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Hydrologic and Hydraulic Analysis of the Iponan River Watershed with the
Proposed Dike System

Conference Paper · June 2016

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 Hydrologic and Hydraulic Analysis of the Iponan River Basin
With the Proposed Dike System
Casey Alla, Czarina Ann Casirayan, Mark Jayson Portarcos, Nico Miguel Tabanas, Allen Jay Wee Eng
Jefferson R. Vallente Jr. *, Dexter S. Lo, Jan Taat,

Civil Engineering Department, Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan,

Corrales Cagayan de Oro City
*jvallente@xu.edu.ph

Abstract - It has been observed from recent years that flooding has been increasing in frequency in most river basins in the Philippines.
Consequently, the changing course of the rivers due to recurring floods have detrimental effects on hydraulic structures built to mitigate
flooding. In Iponan River Basin located in Cagayan de Oro City inundating rivers has threatened areas that were thought to be distant
and safe during extreme rains. During the TS Sendong and ST Pablo flood event, the river overflowed in which some existing sections
of the proposed dike system were already present before the flood, the design was proven insufficient since some areas are still inundated.
This study aims to determine the effectivity of the proposed dike system with the consideration of the downstream areas of the river.
Digital Elevation Model (DEM) from Lidar data is used and satellite imagery dataset such as Landsat and ASTER were utilized
extensively to extract topographic data like the river geometry, cross-section and land use. Also, other important data like precipitation
and flood-dike specifications from PAG-ASA and DPWH respectively were considered.

Upon consideration of the past inadequacy of the dike system

Keywords: DEM, Lidar, Dike system, Flood, Sendong
I. INTRODUCTION
Floods are natural events that can cause severe damage to property,
agricultural productivity, infrastructures and can cause loss of life
and property in vulnerable communities. Moreover, it is a type of
major natural disaster that is costly in terms of property damage
and human casualties.
Geographically, the Philippines is situated near the Pacific Ocean
where the typhoon belt is located leaving it vulnerable to
catastrophic events from typhoons both hydrological and
meteorological. An average of nineteen (19) typhoons with about
nine (9) of them able to make landfall, this frequency may still
increase because of climate change (JTWC, 2013). One storm
event was on December 2011, where a tropical storm named
Sendong (Washi) made landfall and claimed 1,268 lives with 674
from Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental, 6,071 injured, 181
missing and caused Php 1.8 billion cost of damages (NDRRMC,
2012).
During the onslaught of Tropical storm Sendong (2011) and Super
Typhoon Pablo (2012), one of the affected area was the Iponan
River Basin wherein covering an estimated area of 407 square
kilometers located on the northern part of the Mindanao and in
Iligan (UP-TCGAP, 2014). The old dike system along the
downstream Iponan River existed before the devastation casued by
TS Sendong and ST Pablo. This were later destroyed since it did
not hold the floodwaters. A few months later, the Department of
Public Works and Highways (DPWH) started the reconstruction of
the new dike system and currently they are in the process of
extending the construction but still pending budget allocation.
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College of Engineering
Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan
design and future projects of the government this study aims to
determine the flood inundated areas, the potential flood extent, the
overflown sections of the river to mitigate risk of flooding
considering the proposed new dike system. Further, to attain this
the following sub-objectives must also be accomplished:
1. To determine the topographic features and land use and
cover of the study area.
2. To determine the geometric specifications of the dike
system at a certain flood design scale.
3. To develop a hydrologic model of the Iponan river
watershed.
4. To develop a hydraulic model of the floodplain area.
II. EXPERIMENTAL
This study will partly be referring to the Final Year Project Study
of Lapure et. al. (2015) entitled “Deterministic Flood Inundation
Mapping Along the Proposed Dike System of the Cagayan de Oro
River: The Sendong Scale Flood” but with the addition of several
updated data and methodology tools. With the use of a one-
dimensional flood model, it is calibrated and validated from
existing and credible models to derive a modeled flood inundation
map which is considered as the main framework of the study. As
shown in Figure 1, the research is composed of six (6) major phases
namely: study area determination and data acquisition, base model
development, model sensitivity analysis, model calibration, model
verification, and flood inundation analysis.
The first phase of the study is to determine the concerned study and
focus areas and acquire physical data such as DEM from LiDAR,
etc. Second phase is to create a hydrologic and hydraulic base
model which will then be subjected to sensitivity analysis. The
third phase requires sensitivity analysis simultaneously of both the
Iponan basin and its corresponding river profile in Hydrologic
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Engineering Center (HEC) software such as Hydrologic Modeling
System (HMS) and River Analysis System (RAS) respectively.
This phase presents how sensitive a trial model can be with regards
to the value of the parameters when compared to the base model.
Sensitivity analysis can help verify the right value for each
parameter to generate an improved model. Fourth phase involves
calibrating the improved models by establishing validation points
based from Xavier University Engineering Resource Center (XU-
ERC) flood maps for TS Sendong and ST Pablo done in 2011 and
2012 respectively. Fifth phase involves verification of models by
validating the maps with the actual recorded data of TS Sendong,
ST Pablo and the recent flood event last January 16 to 20, 2017.
Lastly, the sixth phase is flood inundation analysis where maps are
further evaluated to locate critical areas, flooded plains and the
overflown sections of the constructed dike system.
Phase 1: Study Area Determination
and Data Acquisition
Data used in this study are LiDar with a 0.5m x 0.5m resolution
and latest Landast 8 Satellite Imagery. Advanced Spaceborne
Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer Digital Elevation
Model (ASTER DEM) were downloaded courtesy of the USA
NASA which was used in delineating the Iponan hydrologic
boundaries. Further, the topography and elevation of the channel
were extracted and used together with the satellite imagery to
obtain the river geometry, land use and cover of the focus area to
establish the river profile. Also, other important data like rainfall
and dike design specifications were also requested from
government institutions such as PAGASA and DPWH
respectively.
Land use classification plays an important aspect in this study for
it defines the surface roughness through manning’s coefficients
and curve number. Also, with the output provided by land use,
precautions for potential floods can easily be calculated for it
describes the flooded areas especially in urbanized and developed
settlements.

