12.

FLOOD ROUTING

12.1 Introduction
Since ancient times, civilizations have always developed along rivers. This proximity to water courses
guaranteed man access to the sea coast, irrigation for crops, water supplies for urban communities and
more recently, power development and industrial water supply. Despite the many advantages of being
near rivers, there has always been the risk of flooding. In the past, levees or flood banks were built along
the main rivers to prevent inundation in the flood season. In more recent times, storage reservoirs have
been built as the engineering principles of dam construction became better understood. Other flood
mitigation measures like relief channels, storage basins and channel improvements are continually being
put in place, all over the world. It is important for such works that estimates can be made of how the
measures proposed, will affect the behaviour of flood waves in rivers so that economic solutions can be
found in particular cases. Flood routing is the description that applies to this. It is a procedure through
which the variation of discharge with time at a point on a stream channel can be determined by
consideration of similar data for a point upstream. In other words it is a process that shows how a flood
wave can be reduced in magnitude, attenuated and lengthened in time lagged, by the use of storage in the
reach between the two points.

In this chapter we shall concern ourselves with lumped flood routing, whereby the flow is a function of
time alone at a particular location. This is distinguished from distributed flood routing, whereby the flood
is calculated as a function of time and space throughout the system. Routing by lumped system methods
is called hydrologic routing and is based on the equation of continuity, with some relationship between
storage, outflow, and possibly inflow. These relationships are usually assumed, empirical, or analytical in
nature. An example of such a relationship might be a stage-discharge relationship. Stage is also related to
the outflow through the Manning's equation.

Routing by distributed system methods is called hydraulic routing. These combine the continuity
equation with some more physical relationship describing the actual physics of the movement of the
water. The momentum equation is the common relationship employed. In hydraulic routing analysis, it is
intended that the dynamics of the water or flood wave movement be more accurately described and is
based on the St. Venant‟s equation of motion of unsteady flow, or the dynamic wave equation.

The two main categories of lumped flood routing are reservoir routing and channel routing (Chow, 1988,
Subramanya, 1994).

12.2 Hydrologic Routing Techniques

Hydrologic routing employs the use of continuity and a storage function. The continuity equation is
observed by most hydrologic flood routing methods and is expressed in the form inflow minus outflow
equals rate of change of storage.
I t   Q(t ) 
dS
(12.1)
dt

where: I = inflow to the system

Q = discharge from the system
dS = rate of change in the system storage with respect to time
dt
25
 The storage function is a simple relation between storage and discharge or between storage and inflow
and discharge as shown in Equations 12.2.

S  f (Q )
(12.2)
S  f (Q, I )
If the flow in a channel were always uniform (surface parallel to the bed) or, less restrictively, if the slope
of the surface in a given channel reach were a function only of the outflow or inflow or some constant
combination of these, then the storage in the reach would be uniquely determined by the discharge, the
inflow or the prescribed combination of discharge and inflow.
translation

attenuation
I, Q

I-Q outflow
t

Inflow

Fig 12.1a Inflow and outflow hydrographs

∆S/∆t

Fig 12.1b The difference between inflow and outflow.

t
S

Fig 12.1c The mass curve for storage in a river reach or reservoir.

However, this is not the case during the passage of a flood wave; for a given discharge at the lower end of
a river reach, the slope of the surface within the reach will be greater during the passage of the discharge
which is diminishing upstream i.e. after the passage of the peak.

26
Before the peak of the flood, I will be greater than Q and thereafter I will be less than Q . Consequently,
for the same downstream discharge Q , the inflow will be greater and the profile higher before the peak
discharge than they will be after it. If the storage in the river reach is plotted as a function of Q , a
hysteresis loop will result. In an attempt to allow for this effect, storage is sometimes expressed as a
function of Q and I , but this alone may be insufficient, particularly where the discharge is varying
rapidly along a river. In these circumstances the storage cannot adequately be represented by any constant
combination of the flows at either of the reach in question (Nash, 1983).

