HYDROLOGY AND WATER RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT
CE3543

CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPTT. CUST

Lecture 9
Stream Gauging

River Stage

By Engr. Syed Shuja-ul-Hassan

Lecturer

Courtesy: Engr. Dr. Atiq Rehman 1

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 Streams provide

➢ Water supply for humans and animals,

➢ Irrigation water for plants,
➢ Dilution and transport for removal of waste, and
➢ Energy for production of power.

• Therefore, records of stream flow are important in each of these uses.

• Similarly, records of flood events are important

• Design of bridges, culverts, spillways, reservoirs, etc

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 SURFACE WATER HYDROLOGY
• Surface water hydrology deals with the movement of
water along the earth’s surface as a result of
precipitation and snow melt.
• Streamflow is the occurrence of water in a continuous
well defined flow channel.
• Streamflow represents the runoff phase of the water
cycle.
• The amount of runoff is given by the net amount of
infiltration, evaporation and evapotranspiration.
• Streamflow is the only part of the hydrological cycle that
can be measured accurately.
 STREAM GAUGING
• Stream gauging is a technique used to measure the discharge, or
the volume of water moving through a channel per unit time, of
a stream.

• The height of water in the stream channel, known as a stage or

gauge height, can be used to determine the discharge in a stream.

• A stream gauge, streamgage or gauging station is a location

used by hydrologists or environmental scientists to monitor and
test terrestrial bodies of water.

• Some gauging stations are highly automated and may

include telemetry capability transmitted to a central data
logging facility.
River Stage

• River stage is a term used in stream gauging.

• It is the elevation of the water surface at a specified station above some

arbitrary datum.

• The zero elevation is some times taken as mean sea level but more often it is
set slightly below the point of zero flow in stream.

• The river stage is denoted by “g”.

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 Measurement of Stage

• The stage of a river is defined as its water surface

elevation measured above a datum (e.g. MSL)
• Measurement techniques:
• Staff gauge
• Wire gauge
• Automatic stage recorder
Channel Control
• This is another term often used in stream gauging. It is the reach of a
channel or a channel section where there is a unique relationship between
stage and discharge.

• There are two types of channel control.

▪ It may be an artificial or
▪ natural one.
Artificial Control
• It is an amended section or length of stream for measurement purposes.
Examples are weir, flumes etc.

• Artificial design should consider following

➢ The profile of crest should be such that a small change in discharge
indicates appreciable change in stage.

➢ The structure should not create undesirable disturbance in the channel

above or below the control. (should be self cleaning and should not be
subject to obstruction by debris and ice or to deposits of sand, gravel or
silt either u/s or d/s)

➢ The control should have structural stability and should be permanent.

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Selection of a Gauging Site
• Essential requirements for stream gauging are:

▪ No backwater effect from D/S or other tributaries

▪ Site should be excellent enough to provide best readings for discharge

▪ Stage gauge should be in easy approach

▪ The fluctuations of water level can be easily recorded

▪ Site should be free from debris

▪ Site should be sustainable especially in floods

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• Availability of power line or telephone lines, where needed for special
instrumentation.

• Accessibility of the site by roads, particularly during floods.

• Economic construction

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Measurement of River Stage

• The river stage is measured by two types of gauges.

➢ Non‐recording gauges

➢ Recording gauges.

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Measurement of River Stage
• Non‐Recording Gauges:

• Staff Gauge

• Float type gauge

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Measurement of River Stage
• Staff Gauge

• Vertical Staff Gauge

• Sectional Staff gauge

• Inclined Staff Gauge

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Vertical Staff Gauge

• The simplest way to measure river stage is by means of staff gauge.

• A portion of the vertical staff gauge is immersed in the water at all times.

• The gauge may consist of a single vertical scale attached to a bridge pier, or
other structure that extends into the low water channel of the stream.

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Sectional Staff Gauge

• If no suitable structure exists in a location, then the concept of sectional

staff gauge can be used

• specially constructed supports are designed in such a way that one section is
always accessible

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Inclined Staff Gauge

• An alternative to the sectional staff gauge is an inclined staff gauge.

• Inclined staff gauge is placed on the slope of the stream bank and graduated
so that the scale reads directly in the vertical depth.

• The inclined staff gauges are considered better than the sectional staff
gauges due to better accuracy

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Float Type Gauge
• This gauge is generally used as an inside reference gauge and is installed in
a stilling well to avoid wave effects.

• The stilling well is 1.20 m in diameter or with inner dimensions 1.20 m x

1.20 m.

• It is built on side of a bank. A pipe connects well to river at its lowest level.

• The gauge consists of a float, graduated steel tape, counter weight and a
pulley. The pulley is grooved to accommodate the tape and mounted on a
stand.

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Wire Gauges

Elev. of the gauge = 100 m above MSL

Elev. of the bottom = 10 m below MSL
Length of the wire paid out = 70 m
Water surface elev. = 30 m above MSL
Water depth = 30 + 10 = 40 m
Measurement of River Stage
• Recording Gauges:

• These are similar to the non‐recording gauges but have some arrangement
to give a continuous record.
• In recording gauges motion of a float for example is recorded on a chart,
and
• In a continuous recorder, the motion of the float moves a pen across a long
strip chart.
• The chart is usually 25 cm wide and at a scale of 1:12. When the pen
reaches the edge of the chart it is reverses direction and records the next
readings in the other directions across the chart.

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Automatic Stage Recorder
 Automatic Stage Recorder

• Stilling well – to protect the float from debris, to

reduce the water surface effects on the recording.

• The instrument must be properly housed in a

suitable enclosure to protect it from weather
element and vandalism.

• Located above the highest water level expected in

the river to prevent it from getting inundated
during floods.
Measurement of River Stage
• Crest ‐ Stage Gauge

❖ A third type of stage measuring device is the crest gauge, used to obtain
a record of flood crests at sites where recording gauges are not installed.
It gives the information about maximum water level in the past.

❖ A variety of such gauges have been devised, including small floats

which rise with the increase in stage but are restrained at the maximum
level. Water‐soluble paints on bridge piers where they are protected
from rain and can indicate a definite high water mark are also in use as
crest stage gauge.

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➢ The piers of bridge are repainted after a flood.

➢ The gauge used by U.S. geological survey consists of a length of vertical

pipe containing a graduated stick and a small amount of grounded cork.

➢ The cork floats, as the water rises and some adheres to the stick at the
highest level reached by water. The stick can be removed, the crest reading
recorded, the cork wiped off and the stick replaced ready for the next
reading.

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 Stage Data

• The stage data is presented in the form of a plot

of stage against chronological time (stage
hydrograph).
• Stage data is particularly useful for:
• Determination of stream discharge
• Flood warning
• Flood protection works
 Thank you

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CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPTT. CUST