Engineering Hydrology

Lecture -2
http://ponce.sdsu.edu/enghydro/index.html
Example : A 100-km2 catchment is instrumented with 13 rain gages located as
shown in Fig. Immediately after a certain precipitation event, the rainfall
amounts accumulated in each gage are as shown in the figure. Calculate the
average precipitation over the catchment by the following methods: (a)
average rainfall, (b) Thiessen polygons, and (c) isohyetal method.

(a)

σ𝑃
Average rainfall =
13
39.8
=
13
= 3.06 cm
(b) Thiessen polygons
Station Rainfall Area A PA
P (km2) (cm-km2)
(cm)
A 2.5 13.06 32.65

B 2.8 8.86 24.81

C 3.0 9.89 29.67

D 3.1 6.25 19.37

E 3.3 5.04 16.63

F 3.5 5.69 19.91

G 3.4 4.01 13.63

H 3.1 6.53 20.24

I 2.9 8.77 25.43

J 2.7 9.89 26.70 σ 𝑃𝐴

Average rainfall = σ
K 3.0 7.46 22.38
𝐴

L 3.2 9.05 28.96 298.53

=
M 3.3 5.50 18.15 100
= 2.985 cm
Sum 100 298.53
(c ) Isohyetal method

Isohyet P Area A PA
(cm) (km)2 (cm-km2)

2.5 11.75 29.375

2.6 6.16 16.016
2.7 6.72 18.144
2.8 8.77 24.556
2.9 10.73 31.117
3.0 14.56 43.680
3.1 13.24 41.044
3.2 9.61 30.752
3.3 7.83 25.839
σ 𝑃𝐴
3.4 5.41 18.394 Average rainfall = σ𝐴
3.5 5.22 18.270
Sum 100 297.180 297.18
= 100

= 2.97 cm
Problem

A rain gauge recorded the following accumulated rainfall during the storm. Draw the
mass rainfall curve and the hyetograph.
Time (AM) 8:00 8:05 8:10 8:15 8:20 8:25 8:30
Accumulated 0 1 2 6 13 18 19
rainfall (mm)

Solution

Time 8:00-8:05 8:05-8:10 8:10-8:15 8:15-8:20 8:20-8:25 8:25-8:30

rainfall 1 1 4 7 5 1
Increment(mm)
Average intensity 12 12 48 84 60 12
(mm/hr)
 Rainfall intensity (mm/hr)

Time

Mass rainfall curve Hyetograph

 Filling in missing records

-Incomplete records of rainfall are sometimes due to operation

error or equipment malfunction.
-The mean annual rainfall N for stations X, A, B, and C is
evaluated.
-If the mean annual rainfall at A, B, and C is within 10% of that of
X, a simple average is sufficient.
-If not, then the normal ratio method is used to fill in missing
records at station X:
𝑁𝑋 𝑃𝐴 𝑃𝐵 𝑃𝐶
𝑃𝑋 = + +
3 𝑁𝐴 𝑁𝐵 𝑁𝐶

in which P = precipitation, N = mean annual rainfall, for stations

X, A, B, and C.
When there are M index stations,

𝑁𝑋 𝑃𝐴 𝑃𝐵 𝑃𝑀
𝑃𝑋 = + + ⋯+
𝑀 𝑁𝐴 𝑁𝐵 𝑁𝑀
Example The precipitation gage for station X was inoperative during part of the
month of January. During that same period, the precipitation depths measured
at three index stations A, B, and C were 25, 28, and 27 mm respectively. Estimate
the missing precipitation data at X, given the following average annual
precipitation at X, A, B and C: 285, 250, 225 and 255 mm, respectively.
PA= 25 mm PB= 28 mm PC= 27 mm PX = 

