Unit 3: RUNOFF 12‐09‐2018

COMPONENTS OF STREAM FLOW

RUNOFF
RUNOFF – COMPONENTS OF STREAM FLOW –
CATCHMENT CHARACTERISTICS – FACTORS
AFFECTING RUNOFF – ESTIMATION OF RUNOFF –
FLOW DURATION CURVE – RAINFALL RUNOFF
MODELING – HYDROGRAPH – UNIT HYDROGRAPH – S‐
CURVE HYDROGRAPH – SYNTHETIC HYDROGRAPH –
APPLICATION

1 DISPOSAL OF RAIN WATER 2

BANK STORAGE

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Unit 3: RUNOFF 12‐09‐2018

The entire area of a river

basin whose surface runoff
(due to a storm) drains into
the river in the basin is
considered as a hydrologic
unit and is called
Watershed.

The boundary line along The single point or location at which all surface drainage from a basin comes
a topographic ridge together or concentrates as outflow from the basin in the stream channel is
separating two adjacent called concentration point or measuring point.
drainage basins is called The time required for the rain falling at the most distant point in a drainage
drainage divide. area to reach the concentration point is called the concentration time.
Storm duration greater than the time of concentration will produce
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runoff from the entire catchment area and cause high intensity floods. 6

Stream density of a
drainage basin is expressed =  Ns = number of streams
as the number of streams A = area of the basin
Compactness coefficient
per square kilometre.
Drainage density is expressed
Ls = total length of all
as the total length of all stream =
stream channels in the basin
channels per unit area of the
basin

The shape of a drainage basin is expressed by:

Form factor, Wb = axial width of basin

Lb = axial length of basin, The compactness coeff is independent of the size of
i.e., the distance from the the catchment and is dependent only on the slope.
measuring point to the
most remote point on the
basin 7 8
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A fan shaped catchment

produces greater flood
CLASSIFICATION OF STREAMS
intensity since all the
tributaries are nearly of the
same length and hence the
INFLUENT STREAMS
time of concentration (toc) is
nearly the same and is less.

The fern shaped catchments • GWT is below the bed of the stream – the seepage from the
the toc is more and the stream builds up the GWT. EX. Irrigation channels
discharge is distributed over • These streams will dry up completely in rainless period –
a long period ephemeral streams
• Seen in arid regions, only flow for few hours after the rainfall
9 – no use for conventional hydropower 10

EFFLUENT STREAMS INTERMITTENT STREAMS

• GWT lies above the bed of the stream during the wet season
but drops below the bed during the dry season,
• The stream flows during wet season but becomes dry
during dry seasons.
• Power can be generated by providing adequate storage
facilities

• GWT is above water surface elevation in the stream, the PERENNIAL STREAMS
ground water feeds the stream • Even in the most severe droughts, the GWT never drops
• Base flow of surface streams is the effluent seepage below the bed of the stream and therefore they flow
from the drainage basin. throughout the year.
• Most of the perennial streams are mainly effluent • Best for power development.
streams.
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Unit 3: RUNOFF 12‐09‐2018

ISOCHRONES FACTORS AFFECTING RUNOFF

Type or nature of storm and

season
Intensity

Duration
STORM CHARACTERISTICS
Areal extent (distribution)

• The lines joining all points in a basin of some key time Frequency
elements in a storm, such as beginning of precipitation are
called isochrones Antecedent precipitation
• Time contours representing lines of equal travel time and are Direction of storm movement
helpful in deriving hydrographs. 13 14

Cont… Size
Shape
Slope
Temperature
Altitude (elevation)
Humidity
BASIN Topography
Wind velocity
CHARACTERISTICS Geology (type of soil)
METEOROLOGICAL Pressure variation
CHARACTERISTICS Land use / Vegetation
Orientation
Type of drainage network
Proximity to ocean and
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ESTIMATION OF RUNOFF
Cont… Yield of a catchment: It is the net quantity of water
available for storage, after all losses, for the purposes of
water resources utilisation such as water supply,
Depressions irrigation etc.
Pools and ponds/lakes Maximum flood discharge: It is the discharge in times
of flooding of the catchment area.
Streams/channels The runoff from rainfall may be estimated by the
STORAGE CHARACTERISTICS Check dams following methods
i. Empirical formulae, curves and tables
Upstream reservoirs / or tanks
ii. Infiltration method
Flood plains, swamps iii.Rational method
Ground water storage in iv. Overland flow hydrograph
pervious deposits
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v. Unit hydrograph method 18

EMPIRICAL FORMULAE, CURVES AND TABLES Lacey’s formula for Indo‐Gangetic plain
R= .

