
the exchange of energy which
influences climate. Although the
total amount of water within the
cycle remains essentially constant,
its distribution among the various
processes is continually changing.

“The Hydrologic Cycle by H20 Distributors”

The Hydrologic Cycle Processes

▪ CONDENSATION
According to National Geographic,
condensation is the opposite of
evaporation. It is the transformation of
water vapor to liquid water droplets in
the air, creating clouds and fog. The
process of condensation can happen
anytime of the year, and it can occur
inside as well as outside of your home.
 ▪ EVAPORATION
Evaporation happens when a liquid turns
into a gas. It can be easily visualized
when rain puddles “disappear” on a hot
day or when wet clothes dry in the sun. In
these examples, the liquid water is not
actually vanishing—it is evaporating into a
gas, called water vapor.

Evaporation happens on a global scale.

“Evaporation and Factors Influencing this Process” by IEF-USFEU
Alongside condensation and
precipitation, evaporation is one of the
three main steps in the Earth’s water
cycle. Evaporation accounts for 90
percent of the moisture in the Earth’s
atmosphere; the other 10 percent is due
to plant transpiration.

▪ DEPOSITION
Deposition is also known as de-
sublimation. De-sublimation or
deposition is the phase change
from gas directly to solid, with no
intermediate liquid phase. De-
sublimation is the reverse process
of sublimation. One example of
deposition is frost where in sub-
freezing air, water vapor changes
directly to the solid form, ice,
without first becoming a liquid.
“Adventures in Oceanography and Teaching” by Dr. Mirjam S. Glessmer

▪ PERCOLATION • INFILTRATION
When precipitation falls on the ground, some of it
moves downwards into cracks, joints, and pores in
the soil. The entry of water into the subsurface is
termed infiltration. The process of percolation
refers to the subsequent movement of water
through subsurface soil pores until it reaches the
water table. At this point it becomes groundwater.
This is a slow process, which is why more water
flows back to the ocean through surface runoff
than groundwater discharge.

“Infiltration” by Emna Gargouri-Ellouz

▪ PERCIPITATION

Precipitation is any liquid or frozen water that forms in the atmosphere and falls back to the Earth.
It comes in many forms, like rain, sleet, hail, and snow. Along with evaporation and condensation,
precipitation is one of the three major parts of the global water cycle. Precipitation forms in the
clouds when water vapor condenses into bigger and bigger droplets of water. When the drops are
heavy enough, they fall to the Earth. If a cloud is colder, like it would be at higher altitudes, the
water droplets may freeze to form ice. These ice crystals then fall to the Earth as snow, hail, or rain,
depending on the temperature within the cloud and at the Earth’s surface. Most rain begins as
snow high in the clouds. As the snowflakes fall through warmer air, they become raindrops.

Earth Science, Geography, Meteorology by National Geographic

▪ SUBLIMATION
The water cycle sublimation is most often
used to describe the process of snow and
ice changing into water vapor in the air
without first melting into water. The
opposite of sublimation is “deposition”
where water vapor changes directly into
ice—such a snowflakes and frost. For
example, astronaut ice-cream uses
sublimation. The material to be freeze-
dried is frozen and then placed into a
vacuum or under low pressure and the
moisture is allowed to sublime.

All Right Reserved Realonomics.net

▪ TRANSPIRATION
Transpiration is the process of evaporation
of water from fruits and vegetables. Water
loss is a very important cause of produce
deterioration such as wilting/shivering,
with severe consequences (Ryall and
Pentzer 1974). In fact water loss is, first, a
loss of marketable weight and then
adversely affects appearance (wilting
and shriveling).

T.K. Goswami, S. Mangaraj, in Multifunctional and Nanoreinforced Polymers for Food Packaging
▪ EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

Evapotranspiration is the sum of all processes by which water moves from the land
surface to the atmosphere via evaporation and transpiration. Evapotranspiration
includes water evaporation into the atmosphere from the soil surface, evaporation
from the capillary fringe of the groundwater table, and evaporation from water
bodies on land. Evapotranspiration also includes transpiration, which is the water
movement from the soil to the atmosphere via plants. Transpiration occurs when
plants take up liquid water from the soil and release water vapor into the air from their
leaves.

▪ SURFACE / SUBSURFACE RUNOFF

Surface runoff includes all water
flowing downhill over the surface of
land via spontaneously formed
channels. These channels will reach a
creek, stream, or river and eventually
flow into a pond, lake, or ocean.
Surface runoff occurs whenever the
soil is saturated with water and
cannot absorb any more moisture,
such as during a flash flood or rapid
snow melt. Surface runoff also occurs
when water settles on impervious
surfaces, such as concrete driveways
and asphalt covered roads, before
flowing into storm sewers.