NA= 250 mm NB= 225 mm NC= 255 mm NX= 285 mm

Nx- NA= 35 mm  10 % of NX

Nx-NB = 60 mm  10 % of NX

Nx- NC= 30 mm  10 % of NX

𝑁𝑋 𝑃𝐴 𝑃𝐵 𝑃𝐶
𝑃𝑋 = + +
3 𝑁𝐴 𝑁𝐵 𝑁𝐶

285 25 28 27
= ( + + )
3 250 225 255

= 31.3 mm
 Site for a Rain Gauge Station

• While selecting a site for the rain gauge station and installing the
rain gauge, the following points should be kept in mind.
1. The site should be in an open space having an area of at
least 5.5 m x 5.5 m.
2. The distance of the instrument from the nearest obstruction
should not be less than 30 m or twice the height of the obstruction.
3. A site that is sheltered from high winds should be chosen.
4. The rain gauge, as far as possible, should not be installed on
the top or the side of the hill. If unavoidable, the site which is best
protected from high winds should be chosen.
5. A fence should be erected around the rain gauge station to
protect the gauge from cattle, dogs, etc. However, the distance of
the fence should not be less than twice its height.
6.The gauge must always be mounted firmly so that it
cannot be disturbed even by the strongest wind in that
region.
7. The gauge should be set as near the ground
surface as possible to reduce wind effects. But at the
same time, it should be sufficiently high to prevent
splashing of surface water into it. The IMD standard
gauge is fixed such that the height of the rim above the
ground is always 30 cm.
8. The gauge should have a level horizontal catch
surface.
 Double Mass Analysis
Consistency of a rainfall record is tested with double-mass analysis.

This method compares the cumulative annual or seasonal values of

station Y with those of a reference station X.

The reference station X is usually the mean of several neighboring

stations.

The cumulative pairs are plotted in an x-y coordinate system.

If the plot is linear, the record for Y is consistent.

If the plot shows a break in slope, the record for station Y is inconsistent.

Correction is performed by adjusting the records prior to the break to

reflect the new state (after the break).

The rainfall records prior to the break are multiplied by the ratio of slopes
after and before the break.
 Example
The mean annual rainfall at station X and the mean annual rainfall at 15
surrounding stations are given below. Check the consistency of the record at
station X and determine the year in which a change in conditions had
occurred. Also determine the corrected mean annual rainfall.

Year 1972 1971 1970 1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960

Mean Annual 51.5 48.5 40.5 44.1 36.0 30.0 34.8 39.7 35.5 49.4 32.0 28.0 30.3
Rainfall of
X (cm)

Mean Annual 40.4 39.4 20.7 50.5 29.4 24.6 35.0 20.0 15.5 9.6 16.4 13.5 10.0
Rainfall of group
(cm)
Solution
Year Cumulative RF of X Cumulative RF of group
(cm) (cm)
1972 51.5 40.4
1971 100 79.8
1970 140.5 100.5
1969 184.6 151.0
1968 220.6 180.4
1967 250.6 205.0
1966 285.4 240.0
1965 325.1 260.0
1964 360.6 275.5
1963 410.0 285.1
1962 442.0 301.5
1961 470.0 315.0
1960 500.5 325.0
Ratio=0.5
Year Mean Annual RF at station X Corrected Mean Annual RF at station X
(cm) (cm)

1972 51.5 51.5

1971 48.5 48.5
1970 40.5 40.5
1969 44.1 44.1
1968 36.0 36.0
1967 30.0 30.0
1966 34.8 17.4
1965 39.7 19.9
1964 35.5 17.8
1963 49.4 24.7
1962 32.0 16.0
1961 28.0 14.0
1960 30.3 15.2
 Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP)

• The probable maximum precipitation is the greatest

or extreme precipitation for a given duration that is
physically possible over a basin or catchment.

• Estimation of PMP
- Statistical approach
- Meteorological approach
Statistical approach

𝑃𝑀𝑃 = 𝑃ത + 𝐾𝜎

Where K = frequency factor

P- = mean of annual maximum precipitation
 = standard deviation

Frequency factor which depends upon the statistical

distribution of annual maximum precipitation series,
number of years of record and the recurrence period.

• Its value varies between 5 and 30. An average value of 15

is usually taken.
 Storm analysis
Storm Depth and Duration

Storm depth ‘h’ and duration ‘t’ are directly related

ℎ = 𝑐𝑡 𝑛
Exponent n varies between 0.2 and 0.5.

Depth-duration data for the world's greatest observed rainfall events.

ℎ = 39𝑡 0.5
Storm Intensity and Duration
Differentiating rainfall depth with respect to duration:

dh/dt = i = c n t n-1

Simplifying:

i=a/tm

in which a = cn; and m = 1 - n.

Another intensity-duration model is the following:

a
i= _________
t+b

A more general intensity-duration model is:

𝑎
𝑖=
(𝑡 + 𝑏)𝑚
Intensity-Duration-Frequency

For small catchments it is often necessary to determine several

intensity-duration curves, each for a different frequency or return
period

An intensity-duration-frequency model is:

𝑘𝑇 𝑛
𝑖=
(𝑡 + 𝑏)𝑚

in which K = a coefficient; and n = an exponent.

The values of k, b, m, and n are evaluated from measured data

or local experience.
 Intensity-Duration-Frequency IDF Curve

An arithmetic IDF curve

A logarithmic IDF curve

Storm depth and catchment area

- Generally, the greater the catchment, the smaller the

spatially averaged storm depth.

