METHOD OF MEASUREMENT OF STREAM FLOW :

1.STREAM FLOW:
Stream flow, or discharge, is the volume of water that
moves over a specified point over a fixed period of
time. It is often expressed as cubic feet per second
(ft3/sec).
The flow of a stream is directly related to the amount
of water moving off the watershed into the stream
channel.
 
FACTOR AFFECTING THE STREAM FLOW:
 It is affected by weather,

 increasing during rainstorms and decreasing during dry

periods.

 It also changes during different seasons of the year,

decreasing during the summer months when evaporation rates
are high and shoreline vegetation is actively growing and
removing water from the ground. 
2. IMPORTANCE OF STREAM FLOW MEASUREMENT:

 Stream flow is of fundamental importance to virtually all

environmental monitoring and affects almost all other
environmental issues connected with water.
 The flow of rivers changes significantly in a very short amount of
time due to plenty of factors.

 Snowmelt from mountainous regions has a major impact on rivers

and can cause them to swell past their banks really quickly.

 etc
. STREAM FLOW MEASUREMENT METHODS:
3

 It is important to measure the stream flow as it assess the quantity of

water that is available and also to check the quantity of water that is
flowing through the treatment plants or system.

 There are several techniques available for the measurement of flow of

rivers and stream. Often all that is feasible to make an initiative
assessment of flow as a part of the selection of water sources.

 So due to this reason it is important to get information from the local

community to get familiar with the high and low water flows and level
that may be seen during the measurements.
 
The methods that are used widely for the measurement of flow on surface are as follows:

4. VELOCITY-AREA METHOD (FLOAT-

METHOD):

The velocity area method is a technique used to investigate the

stage and discharge of a river.
The discharge of a river is the volume of water which flows
through a cross-section in a given time. It is measured in m3/s.
 Stream flow is affected by :

1. rainfall,
2. temperature
3. and snow melt.
4.1 Equipment Needed:
Tape Measure
 Waders
 Flow meter
Pencil and notepad

 to calculate stream flow,

 first calculate the stream velocity using flow meter.
 find out the cross section of the stream graphically.
 The simplest way to measure discharge is to divide the channel cross section into
vertical rectangular subsections.
 Once the area (width X depth) of each of these subsections is established and
multiplied by velocity to determine subsection discharge, the results can be added
together to calculate total discharge.

Discharge=Velocity x Cross sectional area

Or
Discharge = (Water velocity) x ((Width) x (Depth))
 Where

Discharge = Q (
Velocity = Meter/second or feet/second
Cross-sectional Area= Cubic meter or
cubic feet
5. MEASURING DISCHARGE USING A WEIR:
 Weirs are overflow structures built across open channels to measure
Suppressed rectangular weir the volumetric rate of water flow.

 Discharge in small streams can be conveniently measured using a

weir.

 A weir is a small dam with a spillway, usually made of erosion-

resistant material such as concrete, of a specific shape.
Two common weir shapes are a 90° V-notch or a simple rectangular
cutout.

 This method for measuring discharge involves creating a dam just

downstream of the weir.
 One can determine discharge using one of the following empirically-derived equations :

For Rectangular weir,

The above formula is used for measurements in feet.

The above formula is used for measurements in meter.

 

For 90° V-notch weir,

For measurements in feet.

For measurements in meter.

Rectangular Weir and V Notch weirs for measuring flow
6. BUCKET METHOD:
The Bucket method is a simple way to
measure the flow rate using household
items.

 It requires a stopwatch, a large bucket,

and preferably two to three people.
 To measure the flow rate using the bucket
method:
 Measure the volume of the
bucket or container.

 Keep in mind that a typical

5 gallon bucket is often
actually less than 5 gallons.

•Find a location along the

stream that has a waterfall.

•If none can be found, a

waterfall can be constructed
using a weir (see Figure Four).
 With a stopwatch,

 time how long it takes the waterfall to fill the bucket with water.

 Start the stopwatch simultaneously with the start of the bucket being
filled and stop the stopwatch when the bucket fills.

 The bucket should not be filled by holding it below the surface of the
stream because it is not the true flow rate.

 Record the time it takes to fill the bucket.

 Repeat steps two and three about six or seven times and take the
average.

 The flow rate is the volume of the bucket divided by the average time
it took to fill the bucket.
 
In this method the Steam flow rate is determined by using the
formula :

Where,
Q= Stream flow in cubic units per second
V= Volume filled in the bucket during the time
T= Time estimated for the bucket filling up to a certain level
7. METERS
Meters are devices that measure the stream
flow by directly measuring the current. There
are many different types of meters by the most
common is the Pygmy meter, the vortex meter,
the flow probe, and the current meter: They are
briefly described below.
7.1 PYGMYMETER

a wheel is rotated by water flow and the

rate of the rotation signifies the water
velocity. It is primarily used in measuring
discharge.
7.2 Vortex meter
Velocity is proportional to the downstream
frequency of the vortex flow and is read on
a digital readout.
It is used for measuring flow in pipes.
7.3 Current meter
Electronic pulses determine water
velocity.
Can be used in large bodies of water like
oceans to measure the current.