When the water level in the reach is almost horizontal, as in a reservoir, this effect is less pronounced and
hence we distinguish between reservoir and channel routing according to whether the storage is expressed
as a function of the discharge alone or of the discharge and inflow combined. Figs 12.2a, 12.2b and 12.2c
illustrate the general principles of flood routing as applied to a river reach or a reservoir (Wilson, 1996;
Chadwick and Morfett, 1986).

12.3 Reservoir Routing

For a reservoir with a fixed control, the discharge is assumed to be determined by the reservoir in
accordance with the stage discharge relation for the outfall of the reservoir. From this, on the assumption
of a level surface in the reservoir, the relationship between reservoir storage and discharge can easily be
obtained as shown Fig 12.2.

Fig 12.2 Reservoir Routing.

The numerical value of the storage may contain an arbitrary constant reflecting the arbitrary datum above
which the storage is measured. This is unimportant as it is the derivative only of the storage discharge
relationship with which we are concerned. It is convenient, however, if the storage is expressed in units
corresponding to the units of discharge and time used to define the inflow and outflow, e.g. cumecs days
or the volume corresponding to one cubic meter per second, flowing for one day. If the S , Q relationship
is not a simple algebraic one it may be expressed by a graphical plot to a suitable scale.

The relevant equations are 12.1 and 12.2

27
 dS (t )
I (t )  Q(t ) 
dt (12.1)

S  f (Q) (12.2)

Assuming that we are given an inflow hydrograph I (t ) and required to produce the corresponding
discharge hydrograph Q(t ) we can precede as follows:
Let this inflow hydrograph be given at equal intervals  t (one hour, one day, etc.) as I1 , I 2 , I 3
…………. and assuming knowledge of Q1 the initial condition, we may write approximately;

t
[ I1  Q1  I 2  Q2 ]  S2  S1 (12.3)
2

Collecting known terms to the left, we have

t
( I1  I 2  Q2 )  S1  S2  t.Q2 /2 (12.4)
2
The right hand side contains two unknowns but these are related. If, therefore, we prepare a curve of
t
S  ( )Q as a function of Q , as shown in Fig 12.3 we may enter the abscissa with the left hand side of
2
Equation (12.4) and obtain Q2 on the ordinate. Having found Q2 the calculation can be taken over the
second time interval to obtain Q3 and so on. If we further prepare a curve of S as a function of Q, the
t
storage S2corresponding to the S  ( )Q value can be obtained from the intercept of the horizontal
2
dotted line and the S vs. Q curve as shown in Fig 12.3. The value of S2 obtained, can be used for further
routing. At the next routing stage S3can also be obtained as above.

Fig 12.3 Discharge Storage relationships.

For a single reservoir, the discharge will continue to increase, while the inflow exceeds the discharge and
hence the peak of the discharge will occur simultaneously with the point at which the falling inflow
28
equals the discharge. The value of t should therefore be taken sufficiently small to define the inflow and
discharge with sufficient accuracy. No other restriction is implied (Nash, 1983).
Other methods commonly used are the Modified Puls Method and the Goodrich Method, which are based
on Equation 12.1 and can yield similar results to the above method. Reservoir routing is the numerical
solution of the differential equation (12.1) and Fenton (1992) shows that an alternative form of the
equation in terms of reservoir elevation has some advantages and can be solved easily.

Example 12.1
A reservoir has a constant plan area of 5.4 hectares and a spillway length of 13.2m. The discharge, Q
(m3/s) over the spillway is given by the formula;

Q  1.6BH 3 2 (12.5)

Where B is the length of the spillway and H is the head of water above the spillway crest, both measured
in metres, with values of H varying between 0 and 1m. After a period of dry weather with no inflow to the
reservoir, the water level is at crest level. Heavy rainfall then causes the inflow to the reservoir to increase
linearly from 0 to 12m3/s in 45 minutes to maintain this peak flow value for 37.5 minutes and then to
decrease linearly to 0 in a further period of 30 minutes.
a) Determine the values at 7.5 minute intervals of the outflow from the reservoir, and thus determine the
maximum water level in the reservoir.
b) Sketch the inflow and outflow hydrographs on one diagram and explain the significance of the point
where the two hydrographs intersect.

