Penrhose Small Hydropower Project

Hydrology Study

1.0 Scope of the Hydrology Study

Penrhose small hydropower project envisages the utilization of water

resource available in the middle reaches of Hangaran Oya and the head
difference of about 20m in the river at a location closer to the estate of
Penrhose. Purpose of this hydrological study is to estimate the water resource
of the sub basin for the planning and design of the project. Since the
proposed project layout does not incorporate means of flow regulation such
as a reservoir capable of storing sizable volume, assessment of flows
available on daily basis is required. Further, the design of weir requires
assessment of flood peaks at the location of the weir. These two aspects will
be studied in detail in the hydrological study.

2.0 Location

There will be two weir sites in the proposed project layout. One will be across
the main stream and the other is on a stream joining the main stream on right
bank. Project area can be reached from Nawalapitiya town by initially
traveling along route B317 from Nawalapitiya to Talawakelle and then
traveling along the road on the right bank of Inguru Oya via Bawagama. Weir
site is situated in the estate of Penrhose. Co-ordinates and Catchment areas
of the weir sites are;

Weir A
6° 59' 30" N, 80° 32' 01" E
Or 199,048 N, 173,736 E w.r.t Pidurutalagala.
Catchment area at the weir site A is 13.44 km2.

Weir B
6° 59' 41" N, 80° 32' 07" E
Or 199,380 N, 173,924 E w.r.t Pidurutalagala.
Catchment area at the weir site B is 9.12 km2.

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 * Disclaimer:
Coordinates of the weir site given above are estimated based on 1:50,000 topographic sheet of 68 –
Nuwara Eliya, They are meant only for identification of the weir site for the purpose of hydrological studies
and considered to be adequate for the said purpose. They shall not be used for representation of weir sites
for any other purposes including legal matters as a method of identification of the project locations. In such
case surveys carried out and certified by a Licensed surveyor shall be used.

3.0 Topography and Land Use

Hangaran Oya also known as Inguru Oya is an important tributary in the

upper Mahaweli Ganga basin. It originates at an altitude of 1700m asl from
the eastern part of the upper peneplain and drops through the rapids
separating the middle and lower peneplains in the project area. Inguru Oyq
flows in northwardly direction to join Mahaweli Ganga upstream of
Nawalapitiya. Major water divides of the catchment run in N-S direction.

1700
Elevation (m msl)

1600
1500
1400
1300
1200
1100
1000
900
800
700
600
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Distance (km)
Figure 3.2 River bed profile Weir A weir B

The river basin is of fan shape. The length of the river reaches of the two sub
catchments up to the project area are approximately 9 and 10 km
respectively. Figure 3.1 shows the catchment of Inguru Oya at weir sites of
the project.

The elevation of the weir site is about 440m asl. Downstream of the location
of the weir, riverbed falls rapidly by about 20m. Proposed project envisages
utilizing this head difference. Figure 3.2 shows the riverbed profile of Inguru
Oya from origin up to about 1km past the weir area.

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Riverbed slopes are steep in the reach up to the weir site. Average riverbed
slope is about 11%. Due to steep riverbed and valley slopes in major part of
the catchment, the opportunity for infiltration is reduced. The soil cover in
these areas is also relatively thin reducing the capacity to retain infiltration.
Combined effect of these features would be rapid runoff response in the
catchment. Due to this, stream flows in the river would be characterized by
large flow volumes during rainy periods immediately followed by significantly
small flows after the rains have ceased.

Valley slopes of the upper catchment above 1400m asl contour are covered
with lush sub montane evergreen tropical forests. Forests cover around 30%
of the catchment which is significant compared with similar sub basins in the
surrounding areas. Below this contour, home gardens and tea plantations
occupy the valley slopes. There is tropical vegetation along the stream banks.

There are no significant interventions on the stream flows upstream of the

weir site.

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4.0 Rainfall

4.1 Availability of Data

As in many other regions of the central highlands, long records of rainfall are
available in the upper catchment of Mhaweli Ganga basin in which Inguru Oya
is a tributary. A number of rain gauges located around Inguru Oya catchment
were identified for studying the distribution of rainfall in the area. Some of the
stations have either ceased to function or not reporting their observations to
the Department of Meteorology.