- Point depth is the storm depth associated with a point

area.

- Point area is the smallest area below which the variation

of storm depth with catchment area is assumed negligible.

- Reduction in point depth is warranted for large

catchments.
 Generalized depth-area reduction chart
for 30-min to 24-h duration.

Generalized depth-area reduction chart

for 1-d to 10-d duration.
 Precipitation Products

• Records of in situ observations

• Gridded products based on interpolation of in situ rain gauge data

(e.g. APHRODITE, GPCC, CRU)

APHRODITE- Asian Precipitation—Highly Resolved Observational

Data Integration Towards Evaluation of Water Resources
GPCC- Global Precipitation Climatology Centre

• Gridded satellite products based on the merging of different remote-

sensing and ground-control data (e.g. GSMap,TRMM, GPCP)

• Gridded reanalysis products

(e.g. ERA (Interim/40/15/20CM))
• ............
 Satellite Precipitation Products

➢ Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM)

TRMM was a research satellite in operation from 1997 to 2015, designed to
improve our understanding of the distribution and variability of precipitation
within the tropics as part of the water cycle in the current climate system

➢ Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation( GSMap)

The GSMaP, an hourly Satellite Precipitation Products with 0.1° grids
resolution, is generated by a program aiming to obtain high precision, high-
resolution global precipitation map using satellite data sponsored by the
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Precipitation Measuring Mission
https://pmm.nasa.gov/trmm
https://sharaku.eorc.jaxa.jp/GSMaP/
 Hydrologic
Abstractions
 Hydrologic abstractions

• Hydrologic abstractions are the processes acting to

reduce total precipitation into effective precipitation.

• Hydrologic abstractions are :

Interception
Infiltration
Surface or depression storage
Evaporation
Evapotranspiration
 Interception
-Interception is the process by which precipitation is abstracted by
vegetation or other forms of surface cover.

-Throughfall is that part of precipitation which reaches the ground after

passing through the vegetative cover.
-Interception losses are a function of
storm character, including intensity, depth and duration;
type, extent and density of vegetative cover,
time of the year (season).

-Annual interception losses, primarily from light storms, can amount to

25% of rainfall.

-For heavy storms, interception losses usually amount to a small fraction

of total rainfall.

-For flood studies, the neglect of interception is generally justified on

practical grounds.
 Surface or depression storage

-Surface or depresion storage is the process by which

precipitation is abstracted by being retained in puddles,
ditches, and other natural or artificial depressions of the land
surface.

-Spatial variability of storage in surface depressions precludes

its precise calculation.

-Depression storage is inversely related to catchment slope

 Infiltration
-Infiltration is the process by which precipitation is abstracted by
seeping into the soil below the land surface.

-Infiltration is the process by which precipitation is abstracted by

seeping into the soil below the land surface.

-The infiltrated water moves mostly vertically until it reaches the

groundwater table (saturation).

-Groundwater flows laterally (along a piezometric gradient) toward

zones of lower elevation, and eventually reaches streams or rivers
(baseflow).
-Infiltration is measured in in/hr or mm/hr.

-Rate of infiltration is integrated over the storm duration to obtain the

total infiltration (mm or in).

-Average rate is obtained by dividing total infiltration amount by the

storm duration.
Infiltration rates vary as function of the following:

-The condition of the land surface (crust)

-The type, extent, and density of vegetative cover
-The physical properties of the soil, including grain size and
gradation
-The storm character. i.e., intensity, depth, and duration
-The water temperature
-The water quality, including chemical constituents and
other impurities
-In general, as a function of physical, chemical, and
biological properties of the soil mass.
 Measurements of Infiltration Capacity

• Flooding type Infiltrometers

• Rainfall simulator type infiltrometer

Single Ring Double Ring
 Infiltration formulas
-Infiltration rates have a tendency to decrease with time.

-This fact led Horton to develop his decay formula for infiltration

𝑓 = 𝑓𝑐 + (𝑓𝑜 − 𝑓𝑐 )𝑒 −𝑘𝑡

in which f = instantaneous infiltration rate;

fo = initial infiltration rate;
fc = final infiltration rate;
k = a decay constant;
t = time.