Solution a)
First determine the outflow storage relationships by assuming ~ 5 regular intervals of H, except for the
first one, where there is an extra value required (because of the closeness of the curves) and obtain the
values as shown in Table 12.1.
Table 12.1: Calculation of the Discharge Storage relationships.

Discharge Storage
H(m) (Q)= 21.12H1.5(m3/s) (S) = AH (m3) S + Q dt/2(m3)
0.00 0.000 0 0
0.10 0.668 5400 5550
0.20 1.889 10800 11225
0.40 5.343 21600 22802
0.60 9.816 32400 34607
0.80 15.112 43200 46600
1.00 21.120 54,000 58752
where:
 A = reservoir area, H = head of water above spillway crest
 Inflow and Outflow are in m3/s, storage is in m3
 dt = time interval = 7.5 x 60 = 450 seconds, dt/2 = 225 seconds
 Graphs of Q vs. S and Q vs. S + Qdt/2 are then plotted on the same axes as shown in Fig 12.4

29
 
Fig 12.4 Discharge storage relationships for Example 12.1

The Reservoir Routing Table 12.2 is then generated. The time intervals and inflows are given and the
initial outflow O1, hence storage S1,is assumed zero. Values of Q2 and S2 are obtained from Fig 12.4 after
reading off values of S + Qdt/2, which as shown in Equation 12.4, is equivalent to the last column in
Table 12.2. The process is repeated for the next time interval to obtain Q3 and S3. In general, for any value
in the last column of Table 12.2, the corresponding values of storage S and outflow Q can be read off
from Fig 12.4.

Table 12.2 Reservoir Routing

Time Inflow (I) I1 + I2 (I1 + I2 - Q1)dt/2 Q1 S1 (I1 + I2 - Q1)dt/2 + S1

3 3 3 3 3
(t) (m /s) (m /s) (m /s) (m /s) (m /s) (m3/s)
0.0 0 - - - - -
7.5 2 2 450.0 0 0 450
15.0 4 6 1339.6 0.046 444 1783.6
22.5 6 10 2205.6 0.197 1732 3937.6
30.0 8 14 3040.9 0.485 3748 6788.9
37.5 10 18 3837.1 0.946 6343 10180.1
45.0 12 22 4588.2 1.608 9376 13964.2
52.5 12 24 4840.9 2.485 12723 17563.9
60.0 12 24 4624.9 3.445 15879 20503.9
67.5 12 24 4429.3 4.314 18442 22871.3
75.0 12 24 4260.0 5.067 20499 24759.0
82.5 12 24 4117.8 5.699 22134 26251.8
90.0 9 21 3326.1 6.217 23422 26748.1
97.5 6 15 1936.5 6.393 23850 25786.5
105.0 3 9 662.9 6.054 23022 23684.9
112.5 0 3 -525.5 5.336 21204 20678.5

30
The maximum water level in the reservoir is estimated from the largest outflow in the routing Table 12.2
and applying Equation 12.5 to obtain H. This gives a value of H = 0.451m. It can also be estimated by
dividing the maximum storage by the reservoir area= 23850/54000 = 0.442m. The latter is less accurate
however, because it involves more approximations, especially in assuming the reservoir area as constant.

Inflow and Outflow Hydrographs

14

12

10
Flow (m3/s)

8 Inflow hydrograph
Outflow hydrograph
6

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time (min)

Fig 12.5 The inflow and outflow hydrographs for Example 12.1.
Solution b)

The inflow and outflow hydrographs are shown in Fig 12.5. The point where the two hydrographs
intersect is that where the outflow hydrograph has reached a peak, the inflow and outflow are equal and
there is maximum storage in the reservoir.

12.3.1 Lake Albert Flood Modelling

In the flood modelling of Lake Albert (Rugumayo and Kayondo, 2006) as a reservoir, in attenuating flood
peaks, the outlet was assumed to act like a broad crested weir and therefore the outflow equation was
taken asQ = 1.703 B H 3/2 . Some of the results of the simulation are shown in Fig 12.6 for the year of
minimum inflow (1974) and Fig 12.7, the average inflow (1969). Both show a very good simulation of
Lake Albert‟s characteristics.

