Paper

Simplified Estimation of Mean Daily Discharge in a

Tidal River Basin for Adequate
Water Management
Development of flow
- estimation method for
tidal river basin using mean daily water
stage in the delta area of the Chao
Phraya River, Thailand (I)-
Katsuro SHIODA*,Kazumi IWASAKI**,
Takashi INOUE***and Virat KaO-UPPATUM****

Summary When the river flow is approximately uniform and the H-Q
curve is drawn to analyze the relationship between the water stage and
discharge, the discharge can be deduced from the water stage .
However, since the Chao Phraya River in Thailand is a tidal river at the
downstream delta it is difficult to draw the H-Q curve , and the mean daily di
scharge has not been estimated in spite of the strong need of such a
determination for water management.
This paper reports a method which enables us to conveniently obtain the
mean daily discharge between 2 points in a tidal river based on the values of the
mean daily water stages recorded at 2 points as well as the application of the
method to the downstream delta of the Chao Phraya River . More particularly,
mean daily water stages at 2 points and the corresponding mean daily discharge
are represented in a series of H-Q curves (H-Q curve group) whereby the mean
daily discharge is deduced from the mean daily water stages which can be
easily observed.
This paper demonstrates for the first time that the mean daily discharge
deduced from unsteady flow analysis using the water stages observed each
hour is in agreement with the discharge deduced from steady flow analysis
using the observed mean daily water stages . Furthermore, various combina-
tions of mean daily water stages at 2 points were subjected to steady flow
analysis to draw the H-Q curve group . This paper also refers to the process in
which the H-Q curve group is represented by a multiple regression formula so
as to enable field operators to calculate the mean daily discharge accurately and
simply.

*National Research Institute of Agricultur

Forestry and Fi al Engineering, Ministry of Agriculture ,
sheries
**Agriculture
, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council Secretariat , MAFF***F
aculty of Agriculture , Hokkaido University
****Royal Irrigation Departme
nt, The Kingdom of Thailand
(Manuscript Received October 20, 1988, Accepted April 12, 1991)

Irrigation Engineering and Rural Planning No. 22, 1992

6 K. SHIODA, K. IWASAKI, T. INOUE & V. K. UPPATUM

I. Introduction

Large rivers in Southeast Asia have vast deltas in their downstream areas which
are the main agricultural zones of the respective countries and where industrial
activities are also carried out and people live. Main methods of water manage-
ment in these deltas are divided into 2 categories: stable supply of irrigation water
for rice cropping and flood control. In either case, emphasis should be placed on
the estimation of the discharge of rivers for the purpose of water management.
Discharge may be deduced from the water stage, which can be easily observed
by means of the H-Q curve. If a river flow is approximately uniform, a single H-Q
curve enables to analyze the unique relations hip between the water stage and
discharge.
On the other hand, the fluctuations of the water stage with the tide affect
downstream zones of large rivers, where unsteady hydraulic phenomena do not
enable us to determine the relationship between the water stage and discharge.
Therefore, since the water stages recorded do not allow the determination of the
discharge, plans for water management cannot be adequately implemented.
Planning of water utilization and drainage requires information on the mean daily
discharge instead of on the hourly changes in the discharge. Therefore, it is
important to develop a convenient method to estimate the mean daily discharge.
Unsteady hydraulic phenomena may be analyzed using the numerical unsteady
flow model. However such analysis involves computer data processing. Also,
boundary conditions such as water stage observed each hour have to be input each
time when the computation is made. In the developing countries, computers are
not utilized to the point where on-line service is available, and they cannot be used
in the field. It is therefore important to perform a preliminary unsteady flow
analysis on an off-line basis and then to estimate the discharge at the site by
simple methods. Such requirements can be met by using the method referred to,
which enables to obtain the mean daily discharge between 2 points from mean
daily water stages observed at 2 adjacent points. The relationship between the
mean daily water stages and the mean daily discharge is expressed by a series of
H-Q curves (H-Q curve group), or by a multiple regression formula. The method
using the H-Q curve group or the multiple regression formula enables field
engineers to easily estimate the mean daily discharge in tidal rivers with their
own instruments, and is expected to contribute to the formulation of an effective
method of water management.

