PEAK RUNOFF PREDICTION BY THE RATIONAL METHOD

Version 2_00 Released December 2007

City of Springfield Public Works Department
Springfield Missouri
**DRAFT**
Purpose: This workbook applies the Rational Method to estimate stormwater
runoff and peak flows from small urban catchments,
i.e., typically less than 100 acres.

Function: 1. To apply the area-weighting method to calculate the representative

runoff coefficient C for a catchment.

2. To calculate the time of concentration and compare it with

the empirical time of concentration limit used for the Springfield region.
The smaller value is recommended as the rainfall duration for
use with the Rational Method.

3. To calculate the design rainfall intensity and peak flow rate.

Content: This workbook consists of the following five sheets:

Intro Describes the purpose of each sheet in the workbook.

Weighted C Applies the area-weighting method to determine the runoff C.

Tc and PeakQ Calculates Tc and Q-peak.

Design Info Provides the recommended runoff C's for various land uses.

Notation Defines the variables used in the spreadsheet.

Acknowledgements: This spreadsheet was originally designed by the Denver Urban Drainage and
Flood Control District (UDFCD) and has been modified by the City of Springfield
to reflect local criteria and policies with the permission of the UDFCD. The original
UDFCD spreadsheet development team was comprised of:
Dr. James C.Y. Guo, P.E.
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
University of Colorado at Denver
Ken A. MacKenzie, P.E.
Urban Drainage and Flood Control District
Wright Water Engineers, Inc. (WWE)
Denver, Colorado
Modifications to the spreadsheet to reflect City of Springfield criteria and policies
were made by WWE with consultation and peer review by the City of Springfield, MO.

Comments? Direct all comments regarding this spreadsheet workbook to: Todd Wagner E-Mail
twagner@springfieldmo.gov
Revisions? Check for revised versions of this or any other workbook at: Downloads
http://www.ci.springfield.mo.us/egov/publicworks/storm_water/manual.html

687618131.xls, Intro 08/28/2023, 08:53:53

 Area-Weighting for Runoff Coefficient Calculation

Project Title:
Catchment ID:
**DRAFT**
Illustration

Instructions: For each catchment subarea, enter values for A and C.

Subarea Area Runoff Product

ID acres Coeff.
A C* CA
input input input output

Sum: 0.00 Sum: 0.00

Area-Weighted Runoff Coefficient (sum CA/sum A) =

*See sheet 'Design Info' for runoff coefficient values in Table RO-6.

687618131.xls, Weighted C 08/28/2023, 08:53:53

 CALCULATION OF A PEAK RUNOFF USING RATIONAL METHOD

Project Title:
Catchment ID:
**DRAFT**
I. Catchment Hydrologic Data

Catchment ID =
Area =
Design Storm Return Period, Tr =
Runoff Coefficient, C =
Adjusted Runoff Coefficient, Ca =
Acres
years (input return period for design storm)
(Table RO-6, Typical for return periods of 2 to 10 years)
(Table RO-7, Adjusted for 25-, 50-, and 100-year return periods)

II. Analysis of Flow Time (Time of Concentration) for a Catchment

Illustration

Overland Flow Time, To

Kerby-Hathaway Equation
Length = ft (500' max for undeveloped areas, 300' max for developed areas)
Slope = ft/ft
Nk = (Table RO-5, coefficient of roughness based on land surface type)
To = min

Travel Time, Tt
Kirpich Equation Adjustment Factors (Rossmiller 1980) Multiply By
For flow in well-defined channels, bare-earth
overland flow or flow in mowed channels 1
For flow in natural grassed channels 2
For flow in concrete channels 0.5

Calculations: Reach Slope Length Adjustment Flow Flow

ID S L Factor Velocity Time
from table V Tf
ft/ft ft above fps minutes
input input input output output
Overland N/A
1
2
3
4
5
Sum 0 Computed Tc =
Minimum Tc =
Place "X" User-Entered Tc =
Land Use by Landuse
Urban
Non-Urban

III. Peak Runoff Prediction

Rainfall Intensity at Computed Tc, I = inch/hr Peak Flowrate, Qp = cfs
Rainfall Intensity at Minimum Tc, I = inch/hr Peak Flowrate, Qp = cfs
Rainfall Intensity at User-Defined Tc, I = inch/hr Peak Flowrate, Qp = cfs