-With a knowledge of the final rate, two sets of measurements can

be solved to give initial rate and constant k
 Table : Typical f1 values

Soil group Infiltration rate f1 (mm/h)

Clays, clay loam Low 0.25-2.50
Loams, clay, silt Intermediate 2.50-12.50
Sandy soils High 12.50-25.00
• Infiltration rate
– Rate at which water enters the soil at the surface (in/hr or
cm/hr)
• Cumulative infiltration
– Accumulated depth of water infiltrating during given time
period

t
F (t ) =  f ( )d
0

dF (t )
f (t ) =
dt
 Infiltration Index

-Infiltration index assumes that the rate is constant

throughout the storm.
-It underestimates the initial rate and may
overestimate the final rate.
-In practice, the most commonly used infiltration index
is the φ-index
-The φ-index is defined as the constant infiltration
rate to be substracted from the prevailing rainfall rate
in order to obtain the runoff volume that actually
occurred.
-Calculation is by trial and error.
 Example:

The following rainfall distribution was measured during a 6-h storm .

Time (h) 1 2 3 4 5 6
Rainfall
intensity 0.5 1.5 1.2 0.3 1.0 0.5
(cm/h)

The runoff depth has been estimated at 2 cm. Calculate the φ-index.
Total rainfall = 5 cm
Runoff = 2 cm
Total infiltration = 5-2 = 3 cm

1st trial
Assume te = 6 hr
𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 3
∅1 = 𝑡𝑒
= 6 = 0.5 𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟

1 is not effective the first, fourth and last hr

2nd trial
Total infiltration = 3 – 0.5 -0.3 -0.5 = 1.7 cm
Assume te = 3 hr
𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 1.7
∅2 = 𝑡𝑒
= 3
= 0.567 𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟

 infiltration index  = 0.567 cm/hr

 (OR)
Total rainfall =5 cm.
the depth abstracted by infiltration = (5-2)=3cm

By inspection, a value of between 0.5 and 1.0 cm/h is

assumed.

A mass balance leads to:

[ (1.5 - φ) × 1 ] + [ (1.2 - φ) × 1 ] + [ (1.0 - φ) × 1 ] = 2 cm

φ = 0.567 cm/h, verifying that the assumed

range for was correct
Example A 10 hour storm occurred over 18 sq.km basin. The hourly
values of rainfall were follows:

1.8, 4.2, 10.4, 5.8, 16.4, 7.7, 15.2, 9.6, 5.4, 1.2 cm.

If the observed runoff to be 705. 6 ha-m, determine the infiltration index .

Time from start

(hour) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Incremental
rainfall (cm) 1.8 4.2 10.4 5.8 16.4 7.7 15.2 9.6 5.4 1.2
Solution
Total rainfall = 77.7 cm
Surface runoff volume = 705.6 ha-m = 705.6 x 104 m3
Total infiltration = 77.7 – 39.2 = 38.5 cm

1st trial
Assume te = 10 hr
𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 38.5
∅1 = = = 3.85 𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟
𝑡𝑒 10

is not effective for the first and the last hour

2nd trial
Total infiltration =38.5-1.8-1.2 = 35.5 cm
Assume te = 8 hr
𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 35.5
∅2 = = = 4.438 𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟
𝑡𝑒 8
3rd trial
Total infiltration = 35.5-4.2= 31.3 cm
Assume te= 7 hr
𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 31.3
∅3 = = = 4.47 𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟
𝑡𝑒 7
Infiltration index = 4.47 cm/hr

Rainfall intensity(cm/hr)
Problem An isolated storm in a catchment produced a runoff of 3.5
cm. The mass curve of the average rainfall depth over the catchment
was as below.
Time (hr) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Accumulated Rainfall
0 0.05 1.65 3.55 5.65 6.80 7.75
(cm)

Calculate the  index (constant loss rate) for the storm.

Solution:

Time from start (hr) 1 2 3 4 5 6

Incremental rainfall (cm) 0.05 1.6 1.90 2.1 1.15 0.95

Total rainfall = 7.75 cm

Direct runoff = 3.5 cm
 Total infiltration = 7.75 – 3.5 = 4.25 cm
1st trial
Assume te = 6 hrs.
𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 4.25
∅1 = = = 0.708 𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟
𝑡𝑒 6

1 is not effective the 1st hr

2nd trial
Total infiltration = 4.25 – 0.05 = 4.20 cm
Assume te = 5 hr
𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 4.20
∅2 = = = 0.84 𝑐𝑚/ℎ𝑟
𝑡𝑒 5

 infiltration index  = 0.84 cm/hr

• Another widely used infiltration index is the W-index ,
which, unlike the φ-index, takes explicit account of
interception loss and depth of surface storage.

𝑃−𝑄−𝑆
𝑊=
𝑡𝑓

in which W = W-index, in millimeters per hour; P = rainfall

depth, in millimeters; Q = runoff depth, in millimeters; S =
the sum of interception loss and depth of surface storage,
in millimeters; and tf = the total time (hours) during which
rainfall intensity is greater than W.