Flo w Hyd r o g r ap h s f o r t h e Ye ar o f M in im u m In f lo w ,1974

6 ,0 0 0

5 ,0 0 0
Dis c harges (m 3 /s )

4 ,0 0 0

3 ,0 0 0

2 ,0 0 0

1 ,0 0 0

0
Jul-74
Jan-74

Jun-74

Oc t-74
Feb-74

Mar-74

A pr-74

Sep-74

Nov -74

Dec -74
May -74

A ug-74

In f lo w
R o u te d O u tf lo w M o n th s
A c tu a l O u tf lo w

Fig 12.6 Reservoir routing for the year of miminum flow (1974)
31
 F lo w H y d r o g r a p h s f o r t h e Y e a r o f A v e r a g e In f lo w ,1 9 6 9

3 ,5 0 0

3 ,0 0 0

2 ,5 0 0
D is c h a r g e s ( m3 /s )
2 ,0 0 0

1 ,5 0 0

1 ,0 0 0

500

0
Fe b -6 9

May -69

A ug-69

Sep-69

Nov -69

Dec -69
Ja n - 6 9

Mar-69

A pr-69

Ju n - 6 9

O c t- 6 9
Ju l- 6 9
In f lo w
R o u t e d O u t f lo w
M o n th s
A c t u a l O u t f lo w

Fig 12.7 Reservoir routing for the year of average inflow

12.4 Channel Routing

In this case the storage volume is not a simple function of stage, and therefore solution of the continuity
equation is complex. These equations may be solved using the full equations of gradually varied unsteady
flow. However, as mentioned earlier there are simpler techniques (hydrologic routing) which can be
applied if previous inflow and outflow hydrographs have been recorded. They are based on the
Muskingum method (after McCarthy, 1938).

WEDGE STORAGE

I
y1

PRISM STORAGE
yo
Q

Fig.12.8 Storage in a channel during a flood wave.

Channel storage may be considered to consist of two parts, prism and wedge storage, as shown in the Fig
12.8. If we assume there is no sudden change of cross section with the reach, then approximate
expressions for inflow, outflow and storage are

I  ayin Q  ayion (12.6)

where: a and n are constants. Now;

n
Prism storage = byo (12.7)

32
 Wedge storage = c( yi  yo )
m m
(12.8)

Where b and c are constants. Therefore,

Total storage S = Prism storage + wedge storage

S  byo  cyo  cyi
m m m
(12.9)

Substituting for yi and yo and assuming m  n ,

b c c
S  Q Q I (12.10)
a a a
or
b c c
S  ( I  Q  Q)
a b b
Taking K  b / a and x  c / b

S  K ( xI  Q  xQ) (12.11)

 K[Q  x( I  Q)]

where: K is called the storage constant and has dimensions of time and x is a dimensionless weighting
factor between 0 and 0.5 (but normally between 0.2 and 0.4).

Equation (12.11) is the Muskingum Equation. It is an approximation, but has been used widely with
reasonable results. (Chadwick and Morfett, 1986).

This equation may be written in this form

S  K[ xI  (1  x)Q] (12.12)

With known values of K and x the outflow Q from the reach can be obtained by combining and
simplifying equation,

I1  I 2 Q1  Q2
t t  S2  S1 (12.13)
2 2

and

I1  I 2 S2  S1 Q1  Q2
  (12.14)
2 t 2

Substituting equation (12.12) into equation (12.14) gives:

33
 I1  I 2 K [ x( I 2  I1 )  (1  x)(Q2  Q1 ) Q1  Q2
 
2 t 2

collecting the like terms together gives

Kx Kx (1  x) (1  x)
 I1 (0.5  )  I 2 (0.5  )  Q1 (0.5  K )  Q2 (0.5  K )
t t t t

 I1 (0.5t  Kx)  I 2 (0.5  Kx)  Q1 (0.5  K (1  x)  Q2 (0.5t  K (1  x))

 Q2 (0.5t  Kx)  I1 (0.5t  Kx)  I 2 (0.5t  Kx)  Q1 (0.5t  K  Kx)

This equation can be written as:

