1.

Introduction to Hydrology
1.1. Definition of Hydrology
1.2. Hydrology in Engineering
1.3. Hydrologic Cycle
1.4. The Watershed
1.5. The Water Balance

1. Introduction to Hydrology

1.1 Definition of Hydrology

Hydrology is a multidisciplinary subject that deals with the occurrence, circulation, storage
and distribution of surface and ground water on earth. The domain of hydrology embraces the full
history of the water on earth. It includes the physical, chemical, and biological reactions of water
in natural and man-made environments. It also includes the topics from traditional fluid mechanics,
hydrodynamics and water resources engineering.

1.2 Hydrology in Engineering

Engineering hydrology includes those segments of the field pertinent to planning, design
and operation of engineering projects for the control and use of water. Modern hydrologic
problems include consideration of water quality and contaminant transport.

1.3 Hydrologic Cycle

The hydrologic cycle is a continuous process in which water is evaporated from water
surfaces and the oceans, moves inland as moist air masses, and produces precipitation if the correct
vertical lifting condition exists. The precipitation that falls from clouds onto the land surface of
the earth is dispersed to the hydrologic cycle via several pathways as shown in Figure 1.1. A
portion of the precipitation P, or rainfall, is retained in the soil near where it falls and returns to
the atmosphere via evaporation E, the conversion of water to water vapor from a water surface,
and transpiration T, the loss of water through water vapor through plant tissue and leaves. The
combined loss, called evapotranspiration ET, is a maximum value if the water supply in the soil
is adequate at all times.
Some water enters the soil system as infiltration F, which is a function of soil moisture
condition and soil type, and may re-enter channels later as interflow or may percolate to recharge
the shallow groundwater. Ground water G flows in porous media in the subsurface in either
shallow or deeper aquifer systems that can be pumped for water supply to agricultural and
municipal systems.
The remaining portion of precipitation becomes overland flow or direct runoff R, which
flows generally in a down-gradient direction to accumulate in local streams and then flow to rivers.

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 Surface and ground waters flow from higher elevations toward lower elevations and may
eventually discharge in the ocean, especially after large rainfall events. However large quantities
of surface water and portions of ground water return to the atmosphere by evapotranspiration or
ET, thus completing the natural hydrologic cycle. Precipitation from the atmosphere is a major
force that drives the hydrologic cycle, and understanding weather parameters and systems is
important for the prediction of precipitation events.

Figure 1.1 The Hydrologic Cycle

1.4 The Watershed

A watershed is a contiguous area that drains to an outlet, such that precipitation that falls
within the watershed runs off through that single outlet. The catchment is just the surface portion
of the watershed.
The watershed or basin area is an important physiographic property that determines the
volume of runoff to be expected from a given rainfall event that falls over the area. In general, the
larger the watershed area, the greater the overland flow rate, and the greater the streamflow rate.

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 1.5 The Water Balance

The basic components of the hydrologic cycle include precipitation, evaporation,

evapotranspiration, infiltration, overland flow, streamflow, and ground water flow. The movement
of water (rainfall and runoff) through various phases of the hydrologic cycle varies greatly in time
and space, giving rise to extremes of floods and droughts. In some cases, it is possible to perform
a water budget calculation in order to predict the changes in storage to be expected on inputs and
outputs from the system.
For any hydrologic system, a water budget can be developed to account various flow
pathways and storage components. The hydrologic continuity equation for any system is

𝑑𝑆
𝐼−𝑄 =
𝑑𝑡
where
I = inflow in L3/t
Q = outflow in L3/t
dS/dt = change in storage per time in L3/t

This concept is applied to small basins or watersheds with the added difficulty that all loss
terms in the hydrologic budget may not be known. For a given time, a conceptual mathematical
model of the overall budget for Figure 1.1 would become, in units of depth (in. or mm) over the
basin,

P – R – G – E – T = ΔS
where
P = precipitation
R = surface run off
G = ground water flow
E = evaporation
T = transpiration
ΔS = change on storage in a specified time period

