MAKERERE UNIVERSITY

WIE 3103
HYDROMETRICS AND HYDRO-MACHINES
Water levels

By
Dr. Nicholas Kiggundu
Tel:. 0772-443552
Email: nicholas.kiggundu@mak.ac.ug
 Some Basics-1
• Hydrometry is the monitoring of the components of the hydrological
cycle including rainfall, groundwater characteristics, as well as water
quality and flow characteristics of surface waters. The etymology of the
term hydrometry is from Greek: ὕδωρ 'water' + μέτρον 'measure’.

• Hydraulic Machine is machine in which force is transmitted by liquids

under pressure is known as hydraulic machine. Example: Hydraulic
Brakes, Hydraulic Jack
 Some Basics-2

• The above diagram describes the working principle of Hydraulic brake.

When the brake pedal is pressed, a piston force breaks fluid from one cylinder
along a connecting pipe to another cylinder.
• There, the fluid pushes on another piston. This pushes a brake pad against a
metal disc attached to the rotating wheel of the car.
The friction slows the wheel.
 Some Basics-3
More About Hydraulic Machines:

• Liquids are generally incompressible

(they cannot be compressed).
When liquid is trapped (closed in a
container) and pressure is exerted,
this pressure is transmitted to all parts
of the liquid.
• The force (or pressure) is exerted on
small area, but it results on a large
area with much force.
• Thus, the small force applied on a car
brake results large force on 4 wheels.
 Some Basics-4

Sections of River Nile

In Uganda In Khartoum Sudan

 Some Basics-4

An illustration of ..
 Purpose
• A water level; is any device utilizing two or more parts of the level surface
of liquid water to establish a local horizontal line or plane of reference;
used to determine the apparent inclination of an object or surface
and for matching elevations of locations that are too far apart for
a spirit level to span.
 Purpose-2
• The simplest water level is a section of clear tubing, partially
filled with water.
• Water is easily procured for use, and easily discarded after use.
• The ends are held vertical, and the rest of the tubing lies on the
ground or floor.
• The water level at each end of the tube will be at the same
elevation, whether the two ends are adjacent or far apart, so a
line between them will be horizontal at its midpoint and a shed
base, building foundation or similar structure laid out using
several such lines will be "horizontal" within building tolerances
on any scale over which use of a water level is practicable.
 What is a Gaging Station?

• Gaging stations are facilities used by hydrologists to

automatically monitor streams, wells, lakes, canals, reservoirs, or
other water bodies.
• Instruments at these stations collect information such as water
height (h), discharge (m3/s), water chemistry (DO, CO2, NH4, NO3,
PO4), and water temperature (oC).
 The water level gauging station-1
• Water level or Stage, is elevation of the free-water surface of a body of
water relative to a datum level. The datum or zero level is arbitrary but
is often close to the streambed.
• Changes in water level of a river, lake or a reservoir are its absolute and
relative fluctuations.
• Absolute level fluctuations are changes in water level of a lake or
reservoir caused by changes in its storage for a definite period of time.
• Relative level fluctuations are, as a rule, short term changes in the
water level not associated with changes in the storage of water in a
lake or reservoir and caused by dynamic factors such as wind and
changes in the atmospheric pressure (surging, seiches).
• Relative level fluctuations in reservoirs may also be caused by non-
regular work of hydroelectric complexes.
(Hydroelectric complex: The reservoir structures and installations that use waterpower to produce electricity.)
 The water level gauging station-2
• Gauges on rivers, lakes and reservoirs are normally located near their outlets,
but sufficiently upstream to avoid the influence of drawdown.

A B C
Fig 1. Examples of well-placed virtual staff gauges on (A) the opposite stream bank, (B) a rock in the
stream, and (C) a bridge pillar, showing the blue wave at the stream level when the site was
established and the positive and negative scale above and below the current stream level, respectively.
 The water level gauging station-3

Fig 2. Stream gauging station in on Fig.3. Gauging station to measure and report
western slope of Sangre de Cristo stream flow in the Braich-y-rhiw valley above
Mountains, Colorado Rhydyronen, Tywyn, Gwynedd, Wales.
 Automatic gauging station
Fig 4. Diagram showing a stream gauge
installation with a bubbler system used
to measure stream stage.
• However, it is more feasible to locate
them near the axis of equilibrium to
smooth the influence of relative level
fluctuations in computing changes in
water storage of a lake or reservoir for
the definite period of time.