Q2  Co I 2  C1I1  C2Q1 (12.15)

Is obtained, where

 Kx  0.5t Kx  0.5t K  Kx  0.5t

Co  C1  C2  (12.16)
K  Kx  0.5t K  Kx  0.5t K  Kx  0.5t

Where t = routing period, which should be taken as between 1/3 and 1/4 of the flood wave travel time
recorded, from a previously recorded event. A value for x is assumed and a plot of S is drawn, derived
from the known inflows and outflows against (O  x( I  O)) . If the assumed value of x is correct, then
a straight-line plot with gradient K should result if this is not the case, a new value of x is chosen and the
procedure repeated. The coefficients C0, C1 and C2 in Equation 12.16 are known as the Muskingum
Coefficients and should add up to unity.

Alternatively, the following theoretical/graphical method may be used. From Equation (12.12):

dS dI dQ
 Kx.  K (1  x) (12.17)
dt dt dt

at the point, where the inflow and outflow hydrographs intersect, I is equal to Q and storage within the
valley attains its maximum value, thus dS dt  0 . Consequently, the ratio of the tangents to both
hydrographs at the point of their intersection is:

dI dQ
 ( x  1) / x (12.18)
dt dt

After obtaining x according to Equation 12.18 normally a first approximation, K is determined as

mentioned above (Dake, 1983).

34
This graphical technique is quite demanding and Cunge (1969) presented a simpler approach, known as
the Muskingum-Cunge method. He demonstrated that K is approximately equal to the time to travel of the
flood wave i.e.

K  L c (12.19)

where: L is the length of the river reach and c is the flood wave celerity.
Qp
x  0.5  (12.20)
2So BcL

where: Q p is the mean flood peak and B is the mean surface width of the channel.
Using these equations allows rapid calculation of K and x and the Muskingum-Cunge method may also
be applied to rivers without recorded outflow hydrographs.

In both the Muskingum and Muskingum Cunge procedures, the assumption is that there is no lateral flow
to the river reach between the upstream and downstream gauging stations. This implies that the routing
procedures can only be applied to short sections, which terminate at tributaries, or tributary inflows
should be added to main channel flow term. Subsequently, a second modified Muskingham method was
developed (O‟Donnell, 1985) that takes into account lateral inflow. It has the further advantage that i) it
replaces the trial and error method for the estimation of K and x parameters by a numerical best fit
technique and ii) because it treats the river as a whole, it avoids multiple routings over many sub reaches.
This approach assumes that the total rate of lateral inflow is proportional to the upstream inflow rate. The
proportionality constant, α, is assumed constant for any one event and takes different values for different
events. The three coefficients C0, C1 and C2 can be related to K, x and α and vice versa.

Example 12.2
Agricultural land in a valley is to be protected against floods; the hydrograph for a possible dam site
located 36hrs crest travel time, upstream is given. If the required flood reduction at the farmland is 40%,
determine the minimum storage capacity due to the dam. Take x = 0.15. The layout of the site is shown in
Fig 12.9.

I Q

B
A
Farmland

Fig. 12.9 Layout of Example 12.2

Solution:
35
 i. First calculate the subsequent outflow, Q at the farmland without the dam
ii. The resultant peak flood at the farm should be reduced by 40%
iii. The excess flow must then be stored by the dam.

Given the inflow hydrograph at A, K = 36hrs (Travel time). The inflow series has a time step of dt = 12hr.
The routing coefficients are calculated using Equation 12.16 as follows:

 Kx  0.5t 36  0.15  0.5 12

Co    0.016
K  Kx  0.5t 36  36  0.15  0.5 12

Kx  0.5t 36  0.15  0.5 12

C1    0.311
K  Kx  0.5t 36  36  0.15  0.5 12

K  Kx  0.5t 36  36  0.15  0.5 12

C2    0.673
K  Kx  0.5t 36  36  0.15  0.5 12

Check
C0 + C1 + C2 = 0.016 + 0.311 + 0.673 = 1.000

The coefficients are checked whether they add to unity and then they are applied in the Muskingum
equation. The outflows (without the dam) are calculated as shown in Table 12.3. It is assumed that
initially, the inflow, I is equal to the outflow, Q = 42m3/s. The routed outflow is shown in the last column.
Fig 12.10 shows the plots of the inflow and the routed outflow hydrographs.
Q2  Co I 2  C1I1  C2Q1
We obtain a peak outflow after routing of 230.9 m3/s. It is required to reduce this flow by 40% (to 138.5
m3/s). The excess flow (shaded area) should be stored by the dam. The reservoir capacity of this dam is
approximately 22 x 106 m3.