▪ GROUNDWATER
Groundwater is the water beneath the surface of the ground in the zone of saturation
where every pore space between rock and soil particles is saturated with water. Above
the zone of saturation is an area where both air and moisture are found in the spaces
between soil and rock particles. This is called the zone of aeration. Water percolates
(moves downward) through this zone until it reaches the zone of saturation. The water
table is the top of the saturated zone.
The Human Impact
Some aspects of the hydrologic cycle can be utilized by
humans for a direct economic benefit. For example, the
potential energy of water elevated above the surface of
the oceans can be utilized for the generation of electricity.
However, the development of hydroelectric resources
generally causes large changes in hydrology. This is
especially true of hydroelectric developments in relatively
flat terrain, which require the construction of large storage
reservoirs to retain seasonal high-water flows, so that
electricity can be generated at times that suit the peaks of
demand. These extensive storage reservoirs are essentially
artificial lakes, sometimes covering enormous areas of tens
of thousands of hectares. These types of hydroelectric
developments cause great changes in river hydrology,
especially by evening out the variations of flow, and
sometimes by unpredictable spillage of water at times
when the storage capacity of the reservoir is full. Both of
these hydrologic influences have significant ecological
effects, for example, on the habitat of salmon and other
aquatic biota. In one unusual case, a large water spillage
from a reservoir in northern Quebec drowned 10,000
caribou that were trapped by the unexpected cascade of
water during their migration. Humans alter the water cycle by constructing
dams and through water withdrawals. Climate
change is expected to additionally affect
water supply and demand.

Flooding in the Philippines

The reservoir effect refers to cases where over-

reliance on water infrastructure increases
vulnerability, and therefore increases the
potential damage from water shortages.

Human activities can influence the hydrologic cycle in many other ways. The volumes and timing
of river flows can be greatly affected by channeling to decrease the impediments to flow, and by
changing the character of the watershed by paving, compacting soils, and altering the nature of
the vegetation. Risks of flooding can be increased by speeding the rate at which water is shed from
the land, thereby increasing the magnitude of peak flows. Risks of flooding are also increased if
erosion of soils from terrestrial parts of the watershed leads to siltation and the development of
shallower river channels, which then fill up and spill over during high-flow periods. Massive increases
in erosion are often associated with deforestation, especially when natural forests are converted
into agriculture.
 INTERRELATIONSHIPS OF PHASES OF THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE:
Evapotranspiration, Precipitation, Infiltration/Percolation, Surface/Sub Surface Runoff, Groundwater

Many processes work together to keep Earth's water moving in a cycle.

There are five processes at work in the hydrologic cycle:
a. condensation
b. precipitation
c. infiltration
d. runoff
e. evapotranspiration
These occur simultaneously and, except for precipitation, continuously.

Together, these five processes - condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff, and

evapotranspiration- make up the Hydrologic Cycle. Water vapor condenses to form
clouds, which result in precipitation when the conditions are suitable. Precipitation falls
to the surface and infiltrates the soil or flows to the ocean as runoff. Surface water (e.g.,
lakes, streams, oceans, etc.), evaporates, returning moisture to the atmosphere, while
plants return water to the atmosphere by transpiration.
A. CONDENSATION is the process of water changing
from a vapor to a liquid. Water vapor in the air rises
mostly by convection. This means that warm, humid
air will rise, while cooler air will flow downward. As the
warmer air rises, the water vapor will lose energy,
causing its temperature to drop. The water vapor then
has a change of state into liquid or ice. Warm air rises,
cool air condenses into clouds. You can see
condensation in action whenever you take a cold
soda from the refrigerator and set it in a room. Notice
how the outside of the soda can "sweats?" The water
doesn't come from inside the can, it comes from the
water vapor in the air. As the air cools around the can
water droplets form.
 B. PRECIPITATION is water being released from clouds as rain, sleet, snow, or hail. Precipitation
begins after water vapor, which has condensed in the atmosphere, becomes too heavy to
remain in atmospheric air currents and falls. Under some circumstances precipitation actually
evaporates before it reaches the surface. More often, though, precipitation reaches the Earth's
surface, adding to the surface water in streams and lakes, or infiltrating the soil to become
groundwater.

C. A portion of the precipitation that reaches the Earth's surface seeps into the ground through
the process called INFILTRATION. The amount of water that infiltrates the soil varies with the
degree of land slope, the amount and type of vegetation, soil type and rock type, and
whether the soil is already saturated by water. The more openings in the surface (cracks, pores,
joints), the more infiltration occurs. Water that doesn't infiltrate the soil flows on the surface as
runoff.

D. Precipitation that reaches the surface of the Earth but

does not infiltrate the soil is called RUNOFF. Runoff can also
come from melted snow and ice. When there is a lot of
precipitation, soils become saturated with water. Additional
rainfall can no longer enter it. Runoff will eventually drain
into creeks, streams, and rivers, adding a large amount of
water to the flow. Surface water always travels towards the
lowest point possible, usually the oceans. Along the way
some water evaporates, percolates into the ground, or is
used for agricultural, residential, or industrial purposes.