R = a P + b (straight line plot) where F is a monsoon duration factor varying between

(or) 0.5 to 1.5 and S is the catchment factor depending
R = a P (exponential curve)
n
upon the slope and varies from 0.25 for flat area to
3.45 for hilly areas.
Where R = runoff, P = rainfall, a, b and n, are
constants A.N. Khosla’s formula for north India
C.C. Inglis’ formula for Bombay‐Deccan catchments
3.74
where R – average annual runoff in cm; P – average
R = 0.85P + 30.5 (Ghat areas) annual rainfall in cm and T – mean annual temperature
in degree centigrade
.
R = (Plains) 19 20
Unit 3: RUNOFF 12‐09‐2018

Rational method
The yield of a catchment is obtained by assuming HYDROGRAPHS
suitable runoff coefficient
Yield = CAP A hydrograph is a graph showing discharge
where A = area of catchment; P = precipitation; (i.e. stream flow at the concentration point)
C = runoff coefficient versus time.
TYPE OF CATCHMENT VALUE OF C
ROCKY AND IMPERMEABLE 0.8 – 1.0
SLIGHTLY PERMEABLE 0.6 – 0.8
CULTIVATED OR COVERED WITH 0.4 – 0.6
VEGETATION
CULTIVATED ABSORBENT SOIL 0.3 – 0.4
SANDY SOIL 0.2 – 0.3
HEAVY FOREST 0.1 – 0.2 21 22

HYDROGRAPHS COMPONENTS
HYDROGRAPH WITH MULTIPLE PEAKS

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Unit 3: RUNOFF 12‐09‐2018

UNIT HYDROGRAPH
HYDROGRAPH SEPARATION
The unit hydrograph is
defined as the hydrograph
of storm runoff resulting
from an isolated rainfall
of some unit duration
occurring uniformly over
the entire area of the
catchment, produces a
unit volume (i.e. 1 cm) of
runoff.

Propounded by
Mr. L.K. Sherman
in 1932
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DERIVATION OF THE UNIT HYDROGRAPH

USES OF UNIT HYDROGRAPH a. Select from the records of isolated intense storms (uniformly
distributed), which have produced flood hydrographs with
appreciable runoff (> 1 cm, say, 8 to 16 cm).
• Developing flood hydrographs for extreme b. Separate the base flow from the total runoff
rainfall magnitudes, for design of hydraulic c. From the ordinates of the total runoff hydrograph, deduct the
structures. corresponding ordinates of base flow, to obtain the ordinates
of direct runoff.
• Extending flood flow records by using the d. Divide the volume of direct runoff by the area of the drainage
available rainfall records basin to obtain the net precipitation depth over the basin
e. Divide each of the ordinates of direct runoff by the net
• Developing flood forecasting and warning precipitation depth to obtain the ordinates of the unit
system based on rainfall data hydrograph
f. Plot the ordinates of the unit hydrograph against the time
since the beginning of the direct runoff. This will give the unit
hydrograph for the basin, for the duration of the unit storm
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= P – Losses
, =DRO
TRO – BFO = DRO
= UGO
where, P = total rainfall
Pnet = net precipitation
Losses = due to infiltration etc
A = area of the drainage basin
Qd, DRO = direct runoff ordinate
TRO = total runoff ordinate
t = time interval between successive direct runoff
ordinates
BFO = base flow ordinate 29 30

ELEMENTS OF UNIT HYDROGRAPH

BASE WIDTH (T): The period of
direct surface runoff (due to a unit
storm) of the unit hydrograph.
UNIT STORM: The storm of unit
duration regardless of its intensity.
UNIT PERIOD: The time duration of
the unit storm i.e., the duration of the
unit hydrograph.
LAG TIME (tp): The time from the
centre of a unit storm to the peak
discharge of the corresponding unit
hydrograph.
RECESSION TIME (Tr): The duration
of the direct runoff after the end of the
excess or net rainfall.
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Unit 3: RUNOFF 12‐09‐2018