Fig 12.10 Inflow and outflow hydrographs of Example 12.2

Table 12.3 Muskingham Routing

36
 Hour I (m3/s) CoI2 (m3/s) C1I1 (m3/s) C2Q1(m3/s) Q2 (m3/s)

0 42 42.0
12 45 0.7 13.1 28.3 42.0
24 88 1.4 14.0 28.3 43.7
36 272 4.4 27.4 29.4 61.1
48 342 5.5 84.6 41.1 131.2
60 288 4.6 106.4 88.3 199.3
72 240 3.8 89.6 134.1 227.5
84 198 3.2 74.6 153.1 230.9
96 162 2.6 61.6 155.4 219.6
108 133 2.1 50.4 147.8 200.3
120 110 1.8 41.4 134.8 177.9
132 90 1.4 34.2 119.7 155.4
144 79 1.3 28.0 104.6 133.8
156 68 1.1 24.6 90.1 115.7
168 61 1.0 21.1 77.9 100.0
180 56 0.9 19.0 67.3 87.2
192 54 0.9 17.4 58.7 76.9
204 51 0.8 16.8 51.8 69.4
216 48 0.8 15.9 46.7 63.3
228 45 0.7 14.9 42.6 58.3
240 42 0.7 14.0 39.2 53.9

Example 12.3
Table 12.4 gives the inflow and outflow hydrographs measured for a given river reach. Determine the
values the storage constant, K and the weighing factor x of the Muskinghum routing model for this river
Table 12.4 Inflow and Outflow Hydrographs for a River Reach.

Time (h) Inflow (m3/s) Outflow (m3/s) Time (h) Inflow (m3/s) Outflow (m3/s)
1 50 50 11 750 731
2 100 53 12 680 734
3 200 79 13 590 707
4 325 136 14 500 653
5 450 221 15 420 586
6 600 324 16 350 514
7 700 443 17 300 444
8 780 553 18 250 382
9 790 646 19 225 323
10 775 704 20 200 284

37
Solution:
To obtain estimates of x and K
The general Muskingum storage equation is given as S  K[ xI  (1  x)Q] . To obtain estimations of x
and K, the values of S are plotted against the corresponding [xI + (1 - x)Q] values and the value of x is
determined by trial and error until the plotted graph gives approximately a straight. The computations of
S and K[ xI  (1  x)Q] are performed as shown in the Table 12.5.

Table 12.5 Determination of K and x values of the Muskingum equation.

Time Inflow, Outflow, (I1+I2)/2 (Q1+Q2)/2 [x.I + (1-x)Q]

(h) I(m3/s) Q(m3/s) (m3/s) [m3/s] S = [(I1+I2)/2 -(Q1+Q2)/2]dt (m3) (m3)
1 50 50 0 50
2 100 53 75 51.5 84600 60.05
3 200 79 150 66 387000 97.15
4 325 136 262.5 107.5 945000 164.35
5 450 221 387.5 178.5 1697400 255.35
6 600 324 525 272.5 2606400 365.4
7 700 443 650 383.5 3565800 481.55
8 780 553 740 498 4437000 587.05
9 790 646 785 599.5 5104800 667.6
10 775 704 782.5 675 5491800 714.65
11 750 731 762.5 717.5 5653800 733.85
12 680 734 715 732.5 5590800 725.9
13 590 707 635 720.5 5283000 689.45
14 500 653 545 680 4797000 630.05
15 420 586 460 619.5 4222800 561.1
16 350 514 385 550 3628800 489.4
17 300 444 325 479 3074400 422.4
18 250 382 275 413 2577600 362.2
19 225 323 237.5 352.5 2163600 308.3
20 200 284 212.5 303.5 1836000 271.4

Three trials were made with x = 0.3, 0.2 and 0.15 as shown in Fig.12.11. The third trial x = 0.15 was
selected since it approximates a straight line.
Therefore x = 0.15. The value of K is the slope of the line which is approximately 8264 sec = 2.3hrs.

