PHILIPPINE WATERSHED:

DELINEATION OF DRAINAGE
AREA
(CE 573:HYDROLOGY)

REPORTER:
LOVELY GRACE L. GESORO
WHAT IS WATERSHED?

• A HIGH AREA OF LAND WHERE RAIN COLLECTS, SOME OF IT ARE FLOWING

DOWN TO SUPPLY RIVERS, LAKES, ETC., AT LOWER LEVELS.
• AN AREA OF LAND ON A SLOPE WHICH DRAINS ITS WATER INTO A STREAM
AND ITS TRIBUTARIES.
• IT ALSO CALLED AS CATCHMENT AREA OR DRAINAGE BASIN
PARTS OF WATERSHED
• TRIBUTARY- A SMALLER RIVER OR STREAM
THAT FLOWS INTO A MAIN OR PARENT RIVER.

• RIDGELINE/WATERSHED DIVIDE- HIGHER

GROUND SEPARATING TWO ADJACENT STREAMS
OR WATERSHEDS.

• FLOOD PLAIN- FLAT, BORDER AREAS ON EACH

SIDE OF A RIVER WHICH ALLOWS WATER TO
SPILL OUT/ OVERFLOW AT TIMES OF HIGH FLOW.

• ESTUARY- A PARTLY ENCLOSED COASTAL BODY

OF WATER WITH ONE OR MORE BODY OF WATER
FLOWING INTO IT AND AN OPEN CONNECTION
TO THE SEA.

• HEADWATER/GROUNDWATER- WATER THAT IS

LOCATED BENEATH THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH
IN PORES IN THE SOIL.
 CLASSIFICATION OF WATERSHED

SIZE SHAPE
1. MICRO WATERSHEDS- ARE THE
SMALLEST LAND AREA WHEREIN THE 1. SQUARE
WATER FLOW INTO A TRIBUTARIES.
2. TRIANGULAR
2. SMALL WATERSHED- ARE THOSE
WHERE THE OVERLAND FLOW IS THE 3. RECTANGULAR
MAIN CONTRIBUTOR TO PEAK
RUNOFF/FLOW AND CHANNEL 4. OVAL
CHARACTERISTICS DO NOT AFFECT THE
OVERLAND FLOW. 5. FERN LEAF SHAPE
3. LARGE WATERSHEDS- ARE THOSE 6. PALM SHAPE
GIVE PEAK FLOWS ARE GREATLY
INFLUENCED BY CHANNEL 7. POLYGON SHAPE
CHARACTERISTICS AND BASIN
STORAGE. 8. CIRCULAR SHAPE
COMPONENTS OF A WATERSHED
• UPLAND AREAS- ARE AREAS WHERE THERE IS NOT USUALLY STANDING WATER
AND WOULD TYPICALLY BE EITHER FORESTED OR AGRICULTURAL LAND.
• WETLANDS- IS AN AREA OF LAND THAT IS SATURATED WITH WATER FOR ALL OR
PART OF THE YEAR. A WETLAND CAN BE MARSH, POUND, OR VOGUE.
• RIPARIAN ZONES/VEGETATION- THE PLANTS THAT GROW ALONG OR NEAR THE
RIVERBANKS, LAKES, AND WETLANDS.
• SURFACE WATER (PART WE CAN SEE)- IS JUST A WATER THAT COLLECTS ON THE
SURFACE OF THE EARTH. THIS CATEGORY IS COMPOSED OF RIVERS, LAKES,
STREAMS, OCEANS AND WETLANDS.
• GROUNDWATER (PART WE CAN’T SEE)- ALL WATER UNDER THE SURFACE OF
THE GROUND. IT IS STORED IN THE SOIL AND IT CAN BE FOUND FAR UNDER THE
GROUND IN DEEP AQUIFERS OR VERY NEAR THE GROUND SURFACE.
IMPORTANCE AND FUNCTIONS OF
WATERSHED

• LIFE ON EARTH COULD NOT BE SUSTAINED WITHOUT HEALTHY WATERSHEDS. WE

KNOW THAT WATERSHED IS AN AREA OF LAND THAT DRAINS RAIN WATER OR SNOW
INTO ONE LOCATION SUCH AS STREAM, LAKE OR WETLAND. THESE WATER BODIES
SUPPLY OUR DRINKING WATER, WATER FOR AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURING,
OFFER OPPORTUNITIES FOR RECREATION AND PROVIDE HABITAT TO NUMEROUS
PLANTS AND ANIMALS.
• THE MAIN FUNCTION OF A WATERSHED IS TO RECEIVE THE INCOMING PRECIPITATION
AND THEN DISPOSED IT OFF. THE PRODUCTION OF A CONTINUOUS WATER SUPPLY
THAT WOULD MAINTAIN THE LIFEFORMS WITHIN IT AND IN THE AREA FED BY ITS
STREAM.
EXAMPLES OF WATERSHEDS
IN THE PHILIPPINES
AMBUKLAO (BOKOD,BENGUET)
BINGA (ITOGON,BENGUET)
SAN ROQUE (SAN MIGUEL,PANGASINAN)
ANGAT (NORZAGARAY, BULACAN)
CALIRAYA (LUMBAN, LAGUNA)
AGUS 4 (LANAO DEL NORTE)
LAKE LANAO (LANAO DEL SUR)
PULANGI 4 (MARAMAG, BUKIDNON)
ALLAH RIVER (SOUTH COTABATO)
 DELINEATION OF A DRAINAGE AREA
• WATERSHED DELINEATION IS THE PROCESS OF IDENTIFYING THE
DRAINAGE AREA OF A POINT OR SET OF POINTS.