II. Flow Condition of Tidal River

In rivers not subjected to tides and backwater flow from a downstream weir, a
high water stage causes a large discharge while a low water stage causes a small
discharge. Once the water stage/discharge curve (H-Q curve) is obtained, the
discharge corresponding to a certain water stage can be simply determined; that
gationEngineeringand Rural PlanningNo.22, 1992
 SIMPLIFIED ESTIMATION OF MEAN DAILY DISCHARGE 7

is, the water stage observed at a point indicates the discharge .

In tidal rivers, however, when the water stage is raised by the flood tide , the
discharge sometimes decreases to the point where a reverse flow occurs . When
the tide ebbs or the water stage decreases, the discharge increases . Tidal rivers
are influenced not only by the tide from the downstream area but also by the
discharge from the upstream area whereby they experience a complicated flow
condition referred to as unsteady flow. In such a flow, the relationship between
the water stage and discharge cannot be analyzed properly at a single point .
In other words, in the tidal river, a single H-Q curve does not provide informa-
tion on the discharge.
To analyze the flow condition of such a tidal river, mean daily discharge may
well be obtained through local velocities observation during a day . However,
although the water stage can be easily observed it is difficult to record the
discharge. For example, since the width of the Chao Phraya River , where the
present case study was carried out, is 300 m and the depth more than 10 m, the
velocities observation requires 2-3 hours, during which the water stage and
discharge are apt to change. These problems have led to the construction of
numerical models capable of approximately reproducing the changes in the water
stage and discharge in a day. With the models, the mean daily discharge can be
obtained by unsteady flow analysis as proposed by Nakamura et al,1) who used the
difference method. This analysis incorporates the equation of motion and equa-
tion of continuity into the numerical model , and reproduces an actual flow by
computation based on the cross section of the river , roughness of flow and water
stage data, etc.
Among the numerical solutions of differential equations , the difference method
is not very accurate but is useful for the solution of some problems . Considering
the scale and accuracy of the computation, the unsteady flow analysis of rivers
and canals can be obtained by the difference method for practical use . In the
method of estimation of the discharge of the tidal river in this paper , the unsteady
fl
ow analysis was used to reproduce the actual flow condition of the river on the
assumption that the unsteady flow model simulates the actual flow condition of a
river. In addition, when the mean daily water stage is given the unsteady flow
model can also be used as steady flow model.
The present analysis uses the equation of motion (1) and equation of continuity
(2) as basic equations of the water flow in a river and open canal. The equations
may be expressed as shown below, with zero point placed at the downstream end
of a river:

(1)

(2)
where
g. gravitational acceleration
v: flow velocity (mean cross sectional flow velocity),

Irrigation Engineering and Rural Planning No. 22, 1992

8 K. SHIODA, K. IWASAKI, T. INOUE & V. K. UPPATUM

t: time

x: distance

s: river bed slope

h: water depth

n: coefficient of roughness

R: hydraulic radius

A: cross-sectional area of flow

Q: discharge (=A•Ev)

and q: lateral inflow discharge per unit length

In a numerical model, the basic equations (1) and (2) are first expanded to
Euler's central difference equations, and then the numerical integrations are
derived under the given boundary conditions.

