HYDROGRAPH

The hydrograph is a graph of flow rate versus time. It is also reference as a listing of flow rate
data versus time. It is one of the more useful concepts of hydrology is used frequently in
stormwater management

A typical surface runoff is shown in figure, the hydrograph consists of three general parts,
(1) rising limb:
The rising limb of a hydrograph, also known as concentration curve represents the increase in
discharge due to the gradual building up of storage in channel and over the catchment surface.
The initial losses and high infiltration losses during the early period of a storm cause the
discharge to rise rather slowly in the initial periods. The basin and storm characteristics control
the shape of the rising limb of a hydrograph.
(2) crest segment:
The crest segment is one of the most important parts of hydrograph as it contains the peak flow.
The peak now occurs when the runoff from various parts of the catchment simultaneously
contribute amounts to achieve the maximum amount of flow at the basin outlet. Generally for
large catchments, the peak flow occurs after the cessation of rainfall, the time interval from the
center of mass of rainfall to the peak being essentially controlled by basin and storm
characteristics. Multiple-peaked complex hydrographs in a basin can occur when two or more
storms occur in succession.
(3) falling limb (Recession limb):
The falling limb, which extends from the point of inflection at the end of the crest segment
(point C ) to the commencement (‫ ) بدء‬of the natural groundwater flow (point D) represents the
withdrawal of water from the storage built up in the basin during the earlier phase of the
hydrograph. The starting point of the recession limb, i.e. the point of inflection represents the
condition of maximum storage. Since the depletion of storage takes place after the cessation of
rainfall, the shape of this part of the hydrograph is independent of storm characteristics and
depends entirely on the basin characteristics.
 The runoff hydrograph will have the following properties:
1-Time of peak (tp).
2-Recession time (tr).
3-Time of base (tb).

The shape of the hydrograph depends on many factors, watershed shape, area, slope, depth, the
earth impervious, the land use, the rainfall intensity, evaporation …etc. It can be grouped to:

Hydrograph Separation:
Several techniques exist to separate direct runoff hydrograph DRO from base flow
B.F based on the analysis of ground water recession curves or type and amount of
measured data available. The direct runoff hydrograph is the difference between
the total runoff and the base flow function.
1-Straight line (constant slope) method. N=0.83× A0.2 (N days and A area km2)
2-Fixed based (concave base flow) method.
3-Variable slope (constant discharge) method
Example: Rainfall of magnitude 3.8 cm and 2.8 cm occurring on two consecutive
4-hr durations on a catchment of area 27 km2 produced the following hydrograph
of flow at the outlet of the catchment. Estimate the rainfall excess and φ index.
 Unit Hydrograph
U.H defined as: A basin outflow resulting from one centimeter or one inch of
direct runoff generated uniformly over the drainage area at a uniform rainfall rate
during a specified period.
For a specific watershed, the U.H. for a given quantity of rainfall excess can be
used to generate another hydrograph. If the storm duration is the same.
The following general rules should be observed in developing U.H:
1-Storms should be selected with a simple structure with relatively uniform spatial
and temporal distribution.
2-Watershed size should generally fall 1000 ac. -1000 mi2.
3-Direct runoff should range from 0.5-2 inch.
4-Duration of rainfall excess should be 25-30% of tp.
5-A number of storms of similar duration should be analyzed to obtain an average
unit hydrograph for that duration.
The following are essential steps for developing a U.H from a single storm
hydrograph.
1-Analyze the hydrograph and separate the base flow.
2-Measure the total volume of direct runoff (DRO) under the hydrograph and
convert this to in, cm, over the watershed.
3-Convert the total rainfall to rainfall excess and evaluate duration for the DRO
and U.H.
4-Divide the ordinate of the DRO hy. By the volume and plot these results as the
U.H for the basin. The time is assumed constant for storms of equal duration and
thus it will not change.
Example: The following are the observation of a flood hydrograph from a
drainage of 1700 km2 during 12 hrs. Rain-fall (the base flow has been subtracted).
Drive 12 hrs. U.H.
Example: Two storms of 6-hr duration for each, with 2 and 3 cm depth
respectively, the storm of 3 cm occurred after 12 hrs. From the first. Drive the
total hydrograph or the two storms from U.H. given below?