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Hydrology and Groundwater Notes PDF
Hydrology and Groundwater Notes PDF
Testmasters
Table of Contents
Hydrology _____________________________________________________________ 4
Hydrology and the Hydrologic Cycle ___________________________________________ 4
Components of the Hydrologic Cycle – Storages and Flows________________________________ 5
Precipitation _______________________________________________________________ 7
Storm Characteristics ______________________________________________________________ 7
Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) Curves ____________________________________________ 7
Synthetic Rainfall Distributions from the NRCS________________________________________ 10
Double-Mass Analysis of Point Precipitation __________________________________________ 12
Estimating Missing Point Precipitation Data ___________________________________________ 13
Converting Point Precipitation to Areal Precipitation ____________________________________ 14
Evapotranspiration ________________________________________________________ 16
Evaporation from an Open-Water Body ______________________________________________ 16
Reservoirs ________________________________________________________________ 17
Water Supply Reservoirs __________________________________________________________ 17
Reservoirs for Flood Control and Other Uses __________________________________________ 18
Flood Control Analysis and Design ___________________________________________ 19
Streamflow or Total Runoff Hydrograph______________________________________________ 21
Frequency and Probability for Flood Control Design ____________________________________ 24
Travel Time Concepts ______________________________________________________ 25
Time of Concentration ____________________________________________________________ 25
Effective Rainfall Model for Effective Rainfall Generation from Rainfall____________ 32
Phi (Φ) Index Approach___________________________________________________________ 32
NRCS (previously SCS) Curve Number Method _______________________________________ 33
Peak Runoff Calculation ____________________________________________________ 45
Rational Formula ________________________________________________________________ 45
Modified Rational Formula ________________________________________________________ 47
NRCS Graphical Peak Discharge Method _____________________________________________ 48
Total Runoff Hydrograph Separation into Direct Runoff and Baseflow _____________ 53
Unit Hydrograph Method for Converting Effective Rainfall into a Direct Runoff
Hydrograph ______________________________________________________________ 55
Determination of a Unit Hydrograph from a Total Runoff Hydrograph ______________________ 55
Convolution of Effective Rainfall with the Unit Hydrograph to Generate Direct Runoff Hydrographs
______________________________________________________________________________ 57
Generating Unit Hydrographs of Different Duration (tr) __________________________________ 59
NRCS Synthetic Unit Hydrograph___________________________________________________ 62
Groundwater__________________________________________________________ 66
Aquifers__________________________________________________________________ 66
Aquifer Characteristics _____________________________________________________ 67
Permeability, Conductivity, Transmissivity ____________________________________ 68
Averaging Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity on Layered Aquifers _________________________ 70
Constant Head Permeability Test____________________________________________________ 71
Variable or Falling Head Permeability Test____________________________________________ 72
Empirical Formulas for Estimating Hydraulic Conductivity or Permeability __________________ 73
Storativity, Specific Retention, and Specific Capacity ____________________________ 73
2
Unsaturated Zone__________________________________________________________ 75
Darcy’s Law ______________________________________________________________ 76
Well Drawdown in Aquifers _________________________________________________ 77
Steady-State Well Discharge for an Unconfined Aquifer _________________________________ 77
Steady-State Well Discharge for a Confined Aquifer ____________________________________ 78
Transient or Unsteady Well Discharge for a Confined Aquifer_____________________________ 80
Typical Soil Properties______________________________________________________ 82
3
Hydrology
• Water balance equation – The change in storage per unit time on a control volume
(e.g. area, watershed, reservoir etc.) equals the sum of the inflows minus the sum
of the outflows from the control volume.
∆S
= ∑ Qin − ∑ Qout
∆t
Qout
∆S = ∆t (∑ Qin − ∑ Qout ) = ∑ Vin − ∑ Vout
Qin ∆S
Over a long period, positive and negative water storage variations tend to balance
and the change in storage ∆S may be disregarded.
4
Components of the Hydrologic Cycle – Storages and Flows
• Precipitation – Includes rain, snow and other forms of water falling from the
atmosphere in liquid or solid phase into the land and oceans.
• Transpiration – Water from the soil is absorbed by plant roots and eventually
discharged into the atmosphere through little pores in the leaves called stomata. It
is a side effect of the plant needing to open its stomata in order to obtain carbon
dioxide from the air for photosynthesis. Transpiration cools plants and allows
flow of nutrients from the plants roots to its stems and leaves.
• Infiltration – Movement of water from the land surface to the upper layers of the
soil. It is usually the major abstraction from rainfall during a significant runoff-
producing storm.
• Percolation – Movement of water through the subsurface down to the water table.
• Overland flow – Portion of runoff that travels over the surface of the ground to
reach a stream channel and through the channel to the basin outlet. This process
occurs relatively quickly.
• Surface runoff – Includes all overland flow as well as precipitation falling directly
onto stream channels.
• Subsurface runoff – Portion of runoff that travels under the ground to reach a
stream channel and to the basin outlet. It includes: a) interflow, and b)
groundwater runoff.
5
saturated zone towards a stream channel. This process is slower than surface
runoff.
• Baseflow, base runoff, delayed runoff – Portion of the total runoff hydrograph at a
stream location which is composed of contributions from: a) groundwater runoff,
and b) delayed interflow. Baseflow is the result of water accumulating from
previous storms and being released over an extended period of time.
• Direct runoff – Portion of the total runoff hydrograph at a stream which is caused
by and directly following a rainfall or snowmelt event. It consists of: a) overland
flow, and b) quick interflow
6
Precipitation
The most common types of rain gages are the tipping-bucket gage, and the weighing rain
gage. Data collected from these gages can be plotted as a hyetograph, which is a plot of
the amount of precipitation (volume or intensity) that falls as a function of time.
Storm Characteristics
The characteristics of a storm, namely depth, duration, intensity and distribution, affect
the watershed response to the rainfall event.
Intensity – Depth of rainfall per unit time (usually in/hr or cm/hr). Rainfall intensity
changes continuously throughout a storm, but it may be averaged over short time
intervals or over the entire storm duration.
Distribution – Describes how rainfall depth or intensity varies in space over an area or
watershed
Intensity – Depth of rainfall per unit time (usually in/hr or cm/hr). Rainfall intensity
changes continuously throughout a storm, but it may be averaged over short time
intervals or over the entire storm duration.
Return period, frequency of occurrence, recurrence interval (F, years) – Average number
of years between events of a given intensity.
1
F=
P( X ≥ x)
F = return period (years)
7
P( X ≥ x) = cumulative or exceedance frequency = probability that an event X in any
given year will equal or exceed x
• The longer the duration of a storm, the lower its average intensity.
• High-intensity storms happen infrequently (have a large return period).
8
Typical Intensity-Duration Frequency Curve
Source: Civil Engineering Reference Manual for the PE Exam, 10th Ed. (Lindeburg,
2006)
K
i= Steel formula
t +b
i = intensity (in/hr)
t = duration (min or hr depending on how K and b are defined)
K,b = constants empirically derived for a return period and location
When using the rational formula to compute peak runoff rate for storm drainage design, t
is usually taken as the time of concentration, tc, for the drainage area.
9
Steel formula Rainfall Regions and Coefficients
Note: The above coefficients apply for i in inches/hr, and t in minutes.
Source: Civil Engineering Reference Manual for the PE Exam, 10th Ed. (Lindeburg,
2006)
The National Resources Conservation Service (previously the Soil Conservation Service)
has developed four synthetic 24-hour rainfall distributions that can be used for storm
drainage design in the absence of historical rainfall records. These distributions apply
within predefined regions of the United States with common climatic and watershed
conditions and are based on duration-frequency data from the National Weather Service
as well as local storm data. Type IA is the least intense and type II represents the most
intense short duration rainfall. The distributions are tabulated in the NRCS Technical
Release 20 (TR-20) in terms of the fraction of 24-hour rainfall that occurs within the 24
hours.
10
SCS 24-hour rainfall distributions
Source: NRCS TR-55
11
Double-Mass Analysis of Point Precipitation
The double-mass analysis is used to detect if data at a site have been subjected to a
significant change in magnitude due to external factors such as problems with
instrumentation, observation practices, or recording conditions.
It consists of plotting cumulative rainfall values at a test station against the cumulative
mean rainfall values at surrounding (base) stations. It is assumed that changes due to
meteorological factors will affect all stations equally and therefore any breaks in the
double-mass curve are strictly due to external factors. However, natural variations in the
data can produce apparent changes in slope that need to be investigated further by
performing statistical hypothesis testing analysis.
If the data are consistent, the double-mass curve will be a straight line of constant slope.
If the data is not consistent, a break in the double-mass curve will be apparent. The ratio
of the slopes prior (a) and after the break (b) can be used to adjust the data in two ways:
1. The data can be adjusted to reflect conditions prior to the break. This is done by
multiplying each precipitation value after the break by the ratio a/b.
or
2. The data can be adjusted to reflect recent conditions after the break. This is done
by multiplying each precipitation value prior to the break by the ratio b/a.
Applicability:
• Base stations should be located relatively close to station being tested.
• Method should not be used in mountainous areas where precipitation can deviate
significantly for nearby stations.
• Method should only be used for long-term adjustment of precipitation data but not
for adjusting daily or storm precipitation.
12
Double-mass curve analysis
100
Data adjusted to Original data
90 reflect conditions
prior to the break
70
60 b
50 break 1 Data adjusted to
40
reflect conditions
after the break
30
20 a
10 1
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Cumulative value at surrounding (base) stations
The most common methods for estimating missing point precipitation data include:
Px 1⎛ n P ⎞
= ⎜⎜ ∑ i ⎟⎟
N x n ⎝ i =1 N i ⎠
Px = missing precipitation value at station x
Nx = normal long-term, usually annual, precipitation at station X. Nx could also
be taken as the long-term average value for a particular month for all years of
record.
Pi = precipitation value at neighboring station i for the concurrent period
13
Ni = normal long-term precipitation for neighboring station i
n = number of neighboring stations
⎛ n 1 ⎞
⎜⎜ ∑ 2 ⎟⎟
⎝ i =1 d i − x ⎠
Px = missing precipitation value at station x
di-x = distance from station i to station x
Pi = precipitation value at neighboring station i for the concurrent period
n = number of neighboring stations (4: one on each quadrant N, S, E, W)
The most common methods of determining rainfall averages for an area based on data for
a limited number of precipitation gages include:
∑ Ai Pi
P= i =1
N
∑
i =1
Ai
14
3. The sum of #2 is computed and divided by the total drainage area to compute
the weighted average precipitation.
N
∑ Ai Pi
P= i =1
N
∑i =1
Ai
15
Evapotranspiration
During larger storm events, the intensity of precipitation is much larger than the rate of
evapotranspiration. Therefore, evapotranspiration is commonly ignored or lumped with
other abstractions when analyzing the water budget during and immediately following a
storm event. For longer and drier periods, evapotranspiration becomes a significant
component of the water budget.
Moisture deficiency limits the actual evapotranspiration rate, therefore AET < PET.
An evaporation pan is usually used to estimate evaporation from an open water body (e.g.
lake or reservoir). The pan evaporation is computed based on the difference in the
observed water levels adjusted for any precipitation observed between observations. The
actual evaporation from a real open water body is smaller than that measured from a pan.
Therefore, a correction coefficient is applied to the measured pan evaporation:
E L = KE P
Applicability:
• The largest errors in the evaporation pan method are due to the assumed pan
coefficient. Therefore, the method is usually useful to provide long-term ballpark
estimates of evaporation and to analyze the variability of evaporation.
• The method is more appropriate for very shallow water bodies. For large water
bodies, it may necessary to adjust for heat storage and energy advection.
16
Reservoirs
In an ideal world, the quantity, timing, quality, and distribution of available water would
match human needs. Unfortunately, freshwater is scarce in many parts of the world,
threatening human health, limiting agricultural and industrial production, and causing
ecological degradation. It is estimated that less than 3/4 of a percent of the total volume
of water on Earth is freshwater stored in aquifers, the vadose zone, lakes, streams,
wetlands, and the atmosphere. On the other hand, excess water at the wrong time and
location, can cause catastrophic flooding.
Reservoirs serve multiple purposes that are directly related to the quantity, timing, quality
and distribution of water. These include flood control, water supply, water quality,
groundwater recharge, sediment control. Secondary purposes include recreation, wildlife
habitat enhancement, etc.
Water supply reservoirs are used to store water during periods of surplus and provide a
source of water during periods of drought. Water supply reservoirs may serve a dual
purpose of flood control.