III. Assumption and Process

It is assumed that the discharge between any 2 points is basically proportional to

the difference in the water stages between 2 points where the-cross-sectional area
of the water flow is constant. This assumption is considered to be valid for an
extreme case in which a tidal river is subjected to a very large range of tide where
a reverse flow occurs. For example, if a normal flow and reverse flow equally
occur in a day (when the flow direction is switched to the other, the difference in
water stages between the upstream and downstream points becomes zero, at
which time water does not flow), the mean daily discharge on the day is zero and
the difference in mean daily water stages between the 2 points is considered to be
approximately zero.
As shown in this example, the mean daily discharge for one cycle of the tide (a
day in this case) in the tidal river is considered to be proportional to the mean daily
water stages at the upstream and downstream points, and the difference between
the two. In other words, it is assumed that the mean daily discharge can be
determined from the values of the mean daily water stages recorded at 2 points.
If the unsteady flow model reproduces the actual flow condition of a river, this
assumption is examined by comparing the mean daily discharge obtained using
the unsteady flow model, with the discharge computed as a steady flow using
mean daily water stages recorded at 2 points and by determining whether the two
agree. If the assumption is verified, the mean daily discharge may be deduced
from the values of the mean daily water stages even in a tidal river.
The present analysis was carried out based on this assumption.
(1) A model that reproduces the actual flow condition of a tidal river is con-
structed.
The model is provided with topographical conditions and boundary conditions,
the former being represented by the cross section of the river and the latter by the
water stages recorded each hour at the upstream and downstream ends of the
model. The equation of motion includes the roughness coefficient as a local
constant, which is so adjusted that the model reproduces well the actual flow
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 SIMPLIFIED ESTIMATION OF MEAN DAILY DISCHARGE 9

condition. The adjustment is made, by trial and error, until the computed water
stage and discharge are in agreement with the observed water stage and
discharge.
When the roughness coefficient is determined, the unsteady flow model is
considered to reproduce the actual flow condition approximately. A change in
the discharge in response to the changing water stages can be determined .
(2) Mean daily discharge is computed by using the unsteady flow model.
In the numerical model (Figure 3) the water depth at 2 points whose mesh nos.

are even points and which are separated by a distance differential Ax is computed.

Then the flow velocity at an intermediate point between the two is multiplied by

the mean of the cross-sectional area of the water flow at the upstream and

downstream even points, and the product is the discharge. The product of the

discharge and time differential •¢t is the discharge in At. The discharge is

accumulated for one day, and divided by the number of seconds a day (86,400 sec)

as time elapses. The mean daily discharge for the day is thus obtained. This

value includes all normal and reverse flows caused by the tide, and indicates the

quantity of water that actually flows down in the river.

This unsteady flow model enables us to compute the discharge but involves

computer data processing; each time computations are made, the water stages

recorded each hour must be input as the boundary condition. The use of the

unsteady flow model is, however, impractical, especially in the field in developing

countries. Thus, the following processes are required.

(3) The mean daily water stage instead of the water stages recorded each hour as
boundary conditions at the upstream and downstream ends is input to the
unsteady flow model described in (1). Thus, the unsteady flow model is com-
puted as a steady flow model, and then the discharge is computed.
In this study, the above computation showed that the mean daily discharge
deduced from the unsteady flow model described in (2) alMost agreed with that
from the steady flow model described in (3). This fact implies that the discharge
can be determined by the unique combination of the value of the mean water stage
recorded at the downstream end and that at the upstream end. In other words,
the mean daily discharge is determined by the mean daily water stage at the
upstream end or downstream end and the surface slope between the upstream and
downstream ends.
Computation using the steady flow model described in (3) is preferable to the
unsteady flow computation indicated in (2) because the boundary conditions can
be set conveniently and the method is less time-consuming, in particular in case
of (4).
(4) Various values of the mean daily water stage that are likely to be recorded at
the upstream and downstream ends of the model section are predicted and
combined with one another. These combinations computed in (3) enable to
obtain the respective mean daily discharges. The results are plotted in terms of
the relationship between the mean daily water stages at the upstream and
downstream ends and the discharge to obtain the H-Q curve group.
IrrigationEngineeringand RuralPlanningNo.22, 1992
 10 K. SHIODA, K. IWASAKI, T. INOUE & V. K. UPPATUM

(5) From the H-Q curve group thus obtained, a multiple regression formula is
derived which enables the field engineers to estimate the mean daily discharge by
a single simple equation as a function of mean daily water stages at the upstream
and downstream ends. This treatment allows a more exact estimation than that
using only the H-Q curve group.