Phase 2: Base Model Development

Phase 3: Model Sensitivity Analysis

Phase 4: Model Calibration

Phase 5: Model Verification

Phase 6: Flood Inundation Analysis

Fig. 1. Research Design

2.1 Study area and data used

The Iponan River basin is in the northern part of Mindanao. It

covers an estimated basin area of 407 sq. kilometers as shown in
Figure 2(a). Iponan river, the main tributary of this river basin, has
a length of 60 kilometers running from Iligan City draining
towards Macajalar Bay. The main attention of the study is focused
in a 9km x 10km boundary within the defined study area along
areas in the Iponan river where the DPWH dike system is planned
to be constructed from Barangay Barra to Barangay Pagatpat with
an approximate length of 20km. As of the moment, the available
dike specifications acquired from DPWH only stretches from the
Fig. 2. Study and Focused Area
river mouth in Barangay Barra to upstream in Barangay Iponan as
shown in Figure 2(b).

Page 2 of 6
XU Engineering Resource Center
College of Engineering
Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan

2.2 Hydrological data
2.2.1 Rainfall
The rainfall data used in the simulation of actual and hypothetical
rain events in HEC-HMS were acquired from PAG-ASA rainfall
database and XU-ERC and Shell Weather Stations (TRMM?).
2.2.2 Gauge Height – Discharge
Gauge height – discharge relationship was established by
expressing it in a form of a rating curve wherein discharge, Q
serves as a function of the gauge height, h readings used in the
calibration of the HEC-HMS Model. Furthermore, the gauge
height and discharge data located at San Simon, Pagatpat Station
were acquired from the Quality Assurance and Hydrology Division
of DPWH in a handbook format. The data are then manually
tabulated in excel format and was subjected to further analysis by
generating two separate rating curves for Pre-Sendong and Post-
Sendong data. Based from the analysis, it shows that the Post-
Sendong rating curve with an R-squared value of 0.87 must be used
in the HMS Calibration.
Figure 3. Iponan River Rating Curve
2.3 Hydrologic Model Development
The hydrologic model of Iponan River Basin was developed using
HEC-HMS together with the ArcMap v.10 extension HEC-
GeoHMS. It is a public domain software developed by the US
Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to simulate event-based and
continuous rainfall – runoff of dendritic watersheds.
An ASTER-Based DEM was used as the terrain for the basin
model. The watershed delineation and its hydrologic elements,
namely the subbasins, junctions and reaches, were generated using
HEC-GeoHMS after importing the elevation data and stream
networks.
Parameters for the subbasins and reaches were computed after the
model domain was created. There were several methods available
for different calculation types for each subbasin and reach
hydrologic elements. The methods used in this study are shown in
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Table 1. The necessary parameter values are determined by the
selected methods. The initial abstraction, curve number,
percentage impervious and manning’s coefficient of roughness n,
for each subbasin were computed based on the soil type, land cover
and land use data. The subbasin lagtime and baseflow were
computed based on the analysis of the topography of the basin.
Table 1. Methods used for the different calculation type for the
hydrologic elements
Hydrologic Calculation Type Method
Element
Subbasin Loss Rate SCS Curve Number
Transform SCS Unit Hydrograph
Baseflow Constant Monthly
Reach Routing Muskingum-Cunge
2.4 Hydraulic Model Development
From the rainfall-runoff model performed in HEC-HMS, peak
flow probabilities need to be evaluated using the flood hydrograph
resulted from the simulation and flow statistics. This analysis will
yield a hydrograph that requires for specifying the boundary
condition in hydraulic analysis using HEC-RAS. The water-
surface elevation at various cross-sections of a the Iponan river
reach could be traced through performing HEC-RAS simulations
using the Digital Terrain Model (DTM) and inflow hydrographs.
The DTM would be generated using the existing topographic and
bathymetric data. The topographic data contain the spot heights of
the flood plain collected from the field, and the bathymetric data is
from the river under study.
HEC-GeoRAS is a set of procedures, tools, and utilities for
processing geospatial data in ArcGIS. The GeoRAS helps in
preparing the geometric data for importing into HEC-RAS and
processing results exported from HEC-RAS for performing more
calculations such as flood inundation and hazard mapping. To
create the import file, the DTM of the river system in TIN or GRID
format is necessary.
The RAS layers include layers created for stream centerline, cross-
section cut-lines, flow-path centerlines, and main channel banks.
Additional layers like land use (for Manning’s ‘n’ extraction) and
levees (dike systems) could be developed and imported. Finally
running the GeoRAS would be carried out to generate the flood
depth maps. Boundary conditions for the upstream as well as the
downstream are chosen in terms of water levels corresponding to
input discharges of the gauge stations or the results obtained from