17
Rippl diagram
70000
60000
Cumulative inflow or demand (ac-ft)
50000 Minimum
required
reservoir
capacity
40000 = 32,160 ac-ft
30000
20000
10000
0
M 6
Ju 6
M 7
Ju 7
M 8
Ju 8
M 9
Ju 9
M 0
Ju 0
Se 6
Se 7
Se 8
Se 9
Se 0
M 6
N 96
M 7
N 97
M 8
N 98
M 9
N 99
M 0
N 00
Ja 6
Ja 7
Ja 8
Ja 9
0
l -9
l -9
l -9
l -9
l -0
9
-9
-9
9
-9
-9
9
-9
-9
9
-9
-9
0
-0
-0
-9
-9
-9
-9
-0
n-
p-
n-
p-
n-
p-
n-
p-
n-
p-
ar
ar
ar
ar
ar
ay
ay
ay
ay
ay
ov
ov
ov
ov
ov
Ja
Date
18
Flood Control Analysis and Design
Flood control reservoirs and other flood control facilities are designed to contain excess
precipitation resulting from extreme storms or rapid snowmelt. In designing these
facilities, it is important to estimate the timing, quantity, distribution and peak flow
associated with extreme storm events. This information is encapsulated in a hydrograph,
which is a plot of streamflow as a function of time at a specific location in a stream
channel. In addition, it is important to determine the probability of exceedance of these
events due to safety and economic considerations.
The diagrams below summarize the processes required for estimating a hydrograph at a
location downstream of a stream or reservoir, and the peak flood discharge associated
with a storm event. These processes are discussed in more detail in the next sections.
Effective
Rainfall Effective
Rainfall
Model Rainfall
Stream
and/or
Basin Direct reservoir
Routing Runoff routing Downstream
Hydrograph hydrologic or hydrograph*
hydraulic
routing*
Effective
Rainfall Effective
Rainfall
Model Rainfall
Peak Peak
discharge discharge
Model
19
To generate a downstream hydrograph, the rainfall falling on a watershed or contributing
area is converted into effective rainfall by means of an effective rainfall model. An
effective rainfall model converts the total (gross) precipitation into abstractions and
effective rainfall which eventually reaches a stream channel as direct runoff.
The abstractions are the portion of precipitation that does not contribute to direct runoff.
They include interception, depression storage, and infiltration. Infiltration is usually the
major abstraction from rainfall during a significant runoff-producing storm. Some
abstractions occur immediately after the beginning of a storm prior to the beginning of
runoff. These are called initial abstractions and include infiltration prior to ponding,
depression storage and interception.
• Infiltration – Movement of water from the land surface to the upper layers of the
soil. It is usually the major abstraction from rainfall during a significant runoff-
producing storm.
• Direct runoff – Portion of the total runoff hydrograph at a stream which is caused
by and directly following a rainfall or snowmelt event. It consists of: a) overland
flow, and b) quick interflow. It contributes rather quickly to streamflow.
To quantify this lag or travel time between effective rainfall and direct runoff, a basin
routing model is used. One such model is a unit hydrograph, which describes the short-
term response of a watershed to a unit volume of effective rainfall applied uniformly over
the entire watershed at a constant rate for a unit time. It includes contributions to
streamflow immediately following a rainfall event (i.e. only includes contribution from
direct runoff and excludes baseflow). The unit hydrograph is assumed to encapsulate all
the combined physical characteristics of the basin and that of the storm. Based on the
effective rainfall and the basin routing model the direct runoff hydrograph reaching a
stream is produced. Alternatively, if only the peak of the direct runoff hydrograph is of
interest, a peak discharge model can be used.
In addition to the direct runoff, a stream receives inflows from the subsurface. This
component of the streamflow hydrograph is known as baseflow or delayed runoff since it
20
has a much longer travel time than the direct runoff. The source of this flow is from
water that infiltrated during previous storm events and percolated down into the
groundwater, where it flowed through the unsaturated and saturated zones until it
discharged into a stream.
• Baseflow, base runoff, delayed runoff – Portion of the total runoff hydrograph at a
stream location which is composed of contributions from: a) groundwater runoff,
and b) delayed interflow. Baseflow is the result of water from previous storms
accumulating below the water table and being released over an extended period of
time.
• Percolation – Movement of water through the subsurface down to the water table.
The streamflow hydrograph may be routed through a stream network and/or reservoir by
means of a hydrologic or a hydraulic routing model.
• Surface runoff – Includes all overland flow as well as precipitation falling directly
onto stream channels.
o Overland flow – Portion of runoff that travels over the surface of the ground
to reach a stream channel and through the channel to the basin outlet. This
process occurs relatively quickly.
21
• Subsurface runoff – Portion of runoff that travels under the ground to reach a
stream channel and to the basin outlet. It includes: a) interflow, and b)
groundwater runoff.
• Direct runoff – Portion of the total runoff hydrograph at a stream which is caused
by and directly following a rainfall or snowmelt event. It consists of: a) overland
flow, and b) quick interflow. It contributes rather quickly to streamflow.
• Baseflow, base runoff, delayed runoff – Portion of the total runoff hydrograph at a
stream location which is composed of contributions from: a) groundwater runoff,
and b) delayed interflow. Baseflow is the result of water from previous storms
accumulating below the water table and being released over an extended period of
time.
Precipitation
Evapotranspiration Interflow
Unsaturated zone
Subsurface runoff
storage
Percolation
Groundwater Baseflow
(saturated zone)
storage
Streamflow
Evaporation
22
A typical simplified hydrograph resulting from a storm event is shown below. It consists
of a rising limb, a crest, and a recession limb. The shape of the rising limb is a function
of both the basin properties and the character of the rainfall. The crest contains the peak
flow rate when all parts of the basin are contributing to runoff at the outlet. At the end of
the crest there is an inflection point that corresponds to the moment when overland flow
stops contributing and discharge is due to flow from detention storage, interflow and
groundwater flow. At some point on the recession limb, the contribution from detention
storage ceases and all the discharge is due to baseflow (i.e. delayed interflow and
groundwater flow). This point marks the end of the direct runoff hydrograph.
Rising limb
Recession limb
Crest
Discharge
Time
Simplified total runoff hydrograph
23
Frequency and Probability for Flood Control Design
• Standard flood, standard project flood (SPF) – Flood that can be selected from set
of most extreme combinations of meteorological and hydrological conditions,
which is typically characteristic of the region, but excludes extremely rare
combinations of events. The peak discharge of a SPF is generally 40-60% of that
of a PMF for the same basin.
• Design flood, design basis flood (DBF) – Flood used for design of a particular
project. Usually less severe than the PMF due to economical considerations.
(i.e. minimizes the average annual cost of the project including annualized
construction costs, operation and maintenance, monetary flood damages).
24
Travel Time Concepts
• Travel time (tt) – Time it takes for water to travel from one location to another
• Time base of a hydrograph (tb) – Time from the beginning to the end of the direct
runoff or unit hydrograph.
• Lag time, basin lag (tl) – Time between centroid of effective rainfall to center of
mass of runoff or to the peak of runoff.
• Time to peak (tp) – Time from the beginning of rainfall to the center of mass or
runoff or to the peak runoff.
• Time of concentration (tc) – Time for a drop of water to flow from the
hydraulically most remote point in the watershed to the outlet and includes travel
time for sheet flow, shallow concentrated flow, channel flow and sewer flow.
Additional definitions are given below
Time of Concentration
• Time for a drop of water to flow from the hydraulically most remote point in the
watershed to the outlet and includes travel time for sheet flow, shallow
concentrated flow, channel flow and sewer flow.
• Time required, with uniform rain, for 100% of a tract of land to contribute to
direct runoff at the outlet.
• Excess rainfall release time or wave travel time. Time required for runoff to
arrive at the outlet from the most remote point of a watershed after rainfall ceases.
• Time from the end of excess rainfall generation (overland flow supply) to the
inflection point of the hydrograph on the recession limb.
Note that it is unusual for the time of concentration to be less than 0.1 hr when using the
NRCS method or less than 10 minutes when using the rational method.
NRCS Method:
Based on the first definition, the NRCS developed the following equations to compute the
time of concentration:
tc = time of concentration
25
tsheet = travel time for sheetflow
tshallow = travel time for shallow concentrated flow
tchannel/sewer = travel time for channel and sewer flow
• Sheetflow, laminar flow – Flow regime in which fluid motion is smooth and
orderly, and in which adjacent layers slip past each other with little mixing
between them. The movement of water across a surface in a sheet-like mass
instead of within channels or streambeds.
0.007(nL) 0.8
t sheet = Overton and Meadows (1976)
P20.5 S 0.4
26
Roughness coefficients (Manning’s n) for sheetflow
Source: NRCS TR-55
After a maximum of 300 ft, sheetflow usually becomes shallow concentrated flow
(swale/ditch flow).
• Rill – Long, narrow depression or incisions in soil resulting from erosion caused
by increased velocities. It is common on agricultural and unvegetated ground.
Rills may eventually form gullies.
The average velocity for shallow concentrated flow can be determined from the following
figures based on the surface cover and the land slope.
Lshallow
t shallow =
v shallow
27
Lshallow = longest length for shallow concentrated flow
vshallow = velocity for shallow concentrated flow
The velocity for shallow concentrated flow can be read from the graphic below or
computed as:
v shallow = 16.1345S 0.5 Use for unpaved areas
v shallow = 20.3282S 0.5 Use for paved areas
Average velocities for estimating travel time for shallow concentrated flow
Source: NRCS TR-55 (1986)
28
Average velocities for estimating travel time for shallow concentrated flow
Source: Hydrology & Hydraulic Systems (Gupta, 1995)
The travel time for channel and sewer flow can be obtained by dividing the channel or
sewer length by the flow velocity obtained from either the Manning’s or the Hazen-
Williams equation. If the pipe or channel dimensions and flow depth are known, the
velocity can be readily obtained from Manning’s or Hazen-Williams equation. If the
channel or pipe is to be sized, an iterative trial-and-error solution is required, since the
size of the pipe or channel and its velocity are related.
L
t channel / sewer = channel / sewer
vchannel / sewer
29
Other Time of Concentration Formulas:
Surface Manning’s n
smooth impervious surfaces 0.011
smooth bare-packed soil, free of stones 0.05
poor grass, moderately bare surface 0.10
pasture or average grass cover 0.20
dense grass or forest 0.40
30
Source: Hydrology & Hydraulic Systems (Gupta, 1995)
Equations in Table 12.8 above only apply when overland flow conditions dominate.
Note that the Izzard formula requires rainfall intensity. Steel’s formula can be used by
assuming an initial time of concentration, tc. Application of Izzard’s formula gives a new
time of concentration, and the process is repeated until there is convergence.
31
Effective Rainfall Model for Effective Rainfall Generation from
Rainfall
Methods include:
• Horton equation – infiltration*
• Holton equation – infiltration*
• Green-Ampt – infiltration*
• Phi (Φ) Index Approach - infiltration
• NRCS (SCS) Curve Number Method – all abstractions
*Not discussed here
The Φ index represents a constant (horizontal line) of intensity which divides the rainfall
intensity diagram in such a manner that the depth of rain above the index line is
equivalent to the surface runoff depth over the basin. The portion of the rainfall intensity
diagram below the line represents abstractions during the storm.
Phi Index
7
Surface runoff
6
Rainfall intensity (in/hr)
3
Φ Index
2
1
Abstractions
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
time (min)
32
The Φ index is obtained by subtracting the runoff volume obtained from a direct runoff
hydrograph from the total rainfall during a storm such that:
DRV = ∑ [max(0, i − φ )]* ∆t * Ad
DRV = direct runoff volume (volume under direct runoff hydrograph)
i = rainfall intensity during period
Φ = phi index
∆t = time interval of rainfall intensity data
Ad = drainage area
Applicability:
• Method can be used for any size homogeneous watershed with a known
percentage of imperviousness.
• Method may not be applicable in extreme terrains (e.g. mountainous regions).
• Method does not take into account rainfall intensity in the initial abstraction.
• Method can only be used for individual storm events and not for continuous
hydrologic modeling since it does not account for the recovery of infiltration
capacity (and other abstractions) between storm events.
• Runoff from snowmelt or rain on frozen ground cannot be estimated using this
method.
• Method is less accurate if effective rainfall is less than 0.5 inches in which case
another method should be used.
• Method cannot be used if the weighted curve number is less than 40.
Note that for there to be any runoff at all, the gross cumulative rainfall (P) must equal or
exceed the initial abstraction (Ia).
33
Schematic curves of P, Q, F+Ia
12
P
Q
F+Ia
Precipitation (P)
10
Cumulative amount
Abstractions (F+Ia)
Q
4
Pt Runoff supply (Q)
F S
Ia Ia
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
ta time
Q F
=
Pt S
Q=
( P − Ia )2
Generic equation, applies when initial abstractions are known
P + S − Ia
If initial abstraction, Ia, cannot be determined, the NRCS recommends using Ia = 0.2S, in
which case:
( P − 0 .2 S ) 2
Q= Use only if initial abstraction cannot be determined
( P + 0 .8 S )
The maximum retention, S, can be obtained from an index called the Curve Number
(CN), which ranges from 0 to 100 with higher values indicating higher runoff potential.