Propositions of the Unit Hydrograph

Same runoff duration
For all unit storms of different intensities, the period of
surface runoff (i.e. time base or base width) is
approximately the same, although they produce different
runoff volumes
Proportional ordinates
For unit storms of different intensities, the ordinates of
the hydrograph at any given time are in the same
proportion as the rainfall intensities.
Principle of superposition
If there is a continuous storm and/or isolated storms of
uniform intensity net rain, they may be divided into unit
storms and hydrographs of runoff for each storm
obtained, and the ordinates added with the appropriate
time lag to get the combined hydrograph. 33 34

HIGHLIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS
 Basis for unit hydrograph theory ‐ If two identical rains fall on  A particular unit hydrograph when once prepared for a
a drainage basin having identical conditions prior to the rains, particular unit duration can be utilised for evaluating the
the hydrograph of runoff from the two storms would be runoff hydrographs of other storms of like durations.
expected to be the same.  Due to practical difficulty only a certain limited number of
 Truly speaking, two identical storms are very difficult to occur in hydrographs can be prepared for a given basin.
practice. Most of the practical storms vary in duration, amount  Important assumption in UH ‐ Common practice is to
and areal distribution. ignore the variations in rainfall distribution and to assume
 Unit hydrograph is a hydrograph of runoff produced by a rain that the effective rainfall is spread uniformly over the
storm of a specified duration called unit duration resulting in a entire basin throughout the unit duration.
runoff depth of 1 cm spread on the entire basin.  Uniform distribution of rainfall holds good for small
 The specified duration is such that the hydrographs of any other
drainage basin but not for large drainage basins.
storms (varying intensitites) of like durations are assumed to
 UH should not be used for areas larger than 5000 sq.km or
have the same shape but with ordinates of flow in proportion to
so, unless an approximate answer is needed.
the runoff volumes. This specified duration is called unit
 Unit duration should not be more than the period of rise or
duration and the storm of this specified period is called unit
storm. time of concentration
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Unit 3: RUNOFF 12‐09‐2018

CATCHMENT AREA  UNIT DURATION Problem 1: In a typical 4 hours storm producing 5 cm of runoff
(sq km)
from a basin, the flows in the stream are as follows:
2500 12 hours
TIME IN HOURS FLOW IN CUMECS
2500 to 250 12, 8 or 6 hours
250 to 50 4 to 6 hours
0 0
Best unit period (Linsley) = ¼ th of the  2 1.22
basin lag 4 4.05
 The effective duration is 100 min, even for other storms of different 6 6.75
durations the same unit duration can be assigned after deducting the no 8 5.67
of duration at the beginning and end of the storm.
12 3.375
 Unit storms are not the storms of the same durations, but they are the
storms of the like durations. 16 1.35
 Unit hydrograph of a specified unit duration obtained from the past data 20 0.0
can be easily used to obtain the hydrograph of future storms of the like
durations. a. Plot the unit hydrograph of 1 cm rain for this storm
 The unit hydrographs of a specified duration can also be used to evaluate b. Estimate, as accurately as possible, the peak flow and the
the hydrograph of storms of longer duration, which are integral multiples time of its occurrence, in a flood created by a 8 hours storm
of the given durations. Ex. 4 hr unit hydrograph can be used to compute which produces 2.5 cm of runoff during the first 4 hours and
the hydrograph of 8 hr duration (longer storm is divided into two parts; 3.75 cm of runoff during the second 4 hours. Assume the
hydrograph of the second part of the storm will start 4 hours later than
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base flow is negligible. 38
that of the first part)

Problem 2: The ordinates of a 3 hr unit hydrograph are as given

below Problem 3: The following are the ordinates of a 3 hr unit hydrograph.
Derive the ordinates of a 6‐hour unit hydrograph and plot the same.
Time in  0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30
hr
Time in hr 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24
Oridnates 0 10 25 20 16 12 9 7 5 3 0
cumec Oridnates 0 1.5 4.5 8.6 12 9.4 4.6 2.3 0.8
cumec
Find the ordinates of a 6 hr unit hydrograph for the same basin
analytically. Also sketch this unit hydrograph. What is the peak
value of discharge in this unit hydrograph.