the hydrologic analysis. A one-dimensional hydraulic analysis
component for unsteady flow simulation is performed and the
resulting flood depth would be compared with the field surveyed
data. Field data needed to be collected by surveying the floodplain
at the selected locations during the Sendong 2011 and Pablo 2012
events and is required for model verification.
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 III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 Model Development
This section explains the necessary processes on which each phase
took an account to generate the desired output.
3.1.1 Land Use Classification
The land cover of the Iponan Rivebasin identified five (5) unique
classifications for the spectral analysis of the study area which are
essential for the rainfall-runoff mode and flood models. These
classifications are the built-up areas (urban areas, constructed
channels and roads), water (rivers, streams and canals), light
vegetation (crop lands and grass lands), heavy vegetation (dense
forested areas), and open soil (earth windings and no vegetation
areas). The specific classifications are essential to the hydraulic
model to achieve a realistic and spatially precise hydrologic and
hydraulic model. (Merwade, 2012)
The classification yielded a 91% average accuracy for the four
different ROIs of 30x30-meter spatial resolution. The same
classifications were resampled by the Majority Resampling
method in ArcMap, a method used for discrete data. This generated
a classification with a 150x150-meter spatial resolution which the
accuracy averaged 77.5%. Both classifications conformed to the
accuracy range which would be acceptable for the applicable
standards. (Bach et al., 2005,
Rozenstein and Karneli, 2010)
Table 2. Manning’s n values
Land Use Classification Manning’s n values
Water 0.030
Built up 0.015
Light vegetation 0.035
Heavy vegetation 0.100
Open soil 0.020
3.1.2 Sensitivity Analysis
Out of the eight (8) parameters considered and administered to
sensitivity analysis, four (4) of which were proven sensitive.
Namely cross-section cutlines, levees, discharge and Manning’s
coefficient.
Results indicate that each parameter has its corresponding value to
effectively generate the hydraulic models. Cross-section cutlines
must have the right amount of cross section interval which will
extend throughout the concerned span. Levees can be man-made
or natural but when generating in HEC-RAS, it must be constantly
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adjusted for HEC-RAS only considers a one -dimensional flow.
When calibrating models, it must have the right amount of
discharge to be able to attain an output which can assimilate a
corresponding flood event. Generating a reasonable value of
Manning’s coefficient is crucial to obtaining a good model and to
do so, land use must have a good accuracy check.
3.1.3 Calibration
Calibration is about adjusting the models to a referred standard.
While calibrating, data acquired from TS Pablo (2012) and flood
maps developed by XU-ERC for TS Pablo were used. Calibration
points were set respectively to flooded and non-flooded zones and
these corresponding points measured the accuracy of the model
after calibration is done.
A total of five (5) hydraulic models were developed to calibrate the
ST Pablo rain event. To increase the accuracy of the calibrated
models, computed parameters such as cross-section cutlines and
levees were altered since given data such as discharge and land use
are close to real values. After simulation of trials, results show a
percent match of more than 80% on the comparison of flooded
areas and verification points. The maximum percent match
attained was 91.18% and is subjected to validation with the TS
Sendong rain event.
3.1.4 Validation
Validation is one of the final stages necessary to create an accurate
hydraulic model. The five (5) hydraulic models uses the rain data
from TS sendong which was gathered by XU-ERC. The models
are simulated with the use of the TS Sendong flow hydrograph.
Inundated maps are then compared along the concerned flooded
areas during our reconnaissance survey. The method of validation
is similar on how calibration was done where percent match
between flooded areas and verification points were computed.
3.1.5 Flood Inundation Analysis
Flood inundation analysis is an important component for
appropriate land use planning in floodplain areas. It is usually in
the form of easily-read, rapidly-accessible charts and maps which
facilitates the administrators and planners to identify areas of
concern and prioritize their mitigation or response efforts. This
study integrates advanced techniques to accurately delineate flood
prone areas. In addition, analyzing the on-going construction of the
DPWH dike system was considered in the RAS model both under
in a Sendong and Pablo scale flood to determine the inundated
areas along the floodplain area.
3.2 Model Parameters
This section explains the necessary parameters used to generate the
desired model.
Page 4 of 6
3.2.1. Cross-section Filter Points
Cross-section data generated in each cut line is defined by a series
of station elevation points provided by Hydrologic Engineering
Center River Analysis System (HEC-RAS). The data developed by