34
⎧⎛ 1000 ⎞ ⎫
S = ⎨⎜ ⎟ − 10⎬
⎩⎝ CN ⎠ ⎭
1000
CN =
10 + S
Formulas for converting from AMC II (average condition) to AMC I (dry condition) and
from AMC II to AMC III (saturated condition) are given below:
4.2CN II
CN I =
10 − 0.058CN II
23CN II
CN III =
10 + 0.13CN II
When the watershed varies in soil type, antecedent moisture condition, or land cover a
composite curve number is used, which is computed as the weighted areal average of the
curve number for each region of the watershed. Alternatively, the runoff can be
computed for each region individually and then added.
∑ Ai CN i
CN = i =1
N
∑ i =1
Ai
N = number of regions, i = region index, Ai = area for region i, CNi = curve number for
region i, CN = composite curve number for the watershed
35
Exceptions for Urban Areas:
Several factors, such as the percentage of impervious area and the means of conveying
runoff from impervious areas to the drainage system, should be considered in computing
CN for urban areas (Rawls et al., 1981). For example, do the impervious areas connect
directly to the drainage system, or do they outlet onto lawns or other pervious areas
where infiltration can occur?
The urban Curve Numbers listed on Table 2-2a of TR-55 (included below) were
developed for typical land use relationships based on specific assumed
percentages of impervious area. These CN vales were developed on the
assumptions that (a) pervious urban areas are equivalent to pasture in good
hydrologic condition and (b) impervious areas have a CN of 98 and are directly
connected to the drainage system. The assumed percentages of impervious area
are shown in Table 2-2a.
If all of the impervious area is directly connected to the drainage system, but the
impervious area percentages or the pervious land use assumptions in Table 2-2a
are not applicable, use Figure 2-3 or the equation below to compute a composite
CN. For example, Table 2-2a gives a CN of 70 for a 1/2-acre lot in HSG B, with
assumed impervious area of 25 percent. However, if the lot has 20 percent
impervious area and a pervious area CN of 61, the composite CN obtained from
Figure 2-3 is 68. The CN difference between 70 and 68 reflects the difference in
percent impervious area.
⎛ PIm p ⎞
CN C = CN P + ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟(98 − CN P )
⎝ 100 ⎠
Use when all impervious areas are directly connected OR
if there is some unconnected impervious area, but total impervious area is > 30%
36
When impervious area is less than 30%, obtain the composite CN from the
equation below or by entering the right half of Figure 2-4 with the percentage of
total impervious area and the ratio of total unconnected impervious area to total
impervious area. Then move left to the appropriate pervious CN and read down to
find the composite CN. For example, for a 1/2-acre lot with 20 percent total
impervious area (75 percent of which is unconnected) and pervious CN of 61, the
composite CN from figure 2-4 is 66. If all of the impervious area is connected, the
resulting CN (from figure 2-3) would be 68.
⎛ PIm p ⎞
CN C = CN P + ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟(98 − CN P )(1 − 0.5 R )
⎝ 100 ⎠
Use if there is some unconnected impervious area AND total impervious area is
< 30%
37
Hydrologic condition
38
Antecedent moisture conditions (AMC)
39
Runoff curve numbers for urban areas
Antecedent Moisture Condition II
40
Runoff curve numbers for cultivated agricultural areas
Antecedent moisture condition II
41
Runoff curve numbers for other agricultural areas
Antecedent moisture condition II
42
Runoff curve numbers for arid and semiarid rangelands
Antecedent moisture condition II
43
Composite CN with connected impervious area
44
Peak Runoff Calculation
Methods include:
• Rational formula
• Modified rational formula
• NRCS graphical peak discharge method
• NRCS tabular peak discharge method*
*Not discussed here
Rational Formula
Method in used in the 1890s for determining peak discharge. Due to its simplicity, it is
the preferred method in storm drainage design practice for small urban and rural
watersheds.
Assumptions:
• It is based on the assumption that when the duration of a storm of steady, uniform
rainfall intensity equals the time of concentration, all parts of a watershed are
contributing simultaneously to discharge at the outlet. At this moment, the runoff
rate matches the effective rainfall rate. Therefore, the method only applies for
storms of duration greater than the time of concentration.
• Assumes that the return period of the runoff event is the same as the return period
of the precipitation event.
Applicability:
• Method is applicable to small watersheds (less than several hundred acres), but is
seldom used for areas greater than 1-2 mi2.
Q p = CiAd
The runoff coefficient converts the average rainfall rate of a particular recurrence interval
to the peak runoff intensity of the same frequency. Therefore, it accounts for many
complex and dynamic phenomena of the runoff process. However, its value is usually
considered fixed for a drainage area depending only on land cover, land use, soil type,
(See Appendix 20.A of the CERM, 10th ed. Lindeburg, 2006).
45
Source: Civil Engineering Reference Manual for the PE Exam, 10th Ed. (Lindeburg,
2006)
Average coefficients for composite areas may be calculated on an area weighted basis
using:
∑C A i i
C= i =1
N
∑A
i =1
i
46
N = number of regions, i = region index, Ai = area for region i, Ci = runoff coefficient for
region i, C = composite runoff coefficient
Many empirical formulas have been developed to estimate the runoff coefficient for a
basin.
0.98t 0.78t
C= P+ (1 − P) Mitci, USDOT (1979)
4.54 + t 31.17 + t
t = time (min) from beginning of rainfall to the occurrence of the design intensity rain of
the duration of the time of concentration within the overall rainfall period.
P = fraction of impervious surface
Several equations have been developed to correlate the NRCS curve number, CN, to the
Rational Formula runoff coefficient, C:
Rossmiller (1981)
The original runoff (rational) coefficient in the rational formula was developed for design
storms with a return frequency of 2-10 years. The modified rational formula uses a
correction factor for less frequent storms.
Q p = C f CiAd
47
C = dimensionless runoff (rational) coefficient = f(soil type, surface cover, rainfall
intensity, watershed slope)
i = average intensity of precipitation (in/hr) for a storm with duration equal to time of
concentration tc, and a return period F. Steel’s formula is usually used for obtaining the
average rainfall intensity for a storm of duration tc and return period F.
C*i = average effective rainfall intensity (in/hr)
Ad = drainage area (acre)
Recurrence Cf
period F
(years)
2-10 1.0
25 1.1
50 1.2
100 1.25
Method was developed by the National Resources Conservation Service (previously the
Soil Conservation Service) for computing peak discharge from urban and rural
watersheds. The peak discharge is given by the following formula:
Q p = Qu Ad QFp
Applicability:
• The watershed must be hydrologically homogeneous, that is, describable by one
CN. Land use, soils, and cover are distributed uniformly throughout the
watershed.
• The watershed may have only one main stream or, if more than one, the branches
must have nearly equal tc 's.
• The method cannot perform valley or reservoir routing.
• The Fp factor can be applied only for ponds or swamps that are not in the tc flow
path.
48
• Accuracy of peak discharge estimated by this method will be reduced if Ia/P
values are used that are outside the range given in exhibit 4. The limiting Ia/P
values are recommended for use.
• This method should be used only if the weighted CN is greater than 40.
• When this method is used to develop estimates of peak discharge for both present
and developed conditions of a watershed, use the same procedure for estimating
tc.
• tc values with this method may range from 0.1 to 10 hours.
49
Adjustment factor (Fp) for pond and swamp areas that are spread throughout the
watershed
Source: NRCS TR-55
50
Source: NRCS TR-55
51
Source: NRCS TR-55
52
Total Runoff Hydrograph Separation into Direct Runoff and
Baseflow
• Recession Curve Method – Based on the following equation for the recession
curve:
Qt = Qo K t
Qt = discharge at t time units after Q0
Q0 = initial discharge at time 0
K = recession constant (< 1.0)
It consists of selecting periods with no rainfall in between storms and plotting the
ratio of two consecutive flow values (Qt and Qt+∆t). The ratios Qt+ ∆t / Qt are
plotted with respect to time and the slope of the best fit line is taken as K (Qt+ ∆t /
Qt = K). Once the slope is obtained, the baseflow recession curve can be plotted
starting at the beginning of direct runoff by taking this flow value as Qt and
marching forward in time.
• Arbitrary Method 2 – Extend recession curve from start of direct runoff (point
A) down to a point C under the peak. Connect point C to D by a straight line.
Point D on the hydrograph occurs N days after the peak:
N = aA 0.2
53
• Arbitrary Method 3 - Extend recession curve backward to point E below the
inflection point of the recession limb and connect A to E by a straight line. The
point where the recession curve departs from the total runoff hydrograph (point F)
is the end of direct runoff.
54
Unit Hydrograph Method for Converting Effective Rainfall into a
Direct Runoff Hydrograph
Assumptions:
• It is assumed that the unit hydrograph reflects all the combined physical
characteristics of the basin and that of the storm.
• It assumes that the physical characteristics of the basin do not change significantly
from storm event to storm event. Therefore, it is assumed that the hydrograph
developed for a specific duration will apply to all storms of the same duration.
• Storms of different durations produce different unit hydrographs.
• The effect of back to back storms or storms of different duration or magnitude can
be analyzed by convoluting the effective rainfall and the unit hydrograph. The
inherent assumption is that the response of the basin is linear and the contribution
from individual storms can be obtained by superposition of individual unit
hydrographs modulated in magnitude and lagged in time.
Time base of a hydrograph (tb) – Time from the beginning to the end of the direct runoff
or unit hydrograph.
1. Select a storm event for which the rainfall and the total runoff hydrograph have
been recorded. The storm should be intense and cover the entire basin.
a. Determine the total effective rainfall for the storm (TPeff) by separating the
abstractions from the rainfall hyetograph.
b. Compute the total effective rainfall volume (ERV) for the storm as:
ERV = TPeff * Ad
55
c. Determine the duration of effective rainfall tr. This is the duration
associated with the unit hydrograph (tr), which is not to be confused with
the time base (tb) of the unit hydrograph.
2. Separate the direct runoff hydrograph (DRH) for the storm from the total runoff
hydrograph (TRH) by assuming a certain baseflow hydrograph (BFH) for the
storm event.
3. Compute the direct runoff volume (DRV) and effective rainfall (TPeff’ ) from the
direct runoff hydrograph (DRH):
DRV = ∑ (QDR ∆t )
TPeff =
' ∑ (Q DR ∆t )
Ad
5. Compute the ordinates (y-axis) of the unit hydrograph (QUH) based on linear
relationship:
56
Convolution of Effective Rainfall with the Unit Hydrograph to
Generate Direct Runoff Hydrographs
Once a unit hydrograph for a specific duration (tr) has been developed, it can be used to
obtain the direct runoff hydrograph for a storm by convoluting the effective rainfall
hyetograph for the storm (defined at tr increments) with the unit hydrograph. In this case,
the storm is treated as several individual storms of duration tr and the principle of
linearity is applied:
• Proportionality – If 5 inches of effective rainfall occurs during a specified unit
time (tr), the resulting direct runoff hydrograph will have the same shape as the
hydrograph produced by 1 inch effective rainfall of the same duration (tr), but all
the ordinates (y-axis) will be five times as large.
• Superposition – The response of various storms lagged in time can be estimated
by adding the response of individual storms.
Procedure:
2. Determine the duration (time interval) of the effective rainfall hyetograph, tr.
3. Convolute a unit hydrograph of the same duration (tr) with the effective rainfall
hyetograph to obtain the direct runoff hydrograph produced by the storm.
Note: If a unit hydrograph of the same duration is not available, one can be
derived by several techniques, which are discussed in the next section.
t
QDR (t ) = ∑ Peff (τ )QUH (t − τ + 1)
τ =1
QDR(t) = ordinate (y-axis) of direct runoff hydrograph at time t
QUH(t - τ + 1) = ordinate (y-axis) of unit hydrograph at time t - τ + 1
Peff(τ) = ordinate (y-axis) of effective rainfall hyetograph at time τ
For example:
QDR(1) = Peff(1)QUH(1)
QDR(2) = Peff(1)QUH(2) + Peff(2)QUH(1)
QDR(3) = Peff(1)QUH(3) + Peff(2)QUH(2) + Peff(3)QUH(1)
QDR(4) = Peff(1)QUH(4) + Peff(2)QUH(3) + Peff(3)QUH(2) + Peff(4)QUH(1)
57
a) 1 inch effective rainfall over 1 hr One inch of effective rainfall of one hour duration (a) produces the
1.2 unit hydrograph shown in (b).
Effective rainfall (inches)
1 in
1
The effective rainfall hyetograph for another storm is shown in (c).
0.8 The storm can be conceptualized as a series of back-to-back storms
0.6 of one hour duration. The principle of proportionality can be used to
generate the direct runoff hydrographs produced by each individual
0.4
back-to-back storm (d). The principle of superposition can then be
0.2 used to obtain the total watershed response (e).
