Assignment II – March 2023

Programme : B.Tech, Civil Engineering Semester : WIN2022-2023

Course : HYDROLOGY Code : CLE2017
Faculty : Dr. K. Saravanan Slot : D1+TD1
Last date for submission ; 4 April, 2023
NAME: MOTHI YG
REG NO: 20BCL1025

1. Given that the effective rainfall hyetograph (ERH) for a given storm on the catchment has
been given in the Table I. The ordinates of a 6-hour unit hydrograph of a catchment are
given in Table II. Derive Direct Runoff Hydrograph (DRH) corresponding to each rainfall is
delayed by 6 hours appropriately.
Table: I
Time (hrs) 0 6 12
Effective Rainfall (cm) 0 3 2

Table : II
Time (hrs) 0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54 60 66 72 78 84
Ordinate of
0 25 50 85 125 160 185 160 110 60 36 25 16 8 0
UH (m3/sec)

Soln.
2. Given the ordinates of a 4-hr Unit hydrograph in Table IV. Derive the ordinates of a 8 –hr
and 2–hr unit hydrograph for the same catchment. List the assumption invoked while
deriving the 8 –hr and 2–hr unit hydrograph.
Tabe: IV
Time (hr) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
Ordinate of 4-h
0 20 80 130 150 130 90 52 27 15 5 0
UH (m3/Sec)

Soln.

Assumptions

1. The unit hydrograph has a constant time base.

2. The antecedent moisture conditions and catchment features don't change.
3. During the course of the hydrograph, the intensity of the rainfall remains constant.
4. The linear hydrograph can be overlay.

2hr Unit Hydrograph

 s curve lag
by 2 hr

Time(h ordinate of 4 hr s-curve Differenc 2hr UH

r) UH ordinate e

0 0 0 0 0

2 20 0 0 0 0

4 80 0 0 0 0

6 130 20 0 20 40

8 150 80 20 60 120

10 130 150 80 70 140

12 90 230 150 80 160

14 52 280 230 50 100

16 27 320 280 40 80

18 15 332 320 12 24

20 5 347 332 15 30

22 0 347 347 0 0

352 347 5 10

347 352 0 0
 347 0 0

8hr Unit Hydrograph

s curve lag
by 2 hr

Time(h ordinate of 4 hr s-curve Differenc 2hr UH

r) UH ordinate e

0 0 0 0 0 0

2 20 0 0 0 0

4 80 0 0 0 0

6 130 20 0 20 40
 8 150 80 0 80 160

10 130 150 0 150 300

12 90 230 0 230 460

14 52 280 20 260 520

16 27 320 80 240 480

18 15 332 150 182 364

20 5 347 230 117 234

22 0 347 280 67 134

 352 320 32 64

347 332 15 30

347 0 0

347 0 0

352 0 0

347 0 0

3. Why is base flow separated from the flood hydrograph in the process of developing a unit
hydrograph? Suggest suitable method of base flow separation for the following conditions
with suitable justification:
a) Ground water contributions are significant and reach river quickly
b) Ground water contributions are not significant

Soln.

Baseflow can be termed as the fraction of a flow of stream that originates from the
groundwater sources which is generally stable throughout the time. While creating a unit
hydrograph, the separation of baseflow is important because it enable us to differentiate
between the impacts of the groundwater discharge and precipitation on surface runoff.
 There are many ways to separate the baseflow from the flood Hydrograph.

 Fixed-Interval approach
 Sliding-Interval method
 Recursive Digital filter method

The above are some of the examples of popular techniques.

For the above stated circumstances:

a) For the first scenario the baseflow separation method which is able to capture the
groundwater’s quick reaction to precipitation. It can estimate the base flow component
in real time and can catch fast the changes in the groundwater discharge. The
Recursive Digital Filter approach will be the best choice for this situation. We can see
that in this situation. In this scenario the base flow separation method can precisely
identify the base flow component from the streamflow data.
b) Groundwater contributions can be negligible here because it can determine the base
flow component by averaging the streamflow data over a set time interval, the fixed-
interval technique makes sense in this situation.

