RAINFALL-RUNOFF RELATIONSHIPS

 The derivation of relationships between the rainfall over a catchment area

and the resulting flow in a river is a fundamental problem for the
hydrologist.
 There are usually plenty of rainfall records but stream flow measurements
which are what the engineer needs for: assessment of water resources or
of damaging flood peaks are often limited and are rarely available.
 The need to evaluate river discharges from rainfall has been a task for
engineers for many years.
 To facilitate comparisons it is usual to express values for rainfall and river
discharge in similar terms.
 Units: Precipitation (rain, snow etc) falling on a catchment area is normally
expressed in millimeters (mm) depth, but may be converted into a total
volume of water cubic meters (m3).
RUNOFF: Runoff may be defined as that part of precipitation as well as of any
other flow contribution which appears in surface streams as either perennial or
intermittent form.
 It is the flow collected from a drainage basin or catchment.
 The water flowing in a stream may have reached there from many
sources;
(i) Precipitation falling directly on the surface of the stream and its
tributaries; the contribution is very insignificant
(ii) Surface runoff
(iii) Groundwater

FACTORS AFFECTNG RUNOFF

Factors affecting runoff from any catchment area may be grouped into the
following two groups;
(i) Precipitation Characteristics
(ii) Physical characteristics of the basin
(i) Precipitation Characteristics:
a) Type of precipitation (rainfall, snow etc)
b) Intensity of rainfall
c) Duration of rainfall
d) Distribution of storm intensity on the basin
e) Direction of storm movement
f) Soil Moisture
g) Other climatic factors which affect evaporation and transpiration
Intensity of rainfall:
 The intensity of rainfall affects runoff to a great extent; the rainfall
exceeding the infiltration capacity of the soil generates surface runoff very
rapidly with the increase in rainfall intensity.
 Rainfall of higher intensity will generate more runoff than low intensity
rainfall, though total amount of rainfall may be equal.
Duration of rainfall:
 The duration of rainfall affects the runoff due to the fact that during a
rainfall the infiltration capacity of the soil goes on reducing till it attains a
constant value.
 As a result of this fact a mild intensity of rainfall may produce considerable
surface runoff.
 If the rain continues over an extended period the water table may rise and
sometimes it may touch the ground surface in low lying areas, reducing
the infiltration capacity to zero for that area and there may be chances of
serious flood hazard.
Soil moisture:
 The amount of moisture in the surface layers of the soil at the time of
rainfall has a marked effect on the surface runoff, as the soil moisture
affects infiltration capacity very much.
 If the rainfall takes place after a long dry spell of time when the soil is dry
and can absorb a large amount of water in such conditions intense rainfall
may fail to produce any appreciable runoff.

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  On the other hand if the rainfall takes place when the soil moisture content
is high i.e. after a long rainy season, in such situation the infiltration will be
very low and very small rainfall may produce peak flows and cause
considerable rise in stream water level, sometimes disastrous floods.

Other climatic factors:

 Other climatic factors such as temperature, wind velocity, relative
humidity, annual rainfall etc affect the losses from the drainage basin to a
great extent and thus affect the runoff.
 If the losses are more the runoff will be less and vice versa.

(ii) Physical characteristics of the basin:

(a) Land use
(b) Type of soil
(c) Area
(d) Shape of drainage basin (catchment)
(e) Elevation
(f) Slope etc.
(Develop the above points)

METHODS OF COMPUTATION OF RUNOFF

 The runoff of a catchment can be computed daily, monthly or yearly as
need be.
 There are various methods of computation of runoff.
a) Empirical formula e.g. Rational Method
b) Unit Hydrograph Method etc.

RATIONAL METHOD:
 In the design of hydraulic structures the peak rate of runoff is required.
 This method has been found useful for evaluating peak runoff.

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  In order to arrive at a rational approach, a relationship between rainfall
and runoff under different conditions has to be established.
 The formula to give the peak flow Qp is : in m3/s or l/s
C= the coefficient (dependent on catchment characteristics)
I= the intensity of rainfall in Tc (mm/hr)
A= Area of catchment
Tc= time of concentration
 The rational formula was devised in Imperial units. Thus with i in in/hr and
A in acres the value of Qp is approximately in cusecs ft3/s
 .In metric units with I in mm/hr, A=km 2 the time conversion needs a factor
of 0.278 to give the Qp in cumecs m3/s. m3/s.
 For Area= Hectares ; =l/s
 Valueof C vary from 0.05 for flat sandy areas to 0.95 for impervious urban
surfaces and considerable knowledge of the catchment is needed in order
to estimate an acceptable value.