IV. Application

A similar method which was applied to the tidal section near the mouth of the
Shinano River by Shiraishi et al.2), except for the derivation of the multiple
regression formula, was found to be effective. In the mouth of the Shinano River,
however, the range of the tide is only about 30 cm. It remains to be determined
whether the discharge in the unsteady flow solution agrees with that in the steady
flow solution due to the large range of the tide. The authors had the opportunity
of estimating the discharge on the Chao Phraya River near Bangkok, Thailand,
where there is a large tidal range.3)4)
The Chao Phraya River originates in mountains in the northern part of
Thailand, runs southward in the central plain, and flows into the Gulf of
Thailand, covering a distance of about 1,100 km with a basin area of 180,000
km2.
The basin area accounts for about 35% of all of Thailand, and contributes to
about 2/3 of the country's agricultural production, the main cities such as the
capital Bangkok and Chiangmai being situated along the river.
The Chao Phraya River forms a delta covering an area as vast as 1.3 million ha
at the downstream end. The delta is shaped as a triangle, with the top in
Chainat, which is located at a distance of about 200 km up from the mouth, and
the base about 100 km long facing the Gulf of Thailand (Figure 1). The delta is
characterized by a very flat topography with a gentle slope. For example, in the
dry season the tide affects Ayutthaya at an altitude of approximately 2 m, which
is located at about 140 km upstream from the river mouth.
The water stage of the Chao Phraya River has been continuously observed in
various areas. However, for the estimation of the discharge a simple method is
required to improve water management.
In Thailand, the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) directly supervises all the
activities related to the operation of rivers, main canals, branch canals, including
the Chao Phraya Delta. For the purpose of water management in the delta, the
Water Management and Operation Branch, RID, is directly responsible for water
demand computations required for the distribution of water to 106 irrigation
blocks. The branch is also responsible for the water demand computations
required for the utilization of water for salinity control in the downstream part of
the main rivers, the supply of water to Bangkok and various prefectures, and
water for inland navigation. Then the branch requests that the water in 2 large
dams in the upstream area of the basin be released. These computations require
a large number of data including weekly crop situation and field wetness condi-
IrrigationEngineeringand Rural PlanningNo.22, 1992
 SIMPLIFIED ESTIMATION OF MEAN DAILY DISCHARGE 11

Figure 1 Location of Chao Phraya River and Delta

tion, daily rainfall, daily water stages and mean daily discharges of river gauging
stations, barrages, and main regulators which control the water stage and
discharge by gate. The RID is unable to exactly estimate the mean daily
discharge, which hampers the formulation of a water management plan . Estima-
tion of the mean daily discharge in the tidal section is associated with various
problems. For example, the RID is unable to insert the discharge data of the tidal
section in the Thailand Hydrological Yearbook published by RID.
This analysis was carried out in the mainstream of the Chao Phraya River , with
a section about 20 km long near Bangkok (Figure 2) selected as a model. The
downstream end of the section analyzed was located at about 50 km upstream
from the river mouth. Several canals are present in the modeled section as
shown in Figure 1. However, regulators are set in these canals , and gates are
usually shut to maintain the water stage because these canals are used for inland
navigation purposes, such as floating markets . A lateral inflow or outflow can
therefore be negligible.
The mesh spacing of the unsteady flow model is shown in Figure 3.