• Surface area of a lake or reservoir is the area of a lake or a reservoir

relative to a specific water level.
• Storage of a lake or a reservoir is volume of water accumulated in the
basin at a specific water level.
 The water level gauging station-3
• Lake or reservoir surface area and their storage at various water levels
are determined from surveys and topographic-geodetic work.
• Based on these surveys, curves depicting surface area (area curve) and
the volume of stored water (storage curve) against the water level are
plotted.
• Storage curve is plotted based on the data from plotting the area
curve. Firstly, individual volumes of water between two horizontals are
determined and then successive summation is performed up to the
horizontal line indicating the highest water level in the lake or
reservoir.
 Storage contour lines at a reservoir site
The ideal site for a reservoir is in a wide valley which narrows suddenly,
with steep sides at the downstream end. The narrower the valley end, the
smaller the dam will have to be
B

Fig 5. Contour lines at a reservoir site (A)

Filled up dam (B).

A
 Example of Storage curve data (based on the data from
plotting the area curve)

Previous Average Contour Volume between Cumulative

Contour Area (m2) Area (m2) Area (m2) interval (m) contours (m3) volume (m3)
1102 0.52 0 0.26 2 0.52 0.52
1104 3.068 0.52 1.794 2 3.588 4.108
1106 7.74 3.068 5.404 2 10.808 14.916
1108 14.534 7.74 11.137 2 22.274 37.19
1110 23.824 14.534 19.179 2 38.358 75.548
1112 37.008 23.824 30.416 2 60.832 136.38
1114 55.65 37.008 46.329 2 92.658 229.038
1116 78.886 55.65 67.268 2 134.536 363.574
1118 114.916 78.886 96.901 2 193.802 557.376
1120 262.949 114.916 188.9325 2 377.865 935.241
Example of Storage capacity, stage, area curves
Thank you!
 How Streamflow is Measured
Streamgaging generally involves 3 steps:
1. Measuring stream stage—obtaining a continuous record of stage—the height of
the water surface at a location along a stream or river
2. The discharge measurement—obtaining periodic measurements of discharge (the
quantity of water passing a location along a stream)
3. The stage-discharge relation—defining the natural but often changing relation
between the stage and discharge; using the stage-discharge relation to convert the
continuously measured stage into estimates of streamflow or discharge
 Measuring stream stage-1
• Most U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgages measure stage and consist
of a structure in which instruments used to measure, store, and transmit
the stream-stage information are housed.
• Stage, sometimes called gage height, can be measured using a variety of
methods. One common approach is with a stilling well in the river bank or
attached to a bridge pier.
• Water from the river enters and leaves the stilling well through underwater
pipes allowing the water surface in the stilling well to be at the same
elevation as the water surface in the river.
• The stage is then measured inside the stilling well using a float or a
pressure, optic, or acoustic sensor.
• The measured stage value is stored in an electronic data recorder on a
regular interval, usually every 15 minutes.
 Measuring stream stage-2
• At some streamgage sites, a stilling well is not feasible or is not cost
effective to install.
• As an alternative, stage can be determined by measuring the pressure
required to maintain a small flow of gas through a tube and bubbled out at
a fixed location under water in the stream.
• The measured pressure is directly related to the height of water over the
tube outlet in the stream.
• As the depth of water above the tube outlet increases, more pressure is
required to push the gas bubbles through the tube.
 Measuring stream stage-3
• Streamgages operated by the USGS provide stage measurements that are
accurate to the nearest 0.01 foot or 0.2 percent of stage, whichever is
greater.
• Stage at a streamgage must be measured with respect to a constant
reference elevation, known as a datum.
• Sometimes streamgage structures are damaged by floods or can settle over
time.
• To maintain accuracy, and to ensure that stage is being measured above a
constant reference elevation, the elevations of streamgage structures, and
the associated stage measurement, are routinely surveyed relative to
permanent elevation benchmarks near the streamgage.
 Measuring stream stage-4
• Although stage is valuable information for some purposes, most users of
streamgage data are interested in streamflow or discharge—the amount of
water flowing in the stream or river, commonly expressed in m3/s or gal/d
(gallons per day).
• However, it is not practical for a stream gage to continuously measure
discharge.
• Fortunately, there is a strong relation between river stage and discharge
and, as a result, a continuous record of river discharge can be determined
from the continuous record of stage.
• Determining discharge from stage requires defining the stage-discharge
relationship by measuring discharge at a wide range of river stages.
 The discharge measurement
• Discharge is the volume of water moving down a stream or river per unit of time,
commonly expressed in cubic feet per second or gallons per day.
• In general, river discharge is computed by multiplying the area of water in a
channel cross section by the average velocity of the water in that cross section:
Discharge = Area x Velocity
• The USGS uses numerous methods and types of equipment to measure velocity
and cross-sectional area, including the following current meter (a) and Acoustic
Doppler Current Profiler (b).