***What are the limitations of Rational method, the advantages and

disadvantages.

HYDROGRAPH ANALYSIS
 A hydrograph is a graph of discharge passing a particular point on a
stream, plotted as a function of time; it can also be plotted as stage versus
time.
 As noted in hydrologic cycle streamflow is made up of rain falling directly
on the stream, surface runoff and flow from groundwater.
 Surface runoff in general produces the largest and most rapidly apparent
contribution to streamflow and thus is most instrumental in producing the
peak flows.
 Hydrograph could also be said to describe the whole time history of the
changing rate of flow from a catchment due to rainfall event rather than
just peak flow.

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 The hydrograph of discharge against time has two main components:
(i) the area under the hump- surface runoff (which is produced by a
volume of water derived from the storm event).
(iii) the broad bend near the time axis representing base flow contributed
from groundwater)

 The proportion of rainfall that finds its way into a river is known as the
effective rainfall, the rest being lost in evaporation, infiltration,
detention on the surface or retention in the soil.
 As the storm proceeds the proportion of effective rainfall increases and
that of lost rainfall decreases.
 The main aims of the engineering hydrologist are to quantify the
various components of hyetogram (rainfall graph) and the hydrograph,
by analyzing past events, in order to relate effective rainfall to surface
runoff and thereby to be able to estimate and design for future events.
 Because effective rainfall becomes runoff without any further losses, it
must be equal in volume to the storm runoff..
 Therefore once we know the volume of storm runoff in a particular
flood, we know the volume of effective rainfall in the storm which
caused it; when considering only an analysis of an existing record of
rainfall and stream flow.
 As a result of the complexity of the processes that create stream flow
from rainfall, many simplifications and assumptions have to be made.
THE UNIT HYDROGRAPH
This is an assumption concerning the relation between effective rainfall
and storm runoff.
 Definition: Unit hydrograph is the hydrograph of surface runoff
resulting from effective rainfall falling in a unit time such as 1hr or 1
day and produced uniformly in space and time over the total
catchment area.

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  A T-hr. unit hydrograph (TUH) is defined as resulting from a unit
depth (1mm) of effective rainfall falling in T-hr. over the catchment.
 The standard depth of effective rainfall was originally taken to be
1in, but with metrication, 1mm or sometime 1cm is used; the units
of the ordinates of the T-hr. unit hydrograph are m 3s-1per mm of
rain.
 The volume of water in the surface runoff is given by the area under
the hydrograph and is equivalent to the 1mm depth of effective
rainfall over the catchment area.
ASSUMPTIONS: The unit hydrograph method makes several
assumptions that give it simple properties assisting in its application.
a) There is a direct proportional relationship between the
effective rainfall and surface runoff, e.g. 2mm of effective
rainfall falling in 1hour produce a surface runoff hydrograph
that has its ordinates twice the 1 hour unit hydrograph
ordinates.
b) A second simple property of superposition. The assumption
that the storm runoff can be built up from its component
which are so simply related i.e. a system where the principle
of superposition is applied is said to be linear and time
invariant.
c) A third property of the TUH assumes that the effective
rainfall-surface runoff relationship does not change with time,
i.e. that the same TUH always occurs whenever the unit of
effective rainfall in T-hr is applied.

USES OF UNIT HYDROGRAPH:

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  Given a record of effective rainfall and storm runoff on a catchment, we
can generally obtain the unit hydrograph. Once a TUH has been
determined:
(i) We can use it to convert any given effective
rainfall event to storm runoff
(ii) If we can obtain an estimate of the maximum
possible (or maximum probable) rainfall on a
catchment we can similarly convert this to
discharge by applying the unit hydrograph.
(iii) It can be used to compare flood producing
capacity of catchments
(iv) The concept is also useful in expressing the effect
of drainage or irrigation work on the flow regime of
river as a change in the unit hydrograph.

DERIVATION OF THE UNIT HYDROGRAPH FROM SIMPLE STORMS

 A selection of typical single-peaked hydrographs is taken from the
continuous river gauge records and then the corresponding rainfall
records, preferably from autographic rain gauges are abstracted.
STEP-BY-STEP PROCEDURE:
a) Search rainfall records to find storms of the desired duration.
b) Locate the associated discharge hydrographs from streamflow
records (continuous river gauge).
c) Separate base flow from surface runoff for the chosen streamflow
hydrographs.
d) The volume of surface runoff is determined for each hydrograph by
integration (Simpson’s or trapezoidal rule could be used).
e) The average depth of rainfall excess (effective rain) for the storm is
determined.