The general area of Inguru Oya catchment is known to receive moderately

high annual rainfall. Stations Watawala, Abergeldie, Blackwater and
Kenilworth are located towards west of project catchment and are known to
receive high levels of rainfall. Stations Kolapathna, Kataboola, Oonugal Oya,
and Yellabedda are located east of the project catchment and show reduced
levels of rainfalls compared to those located to west.

Figure 4.1 shows the lengths of records of these stations. Figure 4.3 shows
the locations of the stations.

Figure 4.1 Rainfall Data Chronograms

Station Name 6 0 7 0 8 0 9 0 2 0 0 0 1 0
Watawala
Kolapathana
Abergeldie
Blackwater
Oonugal Oya

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4.2 Analysis of Rainfall Data

Sub catchments at the weir sites are of moderate size and there is a
possibility of an appreciable variation in annual rainfall received in different
parts of the catchment. The analysis was therefore concentrated in studying
the monthly rainfall patterns of available stations and their long-term behavior
to identify the most suitable method to represent the catchment rainfall both in
terms of geographical location and timeliness of data. In these studies, the
long-term behavior of the rainfall in and around the catchment was also
investigated.

4.2.1 Distribution of Monthly Rainfall

900
Rainfall (mm)

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month
Hatton Watawala Blackwater Abergeldie
Kolapathana Kataboola Ooonugal oya Yellebenda

Figure 4.2 Distribution of Monthly Rainfall

Figure 4.2 shows the distribution of mean monthly rainfall of rainfall stations
used in the present study. Data indicates that all stations show similar
patterns of distribution of rainfall through the year. As indicated by two distinct
peaks, the catchment area receives rain during southwest monsoon and inter-
monsoon from October to November in nearly equal volumes.

Comparison of total rainfall received between the months of April to June and
September to November in each station shows that the total rainfall depths of
the two periods are nearly equal.

5
 The water divides separating Upper Mahaweli basin and Inguru Oya sub basin
run in north–south direction. Thus the western slopes of the sub basins
directly face the air currents during southeast monsoon. Reduction in annual
rainfall towards east is mainly due to the increasing distance from the
southwest front rather than the effect of the mountain barriers.

4.2.2 Areal Rainfall

Areal rainfall of the catchment can be computed using the stations described
in sec 4.2.1. The size of the catchment is quite small for application Thiessen
average method. Instead, an attempt was made in this study to identify the
pattern of mean annual rainfall over the area centering the Inguru Oya basin
and then assign a representative value for the mean annual rainfall of the
catchment.

800
Rainfall (mm)

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month
Figure 4.4 Monthly Distribution of Areal Rainfall

As discussed in sec 4.2.1, annual rainfall reduces towards the east over the
sub catchment. Based on mean annual rainfall isohyets, mean annual rainfall
of sub catchment is about 4700mm. Figure 4.3 shows a map of mean annual
rainfall isohyets of Inguru Oya basin and surrounding areas.

Figure 4.4 shows mean monthly rainfall distribution of Inguru Oya sub
catchment or the period 1981-2010 based on the rainfall series (sec 4.2.4)
prepared for the catchment.

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4.2.3 Long-term Mean Annual Rainfall of Inguru Oya Basin

Data of stations described in sec 4.1 can be used to evaluate long-term rainfall
behavior of the area around project catchment. Of the available stations,
records of Watawala, Blackwater, and Oonugal Oya were used to study long-
term annual rainfall of the area.

7000
Annual Rainfall (mm)

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
Watawala Blackwater Ooonagala Month

Figure 4.5 3-Year Moving Average of Annual Rainfall

Figure 4.5 shows three-year moving averages of annual rainfall of the three
stations.

The reduction in annual rainfall around 1970’s was a common feature

observed in many areas of the central highlands as noted in several
hydrological studies. The reason for these variations could be the cyclic
behaviour of climate alternating between wet and dry cycles rather than a
persistent reducing trend.