0
1
Time (hr) 1 hr unit hydrograph
Time (hr) Q (cfs)
b) 1 hr unit hydrograph
800 0 0
700 1 200
600 2 550
Discharge (cfs)
550
500 3 400
400 400 4 200
300 5 100
200 200 200 6 50
1 inch
100 100
50 7 25
0 0 25 0
8 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Time (hr)
Effective rainfall
1
hyetograph
0.8
Time (hr) Peff (in)
0.6 0.5 in
1 0.5
0.4 2 1
0.2 3 0
0
1 2
Time (hr)
58
Generating Unit Hydrographs of Different Duration (tr)
1 in
1 The unit hydrograph of 3 hour duration can be obtained by assuming 3 back-
to-back storms of one hour duration producing 1 inch of effective rainfall each
0.8 (c). The unit hydrograph is then lagged 2 times by 1 hour (d) and the
0.6 ordinates are added to obtain the total watershed response (e) due to a total of 3
inches of effective rainfall occurring over 3 hours. The unit hydrograph for a
0.4
3 hour event with a total of 1 inch of effective rainfall (f) is then obtained by
0.2 dividing the direct runoff hydrograph produced in (e) by 3.
0
1
Time (hr) 1 hr unit hydrograph
Time (hr) Q (cfs)
b) 1 hr unit hydrograph
1400 0 0
1200
1 200
2 550
Discharge (cfs)
1000
3 400
800
4 200
600 550 5 100
400 400
6 50
200 200 1 inch 200
100 7 25
0 0 50 25 0 8 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (hr)
hyetograph
1
Time (hr) Peff (in)
0.8
1 1
0.6
2 1
0.4 3 1
0.2
0
1 2 3
Time (hr)
59
d) Individual direct runoff hydrographs
1400
1200
Discharge (cfs)
1000
800 1 in
1 in 1 in
600 550 550 550
400 400 400 400
1000
800
600
400 383 383
200 250 1 in 233
117
67 58 25
0 0 8 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (hr)
• S-hydrograph Method – This method allows for the generation of any duration
unit hydrograph from an existing unit hydrograph. It is developed by infinitely
lagging an existing unit hydrograph by its duration and adding the ordinates. This
produces a hydrograph resulting from an infinite storm with effective rainfall
intensity equal to the reciprocal of the unit hydrograph duration. For example, by
continuously lagging by 4 hours a unit hydrograph of 4 hour duration, a 4-hour S-
hydrograph resulting from an infinite storm with effective rainfall intensity of
0.25 in/hr is developed.
The resulting hydrograph has the shape of an “S”, hence its name, and eventually
flattens out to a constant outflow rate equivalent to the effective rainfall. If a
uniform effective rainfall intensity is applied for an infinitely long time over a
basin, the basin will achieve an equilibrium state in which the maximum storage
capacity of the basin is attained and therefore inflow (effective rainfall) equals
outflow (runoff). This is the basis of the rational formula.
60
To construct a unit hydrograph of duration Y, from an X hour S-hydrograph
(produced from a unit hydrograph of duration X), the S-hydrograph is lagged by
Y hours. The differences in the S-hydrograph ordinates are then divided by Y/X.
b) Generating 1-hr S-hydrograph from lagged
a) 1 hr unit hydrograph 1-hr unit hydrographs
1600 1600
1400 1400
1-hr S-hydrograph
1200 1200
Discharge (cfs)
Discharge (cfs)
1000 1000
800 800 1-hr Unit hydrographs
Discharge (cfs)
lagged by 3 hours
1000 1000
800 800
Difference (3 inches)
600 600
400 3-hr Unit hydrograph (1 inch) 400 383 383
200 200 250 233
67 117
0 0 0 58 25 8 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Time (hr) Time (hr)
Lagged 1
Individual 1-hr UH (cfs) lagged 1-hr S- hr S-
hydro- hydro-
Time graph graph
(hr) 1 in 1 in 1 in 1 in 1 in 1 in 1 in 1 in 1 in (cfs) (cfs) Diff. 3-hr UH
0 0 = 0 0 /3= 0
1 200 + 0 = 200 200 /3= 67
2 550 + 200 + 0 = 750 750 /3= 250
3 400 + 550 + 200 + 0 = 1150 0 1150 /3= 383
4 200 + 400 + 550 + 200 + 0 = 1350 200 1150 /3= 383
5 100 + 200 + 400 + 550 + 200 + 0 = 1450 750 700 /3= 233
6 50 + 100 + 200 + 400 + 550 + 200 + 0 = 1500 1150 350 /3= 117
7 25 + 50 + 100 + 200 + 400 + 550 + 200 + 0 = 1525 1350 175 /3= 58
8 0 + 25 + 50 + 100 + 200 + 400 + 550 + 200 + 0 = 1525 1450 75 /3= 25
9 0 + 25 + 50 + 100 + 200 + 400 + 550 + 200 = 1525 1500 25 /3= 8
10 0 + 25 + 50 + 100 + 200 + 400 + 550 = 1525 1525 0 /3= 0
11 0 + 25 + 50 + 100 + 200 + 400 = 1525 1525
12 0 + 25 + 50 + 100 + 200 = 1525 1525
13 0 + 25 + 50 + 100 = 1525 1525
14 0 + 25 + 50 = 1525 1525
15 0 + 25 = 1525 1525
To produce a 1-hr S-hydrograph from a 1-hr unit hydrograph (a), the unit hydrograph is lagged by 1 hour
an infinite number of times and the ordinates are added (b). The S-hydrograph approaches a constant
value, which is equal to the effective rainfall.
The 1-hr S-hydrograph is lagged by 3 hours and the difference between the ordinates of the two S-
hydrographs is divided by 3 (c ) to obtain the 3-hr unit hydrograph (d).
61
NRCS Synthetic Unit Hydrograph
In the absence of rainfall and streamflow data, a synthetic unit hydrograph must be
created to analyze the response of a watershed to storm events. The National Resources
Conservation Service (previously the Soil Conservation Service) has developed a method
for constructing synthetic unit hydrographs based on a dimensionless unit hydrograph.
Applicability:
• The method was originally developed for use in rural watersheds up to 2000
acres, but it appears to be applicable to urban watersheds up to 4000-5000 acres.
The method requires the computation of time to peak flow (tp), and the peak discharge
(Qp) as follows:
t p = 0.5t r + t l
tp = time to peak = time from the beginning of rainfall to the center of mass or runoff or
to the peak runoff (hr)
tr = duration of effective rainfall (hr)
tl = lag time = time between centroid of effective rainfall to the peak of runoff (hr) (note
very specific definition)
484 Ad
Qp =
tp
Qp = peak runoff rate (cfs)
Ad = basin or drainage area (mi2)
tp = time to peak (hr)
The factor 484 is called the peaking factor, which essentially controls the volume of
water on the rising and recession limbs. The 484 value is a default value but it can be
modified based on the following:
Urban areas;
steep slopes 575 1.25
Typical SCS 484 1.67
Mixed urban/rural 400 2.25
Rural, rolling hills 300 3.33
Rural, slight
slopes 200 5.5
Rural, very flat 100 12
Hydrograph peaking factors and recession limb ratios (Wanielista, et al. 1997)
62
The lag time, tl, is computed based on:
L0.8 ( S + 1) 0.7
tl =
1900Y 0.5
The potential maximum retention, S, is computed based on the NRCS Curve Number:
⎧⎛ 1000 ⎞ ⎫
S = ⎨⎜ ⎟ − 10⎬
⎩⎝ CN ⎠ ⎭
The average lag time is 0.6*tc, where tc is the time of concentration, defined by NRCS as
the time from the end of effective rainfall to the inflection point of the unit hydrograph.
tc = time of concentration (hr) = time from the end of effective rainfall to the inflection
point of the unit hydrograph.
tp = time to peak (hr)
tr = duration of effective rainfall (hr)
Combining all these equations together, then the duration of the NRCS synthetic unit
hydrograph should not exceed 0.25*tp or 0.17*tc. If a unit hydrograph of a different
duration is needed, it can be developed from an S-hydrograph created by lagging the
NRCS synthetic unit hydrograph.
63
NRCS dimensionless synthetic unit hydrograph
Triangular
Curvilinear approximation
Time Discharge Mass Discharge
Ratios Ratios Curve Ratios
Ratios
(Qa/Q)
(t/tp) (q/qp) (q/qp)
64
NRCS dimensionless synthetic unit hydrograph (SUH)
1.000
0.900
0.800
0.700
0.600
Q/Qp
0.500
inflection
0.400 point
0.300
0.200
0.100
0.000
1.7
2.67
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
t/tp
tr
65
Groundwater
Aquifers
• Confined or artesian aquifer – Water flows down in a recharge area and gets
trapped under a confining “impermeable” unit (e.g. clay, granite). Water is under
pressure due to weight of upgradient water and confinement under “impermeable”
layer. Drilling a well will cause water to flow upwards to a level above the top of
the aquifer called the piezometric head. If the confining pressure is high enough,
water will flow to the surface under artesian pressure (artesian well).
• Artesian well – Well drilled on a confined aquifer where the confining pressure is
high enough, so that water will flow to the surface under artesian pressure.
• Gravity well – Well drilled on an unconfined aquifer (hits the water table).
• Water table or phreatic surface – Surface beneath which all interconnected pore
space in the soil is filled with water or fully saturated. At the water table the
pressure head is equal to the atmospheric pressure (Pgage = 0).
66
• Perched water table – Aquifer that occurs above the main regional water table
when the descent of water percolating from above is blocked by an impermeable
lens.
• Piezometric height – Height to which water will rise when a well is drilled in a
confined aquifer; corresponds to the hydrostatic pressure.
∆h = z + (P/γ)
∆h = hydraulic head
z = potential head (elevation above datum)
P = pressure
γ = specific weight = ρg (M/t2L2)
ρ = mass density (M/L3)
g = gravitational acceleration (L/t2)
• Infiltration – Movement of water from the land surface to the upper layers of the
soil.
• Percolation – Movement of water through the subsurface down to the water table.
Aquifer Characteristics
67
Types of porosity include:
o Intergranular – Between grains. Mostly part of effective porosity, but there
can also be dead-end pores
o Intragranular – Within grains. Usually not considered part of effective
porosity.
• Effective or open porosity (ne, dimensionless) – Porosity available for flow = total
volume of interconnected pore space / total volume of soil.
kγ kρ g
K= = SI units
µ µ
K = hydraulic conductivity (L/t)
Medium properties:
k = intrinsic or specific permeability (L2)
Fluid properties:
ρ = mass density (M/L3)
µ = absolute or dynamic viscosity (M/Lt)
kγ kρg
K= = US units
µ µg c
γ = specific weight = ρg/gc (M/t2L2)
T= Kb
T = transmissivity (L2/t)
K = hydraulic conductivity (L/t)
68
b = aquifer saturated thickness (L)
Kz Kz
Kx Kx
Kz Kz
Kx Kx
69
Averaging Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity on Layered Aquifers
KX =
∑ (m K )
i i
∑ (m ) i
K1 m1
Flow
KX = equivalent horizontal hydraulic direction K2 m2
conductivity (flow is parallel to the
stratification)
Ki = hydraulic conductivity of layer i
mi = thickness of layer i Kx = ( m1 * K1 + m2 * K2 ) / (m1 + m2)
KZ =
∑ (m ) i
K1 m1
∑ (m / K )
i i
K2 m2
KZ = equivalent vertical hydraulic
conductivity (flow is at right angles to the Flow
stratification) direction
Ki = hydraulic conductivity of layer i
mi = thickness of layer i KZ = ( m1 + m2 ) / (m1/K1 + m2/K2)
70
Constant Head Permeability Test
Test recommended for coarse-grained soils. If method is used for fine-grained soils, the
testing time can be prohibitively long.
K = hydraulic Qout
conductivity (L/t)
V = volume of water ∆h
collected (L3)
∆L = length of
specimen (L)
A = cross sectional
area of soil specimen
(L2) water
Porous
∆h = head difference ∆L stone
collected
Area
(L) filter
A
i = hydraulic gradient
= ∆h/∆L (L/L,
dimensionless)
t = duration of water
collection (t)
71
Variable or Falling Head Permeability Test
Test can be used for all soil types, but mostly used for materials with fine-grained soils
having low permeability.
72
Empirical Formulas for Estimating Hydraulic Conductivity or
Permeability
Note: Hazen formula is valid for effective grain sizes from 0.1 to 3 mm. Recommended
C values for Hazen’s formula are given below:
Material C
very fine sands (poorly sorted) or fine sand with appreciable fines 40-80
medium sand (well sorted) or coarse sand (poorly sorted) 80-120
coarse sand (well sorted and clean) 120-150
• Specific storage (Ss, 1/L) – Volume of water that a unit volume of aquifer releases
from storage for a unit decline in hydraulic head.