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f) The average depth of rainfall excess must be equal to the runoff
from the unit hydrograph i.e. 1mm. the unit hydrograph is
constructed by:
(i) Maintaining the same time coordinates as the measured
hydrograph
(ii) Dividing each of the runoff coordinates by the average
depth of rainfall excess to find the ordinates of the unit
hydrograph.
(g) Hence several unit hydrographs should be constructed and the
curves averaged.
(h) Straight numerical averaging of the discharges and times of the
unit hydrographs is not appropriate. The time peak tp is averaged
and the peak discharge Qp is averaged. This average point is
plotted and a hydrograph is sketched that maintains the correct
shape and volume.

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EXAMPLE 1
Date Hour Total flow Base Flow Direct Flow UH Ordinate
m3/s m3/s m3/s m3/s/cm
Feb 16 0600 11 11 0 0
0800 170 8 162 13.9
1000 260 6 254 21.7
1200 266 6 260 22.3
1400 226 8 218 18.7
1600 188 9 179 15.3
1800 157 11 146 12.5
2000 130 12 118 10.1
2200 108 14 94 8.0
2400 91 16 75 6.4
Feb 17 0200 76 17 59 5.1
0400 64 19 45 3.9
0600 54 21 33 2.8
0800 46 22 24 2.1
1000 38 24 14 1.2
1200 32 26 6 0.5
1400 27 27 0 0
Total 1687 143.8

The average area=104km2

Direct Runoff=

Unit Hydrograph Ordinate =Direct flow/Direct Run off=

(i) Plot total flow

(ii) Separate base flow
(iii) Obtain Direct flow (sum)
(iv) Calculate UH Ordinate
(v) Plot UH ordinate

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THE CONVERSION OF UNIT HYDROGRAPH DURATION
There is frequently a need to convert an existing unit hydrograph from one storm
duration to another. Even though a TUH may have been derived for a catchment
from a selection of simple storms having the same duration of effective rainfall.
There is often the need to find an estimated pattern of runoff for a different
duration of effective rainfall. It may be necessary then to derive a unit hydrograph
for a new value of T.
S-CURVE METHOD
A comprehensive method which can be used for making the new T greater or
less than the original involves the construction of (or tabular representation of) a
standard S-curve. The S-curve is given by the sequential accumulation of the
ordinates of the TUH.
STEP-BY-STEP PROCEDURE
(i) Sum the ordinates of the TUH, cumulatively (plotted or
tabulated) S1.
(ii) If T2-UH is required
(iii) Offset S1 a distance T2 (plotted or tabulated) S2.
(iv) Find the difference between S1 and S2, i.e. S-curve difference.
(v) Divide the difference by T2 .
(vi) The result is the T2–hour Unit hydrograph ordinates.

EXAMPLE 2
Derive a 2-h unit hydrograph from the [Link] ordinates given below:

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Time (hr) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1hr-UH m3/s/mm 0 0.58 1.09 0.94 0.51 0.12 0.05 0

SOLUTION
Time(hr) 1-h UH S-Curve Offset 2hrs S-Curve Difference 2-hr UH
0 0 0 0 0 0
1 0.58 0.58 0 0.58 0.29
2 1.09 1.67 0 1.67 0.83
3 0.94 2.61 0.58 2.03 1.02
4 0.51 3.12 1.67 1.45 0.72
5 0.12 3.24 2.61 0.63 0.32
6 0.05 3.29 3.12 0.17 0.08
7 0 3.29 3.24 0.05 0.03
8 3.29 0 0

ASSINGNMENT
Derive1/2h-UH from the 1-hr UH data given above.
Note: (a) obtain the intermediate values from the S-curve
(a) Lag or offset by 1/2hr.
(b) Follow the same procedure
(c) Plot the two results on a single graph. i.e. S 1,S2,S3, 1hUH, 1/2h UH
and 2h UH
(d) What are your observations and comments.

COMMENTS
i. For T2<T1 the new shorter period unit hydrograph peaks
earlier and is an irregular shape

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ii. For T2>T1 variations in catchment response are damped
down and the unit hydrograph is more generalized and
smoother.
iii. The new UH’s should be checked to see that the enclosed
area is equivalent to the unit of surface runoff and the
final plotted curves amended if necessary.

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