HEC-RAS is limited to a minimum and maximum number of four
(4) and five hundred (500) station-elevation points respectively. IF
a given data exceeds the maximum number of points, HEC-RAS
will fail to process the unsteady flow data however HEC-RAS
provides an option where one can filter and specify the number of
points needed to generate in each cross-section. Cross sections that
do not meet the specified limitations will be automatically
removed.
Based from the results provided by the sensitivity analysis (cross-
section filter points), the filter points became erratic when the
limitation was set to fifty (50) below due to the profile becoming
less defined compared to the previous two (2) trials. It was then
concluded that accuracy was measured on how many filter points
were used in every corresponding test. The more points, the
accurate the data will be. The results of the trials suggest that one
hundred (100) filter points is enough to generate a clear model with
an accurate flood inundation map.
3.2.2 Stream Centerline and Flowpaths
Stream centerline is used to define the main channel flow of the
river and is needed to generate river stations to cross-sections while
flowpaths are used to obtain the downstream reach lengths
between cross-sections and overbank areas. Stream centerline and
flowpaths are RAS geometry needed for HEC-GeoRAS to run.
The results show that stream centerline and flowpath parameters
do not require modification since parameters are accurate and
clear.
3.2.3 Cross-section Cut lines
Cross-section cut lines represents the cross-section location where
station and elevation data will be extracted from the terrain.
Intersection of cut lines with other RAS geometry determines the
manning’s roughness coefficients, position of levee, location of
bank stations, and downstream reach lengths. Water surface
profiles are computed per cross-section and it is one of the most
important RAS geometry inputs to HEC-RAS to produce a
hydraulic model. Due to HEC-RAS limitation, it can only compute
cross-section data and lengths of the cross-section cut lines
programed to the software.
The results show that the width of cross-section cut lines must be
wide enough to allow non-linear floodplain delineate among cross-
sections. Intervals between cross-sections also contribute to the
effects when generating a hydraulic model. The closer the interval,
the accurate the model will be.
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3.2.4 Levees
HEC-RAS can only support two levees per cross-section, the left
and right over bank. It also allows the user to define levees which
can constrain the flow of water. When levees are assigned, the
software will restrict the water from entering the riverside until
water overflows. Levee stations and elevations are set above
ground and HEC-RAS will input vertical walls at a specified
location.
The sensitivity analysis shows that levees are erratic since it has
considerable effects in the hydraulic model. HEC-RAS computes
water surface profiles but with given errors where it directly
inundates areas with the same elevation as the water surface and in
the end, can lead to inappropriate inundated locations. To eliminate
this error, a natural levee must be placed at the highest elevation
where it can prevent the overflow of water.
3.2.5 Manning’s Coefficient
Manning’s coefficient is an essential factor in obtaining an
accurate computation for water surface profile. During sensitivity
analysis, N-values are classified using various land use layer with
the use of the software ArcMap. The results acquired varies upon
the selection of the roughness coefficient for each cross-section.
The parameters must be properly selected for it affects the
accuracy of the model. The N-values per cross-section inputted in
the model is only limited to less than or equal to twenty (20)
variations.
3.2.6 Energy Slope
Energy slope is necessary in obtaining the normal depth within the
boundary conditions of the concerned location. With ArcGIS, it
can digitize terrain models of the river which will generate a river
bed elevation profile. The data acquired can then be used to
calculate the energy slope via elevation over distance. The data
measured can be utilized by the base model for its set parameters.
HEC-RAS then uses the energy slope to solve for the normal
depth.
3.2.7 Discharge
Discharge is one of the essential factors in generating the desired
model. Data gathered from PAGASA (rainfall data from Pablo
2012, January 16-17, 2017 flood, January 3, 2013 flood) were used
as basis to produce flow hydrograph which simulates the flooded
area.
IV. CONCLUSION
The Iponan River basin was modeled using HEC-HMS for the
inflow hydrograph and HEC-RAS for the flood depth to determine
the inundated areas along the floodplain with the consideration of
the DPWH dike system. With the increasing urbanization in the
area due to the presence of the million peso projects such as Seven
Page 5 of 6
Seas Waterpark and Resort owned by Engr. Elpidio Paras and City
Mall in Barangay Barra and the Amaia Scapes subdivision by
Ayala situated in Barangay Canitoan, it is evident that it imposes a
threat for the community wherein an increase of the flood peak
during heavy rainfall in the upstream area is possible.