4. Briefly discuss the effect of the below listed changes on the runoff and infiltration process
over a watershed .
a) Conversion of agricultural area in to urbanised settlement
b) Conversion of barren land in to agricultural land
c) Land grading
Hint: A barren land is dry and bare land, and has very few plants and trees.
The land grading process will likely include digging, removing dirt, leveling slopes, filling
low spots, compacting the soil and leveling the building site.

Soln.
a) When an agricultural land is converted into an urbanised community the
process of runoff and infiltration over a watershed can be significantly
impacted. Construction of impermeable surfaces such as roads, buildings or
pavements is actually a common component of urbanisation. These surface
leads to a decrease in the amount of land that may be used for infiltration and
increase the volume and speed of run-off. In effect of the increase in surface
runoff the danger of flooding, erosion and sedimentation may increase. Further
the construction related to soil disturbance and plant clearance might further
reduce infiltration rates and raise runoff.

b) When an agricultural land is converted to arid land the watershed infiltration

and runoff process may be impacted. Increased penetration rates and decreased
surface runoff from the addition of plants can help with soil moisture retention
and groundwater recharge. The variable such as vegetation, the soil condition,
the amount and the frequency of rainfall may however vary the impact of this
conversion.

c) The land grading will significantly impact the runoff and the infiltration
process across a watershed. This entails extensive soil disturbances, including
excavation, compaction and filling. Due to the disturbance, there may be more
soil erosion and less infiltration which results in more surface runoff and less
groundwater recharge. Moreover topographical modifications brought on by
land grading might influence how surface water flows, this increasing the
danger of flooding downstream.
5. The 1hr, 6hr and 12 hr duration Unit Hydrograph of a catchment given below. Answer the
following questions.

a) As duration of unit hydrograph increases than peak discharge decreases. why?

b) What is the amount and intensity of effective rainfall for the 1hr, 6hr and 12 hr duration
Unit Hydrograph?

c) The area of given 1 hr unit hydrograph is 25000 units. Compute the area of 6hr and 12 hr
Unit Hydrograph.

Soln.

a) As the unit hydrograph’s duration lengthens the peak discharge drops because
it takes more time for the water to go through the catchment and reach to the
outlet. Due to which the hydrograph becomes more dispersed and its peak
discharge decreases.

b) The entire area of the unit hydrograph may be multiplied by the corresponding
length of rainfall to get the quantity of effective rainfall for the 1hr, 6hr, and
12hr duration Unit Hydrographs. The amount of effective rainfall may be
divided by the equivalent period to determine its intensity.
 For instance, the total area and time for the 1 hour Unit Hydrograph are 25,000
units. Hence, 25,000 x 1 = 25,000 units of effective rainfall and 25,000/1 =
25,000 units/hour of intensity are required.

The entire area is 75,000 units and the timeframe is 6 hours for the 6 hour Unit
Hydrograph. The intensity is therefore 450,000/6 = 75,000 units/hour, and the
effective rainfall is therefore 75,000 x 6 = 450,000 units.

the overall area and length of the 12-hour Unit Hydrograph are 150,000 units.
The intensity is 1,800,000/12 = 150,000 units/hour, and the effective rainfall is
thus 150,000 x 12 = 1,800,000 units.

The 6 hour unit hydrograph's area is 75,000 units, whereas the 12 hour unit hydrograph's
area is 150,000 units.

6. The data series of peak flood in a stream was recorded as shown in Table I. Compute the
following:
a) Estimate the flood discharge with return periods of 15, 10 and 3 years.
b) The probability and return period of flood discharge equal to or exceeding 2500 cumec,
1000 cumec and 120 cumec
 Table: I

Soln.

a) 2500 cumec = 9.011337 = 9 yrs

1000 cumec = 3.644965 = 3.6

yrs
 120 cumec = 1.060955 = 1 yr

b) 15 yrs = 2738.842

10 yrs = 2659.895

3 yrs = 803.0526