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12 K. SHIODA, K. IWASAKI, T. INOUE & V. K. UPPATUM

Figure 2 Modeled section on Chao Phraya River near Bangkok

Figure 3 Numerical model

Mesh No. 2 was assigned to the water stage at the downstream end (point S-13)
and mesh No. 12 to the water stage of the upstream end (point S-18). In
determining the roughness coefficient for the unsteady flow model, the computed
water stages in mesh No. 6 (point S-15) were compared with observed water stages
for the verification of the roughness coefficient, while the computed discharge at
lattice point No. 5 (discharge observation point) between meshes No. 4 and No. 6
was compared with the observed discharge. Figure 4 shows an example of
water stage fluctuations at the upstream and downstream ends, and the water
stage observation point between them. During the period of analysis from
November 18 to December 12, 1983, the maximum water stage variation in a day
ranged from 53 cm at the upstream end to 91 cm at the downstream end.
Table 1 shows the discharge observed at the discharge observation point.
The discharge was observed with a German A. Ott current meter. To measure
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 SIMPLIFIED ESTIMATION OF MEAN DAILY DISCHARGE 13

Figure 4 Fluctuations in water stage of Chao Phraya

River near Bangkok (8. Dec. 1983)
Table 1 Flow data of Chao Phraya River at discharge observation point

the discharge, the 6-point method was employed. Measurement was performed
at 6 points in depth with the meter loaded on an anchored boat . Figures 5 and
6 show an example of cross-sectional velocity distribution at low tide and high
tide, respectively. These figures, which indicate the absence of a salt wedge ,
suggest that the flow may be analyzed as a single layer flow.
For the unsteady flow model the roughness coefficient was estimated by the
trial and error method. When n=0.022 in the upper reaches from mesh No .6 and
n=0.033 in the lower reaches, the computed water stages and discharge agreed
best with the observed water stages and discharge . Figure 7 shows an example
in which the water stages determined by unsteady flow computation were
compared with the observed water stages for maximum , mean, and minimum
values of water stages observed . Another example is shown in Figure 8, in
which the discharge fluctuations obtained by unsteady flow simulation are
represented by solid lines, and the mean daily discharge is represented by broken
lines based on the steady flow model obtained from the unsteady flow model with
given mean daily water stages. In these figures the observed discharge was
indicated by .arrow marks in both directions, the width of the arrow mark

IrrigationEngineeringand Rural PlanningNo.22, 1992

14 K. SHIODA, K. IWASAKI, T. INOUE & V. K. UPPATUM

Figure 5 Example of cross-sectional velocity distribution (at low tide)

Figure 6 Example of cross-sectional velocity distribution (at high tide)

Figure 7 Computed and observed water stage

(Max. Ave. Min.) 8. Dec. 1983

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 SIMPLIFIED ESTIMATION OF MEAN DAILY DISCHARGE 15

Figure 8 Example of computation of discharge of Chao Phraya

River near Bomgkok (8. Dec. 1983)
indicating the time required for the observation. The mean daily discharge

obtained by unsteady flow computation approximately agreed with that obtained

by steady flow computation within an error range of•}3%. The computation for

7 sets of data taken over 6 days showed the same results

On the basis of the above results, as described in III. (4), several values of mean

daily water stage were adopted for the upstream and downstream ends in the

model section to draw the H-Q curve group, which is shown in Figure 9. Here,

the computation is made with a combination of values of the mean daily water

stage for every 5 cm at the downstream end with the corresponding ones for every

10 cm at the upstream end, and a curve was obtained for each water stage at the

upstream end. For example, the mean daily discharge approximately reaches a

value of 2,500 m3/s in the case of the steady flow computation with a combination

of 1.20 m of mean daily water stage at the downstream end with 1.60m of mean

daily water stage at the upstream end. The result of this computation is plotted

in Figure 9. (Refer to arrow marks in Figure 9.)

The H-Q curve group in Figure 9 may be expressed by the multiple regression

formula indicated below:

(3)
where

Q=mean daily discharge, m3/s

HD: mean daily water stage at the downstream end (S-13) , m
HU: mean daily water stage at the upstream end (S-18), m
Thus, the multiple regression formula enabled us to obtain the mean daily
discharge through a simple calculation using only the values of the mean daily
water stages recorded at the upstream and downstream ends.