Compared to records of other stations, record of Watawala does not show

significant changes in levels of rainfall, this is mainly due to the specific
location of the station which receives rainfall due to the effects of monsoons as
well as orographic effects.

4.2.4 Daily Rainfall Base for the Preparation of Daily Stream Flow Series

Station Watawla has the longest continuous record of rainfall close to the
project area. However, level of rainfall received at Watawala is higher than the

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level of areal rainfall estimated for the project catchment. Daily rainfall series
1981-2010 of Watawala was adjusted to represent the rainfall of the project
catchment.

Analysis of daily rainfall database shows that on average there are 205 rainy
days in the area. During the period considered number of rainy days has
varied between a maximum of 264 days and a minimum of 172 days. The
number of rainy days is high compared to other rainfall regions of the central
highlands.

The distribution of daily rainfall depths received is given in Table 4.1. Nearly
24% of the time basin receives rainfall between 0-10 mm. This will help to
retain the soil moisture in upper zones so that when higher rainfalls occur
there would be a faster runoff response, about 09% of the occurrences are
above 40 mm.

Heavy rainfall depths usually produce flood discharges and resulting flows
would be difficult to capture. On the other hand, a considerable share of lower
range will be lost due to interception and evapotranspiration.

Table 4.1 Distribution of Daily Rainfall

Daily Percentage
Depth Occurrence
0 44%
0-10 24%
10-20 12%
20-30 07%
30-40 05%
40-50 03%
>50 06%

Due to this nature, nearly 65% of the time river flow will be dominated by the
base flow component. On the other hand nearly 09% of the time there will be
considerably heavy flows. During the remaining period flows will be moderate.

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5. Stream Flows

Nearest functioning gauging station in Mahaweli Ganga is located at

Nawalapitiya and the catchment measured at this point is 176 km2 which
includes Gorok Oya catchment as well. Mean annual flow observed at
Nawalapitiya is 14.8 m3/s. There had been a station in operation at Watawala
but its record is short. Record of Nawalapitiya is not representative of the flows
at weir site since catchment is large and distributions of rainfall in the two
catchments are different.

The daily river flows were computed using a rainfall-runoff model developed by
M.Sugawara, which had been found suitable for the regions having little soil
moisture variations throughout the year such as upper Mahaweli basin.

The upper catchment area above 1400 m asl is under moderate forest cover
and evapotranspiration in these areas would be lower compared to areas at
lower altitudes. The higher retention capacity and reduced evapotranspiration
in this area would yield a better runoff response. Annual pan evaporation in the
catchment area is taken as 900mm. Monthly pattern of evaporation observed
at Peradeniya was used to represent the monthly distribution of evapo-
transpiration losses in the catchment area.

Figures 5.1 and 5.2 show the Flow Duration Curves of available flows for weir
sites A and B. Figure 5.3 shows the Flow Duration Curves for wet and dry
years 1997 and 2000 respectively for weir site A. Ordinates of the two flow
duration curves are given in Tables 5.1 and 5.2. Monthly flows of the
catchment are tabulated in Table 5.3 and 5.4.

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 5.0

Flow ( m /s)
4.5
3
4.0

3.5

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Probability of Occurence
Figure 5.1 Flow Duration Curve - Weir A

The long-term mean daily discharge of the catchment at weir A is 1.59m3/s

and at weir B is 1.08m3/s. 90% probable discharge at weir A is 0.60m3/s and
at weir B is 0.40m3/s.

5.0
Flow ( m /s)

4.5
3

4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Probability of Occurrence
Figure 5.2 Flow Duration Curve -Weir B

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 10

Flow ( m /s)
9

3
8
7

3
2

0
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Wet Year Dry Year Probability of Occurence
Figure 5.3 Flow Duration Curve Wet & Dry Years