38
 Determination of x and K parameters

6000

5000
Storage, Sx 1000 (m3)
4000

3000

2000

1000 x= 0.3

0 Determination of x and K parameters

0 200 400 600 800
6000 [x.I+(1-x)Q], (m3/s)

5000
Storage, Sx 1000 (m3)

4000

3000

2000

1000 x= 0.2

0
0 200 400 600 800

6000 [x.I+(1-x)Q], (m3/s)

5000
Storage, Sx 1000 (m3)

4000

3000

2000

1000 x= 0.15

0
0 200 400 600 800
[x.I+(1-x)Q], (m3/s)

Fig 12.11 Determination of K and x values of the Muskingum Equation.

39
12.5 The Runge-Kutta Method
The reservoir routing method described in Section 12.2 is mainly graphical. A more efficient modification
is the use of the Runge-Kutta methods. The most accurate being the standard Fourth-Order Runge-Kutta
method (Carnahan, 1969). This is briefly described below:

From the continuity equation

dS dH
 I (t )  Q( H )  A( H ) (12.21)
dt dt

and

dH
 I (t )  Q( H )  F (t , H ) (12.22)
dt

where: S is the storage at a water surface elevation H in the reservoir,

A is the area of the reservoir at elevation H and
Q is the outflow from the reservoir.

Using initial conditions for time, inflow, outflow, elevation and storage and routing in time steps of ∆t,
the elevation H at the (i+1)th step is given by
1
H i 1  H i  ( K1  2 K 2  2 K3  K 4 )t (12.23)
6

where: K1  F (ti , H i )
K2  F (ti  t 2, Hi  1 2 K1t )
K3  F (ti  t 2, Hi  1 2 K2t )
K4  F (ti  t 2, Hi  K3t )

Beginning with initial conditions and knowing Q vs. H and A vs. H , a hydrograph may be routed by
selecting t at any time t  (to  it ) the value of H i and the coefficients K1 , K2 , K3 , K4 are determined
by repeated evaluation of the function F (t , H ) . With the values of H i.e. H (t ) at various intervals,
Q( H ) and S ( H ) can be calculated.

Summary
Despite the many advantages of being near rivers, there has always been the risk of flooding. In the past,
levees or flood banks were built along the main rivers to prevent inundation in the flood season. In more
recent times, storage reservoirs have been built as the engineering principles of dam construction became
better understood. In order to design them appropriately, it is necessary to be able to predict the impact of
the storage on a flood wave. To do this it is necessary to employ the techniques of reservoir flood routing
and channel routing, which show how the peak of a flood is attenuated and delayed for a reservoir and
channel respectively. These techniques are discussed together with examples and recent studies.

40
References
1. Carnahan, B., Luther, H.A., Wilkes, J.O., Applied Numerical Methods, Wiley, 1969, New York,
USA.

2. Chadwick, A., Morfett,J., Hydraulics in Civil Engineering, Chapman and Hall, 1986, London, UK

3. Chow, V.T., Maidment, D.R., Mays, L.W., Applied Hydrology, McGraw-Hill, 1988, New York,
USA.
4. Cunge, J.A., On the Subject of a Flood Propagation Method, Journal of Hydraulics Research,
IAHR,Vol 7, 1969, pp205-230. London, UK.

5. Dake, J.M.K., Essentials of Engineering Hydraulics, Macmillan, 1984, London, UK.

6. Fenton, J.D., Reservoir Routing, Hydrological Sciences, 37, 3, 6,1992, pp 233-246

7. Nash, J.E. Deterministic Hydrology, University College Galway, 1983, Republic of Ireland.

8. O‟ Donnell, T., A Direct Three Parameter Muskingham Procedure incorporating Lateral Flow,
Journal of Hydrological Sciences, 1985,30,4, pp479-496.