687618131.xls, Tc and PeakQ 08/28/2023, 08:53:53

Table RO-1: Rainfall Depth-Duration-Frequency Relationships from Rainfall
Frequency Atlas of the Midwest (Huff et al. 1992) **DRAFT**
Depth of Precipitation (in)
Duration 1-year 2-year 5-year 10-year 25-year 50-year 100-year
5 min 0.36 0.45 0.57 0.67 0.79 0.88 0.98
10 min 0.63 0.79 1.01 1.17 1.38 1.54 1.72
15 min 0.81 1.02 1.29 1.50 1.77 1.98 2.21
30 min 1.11 1.39 1.77 2.05 2.43 2.72 3.03
1 hr 1.41 1.77 2.25 2.61 3.08 3.45 3.84
2 hr 1.74 2.19 2.78 3.22 3.80 4.26 4.74
3 hr 1.92 2.41 3.07 3.55 4.20 4.70 5.24
6 hr 2.25 2.83 3.59 4.16 4.92 5.51 6.14
12 hr 2.61 3.28 4.17 4.83 5.71 6.39 7.12
18 hr 2.82 3.54 4.50 5.22 6.17 6.90 7.69
24 hr 3.00 3.77 4.79 5.55 6.56 7.34 8.18
48 hr 3.30 4.14 5.25 6.07 7.17 8.05 8.97
72 hr 3.68 4.62 5.81 6.69 7.90 8.85 9.85
120 hr 4.16 5.21 6.50 7.45 8.70 9.68 10.77
240 hr 5.37 6.59 8.05 9.13 10.49 11.52 12.61

Table RO-5: Values of Nk for the Kerby-Hathaway Equation

Surface Type Nk
Smooth impervious surface 0.05
Smooth bare packed soil, free of stones 0.1

Poor grass, cultivated row crops, or moderately-

rough bare surfaces 0.2
Pasture or average grass cover 0.4
Deciduous timberland 0.6

Conifer timberland, deciduous timberland with deep

forest litter or dense grass cover 0.8

Table RO-6: Runoff Coefficients Based on Surface Type for Rational Equation
By Surface Type - use as basis for computation of composite runoff coefficients
Surface Type Runoff Coefficients
Asphalt, concrete pavement, roofs 0.95 - 1.0
Gravel surfaces, compacted 0.85 - 0.95
Gravel surfaces, not compacted 0.50 - 0.70
Parks, golf courses, farms 0.10 - 0.20
Lawns, pastures, hayfields
Flat (< 2% slopes) 0.10 - 0.15
Average (2-7% slopes) 0.15 - 0.20
Steep (>7% slopes) 0.20 - 0.30
Woods 0.05 - 0.15
Composite Coefficients for Single Family Residential Areas
Flat Average Steep
Average lot size, 1/4 acre 0.35 - 0.45 0.40 - 0.50 0.45 - 0.55
Average lot size, 1/3 acre 0.30 - 0.40 0.33 - 0.43 0.40 - 0.50
Average lot size, 1/2 acre 0.25 - 0.35 0.30 - 0.40 0.36 - 0.46
Average lot size, 1 acre 0.20 - 0.25 0.25 - 0.30 0.30 - 0.38
Average lot size, 3 acres 0.10 - 0.20 0.16 - 0.24 0.25 - 0.33
Note: The ranges of C values presented in this table are typical for return periods of 2 to 10 years. Higher values are
appropriate for larger design storms and assume average antecedent moisture conditions. C must not exceed 1.0
Table RO-7: Frequency Factors for the Runoff Coefficient (Debo and Reese 2002)
Recurrence Interval (years) Adjustment Multiplier
25 1.1
50 1.2
100 1.25

Page 4
 List of Variables
**DRAFT**
A= watershed area in acres
C= runoff coefficient
Ca= adjusted runoff coefficient
I= rainfall intensity in inches/hour
ID = user defined identification number
L= flow length in ft
Nk = coefficient of roughness
S= slope for flow length in ft/ft
Tc = time of concentration in minutes
Tf = flow time in minutes
To= initial flow time
Tr= return period in years
Tt= travel time
Qp = peak runoff rate in cfs
V= flow velocity in ft/second

687618131.xls, Notation 08/28/2023, 08:53:53