73
Note that S = Ss * b, where b is the aquifer thickness.
• Specific retention (Sr, dimensionless) – Ratio of the volume of water that will be
retained in an aquifer against the pull of gravity to the total volume of the aquifer.
This volume of water is also called “pendular” water.
ne = Sy + Sr
ne = effective porosity
Sy = specific yield
Sr = specific retention
Notes:
• In general, the coarser the material, the lower the specific retention and the
more closely the specific yield approaches total porosity.
• Clay has a very high porosity (pores are small but numerous) but a very low
specific yield (high specific retention) due to strong molecular attraction
between clay particles and water (large contact area). Permeability is low
through clay because large surface areas results in increased friction and pores
are not well connected.
74
• Specific capacity of an aquifer - The specific capacity of an aquifer gives an
indication of its productivity as defined by the discharge rate per unit drawdown
at a well.
SC = Q/s
SC = specific capacity
Q = discharge rate
s = aquifer drawdown at the well
Unsaturated Zone
• Soil moisture content (θ, unitless) – volume of water / total volume of soil. It is
equal to the total porosity (n) if the soil is fully saturated.
• Field capacity or drained upper limit – Amount of water held in the soil when
percolation (gravity-driven flow) of water has stopped.
• Plant available water – Amount of water between the permanent wilting point and
the field capacity, which is available to plants.
75
Darcy’s Law
q = − Ki
∆h
i=
∆L
Q = − KiA
q = specific discharge (L/t)
Q = total discharge (L3/t)
A = gross flow area measured at right angles to the direction of flow (L2)
i = hydraulic gradient (change in hydraulic head ∆h over distance ∆L) (L/L,
dimensionless)
∆h = change in hydraulic head (represents the frictional energy loss due to flow through
media) (L)
K = hydraulic conductivity (L/t)
Applicability:
• Darcy’s Law holds for saturated and unsaturated flow, steady-state and transient
flow, flow in aquifers and aquitards, flow in homogeneous and heterogeneous
systems, flow in isotropic and anisotropic media, flow in rocks and granular
media.
• Applicability at extremely low and high hydraulic gradients has been questioned
• Reynolds number (Re) must be less than 1:
ρ qDmean
Re =
µ
76
Well Drawdown in Aquifers
observation
pumping Q wells
well
r2
r1
s1
s2
water table
b
Unconfined y1 y2
aquifer
Note: The pumping well itself can be taken as one of the observation wells, in which
case r1 equals the radius of the pumping well r.
The cone formed between the original water table location and the water table
location after pumping is called a cone of depression. A cone of depression is formed
when water is pumped from a well faster than it can be replaced.
π K ( y12 − y 22 )
Q= Thiem equation: unconfined aquifer, steady-state
⎛r ⎞
ln⎜ 1 ⎟
⎝ r2 ⎠
77
Q = discharge rate (L3/t)
K = aquifer hydraulic conductivity (L/t)
r1, r2 = radial distances measured for pumping well centerline (L)
y1 = water table elevation at radial distance r1 (L) = b – y1
y2 = water table elevation at radial distance r2 (L) = b – y2
Assumptions:
• Darcy’s Law is valid
• Aquifer is unconfined but underlain by an impermeable horizontal unit and
has an infinite horizontal extent
• Aquifer is homogeneous, isotropic and of uniform thickness over the area
influenced by the well
• Prior to pumping, the piezometric surface is horizontal over the area
influenced by the well.
• Aquifer is pumped at a constant discharge rate.
• Fully-penetrating well screened over entire thickness of the aquifer to ensure
purely horizontal flow
• System is at equilibrium or steady-state (can be used a long time after
pumping has begun)
• Drawdown is small with respect to aquifer thickness b so that flow is mostly
horizontal
observation
pumping Q wells
well
Aquitard r2
(impermeable r1
layer)
s1
s2
Potentiometric
surface
y0
b Confined y1 y2
aquifer
78
Note: The pumping well itself can be taken as one of the observation wells, in which
case r1 equals the radius of the pumping well r.
The cone formed between the original location of the potentiometric surface and its
location after pumping is called a cone of depression. A cone of depression is formed
when water is pumped from a well faster than it can be replaced.
2π T ( y1 − y 2 ) 2π T ( s2 − s1 )
Q= = Thiem equation: confined aquifer, steady-state
⎛ r1 ⎞ ⎛ r1 ⎞
ln⎜ ⎟ ln⎜ ⎟
⎝ r2 ⎠ ⎝ r2 ⎠
Note: It is important to distinguish between the aquifer saturated thickness b and the
piezometric head y, which are different in a confined aquifer. The saturated thickness
of the aquifer is generally not affected, while the piezometric head is lowered by
pumping.
Assumptions:
• Darcy’s Law is valid
• Aquifer is confined at the top and bottom, and has an infinite horizontal extent
• Aquifer is homogeneous, isotropic and of uniform thickness over the area
influenced by the well
• Prior to pumping, the piezometric surface is horizontal over the area
influenced by the well.
• Aquifer is pumped at a constant discharge rate.
• Fully-penetrating well screened over the entire thickness of the aquifer to
ensure purely horizontal flow.
• System is at equilibrium or steady-state (can be used a long time after
pumping has begun)
• Drawdown is small with respect to aquifer thickness b so that flow is mostly
horizontal
79
Transient or Unsteady Well Discharge for a Confined Aquifer
Both the hydraulic conductivity, K, and the storage coefficient, S, can be determined
from this test.
⎛ Q ⎞ ⎛ Q ⎞
sr ,t = ⎜ ⎟ W ( u) = ⎜ ⎟ W (u) Theis equation: confined aquifer, transient
⎝ 4π Kb ⎠ ⎝ 4π T ⎠
∞ e − z dz
W ( u) = ∫
u z
(Table 21.3 CERM)
r2S r2S
u= =
4 Kbt 4Tt
sr,t = aquifer drawdown at radial distance r from the well and after pumping from time
t (L)
r = radial distance measured for pumping well centerline (L)
t = time since beginning of pumping (t)
Q = discharge rate (L3/t)
T = aquifer transmissivity (L2/t) = K*b
K = aquifer hydraulic conductivity (L/t)
b = saturated aquifer thickness (L)
W(u) = well function – See table 21.3 Civil Engineering Reference Manual (10th ed.
Lindeburg, 2006)
S = aquifer storage coefficient (dimensionless)
Assumptions:
• Aquifer is confined at the top and bottom, and has an infinite horizontal extent
• Aquifer is homogeneous, isotropic and of uniform thickness over the area
influenced by the well
• Prior to pumping, the piezometric surface is horizontal over the area
influenced by the well.
• Aquifer is pumped at a constant discharge rate.
• Fully-penetrating well screened over the entire thickness of the aquifer to
ensure purely horizontal flow.
• System is not yet at equilibrium
• Drawdown is small with respect to aquifer thickness b so that flow is mostly
horizontal
80
• Darcy’s Law is valid
Note: The application of the Theis equation to unconfined aquifers is limited to cases
when drawdown is less than 25% of the aquifer thickness. In the case of an unconfined
aquifer, the resulting drawdown s is adjusted by a correction factor. This correction
becomes less important with distance from the well.
s2
s' = s −
2b
81
Typical Soil Properties
82
Representative Values of Hydraulic Conductivity (K) for Various Rock Types
Source: Physical and Chemical Hydrogeology, 2nd Ed. (Domenico & Schwartz)
83
Values of Specific Yield (Sy) for Various Geologic Materials
Source: Physical and Chemical Hydrogeology, 2nd Ed. (Domenico & Schwartz)
84
Hydrology and Groundwater Problems
Testmasters
Table of Contents
Hydrology _____________________________________________________________ 3
Breadth Problems __________________________________________________________ 3
Groundwater__________________________________________________________ 11
Breadth Problems _________________________________________________________ 11
Hydrology ____________________________________________________________ 17
Depth Problems ___________________________________________________________ 17
Groundwater__________________________________________________________ 25
Depth Problems ___________________________________________________________ 25
2
Hydrology
Breadth Problems
2. What happens to the shape of the unit hydrograph if the effective rainfall duration is
doubled?
4. What is the direct runoff volume in acre-ft generated by the storm whose hyetograph
is given below if the φ index is 1.2 in/hr and the area of the watershed is 20 acres?
a. 500 acre-ft
b. 5 acre-ft
c. 30 acre-ft
d. 180 acre-ft
e. 6 acre-ft
3
Rainfall Hyetograph
6
Rainfall intensity (in/hr)
3 6.0
2
3.0 3.0
1 2.0 2.0
1.5
1.0 1.0
0.5
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
time (min)
a. Time for a drop of water to flow from the hydraulically most remote point in
the watershed to the outlet.
b. Wave travel time
c. Time required, with uniform rain, for 100% of a tract of land to contribute to
direct runoff at the outlet.
d. Time from the beginning to the end of the direct runoff or unit hydrograph.
e. Time from the end of excess rainfall generation (overland flow supply) to the
inflection point of the hydrograph on the recession limb.
6. Based on the rainfall intensity data below, what is the maximum hourly precipitation
in inches/hour?
a. 5.1 inches/hour
b. 1.7 inches/hour
c. 2.0 inches/hour
d. 4.4 inches/hour
e. 2.8 inches/hour
4
Average
Intensity
time interval (in/hr)
1:20 PM to 1:40 PM 0.0
1:40 PM to 2:00 PM 0.2
2:00 PM to 2:20 PM 0.6
2:20 PM to 2:40 PM 0.8
2:40 PM to 3:00 PM 0.9
3:00 PM to 3:20 PM 1.2
3:20 PM to 3:40 PM 1.3
3:40 PM to 4:00 PM 2.0
4:00 PM to 4:20 PM 1.8
4:20 PM to 4:40 PM 0.6
4:40 PM to 5:00 PM 0.5
5:00 PM to 5:20 PM 0.4
5:20 PM to 5:40 PM 0.2
5:40 PM to 6:00 PM 0.1
6:00 PM to 6:20 PM 0.0
7. An urban community has an area of 52 acres, of which 15% is concrete with a runoff
coefficient of 0.85, 30% is shingle roof with a runoff coefficient of 0.75, 20% is
asphalt with a runoff coefficient of 0.90, and the rest is lawn areas with a runoff
coefficient of 0.2. If the community receives rainfall from a storm of average
intensity of 2 inches/hour, what would be the expected peak runoff from the storm in
acre-ft/hour?
a. 4.6 ac-ft/hr
b. 6.2 ac-ft/hr
c. 52 ac-ft/hr
d. 62.7 ac-ft/hr
e. 5.2 ac-ft/hr
8. What is the total effective rainfall in inches produced by the storm described above if
its duration is 5 hours?
a. 1.2 inches
b. 6.0 inches
c. 5.2 inches
d. 10.0 inches
e. 0.25 inches
5
c. Timeseries of discharge resulting from one unit of rainfall for a unit time over
a particular watershed.
d. Timeseries of discharge resulting from one unit of effective rainfall for a unit
time over a particular watershed.
e. Timeseries of discharge resulting from one unit of effective rainfall for a unit
time over any watershed.
a. Infiltration
b. Interception
c. Depression storage
d. Detention storage
e. Evapotranspiration
12. A standard collector-type gage recorded rainfall over a storm which started at 12:00
PM and had an average wind speed of 15 miles per hour. The gage calibration
yielded a coefficient 0.1 mm of rain per milligram of rainfall. At 15 miles per hour,
the gage catch deficiency is about 20%. What is most closely the true rainfall in
inches for the period between 12:40 PM and 1:00 PM?
a. 0.15 inches
b. 0.52 inches
c. 0.98 inches
d. 0.65 inches
e. 16.6 inches
6
Cumulative
gage
weight
Reading time (mg)
12:00 PM 18.0
12:10 PM 25.0
12:20 PM 100.0
12:30 PM 150.0
12:40 PM 217.0
12:50 PM 230.0
1:00 PM 350.0
1:10 PM 480.0
1:20 PM 720.0
1:30 PM 910.0
1:40 PM 1000.0
1:50 PM 1040.0
2:00 PM 1050.0
2:10 PM 1055.0
2:20 PM 1060.0
13. A storm of 1-hour effective rainfall duration hits a watershed, which is characterized
by the 1-hour unit hydrograph shown below. Five hours after the beginning of runoff,
the discharge measured at the watershed outlet is 325 cfs. What is the effective
rainfall in inches and the total direct runoff volume in acre-ft produced by the 1-hour
effective rainfall event?