E. EVAPOTRANSPIRATION is water evaporating from the

ground and transpiration by plants. Evapotranspiration is
also the way water vapor re-enters the atmosphere.
Evaporation occurs when radiant energy from the sun heats
water, causing the water molecules to become so active
that some of them rise into the atmosphere as vapor.
Transpiration occurs when plants take in water through the
roots and release it through the leaves, a process that can
clean water by removing contaminants and pollution.
PHILIPPINE WATERSHEDS: DELINEATION OF DRAINAGE AREA,
SUB-BASING/PHYSICAL PROPERPERTIES DETERMINATION

1. What flood flows can be expected over a spillway, at a

highway culvert, or in an urban storm drainage system?
2. What reservoir capacity is required to assure adequate water
for irrigation or municipal water supply during droughts?
3. What effect will reservoirs, levees, and other control works
exert on flood flows in a stream?
4. What are reasonable boundaries for the floodplain?

• Large Organizations such as federal and state water agencies can maintain staffs of
hydrologic specialist to analyse their problems, but smaller offices often have
insufficient hydrology work for full-time specialist. Hence, many civil engineers are
called upon occasional hydrologic studies. It is probable that these civil engineers
deal with a larger number of projects and a greater financial budget than the
specialists do. In any event, it seems that knowledge of the fundamentals of
hydrology is an essential part of the civil engineer’s training.

A WATERSHED is an area of land

that drains or “sheds” water into a
specific waterbody. Everybody has
watershed.

Watersheds drain rainfall and

snowmelt into streams and rivers.
These smaller bodies of water flow
into larger ones, including lakes,
bays, and oceans. Gravity helps to
guide the path that water takes
across the landscape.

HOW WATERSHED WORKS?

A Watershed is an area of land that
feeds all the water running under it and
draining off it into a body of water. It
combines with other watersheds to form
a network of rivers and streams that
progressively drain into larger water
areas.
 WETLAND
A wetland is an area of land that is
either covered by water
or saturated with water. The water is
often groundwater, seeping up from
an aquifer or spring. A wetland’s water
can also come from a nearby river or
lake. Seawater can also
create wetlands, especially in coastal
areas that experience strong tides.

RIPARIAN VEGETATION grows along

banks of a waterway extending to the
edge of the floodplain (also known as
fringing vegetation). This includes the
emergent aquatic plants growing at the
edge of the waterway channel and the
ground cover plants, shrubs and trees
within the riparian zone.

UPLANDS are areas where there is not usually standing water and would typically be either
forested or agricultural land. The term upland means any land area that under normal
circumstances does not satisfy all three wetland factors (i.e., hydrology, hydrophytic
vegetation, hydric soils) identified in paragraph (c)(16) of this section and does not lie below
the ordinary highwater mark or the high tide line of a jurisdictional water.

GROUNDWATER is the water found underground in the cracks and spaces in soil, sand and
rock. It is stored in and moves slowly through geologic formations of soil, sand and rocks
called aquifers.
Philippine Watershed
The Philippines has 412 principal river basins in
118 proclaimed watersheds. Or these, 18 are
considered major river basins.

• NORTH LUZON
1. The Angat Watershed Forest Reserve is a conservation area that
protects the drainage basin in the southern Sierra Madre range
north of Metro Manila in the Philippines where surface water
empties into the Angat River and its distributaries.

2. Magat Dam is a large rock-fill dam in the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The dam is
located along the Magat River, a major tributary of Cagayan River. The construction
of the dam started in 1975 and was completed in 1982. It is one of the largest dams
in the Philippines.

3. The Pantabangan–Carranglan Watershed Forest

Reserve is a conservation area located in the
upper reaches of the Pampanga River in Nueva
Ecija, Philippines, and borders the Sierra
Madre and Caraballo.

Mountains in Aurora and Nueva Vizcaya. The

multi-purpose dam is situated at the confluence
of Pampanga River's two headwaters, namely
the Pantabangan and Carranglan Rivers in the
municipality of Pantabangan.
The San Roque Dam, operated under San
Roque Multipurpose Project is a 200-meter-tall,
1.2-kilometer-long embankment dam on the
Agno River. It is the largest dam in the Philippines
and sixteenth largest in the world.
The Upper Agno River Basin Resource
Reserve is a protected area located on the
southeast flank of the Cordillera Central in
the Philippine province of Benguet along its
border with Ifugao and Nueva Vizcaya.

Popularly known as “MakBan” which stands for

Makiling and Banahaw Watershed Reservation,
It was proclaimed and established as a
reservation for the purpose of exploration,
development, exploitation and utilization of
geothermal energy, natural gas and methane
gas under Presidential Procalamation No. 1111.

18 Major River Basins in the Philippines

Cagayan River Basin

Mindanao River Basin
Agusan River Basin
Pampanga River Basin
Agno River Basin
Abra River Basin
Pasig-Laguna Lake River Basin
Bicol River Basin
Abulug River Basin
Tagum-Libunganon River Basin
Ilog-Hilabangan River Basin
Panay River Basin
Tagoloan River Basin
Agus River Basin
Davao River Basin
Cagayan de Oro River Basin
Jalaur River Basin
Buayan-Malugan River Basin