College of Engineering

Department of Civil Engineering

HYDROLOGY
CE418A:50043 (TTH 2:00-3:00)

Prepared by:

DE GUIA, MICHAELA EDEN A.

STUDENT NO.: 202118373

APRIL 23, 2024

DATE SUBMITTED

Submitted to:

DR. EUGENIA L. LAGMAY

PROFESSOR
TOPIC OUTLINE

RAINFALL-RUNOFF RELATION

I. Definition of Hydrograph
II. Types of Hydrograph and Components
III. Hydrograph Separation
IV. Unit Hydrograph
V. Estimation of discharge using unit hydrograph
VI. Rational Formula
VII. SCS Curve Method

1. DEFINITION OF HYDROGRAPH

Water level data can be shown over time

using a hydrograph. A hydrograph plot
can show streamflow, stage, or
occasionally both. When displaying water
level observations and forecasts visually
on a single graphic, hydrographs can be
a useful tool. It is a graph that shows the
stream's flow over time. Graphs are
frequently used in the design of sewer
systems, particularly combined sewers
and surface water sewerage systems.
2. TYPES OF HYDROGRAPH AND COMPONENTS

TYPES OF HYDROGRAPH
a. Unit Hydrograph - A unit hydrograph is a direct
runoff hydrograph produced by one unit of uniform
rainfall, such as one inch or one centimeter, falling
throughout the whole watershed.

b. Storm Hydrograph - It illustrates how a

river's discharge and rainfall are related. To
comprehend the storm hydrograph, refer to
the figure that follows.

c. Snyder’s Synthetic Unit Hydrograph - All

of the characteristics of a unit hydrograph
are retained in a synthetic unit hydrograph,
which does not require rainfall-runoff data.
It is used to simulate basin diffusion by
determining the basin lag using a particular
method. It is derived from a model and
experience.

COMPONENTS OF A HYDROGRAPH

a. Rising Limb - The hydrograph's rising limb, sometimes referred to as the

concentration curve, shows a sustained rise in the discharge from a catchment area,
usually as a result of precipitation.
b. Recession Limb - It continues after the peak flow rate. The recession limb's point of
inflection is commonly understood to be the termination of stormflow and the return
 to groundwater-derived flow. The water that was removed from the basin's storage
built up during the hydrograph's early stages is represented by the recession limb.
c. Peak Discharge - the hydrograph's highest point at its maximum discharge rate
d. Lag time - The amount of time that passes between the center of the excess rainfall
mass and the hydrograph's peak
e. Discharge - the speed at which water in a river or other channel passes a particular
spot

COMPONENTS OF A HYDROGRAPH

3. HYDROGRAPH SEPARATION
Since groundwater and direct runoff have different properties, it is customary to split the
hydrograph into two parts and use those parts as the foundation for further investigation.
Why are hydrographs separated? Without the contribution of direct runoff from the rainfall,
the stream would have baseflow. As a result, groundwater return flow has different timing,
magnitude, and duration than direct runoff. Understanding a watershed's hydrology,
including the interactions between surface and subsurface water, requires an estimation
of baseflow and direct runoff.
METHODS USED IN SEPARATING HYDROGRAPHS
1. CONSTANT DISCHARGE METHOD OR STRAIGHT LINE METHOD

Assumes that baseflow is constant independent of

the height (discharge) of the stream. Draw a
horizontal line segment connecting the recession
curve intersection and the start of runoff.

Qt , t ≤ ts
Qb = Qs , ts < t ≤ te
Qt , t > te
Where:
Qdr = direct runoff discharge
Qb = baseflow discharge
Qt = total runoff discharge
Qs = discharge at the starting time
ts = starting time
te = end time

2. CONSTANT SLOPE METHOD

After the peak, draw a line connecting points

(A-C) and N time intervals. Point C is located
where the recession curve's slope abruptly
changes; as a general rule, point C is N days
after the peak.
 N = 0.83A0.2
Where:
N = number of days between the peak and the end of runoff
A = area of watershed in km2

Where:
Qdr = direct runoff discharge
Qb = baseflow discharge
Qt = total runoff discharge
Qs = discharge at the starting time
ts = starting time
te = end time

3. CONCAVE METHOD

Assume that streamflow rises and baseflow

falls. Projected hydrograph trend: from the
lowest discharge value just before the storm
hydrograph starts to the point directly below the
hydrograph peak. Connect that point to the
storm hydrograph's receding limb's inflection
point.
4. UNIT HYDROGRAPH
A unit hydrograph is a direct runoff hydrograph produced by one unit of uniform rainfall,
such as one inch or one centimeter, falling throughout the whole watershed. The idea of
a unit hydrograph is founded in the theory of linear systems and adheres to superposition
and proportionality. For instance, two inches of excess rainfall will result in a direct runoff
of two times 100 = 200 cfs if one inch of excess rainfall produces a direct runoff peak of
100 cfs. Similarly, hydrographs from both rainfall pulses are simply added after allowing
for the required time lag if one inch of rainfall is followed by two inches of rainfall. This
notion is illustrated in the accompanying figure.