9. Rugumayo, A.I., Kayondo, D.K., Flood Analysis and Mitigation on Lake Albert Uganda. Advances
In Geo-Sciences Vol 4 Hydrological Sciences, World Scientific Publishing 2006, Singapore.

10. Subramanya, K., Engineering Hydrology, Second Edition, Tata McGraw Hill, 1994, New Delhi,
India.

11. Wilson, E.M., Engineering Hydrology, 4th Edition, Macmillan, 1996.London,UK.

Further Reading
1. Alexander, W.J.R., Flood Hydrology in Southern Africa, The South African Committee on Large
Dams,1990, Pretoria, South Africa.

2. Butler,D., Davies, J.W.,Urban Drainage, E& FN Spon,2000, London, UK

3. Cudworth, A.G.,Flood Hydrology Manual, US Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation,

Washington USA

4. Dingman, S.L.,Physical Hydrology, Prentice Hall,1994, New Jersey, USA.

5. Featherstone, R.E., Nalluri, C., Civil Engineering Hydraulics, Essential Theory and Examples,
1982, Granada Publishing, London, UK.

6. Serrano E.S.,Hydrology for Engineers, Geologists and Environmental Professionals, Hydro

Science Inc, 1997, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.

41
Questions
1. A reservoir has a constant plan area of 5.56 x 106m2.Discharge from the reservoir takes place over
a spillway the characteristic of which is Q= 135H3/2.Storm run-off entering the reservoir is
estimated at the following figures.

Time (h) 0 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
3
Run-off (m /s) 0 113 170 283 226 170 113 57.5 0

It is noted that at 12 h the head H over the spillway is 0.813m and the reservoir surface level is still
rising. Estimate how much further the level will rise. Sketch the general shape of the outflow
hydrograph and explain what is meant by the lag effect of the reservoir.

2. A flood entering a reservoir of area 0.13km2 has the following hydrograph:

Time (h) 0 2 4 6 10 14 20 30
Flow (m3/s) 0 14.1 42.5 85.0 70.8 42.5 14.1 0

The dam of the reservoir has a spillway 61m long (coefficient 2.21m1/2/s), and a culvert (ground sluice)
with its centre line 30.5m below crest level. At time zero the water level in the reservoir was just at crest
level.

Estimate

(a) the maximum discharge through the culvert, if the water is never to rise more than
30.5cm above the crest;

(b) the size of the culvert, assuming it acts as a simple orifice, Cd = 0.64;

(c) The period during which the culvert is flowing;

3. Describe the continuity function of hydrologic routing and define the terms in the equation

4. Derive the Muskingum equation for flood routing in a river basin. Explain clearly the significance
of the factors x and K and indicate how they can be estimated.

The inflow hydrograph for a reach of a river is given below. Find the peak of the outflow
hydrograph and its time of occurrence if K = 1.5 days and x = 0.25 for the reach. Plot the
complete inflow and outflow hydrographs for the given flood. Assume that the outflow from the
reach is equal to the inflow at the start of the flood.

42
 Date
Hour Inflow(m3/s)
11 July 1200 52
12 July 0600 52
1200 55
13 July 1800 66
2400 100
0600 161
14 July 1200 256
1800 362
2400 343
15 July 0600 321
1200 299
1800 276
16 July 2400 249
0600 224
17 July 1200 209
1800 198
18 July 2400 176
1200 142
2400 121
1200 79
2400 73

5. The table below gives the inflow and outflow hydrographs for a reach of a river. Determine the
Muskingum factor K for the reach if x has been estimated fairly accurately to be 0.20.How does your
value compare with the time lag between inflow and outflow peaks?

Date
Hour Inflow(m3/s) Outflow(m3/s)
17 September 0600 72 72.
1200 75 72
1800 87 71
18 September 2400 118 70
0600 177 73
1200 302 78
1800 382 113
19 September 2400 370 168
0600 344 211
1200 319 238
1800 295 257
20 September 2400 271 267
0600 242 271
1200 228 267
1800 212 260
2400 191 252
21 September 1200 163 230

43