A runoff coefficient can be defined as the ratio R/P for any watershed. If a water body
received inflow for a period of time, the change in water depth due to inflow can be easily
calculated. There are two ways of denoting the volume of water that is added, either as a flow rate
for a specified time or as a water depth across an area. The following equations results:

Volume = (flow rate) (time) = (depth) (watershed area)

Typical units may be English or Metric, as indicated below:

Flow rate cfs or m3/s
Time seconds, days, months
Depth in. or mm
Area acres, sq mi, or sq km

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 To convert from a flow to a change in water depth, rearrange the equation above and
multiply by necessary conversion factors:

(𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒)(𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒)(𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟)

𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ =
𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎

Conversion factors:
30 days / month
24 hrs / day
3600 s / hr
1 acre / 43,560 ft2
12 in / ft
1 csf-hr ≈ 1.008 ac-in

The engineering hydrologist must be able to calculate or estimate various components of

the hydrologic cycle to properly design drainage, flood protection, or water resources projects.
Water supply projects usually address water balances very carefully over extended time horizons
and must consider effects of long term extreme drought on sizing of reservoir volumes. Typical
issues to an engineering hydrologist include the following:
1. Effects of urban development on future capacity of a drainage system and associated flood
flows.
2. Reservoir capacity required to ensure adequate water for municipal or irrigation water
supplied during drought periods.
3. Effects of flood levels on dams and/or levees in a watershed.
4. Design flows to be expected at a bridge, low water dam, or highway culvert.
5. Delineation of floodplain areas to improve protection of residential or commercial projects
from flooding to promote better zoning.
6. Sizing and location of a detention pond to minimize downstream flows from an urban
development.

References:
Hydrology and Floodplain Analysis, 4th ed. by Bedient, Huber and Vieux
Principles of Environmental Engineering and Science by Davis and Masten

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Sample Problems:
1. For a given month a 300-acre lake has 15 cfs of inflow, 13 cfs of outflow, and a total storage
increase of 16 ac-ft. A USGS gage next to the lake recorded a total of 1.3 in. precipitation
for the lake for the month. Assuming that infiltration loss is insignificant for the lake,
determine the evaporation loss, in inches, over the lake for the month.

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 2. A swimming pool (20 ft x 20 ft x 5 ft) has a small leak at the bottom. Measurements of
rainfall, evaporation, and water level are taken daily for 10 days to determine what should
be done for repair. Estimate the average daily leakage out of the swimming pool in ft3/day.
Assume the pool is exactly 5 ft (60 inches) deep at the end of day 1.
Day Evaporation (in.) Rainfall (in.) Measured Level (in.)
1 0.5 60
2 0 1.0
3 0.5
4 0 2.0
5 0.5
6 0.5
7 0 4.0
8 0.5
9 0.5
10 0.5 52

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 3. Hvarekhshaeta Lake has a surface area of 708,000 m2. Based on collected data, Drvaspa
Brook flows into the lake at an average rate of 1.5 m3/s and the Vouruskasha River flows
out of the Hvarekhshaeta Lake at an average rate of 1.25 m3/s during the month of June.
The evaporation rate was measured as 19.4 cm/month. Evapotranspiration can be ignored
because there are few water plants on the shore of the lake. A total of 9.1 cm of precipitation
fell this month. Seepage is negligible. Due to the dense forest and the gentle slope of the
land surrounding the lake, runoff is also negligible. The average depth in the lake on June
1 was 19 m. What was the average depth on June 30?

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 4. In 1997, the Upper Grand watershed near Lansing, Michigan, with an area of 4350 km 2
received 77.7 cm of precipitation. The average rate of flow measured in the Grand River,
which drained the watershed, was 39.6 m3/s. infiltration was estimated to occur at an
average rate of 9.2 x 10-7 cm/s. Evapotranspiration was estimated to be 45 cm/yr. What is
the change in storage in the watershed in cm/yr. Also, calculate the runoff coefficient for
this watershed.

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