Application of Unit Hydrograph to Derive

Runoff Hydrograph

Introduction
The objective of this step is to learn how to use a unit hydrograph to derive a runoff
hydrograph. To use this step, the user need to have observed excess rainfall data and the
unit hydrograph for the duration of the excess rainfall. The output from this step is a direct
runoff hydrograph.

Conceptual Student Learning Outcomes

 Students demonstrate the understanding of unit hydrograph

 Students can generate runoff hydrograph from excess rainfall by using unit
hydrograph

 Application of discrete convolution equation

Practical Student Learning Outcomes

 Data analysis using MS Excel

 Use of discrete form of convolution in MS Excel

Student Time
 One hour

Reference Documents and Files

None

Data Inputs
 Numerical Values: Excess rainfall hyetograph for a storm event

 Numerical Values: Unit hydrograph for the watershed

The rainfall data and a 2.5 hour unit hydrograph for Hall Creek watershed in Indiana are
provided in this Excel file: Unit Hydrograph Data (Excel 2007 (.xlsx) 10kB Nov10 14)
Data Outputs
 Numerical Values: Direct Runoff Hydrograph

Required Hardware and Software

 MS Excel

Related Steps
 Baseflow Separation Using Straight Line Method

 Baseflow Separation using Recession Method

 Computing Excess Rainfall using Phi Index

 Derivation of Unit Hydrograph

Instructions
A graphical explanation of how a unit hydrograph is used to derive a direct runoff
hydrograph is first provided. A unit hydrograph is a hydrograph resulting from one inch or
one mm of rainfall falling uniformly over the total watershed area. For example, if a rainfall
of P1 inches occurs during a time interval of Δt, the total runoff hydrograph is P1
multiplied by the total unit hydrograph, which is the blue curve (PUH_1) in the figure below.
If the rainfall stops after Δt, this is the direct runoff hydrograph. If the rainfall continues
with P2 inches (P2 may or may not be equal to P1) during the next time interval, the total
unit hydrograph is again multiplied by the unit hydrograph to get the direct runoff
hydrograph from P2 (PUH_2, shown in red). Because P2 occurs after Δt, the red curve is
delayed or lagged by Δt in the figure. If the rainfall stops after P2, the total runoff
hydrograph (green) is the addition of blue curve and red curve in the figure below. If the
rainfall continues with P3, the same procedure is repeated with the P3 component of direct
runoff hydrograph delayed by 2*Δt, and added to the red and blue curve to get the total
runoff hydrograph.
Once the concept of how a unit hydrograph is used is clear from the graphical example, it
is now easy to apply this concept in Excel. The data provided with this step has the
following format (shown in figure below) for a direct runoff and unit hydrograph:

A direct runoff hydrograph can be obtained by using the discrete form of convolution
integral as shown below.
Where Q is the runoff ordinate, P is the rainfall pulse and U is the unit hydrograph ordinate.

Application of this equation in Excel involves the following steps:

1. Multiply the entire unit hydrograph (UH) by the first rainfall pulse (P1). Lets call this
the PUH_1 hydrograph.

2. Obtain the PUH_2 hydrograph by multiplying the unit hydrograph by the second
rainfall pulse. Delay or lag Q2 by Δt.

3. Repeat step 2 to obtain PUH_3, PUH_4,..., PUH_M, where M is the total number of
rainfall pulses. In this dataset, M = 3 so we can stop after 3. Remember PUH_3 is
delayed by additional Δt compared to PUH_2.

4. Sum all the PUH columns (PUH_1 + PUH_2 + ....+ PUH_M) to get the direct runoff
hydrograph. The total number of direct runoff ordinates (N) must be equal to U + M –
1. Where U is the total number of unit hydrograph ordinates.

Computation of PUH_1, PUH_2,..., PUH_M and the total runoff hydrograph is shown below
for the given data. The yellow cells represent the unit hydrograph, the green cells represent
the precipitation, purple cells represent PUH, and the blue cells represent the total runoff
hydrograph. The runoff hydrograph is obtained by summing all the PUH columns. Note
how the delay in each PUH is accomplished by just inserting one additional empty cell for
each PUH. Because the last PUH (PUH_3) is lagged or delayed by 2 cells or 6Δt, the total
runoff hydrograph will have 2 additional ordinates compared to the unit hydrograph
ordinates.
OK, now you know how to apply unit hydrograph to derive a direct runoff hydrograph from
rainfall data!
 FINAL EXAMINATION
FRM 200 : ADVANCED FOREST HYDROLOGY

PART I. HYDROGRAPH ANALYSIS (LABORATORY EXERCISE NO. 2)

(To be submitted not later than 8am, 16 May 2018; please follow this format)

 Introduction

 Objectives

 Methodology

a. Based on the data in table 1, determine the direct runoff (DRO) hydrograph by
separating the base flow.

b. Derive the unit hydrograph (1 cm of DRO) for the 3-hr rainfall.

c. Derive the actual hydrograph for three successive storms of 6-, 6- and 3-hr
durations producing 5, 4 and 3 cm of direct runoff, respectively. Plot the resulting
hydrograph to show the peak flow.

d. Derive the unit hydrograph for a 1-hr storm duration.