1 hr unit hydrograph
Time (hr) Q (cfs)
0 0
1 217
2 563
3 424
4 220
5 125
6 50
7 25
8 0
7
14. For the problem above, what is the peak runoff in cfs?
a. 220 cfs
b. 563 cfs
c. 572 cfs
d. 1464 cfs
e. 1610 cfs
15. A storm producing 5 inches of rainfall falls over a watershed during its dormant
season. The watershed has the landuse distribution shown in the table below. The
watershed consists of silty clays with a clay hardpan. The total rainfall for the 5 days
prior to the storm was 1.5 inches. For this storm the initial abstractions were
determined to be 0.25 inches. What is the expected overland flow supply in acre-ft?
a. 0.62 acre-ft
b. 56 acre-ft
c. 50 acre-ft
d. 670 acre-ft
e. 38 acre-ft
Area
(acres) Landuse
Residential - 1/4 acre lots with 40%
50 impervious area
Residential - 1/8 acre lots with 65%
33 impervious area
27 Woods - good condition
Commercial and business use with
25 85% impervious area
10 Parks - fair condition
Paved roads with curbs and storm
10 sewers
5 Golf courses - good condition
a. 1,700 acre-ft
b. 200 acre-ft
c. 5,000 acre-ft
d. 25,000 acre-ft
e. 12,000 acre-ft
8
Rippl diagram
25000
20000
Cumulative inflow or demand (ac-ft)
15000
10000
5000
0
M 6
M 7
M 8
M 99
M 00
Ju 6
Se 6
Ju 7
Se 7
Ju 8
Se 8
Ju 9
Se 9
Ju 0
Se 0
M 6
N 96
M 7
N 97
M 8
N 98
M 9
N 99
M 0
N 00
Ja 6
Ja 7
Ja 8
Ja 9
0
l -9
l -9
l -9
l -9
l -0
9
-9
-9
9
-9
-9
9
-9
-9
-9
-0
-9
-9
-9
-9
-0
n-
p-
n-
p-
n-
p-
n-
p-
n-
p-
ay
ay
ay
ay
ar
ar
ay
ar
ar
ar
ov
ov
ov
ov
ov
Ja
Date
17. The table below shows the normal precipitation for the month of August at eleven
gages in a flat interior watershed. During a storm event which occurred on August
17, 2006, gage D failed. What was most likely the precipitation at gage D during the
storm event in inches/day?
9
18. The table below shows the annual precipitation at five stations in a watershed. Data
at station A is suspect. This data is plotted as a double mass-curve and a breakpoint is
identified in 1969. Assuming that the correct slope is the most recent slope, what
would be the correct 1967 annual precipitation at station A in inches/year?
c. 32.7 inches/year
d. 58.7 inches/year 900.0
e. 92.1 inches/year
800.0
600.0 1
500.0
400.0
300.0
200.0
Breakpoint in 1969
0.76
100.0
1
0.0
0.0 100.0 200.0 300.0 400.0 500.0 600.0 700.0 800.0 900.0 1000.0
Cumulative precipitation for mean of stations B, C, D, E (in)
10
Groundwater
Breadth Problems
a. Piezometric height
b. Height of the water table
c. Top of the confining unit
d. Phreatic surface
e. Land surface
3. An unconfined aquifer has a specific yield of 4%, a specific retention of 41%, and a
total porosity of 50%, what is the percentage of unconnected pore space?
a. 44%
b. 5%
c. 37%
d. 9%
e. 4%
a. 20,000 ft/day
b. 500 ft/day
c. 50 ft/day
d. 2 ft/day
e. 1 ft/day
11
5. What is the transmissivity in gal/day/ft of a confined aquifer with intrinsic
permeability of 1.08X10-9 ft2 and thickness of 20 ft if the water temperature is 70 °F?
a. 4,300 gal/ft/day
b. 400 gal/ft/day
c. 750 gal/ft/day
d. 42,300 gal/ft/day
e. 32 gal/ft/day
6. What is the rate of advection or seepage velocity in ft/day for the flow line shown
below if the hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer is 50 ft/day, its porosity is 0.3 and
its effective porosity is 0.2?
a. 0.02 ft/day
b. 0.13 ft/day
c. 13 ft/day
d. 675 ft/day
e. 0.20 ft/day
H = 20.0 ft
A
H = 7.0 ft
L = 3.2 mi
Lake
7. Based on the figure above, how many years will it take a contaminant spilled at point
A to reach the lake if the hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer is 50 ft/day, its
porosity is 0.3 and its effective porosity is 0.2? Note: Assume that the contaminant
only migrates by advection.
a. 84,500 years
b. 85 years
c. 232 years
d. 360 years
e. 36 years
12
d. From point A to point B since pressure head is greater at point A than at point
B
e. There is no flow since elevation of point B is higher than point A which
compensates for larger pressure head at point A
HpA
HpB
B
A ZB
ZA
Datum
Hp = pressure head
Z = elevation
a. Change in aquifer water volume per unit surface area of the aquifer per unit
change in hydraulic head.
b. Volume of unconnected pore space to the total soil volume
c. Same as the specific yield for an unconfined aquifer
d. Volume of water yielded when an unconfined aquifer is drained by gravity.
e. Ratio of the volume of water that will be retained in an aquifer against the pull
of gravity to the total volume of the aquifer.
13
10. What is the specific capacity of the aquifer shown below in gal/ft/day if the aquifer
has reached steady-state, the well diameter is 1 ft, the water table elevation at the well
is 12 ft, the aquifer recovers its original thickness of 15 ft at 1,000 ft from the well,
and the hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer is 3X10-5 ft/s?
a. 215 gal/ft/day
b. 29 gal/ft/day
c. 54 gal/ft/day
d. 87 gal/ft/day
e. 240 gal/ft/day
pumping
Land surface well Q observation
elevation D = 1 ft well
1000 ft
Sand
water table
Sand 12 ft b = 15 ft
14
11. What is the coefficient of permeability (inches/hour) of the sand sample shown
below if 1.25 gallons of water were collected in 5 minutes, the sample diameter is
4 inches and its length is 3.5 inches?
a. 3X10-2 inches/hour
b. 26.8 inches/hour
c. 6X10-4 inches/hour
d. 40.0 inches/hour
e. 1.5X10-3 inches/hour
Water is
added
Porous
stone filter
4 ft
Soil sample Water is
collected
1 ft
Datum
15
12. Neglecting friction and minor losses on the pipe and fittings of the permeameter
shown below, what is the total head, elevation head and pressure head (measured
from the datum) in feet at point C in the middle of the soil sample?
Qout
∆H = 1 ft
C
4 ft
water
Porous
∆L stone
collected
Area
A filter
1 ft
Datum
Not to scale
16
Hydrology
Depth Problems
a. 4.7 inches/month
b. 5.8 inches/month
c. 1.2 inches/month
d. 16.1 inches/month
e. 14.2 inches/month
4. The Curve Number associated with a storm of 1.5 inches/hour average intensity and
20 year recurrence interval is 85. The watershed has an average slope of 3% and 40%
of it is impervious. What would be the corresponding rational formula runoff
coefficient C for the storm?
17
a. 0.12
b. 0.24
c. 0.57
d. 0.45
e. 0.66
5. A small urban watershed located in Florida has a time of concentration of 3 hours and
the landuse distribution shown below. If the stormwater drainage system for the
community is to be designed based on a 100 year storm frequency, what would be the
expected peak runoff in cfs?
a. 69 cfs
b. 43 cfs
c. 12 cfs
d. 35 cfs
e. 256 cfs
Material Area C
Concrete 6.8 0.90
Shingle roof 12.0 0.75
Asphalt 7.2 0.90
Lawn areas 14.0 0.25
6. What is the probably of at least one event of 20 year frequency occurring in 50 years?
a. 1%
b. 33%
c. 92%
d. 5%
e. 20%
a. 3.8 inches
b. 3.6 inches
c. 2.1 inches
d. 3.3 inches
e. 4.1 inches
18
Thiessen
Polygon
Area, A
Station P (in) (mi^2)
A 3.8 825
B 3.5 917
C 4.1 679
D 3.4 1,508
E 3.7 623
F 2.8 1,014
G 2.6 1,200
B
A
E
D
C
G
F
a. 3.80 inches
b. 0.71 inches
c. 5.10 inches
d. 0.78 inches
e. 6.90 inches
19
Incremental
Precipitation
time (hrs) (inches)
0-1 0.5
1-2 0.9
2-3 1.5
3-4 2.1
4-5 1.1
5-6 0.8
6-7 0.3
7-8 0.1
9. Based on the problem above, what is the difference (inches) between the effective
rainfall for AMC II and AMC III for the period from 5-6?
10. The 1-hour unit hydrograph for a watershed is given below. What is the peak runoff
in cfs for the 3-hour unit hydrograph?
a. 423.5 cfs
b. 1270.5 cfs
c. 141.2 cfs
d. 295.2 cfs
e. 192.5 cfs
1 hr unit
hydrograph
Q
Time (hr) (cfs)
0 0.0
1 154.0
2 423.5
3 308.0
4 154.0
5 77.0
6 38.5
7 19.3
8 0.0
11. The 1-hour unit hydrograph for a watershed is given below. What is the time in hours
and magnitude in cfs of the peak runoff generated by the storm with effective rainfall
shown below?
20
a. 891 cfs at hour 2
b. 1107 cfs at hour 3
c. 651 cfs at hour 3
d. 437 cfs at hour 2
e. 1262 at hour 2
Effective rainfall
1 hr unit hydrograph hyetograph
Time (hr) Q (cfs) Time (hr) Peff (in)
0 0.0 1 0.3
1 270.0 2 1.2
2 742.5 3 0.2
3 540.0
4 270.0
5 135.0
6 67.5
7 33.8
8 0.0
12. A residential area with 1 acre average lot size has a percent impervious of 28% and
50% of the impervious area is unconnected. The Curve Number for the pervious area
is 61. What is the composite Curve Number?
a. 69
b. 80
c. 62
d. 75
e. 85
13. A very flat rural watershed with an area of 1,700 acres has an average slope of 1%, a
Curve Number of 77, and the distance from the watershed outlet to the basin divide is
10,750 ft. For a 1-hour synthetic unit hydrograph, what is the approximately the
runoff in cfs at hour 2.0?
a. 27 cfs
b. 78 cfs
c. 0.3 cfs
d. 380 cfs
e. 145 cfs
14. What is the time of concentration to the outlet (hours) for the watershed shown
below?
a. 2.8 hours
b. 1.6 hours
c. 0.8 hours
d. 1.4 hours
e. 0.4 hours
21
Overland flow from A-B:
L = 1,200 ft
Landuse = short grass
2-yr, 24-hr rainfall = 0.8 inches
S = 2%
A
Overland flow
Trapezoidal channel
15. Using the NRCS graphical peak discharge method, what is the peak discharge in cfs
for a watershed with an area of 1.25 mi2, a time of concentration of 2 hours, and an
average curve number of 69? The 24-hour cumulative rainfall is 3 inches and the
watershed is characterized by type II rainfall distributions? Note: 3% of pond and
swamp areas are NOT included in the time of concentration.
a. 312 cfs
b. 107 cfs
c. 155 cfs
d. 116 cfs
e. 173 cfs
22
16. The 1-hour S-hydrograph for a watershed is shown below. What is the peak flow for
the 3-hour unit hydrograph?
a. 350 cfs
b. 556 cfs
c. 2212 cfs
d. 586 cfs
e. 1668 cfs
17. The streamflow measured at the outlet of a 300 acre watershed during a storm event
is tabulated below. Assuming a constant baseflow of 20 cfs, what is the effective
rainfall in inches produced by the storm?
a. 12.9 inches
b. 1 inch
c. 12.2 inches
d. 11.6 inches
e. 9.3 inches
Total
Streamflow
Time (hr) (cfs)
0 20
1 101
2 567
3 1127
4 898
5 493
6 256
7 138
8 74
9 27
10 20
23
18. An agricultural field is drained by a ditch which runs north to south as shown below.
What is the peak runoff (cfs) produced at point 2 if the rainfall intensity for a 1 in 100
year storm is given by the equation below?
a. 16.7 cfs
b. 30.1 cfs
c. 37.7 cfs
d. 31.6 cfs
e. 35.1 cfs
Overland
Runoff flow time
ID Area (acres) Coefficient C (min)
A 15 0.15 45
B 23 0.30 15
C 8 0.08 55
D 20 0.25 30
POINT 1
A B
POINT 2
C D
POINT 3
Arrows represent overland drainage direction
Rectangular channel from point 1-2 Rectangular channel from point 2-3
L = 1,000 ft L = 800 ft
Base = 10 ft Base = 20 ft
Channel slope = 2% Channel slope = 2%
Water depth = 2 ft Water depth = 1.5 ft
Manning’s n = 0.1 Manning’s n = 0.08
24
Groundwater
Depth Problems
a. 0.02 gal/day/ft2
b. 313 gal/day/ft2
c. 1.2 gal/day/ft2
d. 30 gal/day/ft2
e. 2 gal/day/ft2
Flow
direction
K1 = 103 gal/day/ft2 10 ft
K2 = 10-2 gal/day/ft2 17 ft
K3 = 1 gal/day/ft2 5 ft
a. Aquifer that occurs above the main regional water table when the descent of
water percolating from above is blocked by an impermeable lens.
b. A regional unconfined aquifer.
c. An aquifer that occurs above a sandy lens.
d. A regional confined aquifer.
e. An aquifer that flows to the surface when a well is drilled into it.