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16 K. SHIODA, K. IWASAKI, T. INOUE & V. K. UPPATUM

Figure 9 H-Q curve group graph of. Chao Phraya River near
Bangkok

In performing this analysis, special care was exercised in checking the bench
mark because Bangkok and the surrounding area are subjected to ground subsi-
dence every year. In applying this method to the river discharge analysis in the
delta areas of developing countries, care should be exercised in checking the bench
mark, considering the changes in the cross section of a river, etc.

V. Conclusion

A method was developed to obtain conveniently the mean daily discharge from the
values of the mean daily water stage observed at the upstream and downstream
points in a tidal river under complex flow conditions. This method uses the
unsteady flow model, and is designed so as to obtain the discharge using the H-Q
curve group or a multiple regression formula even in tidal rivers. The procedure
is comparable to the determination of discharge using the H-Q curve in common
rivers, providing the calculations are preliminarily made by a computer.
The principle of this method was already applied to the tidal section of the
Shinano River. The new aspects dealt with in this paper are as follows:1
. Since the mean daily discharge which is essential for the implementation of
water management in the Chao Phraya Delta (Thailand) could not be esti-
mated in the tidal section, the method used by Shiraishi et al. was evaluated
for possible application.
2. The application of the method to the flow condition of the Chao Phraya River,
where the range of the tide is larger than that of the Shinano River, was
described, and the method was found to be suitable.
3. Furthermore, the H-Q curve group was represented by a multiple regression
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 SIMPLIFIED ESTIMATION OF MEAN DAILY DISCHARGE 17

formula so as to enable field engineers to estimate the mean daily discharge

accurately and simply using only a desk calculator.
4. For the application of the method, the importance of the maintenance of the
bench mark was emphasized in taking account of conditions of the Chao
Phraya Delta and the data maintenance system in the field.
The RID is currently applying this method, which may contribute to the
improvement of water management as it is appropriate to the conditions in
developing countries. It is suggested that this method could be applied to large
rivers such as the Mekong and the Irrawaddy in Southeast Asia, where vast deltas
in the downstream areas display tidal areas similar to that of the Chao Phraya
River.
This method is applicable to a river with confluence of the tributaries or with
structures such as gates by partial modification of the model (submitted for
publication).

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express their appreciation to Dr.Boonyok Vadhanaphuti ,

Senior Expert, RID, and Dr. Hidehiko Shiraishi, Director General of the
National Research Institute of Agricultural Engineering (NRIAE), for their valua-
ble suggestions and encouragement, and to Mr. Vason Boonkird, Chief of the
Engineering Services Branch, Operation and Maintenance Division (o & M Div.),
RID, Mr. Tanom Klaikayai, Chief of Water Management and Operation Branch, o
& M Div., RID, and his staff, Mr. Fumio Araki, JICA Expert to RID, and
researchers in the Laboratory of Canal Hydraulics, NRIAE, for their cooperation.

References
1) Nakamura, M. and Shiraishi, H. (1971):Analysis of Unsteady Hydraulic Phenomena
by Mathematical Model Simulation: Bay, River and Lake. Bull. Nat. Res. Inst. Agr. Eng .,
No.9, pp.137-158 (in Japanese with English summary) .
2) Shiraishi, H., Iwasaki, K. and Matsumoto, Y. (1975): On Estimation of Prototype
Coefficients and Similarity between Prototype and Mathematical Model. Bull. Nat. Res.
Inst. Agr. Eng., No.13, pp.111-137 (in Japanese with English summary) .
3) Shioda, K., Inoue, T., Iwasaki, K. and 5 others (1986): Development of Flow Estima-
tion Method for Tidal River Using Mean Daily Water Stage . Abstracts of JSIDRE
Conference, pp.68-69 (in Japanese).
4) Shioda, K. (1986): Water Management System Improvement Study , Main Report. pp.
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Irrigation Engineering and Rural Planning No. 22, 1992