Table 5.1 Flow Duration Curve-Weir A

Flow Percentage of Flow Percentage of

(m3/s) Occurrence (m3/s) Occurrence

0.25 100.0% 1.40 30.9%

0.30 98.7% 1.60 27.2%
0.35 94.3% 1.80 24.8%
0.40 86.8% 2.00 22.8%
0.45 75.2% 2.20 20.8%
0.50 69.4% 2.40 19.1%
0.55 67.3% 2.60 17.3%
0.60 65.1% 2.80 15.8%
0.65 62.9% 3.00 14.5%
0.70 60.5% 3.50 11.7%
0.75 58.4% 4.00 9.3%
0.80 56.2% 4.50 7.4%
0.85 54.4% 5.00 5.8%
0.90 52.3% 5.50 4.7%
1.00 46.9% 6.00 3.8%
1.20 37.5% 6.50 3.1%

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 Table 5.2 Flow Duration Curve-Weir B

Flow Percentage of Flow Percentage of

(m3/s) Occurrence (m3/s) Occurrence

0.15 100.0% 0.95 30.9%

0.20 98.9% 1.00 29.2%
0.25 91.6% 1.25 24.3%
0.30 76.7% 1.50 20.7%
0.35 68.6% 1.75 17.5%
0.40 65.4% 2.00 14.8%
0.45 62.1% 2.25 12.6%
0.50 58.9% 2.50 10.9%
0.55 55.9% 2.75 9.1%
0.60 52.8% 3.00 7.7%
0.65 49.5% 3.50 5.4%
0.70 45.3% 4.00 3.9%
0.75 41.4% 4.50 2.9%
0.80 38.2% 5.00 2.1%
0.85 35.3% 5.50 1.5%
0.90 32.9% 6.00 1.2%

5.3 Combined Flow Duration Curve

River flows in the two catchments will be intercepted by weirs across them and
will be utilized for generation of power in the proposed project. The limits of
extraction from each stream will be determined by project optimization studies
and the studies are due to be carried out following the hydrology study. The
flow duration curves of respective streams and daily flow databases of the two
streams covering 30 year period each provides information for project
optimization studies. A combined flow duration can then be prepared.

5.4 Monthly Distribution of Stream Flows

Daily stream flow database generated covering 30-year period from 1981-
2010 shows that during the Period January to March river flows will be low with
a mean monthly flow of about 0.54m3/s at weir site A. During June to
November flows will be high with a mean monthly flow of about 2.37m3/s.