25
4. What is the hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer shown below in gal/day/ft2?
a. 68 gal/day/ft2
b. 610 gal/day/ft2
c. 530 gal/day/ft2
d. 2490 gal/day/ft2
e. 680 gal/day/ft2
Q = 50,000
gal/day observation
pumping wells
well
1,000 ft
100 ft
Clay layer
15 ft 12.5 14.5 ft
Sand layer ft
5. What is the hydraulic conductivity in ft/s of the soil sample shown below if the water
level in the standpipe drops as shown in a period of 30 minutes?
26
1 in
outlet
18 in Q
head kept
12 in constant
water
4 in Porous
8 in collected
stone
filter
6. What is the storativity of the confined aquifer shown below if the hydraulic
conductivity is 500 gal/day/ft2 and the well diameter is 2.0 feet?
a. 2.8 * 10-4
b. 1.1 * 10-3
c. 2.1 * 10-3
d. 3.4 * 10-2
e. 1.2 * 10-2
Clay layer
Potentiometric
surface
150 ft
70 ft Sand layer 120 ft after 75 days
of pumping
27
7. What is the source of water when pumping from a confined aquifer?
a. Water draining out of the pores when the water table falls
b. Water draining out of the unconnected pores
c. Compression of the material
d. Expansion of the water
e. Water comes from both compression of the material and expansion of the
water
28
Hydrology and Groundwater Problems - Solutions
Testmasters
Table of Contents
Hydrology _____________________________________________________________ 3
Breadth Problems __________________________________________________________ 3
Groundwater__________________________________________________________ 10
Breadth Problems _________________________________________________________ 10
Hydrology ____________________________________________________________ 13
Depth Problems ___________________________________________________________ 13
Groundwater__________________________________________________________ 22
Depth Problems ___________________________________________________________ 22
2
Hydrology
Breadth Problems
2. What happens to the shape of the unit hydrograph if the effective rainfall duration is
doubled?
B: The base time of the unit hydrograph will be lengthened and the peak will be
lowered so that the volume of the unit hydrograph remains constant.
4. What is the direct runoff volume in acre-ft generated by the storm whose hyetograph
is given below if the φ index is 1.2 in/hr and the area of the watershed is 20 acres?
B: 5 acre-ft
max(0,i-phi) *
max(0,i-phi) dt
t (min) (in/hr) (in)
0 0 0.00
10 0 0.00
20 0.3 0.05
30 0.8 0.13
40 1.8 0.30
50 3.8 0.63
60 3.8 0.63
70 4.8 0.80
80 1.8 0.30
90 0.8 0.13
100 0 0.00
Sum=2.98 in
2.98*20/12
=4.97 ac-ft
D: Time from the beginning to the end of the direct runoff or unit hydrograph. – This
is the definition of base time.
3
6. Based on the rainfall intensity data below, what is the maximum hourly precipitation
in inches/hour?
B: 1.70 inches/hour
7. An urban community has an area of 52 acres, of which 15% is concrete with a runoff
coefficient of 0.85, 30% is shingle roof with a runoff coefficient of 0.75, 20% is
asphalt with a runoff coefficient of 0.90, and the rest is lawn areas with a runoff
coefficient of 0.2. If the community receives rainfall from a storm of average
intensity of 2 inches/hour, what would be the expected peak runoff from the storm in
acre-ft/hour?
E: 5.2 ac-ft/hr
52 acres = Total area
Material % of area Area (ac) C C*A
Concrete 15% 7.8 0.85 6.6
Shingle roof 30% 15.6 0.75 11.7
Asphalt 20% 10.4 0.9 9.4
Lawn areas 35% 18.2 0.2 3.6
average C = 0.6
Sum(C*A)/Sum(A)
average effective rainfall intensity = (average C)*I =
0.6*2 1.2 in/hr
(average C)*I*A =
0.6*2*52 = 62.7 ac-in/hr
5.2 ac-ft/hr
4
8. What is the total effective rainfall in inches produced by the storm described above if
its duration is 5 hours?
B: 6.0 inches
D: Timeseries of discharge resulting from one unit of effective rainfall for a unit time
over a particular watershed.
D: Detention storage
C: Transfer of water from plant, soil, and open-water surfaces back to the atmosphere
12. A standard collector-type gage recorded rainfall over a storm which started at 12:00 Comment [MI1]: Belfort gage
PM and had an average wind speed of 15 miles per hour. The gage calibration
yielded a coefficient 0.1 mm of rain per milligram of rainfall. At 15 miles per hour,
the gage catch deficiency is about 20%. What is most closely the true rainfall in
inches for the period between 12:40 PM and 1:00 PM?
Catch deficiency = 1 – (gage catch/true catch)
D: 0.65 inches
Catch True
Cumulative
gage Cumulative True
Reading weight rainfall Cumulative Incremental incremental
time (mg) (mm) rainfall (in) rainfall (in) rainfall (in)
12:00 PM 18.0 1.80 0.07
12:10 PM 25.0 2.50 0.10 0.03 0.03
12:20 PM 100.0 10.00 0.39 0.30 0.37
12:30 PM 150.0 15.00 0.59 0.20 0.25
12:40 PM 217.0 21.70 0.85 0.26 0.33
12:50 PM 230.0 23.00 0.91 0.05 0.06
1:00 PM 350.0 35.00 1.38 0.47 0.59 0.65 inches
1:10 PM 480.0 48.00 1.89 0.51 0.64 = 0.06 inches + 0.59 inches
1:20 PM 720.0 72.00 2.83 0.94 1.18
1:30 PM 910.0 91.00 3.58 0.75 0.94
1:40 PM 1000.0 100.00 3.94 0.35 0.44
1:50 PM 1040.0 104.00 4.09 0.16 0.20
2:00 PM 1050.0 105.00 4.13 0.04 0.05
2:10 PM 1055.0 105.50 4.15 0.02 0.02
2:20 PM 1060.0 106.00 4.17 0.02 0.02
5
True incremental rainfall = Incremental rainfall / (1-catch deficiency) = Incremental
rainfall / (1 – 0.20) = Incremental rainfall / 0.8
13. A storm of 1-hour effective rainfall duration hits a watershed, which is characterized
by the 1-hour unit hydrograph shown below. Five hours after the beginning of runoff,
the discharge measured at the watershed outlet is 325 cfs. What is the effective
rainfall in inches and the total direct runoff volume in acre-ft produced by the 1-hour
effective rainfall event?
14. For the problem above, what is the peak runoff in cfs?
D: 1464 cfs
15. A storm producing 5 inches of rainfall falls over a watershed during its dormant
season. The watershed has the landuse distribution shown in the table below. The
watershed consists of silty clays with a clay hardpan. The total rainfall for the 5 days
prior to the storm was 1.5 inches. For this storm the initial abstractions were
determined to be 0.25 inches. What is the expected overland flow supply in acre-ft?
B: 56 acre-ft
6
CN for CN for AMC III, HSG D CN
AMC (AMC
23CN II
II,
CN III = III,
E: 12,000 ac-ft
7
Rippl diagram
25000
20000
Cumulative inflow or demand (ac-ft)
Minimum
required
reservoir
capacity
15000
= 11,911 ac-ft
10000
5000
0
M 96
Ju 6
M 97
Ju 7
M 98
Ju 8
M 9
Ju 9
M 00
Ju 0
M 6
Se 6
N 96
M 7
Se 97
N 97
M 8
Se 8
N 98
M 9
Se 99
N 99
M 0
Se 0
N 00
Ja 6
Ja 7
Ja 8
Ja 9
0
-9
-9
l-9
-9
-9
l-9
9
-9
-9
-0
l-0
-9
-9
-0
-9
-9
n-
l-
n-
n-
l-
n-
-
p-
p-
p-
p-
p-
ar
ar
ar
ar
ar
ay
ay
ay
ay
ay
n
ov
ov
ov
ov
ov
Ja
Date
17. The table below shows the normal precipitation for the month of August at eleven
gages in a flat interior watershed. During a storm event which occurred on August
17, 2006, gage D failed. What was most likely the precipitation at gage D during the
storm event in inches/day?
A: 1.2 inches/day
Only gages B, C, E, F are close enough and evenly spaced enough to be included in
normal ratio.
Gage N P P/N
B 4.7 1.1 0.23
C 5.3 1.4 0.26
D 5.0 --
E 4.9 1.1 0.22
F 5.1 1.3 0.25
Sum (P/N)= 0.98
n=4 (# of nearby gages)
Pc = Sum(P/N) / n / Nc = 0.98 / 4 * 5 = 1.2 in/day
8
18. The table below shows the annual precipitation at five stations in a watershed. Data
at station A is suspect. This data is plotted as a double mass-curve and a breakpoint is
identified in 1969. Assuming that the correct slope is the most recent slope, what
would be the correct 1967 annual precipitation at station A in inches/year?
B: 63.6 inches/year
Since the most recent slope (after 1969) is the correct one, the precipitation at station
A prior to 1970 is corrected by multiplying it by the ratio of the new to the old slope
(1.06/0.76).
Corrected
Cumulative annual
for mean precipitation
Mean of Stations of B, C, D, Cumulative at station A
A B C D E B, C, D, E (in/yr) E (in) for A (in) Slope (in/yr)
1965 44.7 50.8 41.7 62.2 54.1 52.2 52.2 44.7 0.86 32.0
1966 38.2 42.0 55.7 52.4 53.8 51.0 103.2 82.9 0.75 53.3
1967 45.6 57.1 55.0 65.6 57.1 58.7 161.9 128.4 0.78 63.6
1968 40.2 54.3 44.2 47.1 56.3 50.5 212.4 168.7 0.80 56.1
1969 32.3 49.4 49.9 61.4 42.9 50.9 263.3 201.0 0.63 45.1
1970 79.4 49.8 84.8 72.5 75.5 70.6 333.9 280.4 1.12 --
1971 62.9 52.5 65.1 54.5 65.4 59.4 393.3 343.2 1.06 --
1972 41.3 36.6 44.5 40.2 54.2 43.9 437.2 384.5 0.94 --
1973 63.6 44.1 49.1 56.7 61.7 52.9 490.1 448.1 1.20 --
1974 51.8 56.5 41.8 65.5 61.0 56.2 546.3 499.9 0.92 --
1975 58.2 42.6 48.1 53.7 44.4 47.2 593.5 558.1 1.23 --
1976 51.6 60.0 53.3 60.0 62.4 58.9 652.4 609.7 0.88 --
1977 68.9 68.9 58.9 53.0 62.6 60.8 713.2 678.6 1.13 --
1978 63.7 55.9 67.8 56.5 67.7 62.0 775.2 742.3 1.03 --
1979 68.7 53.1 65.1 67.5 64.3 62.5 837.7 811.0 1.10 --
1980 46.8 46.9 43.7 43.4 50.4 46.1 883.8 857.8 1.01 --
9
Groundwater
Breadth Problems
3. An unconfined aquifer has a specific yield of 4%, a specific retention of 41%, and a
total porosity of 50%, what is the percentage of unconnected pore space?
B: 5%
A: 20,000 ft/day
D: 42,000 gal/ft/day
10
At 70 oF, ρ = 62.3 lbm/ft3, µ = 2.050 * 10-5 lbf-sec/ft2
Then
kγ kρ g (1.08 * 10 -9 ft 2 ) * (62.3 lbm/ft 3 ) * (32.2 ft/s 2 )
K= = = = 0.00328 ft / s
µ µ gc (2.050 * 10 -5 lbf − s / ft 2 ) * (32.2lbm − ft / s 2 / lbf )
T = K*b = (0.0328 ft/s) * (20 ft) = 0.06564 ft2/s (1 gal/0.13368 ft2) * (3600 s/hr) * (24
hr/day) = 42,426 gal/ft/day
6. What is the rate of advection or seepage velocity in ft/day for the flow line shown
below if the hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer is 50 ft/day, its porosity is 0.3 and
its effective porosity is 0.2?
E: 0.20 ft/day
q
v pore =
ne
∆h
i= = (20 – 7) ft / (3.2 mi) * (1 mi / 5280 ft) = 0.000769 ft/ft
∆L
7. Based on the figure above, how many years will it take a contaminant spilled at point
A to reach the lake if the hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer is 50 ft/day, its
porosity is 0.3 and its effective porosity is 0.2? Note: Assume that the contaminant
only migrates by advection.
