URBAN

DRAINAGE
DESIGN
Water Resource Engineering
CE 160

Prepared by:
Roseanne L. Olea
Shainee Delle L. Palmera
BSCE -VA
CE 160 I urban drainage design – rational method

Rational Method
- is a simple technique
for estimating a design
discharge from a small
watershed which was
developed by Kuichling
(1889) for small
drainage basins in
urban areas.

- A primary use of the

Rational Method has
been for design
problems for small
urban areas such as
the sizing of inlets and
culverts, which are
characterized by small
CE 160 I urban drainage design – rational method

Basic idea
 

Application of the rational method is based on a simple formula that

relates runoff producing potential of the watershed, the average
intensity of rainfall for a particular length of time (the time of
concentration), and the watershed drainage area.
The formula is:

= CiA (eq. 1)
where:

= Peak discharge (/sec),

C = Runoff coefficient (dimensionless),
i = Rainfall intensity (in/hr), and
A = Watershed drainage area (acres).
CE 160 I urban drainage design – rational method

How to get the values?

1. The rainfall intensity is obtained from an intensity-duration-frequency

curve (figure 4-4) using both the return period and a duration equal
to the time of concentration as input.

2. The value of the runoff coefficient is usually obtained from a given

table in relation with the location’s properties ( such as: land use, area
description, character of the surface, etc. )
CE 160 I urban drainage design – rational method

FIGURE 4-4

Rainfall intensity-
duration-frequency
curve (IDF curve) of
Baltimore, Maryland

(source: National
Weather Service,
1961)
CE 160 I urban drainage design – rational method

Commonly used tables:

TABLE 7-9

Runoff coefficient
values as a function
of the land use, cover
condition, soil group,
and watershed slope
CE 160 I urban drainage design – rational method

Commonly used tables:

TABLE 7-10

Commonly used
runoff coefficients in
relation with its land
use

Note:
As a general rule, the
mean of the range
should be used
unless a different
value can be fully
justified.
CE 160 I urban drainage design – rational method

 Example:

Consider the design problem where a peak discharge is required to size

a storm drain inlet for a 2.4-acre parking area in Baltimore, with a time
of concentration of 0.1 hr and a slope of 1.5%. Assuming a 25-yr design
return period.

Solution:

• The rainfall intensity (see Figure 4-4) is 8.6 in./hr and the runoff
coefficient (see Table 7-9) is 0.95.

= CiA = 0.95(8.6)(2.4) = 20
• NOTE: Some drainage policies provide for a minimum time of
concentration with 15 to 20 min often being specified
CE 160 I urban drainage design – rational method

Runoff Coefficients for Nonhomogeneous

Areas
-  Where a watershed is not homogeneous but is characterized by
highly dispersed areas that can be characterized by different runoff
coefficients, a weighted runoff coefficient should be determined.
The weighting is based on the area of each land use and is found
by the following equation:

= (eq. 2)
where:

= Weighted runoff coefficient,

= Runoff coefficient for area j
n = Number of distinct land covers within the watershed
i = Rainfall intensity (in/hr), and
= Area for land cover j
CE 160 I urban drainage design – rational method

Runoff Coefficients for Nonhomogeneous

Areas

=i (eq. 3)
where:

= Peak discharge (/sec),

= Runoff coefficient for area j
n = Number of distinct land covers within the watershed
i = Rainfall intensity (in/hr), and
= Area for land cover j
CE 160 I urban drainage design – rational method

Example:

With the given data in table 7-11 for a 25-yr rainfall intensity of 3.6
in./hr. It is assumed that the different land uses are scattered
throughout the watershed, and therefore it is impractical to subdivide
the watershed. Find the peak discharge.
CE 160 I urban drainage design – rational method

 Solution:

• Equation 2 can be used to compute a weighted runoff coefficient:

=
= 0.33
Substitution of values
= 0.33(3.6)(42.9) = 51
CE 160 I urban drainage design – rational method

Design of Subdivided Watershed

The Rational Method can be used for nonhomogeneous watersheds

in which the watershed is divided into homogeneous subareas and
where multiple inlets and pipe systems are involved.

The design process is based on the following two rules for using
Equation 1:

1. For each inlet area at the headwater of a drainage area the Rational
Method (Equation
1) is used to compute the peak discharge.

2. For locations where drainage is arriving from two or more inlet areas,
the longest time
of concentration is used to find the design intensity, a weighted runoff
coefficient is computed, and the total drainage area to that point is used
with Equation 7-20.
CE 160 I urban drainage design – rational method

Example:
Figure 7-1 shows the schematic of a drainage area that has been
divided into three subareas, with the characteristics of each shown.
Compute the a.) the discharge of the pipe between inlet 2 and 3, and
b.) the discharge of the pipe draining the three subareas.
CE 160 I urban drainage design – rational method

 Solution:

• Compute the weighted runoff coefficient for subareas 1and 2

=
• The longest time of concentration for the two subareas would be the
sum of the drainage time from subarea 1 and the travel time in the
pipe between inlets 1 and 2, which is 16 mins. From Figure 4-4 the 10
yr intensity is 5.3 in/hr.

a.) = CiA = 0.315(5.3)(5.3+7.2) = 20.9

CE 160 I urban drainage design – rational method

 Solution:

• Compute the weighted runoff coefficient for subareas 1, 2 and 3

• The longest time of concentration is 19 min, which includes 6 min of

travel time in the pipe from inlet 1 to inlet 3. From Figure 4-4 the 10
yr intensity is 4.7 in/hr.

b.) = CiA = 0.412(4.8)(5.3+7.2+6.4) =

37.4
CE 160 I urban drainage design – rational method

Reference:
1) Chin, David A., Water Resources Engineering , 3 rd Edition, Pearson,
Singapore, 2013
CE 160 I urban drainage design – rational method

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