 References
CE322 Basic Hydrology
Jorge A. Ramírez
Unit Hydrographs - Example

A. Obtain a Unit Hydrograph for a basin of 315 km2 of area using the rainfall and
streamflow data tabulated below.

Time Observed
Hydrograph
(h) (m3/s)

0 100

1 100

2 300

3 700

4 1000

5 800

6 600

7 400

8 300

9 200

10 100

11 100

Time Gross
Precipitation
(h) (GRH)

(cm/h)

0-1 0.5

1-2 2.5

2-3 2.5

3-4 0.5
Empirical Unit Hydrograph Derivation

1. Separate the baseflow from the observed streamflow hydrograph in order to

obtain the Direct Runoff Hydrograph (DRH).
For this example, use the horizontal line method to separate the baseflow. From
observation of the hydrograph data, the streamflow at the start of the rising
limb of the hydrograph is 100 m3/s.
2. Compute the volume of Direct Runoff. This volume must be equal to the
volume of the Effective Rainfall Hyetograph (ERH).

Thus, for this example:

VDRH = (200+600+900+700+500+300+200+100) m3/s (3600) s = 12'600,000

m3

3. Express VDRH in equivalent units of depth:

VDRH in equivalent units of depth = VDRH/Abasin = 12'600,000 m3/(315000000
m2) = 0.04 m = 4 cm.
4. Obtain a Unit Hydrograph by normalizing the DRH. Normalizing implies
dividing the ordinates of the DRH by the VDRH in equivalent units of depth.

Time (h) Observed Direct Runoff Unit

Hydrograph Hydrograph Hydrograph
(m3/s) (DRH) (m3/s) (m3/s/cm)

0 100 0 0

1 100 0 0

2 300 200 50

3 700 600 150

4 1000 900 225

5 800 700 175

6 600 500 125

 7 400 300 75

8 300 200 50

9 200 100 25

10 100 0 0

11 100 0 0

5.

6.
7.

8. Determine the duration D of the ERH associated with the UH obtained in 4. In

order to do this:

a. Determine the volume of losses, VLosses which is equal to the difference between
the volume of gross rainfall, VGRH, and the volume of the direct runoff
hydrograph, VDRH .

VLosses = VGRH - VDRH = (0.5 + 2.5 + 2.5 +0.5) cm/h 1 h - 4 cm = 2 cm

b. Compute the -index equal to the ratio of the volume of losses to the rainfall
duration, tr. Thus,

-index = VLosses/tr = 2 cm / 4 h = 0.5 cm/h

 c. Determine the ERH by subtracting the infiltration (e.g., -index) from the GRH:

Time Effective
Precipitation
(h) (ERH)

(cm/h)

0-1 0.0

1-2 2.0

2-3 2.0

3-4 0.0

As observed in the table, the duration of the effective rainfall hyetograph

is 2 hours. Thus, D = 2 hours, and the Unit Hydrograph obtained above
is a 2-hour Unit Hydrograph. Therefore, it can be used to predict runoff
from precipitation events whose effective rainfall hyetographs can be
represented as a sequence of uniform intensity (rectangular) pulses each
of duration D. This is accomplished by using the principles of
superposition and proportionality, encoded in the discrete convolution
equation:

where Qn is the nth ordinate of the DRH, Pm is the volume of the

mth rainfall pulse expressed in units of equivalent depth (e.g., cm or in),
and Un-m+1 is the (n-m+1)th ordinate of the UH, expressed in units
of m3/s/cm.

B. Using the UH obtained in A., predict the total streamflow that would be observed
as a result of the following ERH:

Time Effective
Precipitation
(h) (ERH)

(cm/h)

0-2 0.5
 2-4 1.5

4-6 2.0

6-8 1.0

As observed in the table, the ERH can be decomposed into a sequence of rectangular
pulses, each of 2 hours duration. Thus, we can use the 2-hour UH obtained in A.

1. Determine the volume of each ERH pulse, Pm, expressed in units of equivalent
depth:

Time Pm

(h) (cm)

0-2 1.0

2-4 3.0

4-6 4.0

6-8 2.0

2. Use superposition and proportionality principles:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Time(h) UH P1*UH P2*UH P3*UH P4*UH DRH Total

(m3/s/cm) (m3/s) (m3/s) (m3/s) (m3/s) (m3/s) (m3/s)

1 0 0 0 100

2 50 50 50 150

3 150 150 0 150 250

4 225 225 150 375 475

5 175 175 450 0 625 725

6 125 125 675 200 1000 1100

7 75 75 525 600 0 1200 1300

8 50 50 375 900 100 1425 1525

 9 25 25 225 700 300 1250 1350

10 0 0 150 500 450 1100 1200

11 75 300 350 725 825

12 0 200 250 450 550

13 100 150 250 350

14 0 100 100 200

15 50 50 150

16 0 0 100

a. Columns 2 - 5: Apply the proportionality principle to scale the UH by the

actual volume of the corresponding rectangular pulse, Pm. Observe that the
resulting hydrographs are lagged so that their origins coincide with the time of
occurrence of the corresponding rainfall pulse.
b. Column 6: Apply the superposition principle to obtain the DRH by summing up
Columns 2 - 5.
c. Column 7: Add back the baseflow in order to obtain the Total Streamflow
Hydrograph.