In hydrology, a unit hydrograph's function is to estimate the direct runoff hydrograph that
arises from a specific excess rainfall hydrograph. We must first derive a unit hydrograph
for a specific watershed before we can use it as a tool to predict the direct runoff
hydrograph.
5. ESTIMATION OF DISCHARGE USING UNIT HYDROGRAPH
It is now understood that a unit hydrograph is a type of unit measurement of runoff that
results from a particular or unit duration of rainfall. A unit hydrograph clearly shows that
one centimeter of effective rainfall corresponds to one centimeter of direct runoff. In light
of this, the ordinates of the direct runoff hydrograph will be twice as large while the total
runoff period stays the same if the effective rainfall during the same duration is doubled,
or 2 cm. The process used to construct the unit hydrograph is exactly reversed in the
process of obtaining the hydrograph from the unit hydrograph. Multiply the ordinates of
the unit hydrograph by the runoff value or the effective rainfall expressed in cm to obtain
the direct runoff hydrograph from the storm of the same unit duration. When a rain burst
producing 1 cm of effective rainfall is followed by another rain burst producing 2 cm of
effective rainfall in an equal amount of time, the two hydrographs can be drawn with the
appropriate lag time but overlapped as though they were two separate hydrographs to
obtain the total hydrograph. The ordinates of the total hydrograph are obtained by adding
the overlapped portion.

6. RATIONAL FORMULA
The Rational Method is employed to ascertain the maximum outflows from small drainage
regions. Storm sewers, channels, and other stormwater structures that manage runoff
from drainage areas smaller than 20 acres are typically sized using this technique. The
Rational Formula is written like this Q=CiA where:

Q = the peak runoff rate expressed in cubic feet per second.

C = Runoff coefficient, an empirical coefficient that shows how rainfall and runoff are
related.
i = The average rainfall intensity, measured in inches per hour, for a chosen frequency
of occurrence or return period during the time of concentration (Tc).
A = The acreage of the watershed.
Tc = The average rainfall time in minutes, also called the time of concentration, is the
amount of time needed for water to move from the watershed's hydraulically farthest
point to the design point.
The Rational Formula can be used to determine peak discharge in the following general
ways:
Step 1: Locate the drainage region.
Step 2: Find the runoff coefficient (C) for the drainage area's type of soil and cover. The
following tables can be used to calculate a C value if the drainage area's land use and
soil cover are uniform. When dealing with different soil cover conditions, a weighted
average needs to be carried out.
Step 3: Calculate the drainage area's rainfall intensity averaging time, or Tc, in minutes
(the amount of time needed for water to move from the tributary watershed's
hydraulically farthest point, which generates the largest discharge, to the point of
design).
Step 4: For the chosen design storm, find the Rainfall Intensity Factor, i. The Rainfall
Intensity - Frequency - Duration charts are used for this. Since these hydrologic charts
are updated with each new rain event and are thought to be the most accurate
available, they should be used for the location under evaluation. Choose the location on
the chart that is closest to the project site. Put the computed time of concentration, Tc,
on the chart's "Duration" axis. To read the Rainfall Intensity Factor, i, in inches per hour,
move horizontally after crossing the curve of the relevant design storm. Move vertically
up until you reach it.
Step 5: Using the above equation, find the peak discharge (Q, measured in cubic feet
per second).

7. SCS CURVE METHOD

A simple, popular, and effective technique for estimating the approximate amount of
runoff from a rainfall even in a specific location is the SCS curve number method. You
can scale the method to find average annual runoff values even though it is meant for a
single storm event. The method's very minimal stat requirements are the quantity of
rainfall and curve number. The hydrologic soil group, land use, hydrologic condition, and
treatment of the area are the basis for the curve number. The two former are the most
significant.
The following is the general equation for the SCS curve number method:

Since the first equation (1) is based on patterns found

in data gathered from various sites, it is an empirical
equation rather than a physically based equation.
Following additional empirical analysis of the data
base's trends, the initial abstractions, or Ia, could be
expressed as a percentage of S (2). This supposition
would allow for a more straightforward formulation of
equation (3) using just three variables. A
transformation of S, the parameter CN is used to
improve the linearity of weighting, averaging, and
interpolation operations (4).

REFERENCES
https://civilmint.com/what-is-hydrograph/

https://www.slideshare.net/FritzLejarso1/hydrograph

https://serc.carleton.edu/hydromodules/steps/derivation_unit.html

https://www.maine.gov/dep/land/stormwater/stormwaterbmps/vol3/appendixa.pdf

https://engineering.purdue.edu/mapserve/LTHIA7/documentation/scs.htm

https://www.scribd.com/document/456792682/Hydrograph-Separation

https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/water/surface-runoff/estimation-of-runoff-and-peak-
flow-by-unit-hydrograph/60571