C: 232 years
t = L / vpore = 3.2 mi * (5280 ft / 1 mi) / 0.20 ft/day = 87,838.4 days = 231.5 years
A: From point A to point B since hydraulic head is greater at point A than at point B
E: Ratio of the volume of water that will be retained in an aquifer against the pull of
gravity to the total volume of the aquifer.
11
10. What is the specific capacity of the aquifer shown below in gal/ft/day if the aquifer
has reached steady-state, the well diameter is 1 ft, the water table elevation at the well
is 12 ft, the aquifer recovers its original thickness of 15 ft at 1,000 ft from the well,
and the hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer is 3X10-5 ft/s?
A: 215 gal/ft/day
π * 3 * 10 − 5 (12 2 − 152 )
Q= = 0.00100436 ft3/s = 86.78 ft3/day = 649.1 gal/day
⎛ 0.5 ⎞
ln⎜ ⎟
⎝ 1000 ⎠
11. What is the coefficient of permeability (inches/hour) of the sand sample shown
below if 1.25 gallons of water were collected in 5 minutes, the sample diameter is
4 inches and its length is 3.5 inches?
B: 26.8 inches/hour
V = 1.25 gal * (0.13368 ft3 / 1 gal ) * (123 in3 / ft3) = 288.7 in3
∆L = 3.5 inches
A = 0.25 π* (4 inches)2 = 12.57 inches2
∆h = 4 – 1 ft = 3 ft = 36 inches
t = 5 min * (1 hr / 60 min) = 0.0833 hr
K = V∆L = 288.7 in3 * 3.5 in / (12.57 in2 * 36 in * 0.0833 hr) = 26.81 in/hr
A∆ht
12. Neglecting friction and minor losses on the pipe and fittings of the permeameter
shown below, what is the total head, elevation head and pressure head (measured
from the datum) in feet at point C in the middle of the soil sample?
D: Total head = 3.5 ft, elevation head = 1 ft, pressure head = 2.5 ft
12
Hydrology
Depth Problems
E: 14.2 inches/month
Reservoir area 500 acres
Structural
outflows 198.33 acre-ft/mo = 3.3 cfs
Loss to
groundwater 100.00 acre-ft/mo
Evaporation 195.00 acre-ft/mo =6.5*0.72*500/12
Total outflows 493.3
13
3. Which of the following is NOT true about a retention basin?
C: It stores water temporarily and slowly drains to a nearby flood control conveyance
system
4. The Curve Number associated with a storm of 1.5 inches/hour average intensity and
20 year recurrence interval is 85. The watershed has an average slope of 3% and 40%
of it is impervious. What would be the corresponding rational formula runoff
coefficient C for the storm?
D: 0.45
CN = 85
T= 20 year
S= 3 %
I= 1.5 in/hr
P= 0.4
C= 0.45
5. A small urban watershed located in Florida has a time of concentration of 3 hours and
the landuse distribution shown below. If the stormwater drainage system for the
community is to be designed based on a 100 year storm frequency, what would be the
expected peak runoff in cfs?
B: 43 cfs
40 acres = Total basin area
Material Area C C*A
Concrete 6.8 0.90 6.12
Shingle roof 12.0 0.75 9
Asphalt 7.2 0.90 6.48
Lawn areas 14.0 0.25 3.5
average C =
Sum(C*A)/Sum(A)
0.63
Steel's formula: i = K/(tc+b)
Florida is in Zone I, then for a 100 year return period: K=367, b=33
with tc=3 hr=180 min
i = 367/(180+33) = 1.72 in/hr
14
6. What is the probably of at least one event of 20 year frequency occurring in 50 years?
C: 92%
D: 3.3 inches
Thiessen
Polygon
Area, A
Station P (in) (mi^2) P*A
A 3.8 825 3,135
B 3.5 917 3,210
C 4.1 679 2,784
D 3.4 1,508 5,127
E 3.7 623 2,305
F 2.8 1,014 2,839
G 2.6 1,200 3,120
Total Area = 6,766 22,520 = Sum (P*A)
P=
22519.9/6766 3.3 inches
D: 0.78 inches
CNII = 78.0
CNIII = 23*CNII / (10+0.13*CNII) = 89.1
S for AMC III = 1000/CNIII - 10 = 1.2
Cumulative
Q (inches) =
Incremental Cumulative ( P − Ia )2
Precipitation Precipitation Incremental
time (hrs) (inches) P (inches) P + S − Ia Q (inches)
0-1 0.5 0.5 0 0.00
1-2 0.9 1.4 0.2 0.20
2-3 1.5 2.9 1.3 1.14
3-4 2.1 5 3.3 1.93
4-5 1.1 6.1 4.3 1.05
5-6 0.8 6.9 5.1 0.78
6-7 0.3 7.2 5.4 0.29
7-8 0.1 7.3 5.5 0.10
15
9. Based on the problem above, what is the difference (inches) between the effective
rainfall for AMC II and AMC III for the period from 5-6?
CNII = 78.0
S for AMC II = 1000/CNII - 10 = 2.8
Incremental Cumulative
Precipitation Precipitation Cumulative Incremental
time (hrs) (inches) (inches) Q (inches) Q (inches)
0-1 0.5 0.5 0 0.00
1-2 0.9 1.4 0.1 0.11
2-3 1.5 2.9 0.9 0.79
3-4 2.1 5 2.5 1.62
4-5 1.1 6.1 3.5 0.95
5-6 0.8 6.9 4.2 0.71
6-7 0.3 7.2 4.5 0.27
7-8 0.1 7.3 4.5 0.09
10. The 1-hour unit hydrograph for a watershed is given below. What is the peak runoff
in cfs for the 3-hour unit hydrograph?
D: 295.2 cfs
16
11. The 1-hour unit hydrograph for a watershed is given below. What is the time in hours
and magnitude in cfs of the peak runoff generated by the storm with effective rainfall
shown below?
12. A residential area with 1 acre average lot size has a percent impervious of 28% and
50% of the impervious area is unconnected. The Curve Number for the pervious area
is 61. What is the composite Curve Number?
A: 69
13. A very flat rural watershed with an area of 1,700 acres has an average slope of 1%, a
Curve Number of 77, and the distance from the watershed outlet to the basin divide is
10,750 ft. For a 1-hour synthetic unit hydrograph, what is the approximate runoff in
cfs at hour 2.0?
B: 78 cfs
NRCS synthetic unit hydrograph
Ad = 1,700 acres
2.7 mi^2
Y= 1 %
Very flat rural --> peaking factor = 100
L= 10,750 ft
17
CN = 77
S = 1000/CN - 10 = 2.99
tlag = (L^0.8)*(S+1)^0.7/(1900Y^0.5) = 2.33 hr
tp = 0.5*tr+tlag= 2.83 hr
Qp = 100*Ad/tp = 95.5 cfs
Q
t/tp t (hr) Q/Qp (cfs)
0.0 0.0 0.000 0.0
0.1 0.3 0.030 2.9
0.2 0.6 0.100 9.6
0.3 0.8 0.190 18.1
0.4 1.1 0.310 29.6
0.5 1.4 0.470 44.9
0.6 1.7 0.660 63.0
0.7 2.0 0.820 78.3
14. What is the time of concentration to the outlet (hours) for the watershed shown
below?
D: 1.4 hours
Segment A-B:
First 300 ft: Sheetflow
L = 300 ft
Landuse = short grass, then n = 0.15
2-yr, 24-hr rainfall = 0.8 inches
S = 2%
tsheet = 0.007*(n*L)^0.8/(P2^0.5)/(S^0.4) = 0.79 hrs
Segment B-C:
5,000 ft of Open channel flow
L = 5,000 ft
Base = 10 ft
Side slope =
1:1
Channel slope = 2%
Water depth = 3 ft
Manning's n = 0.1
Manning's equation:
18
A = 39 ft^2
Pw = 18.5 ft
R = 2.1 ft
vchannel = 1.49/n*(R^0.66)*(S^0.5) = 3.46 ft/s
= 1.49/0.1*(2.1^0.6666)*(0.02^0.5)
tchannel = Lchannel/vchannel =
5000/3.46 = 1445 sec = 0.40 hrs
tc = tsheet + tshallow + tchannel = 0.79 hrs + 0.25 hrs + 0.40 hrs = 1.44 hrs
15. Using the NRCS graphical peak discharge method, what is the peak discharge in cfs
for a watershed with an area of 1.25 mi2, a time of concentration of 2 hours, and an
average curve number of 69? The 24-hour cumulative rainfall is 3 inches and the
watershed is characterized by type II rainfall distributions? Note: 3% of pond and
swamp areas are NOT included in the time of concentration.
D: 116 cfs
Q=
( P − Ia ) 2
P + S − Ia 0.67 inches
Ia = 0.2S = 0.90 inches
Ia/P = 0.30
Qu = 185 cfs/mi^2/in From Exhibit 4-II of NRCS TR-55
Fp = 0.75 for a 3% pond and swamp areas
Qp = 116.1 cfs
19
16. The 1-hour S-hydrograph for a watershed is shown below. What is the peak flow for
the 3-hour unit hydrograph?
B: 556 cfs
Lagged
1-hr S-
1-hr S- hydro-
Time hydro- graph 3-hr
(hr) graph (cfs) (cfs) Diff. UH
0 0 0 /3= 0
1 290 290 /3= 97
2 1088 1088 /3= 363
3 1668 0 1668 /3= 556
4 1958 290 1668 /3= 556
5 2103 1088 1015 /3= 338
6 2176 1668 508 /3= 169
7 2212 1958 254 /3= 85
8 2212 2103 109 /3= 36
9 2212 2176 36 /3= 12
10 2212 2212 0 /3= 0
17. The streamflow measured at the outlet of a 300 acre watershed during a storm event
is tabulated below. Assuming a constant baseflow of 20 cfs, what is the effective
rainfall in inches produced by the storm?
D: 11.6 inches
Total DR
Streamflow Baseflow Volume
Time (hr) (cfs) (cfs) DRH (cfs) (ft^3)
0 20 - 20 = 0
1 101 - 20 = 81 145,800
2 567 - 20 = 547 1,130,400
3 1127 - 20 = 1107 2,977,200
4 898 - 20 = 878 3,573,000
5 493 - 20 = 473 2,431,800
6 256 - 20 = 236 1,276,200
7 138 - 20 = 118 637,200
8 74 - 20 = 54 309,600
9 27 - 20 = 7 109,800
10 20 - 20 = 0 12,600
Total DRV 12,603,600 ft^3
289.34 acre-ft
0.96 ft
11.57 in
20
18. An agricultural field is drained by a ditch which runs north to south as shown below.
What is the peak runoff (cfs) produced at point 2 if the rainfall intensity for a 1 in 100
year storm is given by the equation below?
E: 35.1 cfs
Intensity:
I = 350 / (tc + 40) = 350 / (51.24 + 40) = 3.84 in/hr
Peak flow:
Qp = (average C)*I*A =
0.24*3.84*38 = 35.1 cfs
21
Groundwater
Depth Problems
A: 0.02 gal/day/ft2
K
Layer m (ft) (gal/day/ft^2) m/K
1 10 1000 0.01
2 17 0.01 1700
3 5 1 5
Sum (m) = 32 1705 =Sum (m/K)
A: Aquifer that occurs above the main regional water table when the descent of
water percolating from above is blocked by an impermeable lens.
E: 680 gal/day/ft2
Since the water level is below the top of the aquifer, the fluid is not under
pressure and the unconfined equation applies.
y1 = 12.5 ft
r1 = 100 ft
y2 = 14.5 ft
r2 = 1,000 ft
Q= 50,000 gal/day
K=
Q*ln(r1/r2)/pi()/(y1^2-
y2^2)= 678.6 gal/day/ft^2
22
5. What is the hydraulic conductivity in ft/s of the soil sample shown below if the water
level in the standpipe drops as shown in a period of 30 minutes?
standpipe diameter d = 1 in
standpipe area a =
0.25*pi*d^2 0.79 in^2
sample diameter D = 4 in
sample area A =
0.25*pi*D^2 12.57 in^2
sample length L = 8 in
initial water level h1 = 18 in
final water level h2 = 12 in
time t = 30 min
K = a*L*ln(h1/h2)/(A*t) = 0.00676 in/min
K= 9.4E-06 ft/s
6. What is the storativity of the confined aquifer shown below if the hydraulic
conductivity is 500 gal/day/ft2 and the well diameter is 2.0 feet?
A: 2.8 * 10-4
Solving for S:
4 Kbtu 4 * (500 gal / day / ft 2 )(70 ft )(75day )(2 * 10 −10 ) gal − ft
S= 2
= 2
= 0.0021 (0.13368 ft 3 / gal ) =
r 1 ft ft 4
2.807*10-4
E: Water comes from both compression of the material and expansion of the water
23
8. Which of the following is NOT true about the unsaturated zone?
24