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 Table 5.3

Mean Monthly Flows at Inguru Oya Weir Site A 1981-2010

Inguru Oya Catchment Area = 13.44 km2

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Mean

1981 0.62 0.43 0.43 0.49 0.67 4.63 2.85 1.81 5.08 1.32 3.29 0.86 1.87
1982 0.48 0.44 0.77 0.72 1.61 5.63 3.34 2.16 0.74 1.49 2.24 0.93 1.72
1983 0.45 0.42 0.37 0.31 0.30 0.71 1.48 2.44 1.41 0.98 1.78 1.66 1.03
1984 1.14 1.05 1.14 2.30 1.15 3.16 6.56 1.85 1.95 3.08 0.85 0.58 2.08
1985 0.47 0.44 0.61 0.50 1.95 7.05 3.34 1.85 1.21 3.47 2.60 0.83 2.03
1986 0.77 0.46 0.46 0.55 0.77 2.12 2.32 3.04 2.92 2.89 1.81 0.77 1.58
1987 0.49 0.44 0.39 0.34 0.34 1.75 0.68 2.06 0.90 1.86 1.97 0.79 1.00
1988 0.43 0.39 0.37 1.28 2.27 2.79 3.55 3.25 2.71 0.97 1.25 0.54 1.66
1989 0.44 0.40 0.35 0.31 1.50 5.78 4.20 2.91 3.23 1.84 2.16 0.66 1.98
1990 0.47 0.41 0.43 0.36 2.32 2.91 2.51 1.87 0.62 0.73 2.64 0.74 1.34
1991 0.52 0.43 0.41 0.37 0.39 3.11 1.56 2.42 1.23 2.51 1.94 0.64 1.30
1992 0.44 0.41 0.36 0.43 0.79 2.94 3.59 3.84 3.29 3.24 2.11 0.85 1.87
1993 0.45 0.41 0.36 0.32 1.85 6.22 3.71 2.11 1.09 4.04 1.78 1.20 1.97
1994 0.70 0.54 0.43 0.53 1.20 1.91 2.10 2.42 1.93 3.18 1.57 0.51 1.42
1995 0.44 0.40 0.35 1.32 2.45 4.16 2.42 2.38 4.20 3.99 2.71 0.56 2.12
1996 0.46 0.43 0.40 0.39 0.35 1.30 2.30 3.20 4.28 2.62 0.77 0.50 1.42
1997 0.43 0.39 0.34 0.82 1.34 1.15 0.66 1.62 3.56 2.80 3.30 1.94 1.53
1998 0.78 0.44 0.41 0.36 1.08 2.99 3.46 2.90 3.60 3.60 3.13 1.24 2.01
1999 1.50 0.49 0.49 1.70 2.86 4.36 1.32 1.58 1.31 2.42 1.44 0.74 1.69
2000 0.91 1.06 0.73 0.56 0.83 2.07 1.55 2.74 1.56 2.13 0.78 0.55 1.29
2001 0.52 0.81 0.44 0.46 0.71 1.27 2.66 1.25 1.56 2.35 1.18 0.85 1.18
2002 0.53 0.42 0.41 2.44 3.22 3.36 1.52 2.70 0.77 1.53 1.40 2.91 1.78
2003 1.09 0.53 0.93 1.72 3.41 1.14 2.47 2.76 2.55 1.67 1.43 0.71 1.71
2004 0.47 0.42 0.37 0.85 2.30 3.06 2.46 1.26 1.55 1.91 1.35 0.60 1.39
2005 0.45 0.42 0.62 0.48 0.51 2.40 4.26 2.36 3.95 3.78 4.26 1.92 2.12
2006 0.84 0.49 0.80 0.53 1.43 2.38 1.79 1.53 0.77 1.13 1.99 0.69 1.20
2007 0.45 0.43 0.49 0.64 0.87 1.50 1.61 1.13 2.98 1.95 1.95 0.64 1.22
2008 0.46 0.43 0.72 1.14 1.17 2.28 2.26 1.11 1.83 1.41 1.17 1.07 1.26
2009 0.46 0.41 0.58 0.41 2.02 2.40 2.25 1.27 2.68 1.93 1.18 1.05 1.39
2010 0.60 0.43 0.40 0.71 1.43 2.14 2.84 2.09 1.60 2.45 1.68 1.80 1.52

Mean 0.61 0.49 0.51 0.78 1.44 2.96 2.59 2.20 2.24 2.31 1.92 0.98 1.59
Max 1.50 1.06 1.14 2.44 3.41 7.05 6.56 3.84 5.08 4.04 4.26 2.91 2.12
Min 0.43 0.39 0.34 0.31 0.30 0.71 0.66 1.11 0.62 0.73 0.77 0.50 1.00
StDv 0.26 0.17 0.20 0.58 0.87 1.60 1.21 0.70 1.24 0.94 0.82 0.55 0.34

5.4 Minimum Stream Flows

Minimum flows in the stream occur during the period from January to March,
which may sometimes extend up to April. However if southwest monsoon fails
in a particular year, the lowest daily flows could occur even in the month of
May since by that time all zones of moisture will be fully depleted. The lowest
mean monthly flows had been closer to 0.49m3/s at weir A and 0.33m3/s at
weir B. Estimates of the lowest daily flows which occurred during the total
period were also around 0.26m3/s for weir site A and 0.18m3/s at weir B.

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6.0 Flood Study

Catchment areas of Penhrose small hydro project are moderate (13.44/9.12

km2). Snyder’s synthetic flood hydrograph technique was used for estimating
the flood peaks, which gives more realistic flood peak values than the Rational
formula for small catchments. Length of streams up to the location of the weir is
about 9.5km, with an average slope of about 11%. Times of concentration of
the catchments range from 1.50 hours to 02 hours. According to the Snyder’s
parameters, time to peak is about 03 hrs for a storm of 02 hr duration.

Table 6.1 gives flood peaks of various recurrence periods.

Table 6.1 Flood Peaks of Different Return Periods

Return Period (Yr) Flood Peak (m3/s)

Weir A Weir B
10 60 41
25 75 51
50 85 58
100 90 61

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