FOR MANY YEARS, CIVIL

ENGINEERS HAVE BEEN
USING UNITED STATES
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
(USGS) PAPER MAPS FOR
WATERSHED DELINEATION.
 WATERSHED DELINEATION AND
DRAINAGE AREA MEASUREMENT
• WATERSHEDS OR DRAINAGE BASINS ARE COMPRISED OF A NETWORK OF
STREAM CHANNELS THAT LINK FROM SMALLER TO LARGER, PROVIDING
CONDUITS FOR SURFACE WATER RUN-OFF AND SEDIMENT TRANSPORT ON
THE EARTH SURFACE.
• TOPOGRAPHIC MAP – A MAP
CHARACTERIZED BY LARGE SCALE DETAIL
AND QUANTITATIVE PRESENTATION OF
RELIEF, USUALLY USING CONTOUR LINES.
 STEPS IN DELINEATING A DRAINAGE
AREA
• STEP 1: USE A TOPOGRAPHIC
MAPS TO LOCATE THE RIVER, LAKE,
STREAM, WETLAND, OR OTHER
WATER BODIES OF INTEREST.

• STEP 2: TRACE THE WATERCOURSE

FROM ITS SOURCE TO ITS MOUTH,
INCLUDING THE TRIBUTARIES (FIGURE D-
2). THIS STEP DETERMINES THE GENERAL
BEGINNING AND ENDING BOUNDARIES.
• STEP 3: EXAMINE THE BROWN
LINES ON THE TOPOGRAPHIC MAP
THAT ARE NEAR THE
WATERCOURSE. THESE ARE
REFERRED TO AS CONTOUR LINES.
• STEP 4: CONTOUR LINES SPACED FAR
APART INDICATE THAT THE LANDSCAPE IS
MORE LEVEL AND GENTLY SLOPING (I.E.,
THEY ARE FLAT AREAS). CONTOUR LINES
SPACED VERY CLOSE TOGETHER INDICATE
DRAMATIC CHANGES (RISE OR FALL) IN
ELEVATION OVER A SHORT DISTANCE (I.E.,
THEY ARE STEEP AREAS) (FIGURE D-4).
• STEP 5: CHECK THE SLOPE OF THE
LANDSCAPE BY LOCATING TWO ADJACENT
CONTOUR LINES AND DETERMINE THEIR
RESPECTIVE ELEVATIONS. THE SLOPE IS
CALCULATED AS THE CHANGE IN ELEVATION,
ALONG A STRAIGHT LINE, DIVIDED BY THE
DISTANCE BETWEEN THE ENDPOINTS OF THAT
LINE.

• STEP 6: DETERMINE THE DIRECTION OF DRAINAGE

IN THE AREA OF THE WATERBODY BY DRAWING
ARROWS PERPENDICULAR TO A SERIES OF CONTOUR
LINES THAT DECREASE IN ELEVATION. STORM WATER
RUNOFF SEEKS THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE AS
IT TRAVELS DOWNSLOPE. THE “PATH” IS THE
SHORTEST DISTANCE BETWEEN CONTOURS, HENCE
A PERPENDICULAR ROUTE
• STEP 7: MARK THE BREAK POINTS
SURROUNDING THE WATERBODY. THE
“BREAK POINTS” ARE THE HIGHEST
ELEVATIONS WHERE HALF OF THE RUNOFF
WOULD DRAIN TOWARDS ONE BODY OF
WATER, AND THE OTHER HALF WOULD
DRAIN TOWARDS ANOTHER BODY OF WATER.

• STEP 8: IDENTIFY BREAK POINTS.

CONNECT THE BREAK POINTS WITH A
LINE FOLLOWING THE HIGHEST
ELEVATIONS IN THE AREA. THE
COMPLETED LINE REPRESENTS THE
BOUNDARY OF THE WATERSHED
• STEP 9: ONCE YOU’VE OUTLINED THE WATERSHED BOUNDARIES ON YOUR MAP, IMAGINE A
DROP OF RAIN FALLING ON THE SURFACE OF THE MAP. IMAGINE THE WATER FLOWING
DOWN THE SLOPES AS IT CROSSES CONTOUR LINES AT RIGHT ANGLES. FOLLOW ITS PATH
TO THE NEAREST STREAM THAT FLOWS TO THE WATER BODY YOU ARE STUDYING. IMAGINE
THIS WATER DROP STARTING AT DIFFERENT POINTS ON THE WATERSHED BOUNDARIES TO
VERIFY THAT THE BOUNDARIES ARE CORRECT.
• STEP10: DISTRIBUTE COPIES OF YOUR WATERSHED MAP TO YOUR GROUP.
• STEP 11: WATERSHEDS SOMETIMES HAVE WHAT ARE TERMED SUB-WATERSHEDS WITHIN
THEM. RIVERS, LARGE STREAMS, LAKE, AND WETLAND WATERSHED OFTEN HAVE MORE
THAN ONE SUB-WATERSHED (USUALLY SMALLER TRIBUTARY WATERSHEDS) WITHIN THEM.
GENERALLY, THE LARGER THE WATERBODY YOU ARE EXAMINING, THE MORE SUB-
WATERSHEDS YOU WILL FIND. YOUR WATERSHED MAP CAN BE FURTHER DIVIDED INTO
SMALLER SECTIONS OR SUB-WATERSHEDS IF IT HELPS ORGANIZE YOUR STUDY BETTER.
• STEP 12: ONCE THE WATERSHED AND SUB-WATERSHED (OPTIONAL) BOUNDARIES HAVE
BEEN DELINEATED ON THE MAP, YOUR TEAM CAN VERIFY THEM IN THE FIELD, IF
NECESSARY.
THE END, THANK YOU 