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Unit 3: RUNOFF 12‐09‐2018

Problem 4: From the 4 hr unit hydrograph, derive the 8 hr and 12 hr RESULTS OF PROBLEM 4

unit hydrograph.
4 hr UGO 8 hr UGO 12 hr UGO
Time in hr 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Peak 
0 12.52 21.32 23.54 17.84 14.79 12.18 10.04 8.26
ordinate 23.54 cumec 19.58 cumec 17.11 cumec
Oridnates
cumec Time to 
peak 6 hr 8 hr 12 hr

Time in hr 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34
Base period 34 hr 38 hr 42 hr
Oridnates 6.51 4.98 3.95 3.05 2.26 1.6 1.07 0.53 0
cumec

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USE OF UNIT HYDROGRAPH LIMITATIONS OF UNIT HYDROGRAPH

The unit hydrograph are used in many hydrological The design storm continuing for several unit periods
problems such as may not have the same areal distribution for each
In the development of flood hydrograph time increment.
corresponding to design storms which are required for Storm movements also affect the proportions of the
the design of hydraulic structures unit hydrograph if the basin is large.
In the watershed simulation models UGO can’t be applied for basins larger than 5000
In the studies of flood forecasting and flood warning sq.km
systems For basins larger than 5000 sq.km, UGO for sub‐basins
In extending the flood flow records based on rainfall are developed and runoff is determined for each sub‐
records area and then combined thro’ flood routing procedure
to get the resulting hydrograph.
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Unit 3: RUNOFF 12‐09‐2018

S‐CURVE HYDROGRAPH S‐CURVE HYDROGRAPH

• Can be used when the duration of the unknown • S‐curve is the hydrograph of direct surface discharge that
hydrograph is shorter or not an integral multiple of the would result from a continuous succession of unit storms
duration of the known hydrograph. producing 1 cm in tr –hr.
• S‐ curve – Summation curve hydrograph ‐ based on the • If the time base of the unit hydrograph is T hr, it reaches
principle of superposition is constructed and then used constant outflow (Qe) at Thr, since 1 cm of net rain on the
to compute the hydrograph of any desired duration. catchment is being supplied and removed every tr hour
• S‐curve is a hydrograph produced by a continuous and only T/tr unit graphs are necessary to produce as S‐
effective rainfall at a constant rate for an indefinite curve.
period.
• It is a continuously rising curve, which ultimately attains
a constant value, when equilibrium discharge is reached, Qe = constant outflow (cumecs)
after the entire catchments starts contributing to runoff. tr = duration of the unit graph (hr)
A = area of the basin (km2)
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S‐CURVE HYDROGRAPH
• Given a tr‐hour unit graph, to derive a tr’‐hour unit
graph (tr’>tr) –shift the S‐curve by the required duration
tr’ along the time axis.
• The graphical difference between the ordinates of the
two S‐curves represents the runoff due to tr’ hours rain
at an intensity of 1/tr cm/hr, ie runoff of tr’/tr cm in tr’
hours.
• To obtain a runoff of 1 cm in tr’ hours (UGO), multiply
the ordinates of the S‐curve difference by tr/tr’.
• This techniques may be used to alter the duration of the
given unit hydrograph to a shorter or longer duration.
• The longer duration need not necessarily be a multiple
of short.
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Unit 3: RUNOFF 12‐09‐2018

SYNTHETIC UNIT HDYROGRAPH SYNTHETIC UNIT HDYROGRAPH
• In India, only a small number of streams are gauged. • Synder analysed a large number of hydrographs
• There are many drainage basins for which no from drainage basins in the Applachian Mountain
stream flow records are available and unit region in USA ranging in the area from 25 to 25000
hydrographs may be required for such basins. sq.km
• In such cases, hydrographs may be synthesized • Three parameters was selected for the development
directly from other catchments, which are of unit hydrograph viz., base width (T), discharge
hydrologically and meteorologically homogeneous, (Qp) and lag time (basin lag, tp).
or indirectly from other catchments through the • Synder proposed the following empirical formulae
application of empirical relationship. for the three parameters.
• Methods for synthesizing hydrographs for ungauged
areas have been developed from time to time by Lag time
Bernard, Clark, Mccathy and Synder. The best Standard duration 
known approach is due to Synder (1938). of net rain
53 54

For this standard duration of net rain
BASIN CHARACTERISTICS (Synder)

Ct, Cp – empirical constants (Ct=0.2 – 2.2, Cp = 2 to 6.5, the values depending on 

the basin characteristics.
A = area of the catchment (km2)
L = length of the longest water course (from the gauging station to its u/s boundary 
limit of the basin (km)
Lca = length along the main stream from the gauging station to a point on the 
55 stream opposite the areal centre of gravity of the basin. 56