The HEC-HMS and HEC-RAS models were both calibrated and

validated for historic flow events. The HMS model was then used
to generate estimates of flow hydrographs based from an actual
and hypothetical storm event such as Sendong (2011) and Pablo
(2012) respectively. The hydrograph output from HMS was then
used to run the RAS model together with other RAS parameters
including the dike system design of the DPWH. The RAS model
then generated estimates of water elevations and flood inundation
extents for such flood scenarios.

V. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The researchers would like to extend their gratitude to the

Department of Science and Technology - Disaster Risk and
Exposure Assessment for Mitigation (DOST-DREAM) Project for
the LiDAR data used in this study. Special thanks to DPWH-10 for
the technical details of the dike system. The researchers would also
like to thank the Xavier University – Engineering Resource Center
(XU-ERC) for the rainfall data and historical Sendong and flood
footprint maps used.

VI. REFERENCES

Cook, A. C. (2008, May). Comparison of one-dimensional HEC-

RAS with two-dimensional FESWMS model in flood
inundation mapping. Retrieved 2016
Julien, P., Ghani, A. A., Zakaria, N. A., & Chang, C. K. (2010,
April). Case Study: Flood Mitigation of the Muda River,
Malaysia. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering .
doi:10.1061/(ASCE)HY.1943-7900.0000163
Lapure, C. P., Lamparas, G. L., Paduganan, A. O., & Baculio, K.
M. (2015, March). Deterministic Flood Inundation
Mapping Along the Proposed Dike System of the
Cagayan de Oro River: The Sendong Scale Flood.
Retrieved 2016
Mabao, K., & Cabahug, R. G. (2014, July 23). Assessment and
Analysis of the Floodplain of Cagayan de Oro River
Basin. Mindanao Journal of Science and Technology,
12. Retrieved 2016
Sarhadi, A., Soltani, S., & Modarres, R. (n.d.). Probalistic flood
inundation mapping of ungauged rivers: Linking GIS
techniques and frequency analysis.
doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.06.039
Snead, D., & Maidment, D. R. (2000, October). Floodplain
Visualization Using HEC-GeoRAS. Retrieved from
http://www.crwr.utexas.edu/gis/gishydro01/class/exerci
ses/georas.html
Yuan, Y., & Qaiser, K. (2011, October). Floodplain Modeling in
the Kansas River Basin Using Hydrologic Engineering
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