A B
The discharge
measurement-2

Diagram of Channel Cross Section With Subsections.

 The discharge measurement-3
• The most common method used by the USGS for measuring velocity is with
a current meter.
• However, a variety of advanced equipment can also be used to sense stage
and measure streamflow.
• In the simplest method, a current meter turns with the flow of the river or
stream.
• The current meter is used to measure water velocity at predetermined
points (subsections) along a marked line, suspended cableway, or bridge
across a river or stream.
• The depth of the water is also measured at each point.
• These velocity and depth measurements are used to compute the total
volume of water flowing past the line during a specific interval of time.
• Usually a river or stream will be measured at 25 to 30 regularly spaced
locations across the river or stream.
 Current Meter
• One method that has been used for decades by the USGS for measuring
discharge is the mechanical current-meter method.
• In this method, the stream channel cross section is divided into numerous
vertical subsections.
• In each subsection, the area is obtained by measuring the width and depth
of the subsection, and the water velocity is determined using a current
meter.
• The discharge in each subsection is computed by multiplying the subsection
area by the measured velocity.
• The total discharge is then computed by summing the discharge of each
subsection.
 Current Meter-2

• Numerous types of equipment and methods are used by USGS personnel to

make current-meter measurements because of the wide range of stream
conditions throughout the United States.
• Subsection width is generally measured using a cable, steel tape, or similar
piece of equipment.
• Subsection depth is measured using a wading rod, if conditions permit, or
by suspending a sounding weight from a calibrated cable and reel system off
a bridge, cableway, or boat or through a hole drilled in ice.
• The velocity of the streamflow can be measured using a current meter.
• The most common current meter used by the USGS is the Price AA current
meter.
• The Price AA current meter has a wheel of six metal cups that revolve
around a vertical axis.
 Current Meter-3
• An electronic signal is transmitted by the meter on each revolution allowing the
revolutions to be counted and timed.
• Because the rate at which the cups revolve is directly related to the velocity of the
water, the timed revolutions are used to determine the water velocity.
• The Price AA meter is designed to be attached to a wading rod for measuring in
shallow waters or to be mounted just above a weight suspended from a cable and
reel system for measuring in fast or deep water.
• In shallow water, the Pygmy Price current meter can be used.
• It is a two-fifths scale version of the Price AA meter and is designed to be attached
to a wading rod.
• A third mechanical current meter, also a variation of the Price AA current meter, is
used for measuring water velocity beneath ice.
• Its dimensions allow it to fit easily through a small hole in the ice, and it has a
polymer rotor wheel that hinders the adherence of ice and slush.
 Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler
• In recent years, advances in technology
have allowed the USGS to make
discharge measurements by use of an
Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler
(ADCP).
• An ADCP uses the principles of the
Doppler Effect to measure the velocity
of water.
• The Doppler Effect is the phenomenon
we experience when passed by a car or
train that is sounding its horn.
• As the car or train passes, the sound of
the horn seems to drop in frequency. U.S. Geological Survey hydrologic technicians use an
acoustic Doppler current profiler to measure streamflow
on the Boise River in Boise's Veterans Memorial Park as
part of a study of phosphorus mass balance.
 Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler-2

• The ADCP uses the Doppler Effect to determine water velocity by

sending a sound pulse into the water and measuring the change in
frequency of that sound pulse reflected back to the ADCP by sediment
or other particulates being transported in the water.
• The change in frequency, or Doppler Shift, that is measured by the ADCP
is translated into water velocity.
• The sound is transmitted into the water from a transducer to the bottom
of the river and receives return signals throughout the entire depth.
• The ADCP also uses acoustics to measure water depth by measuring the
travel time of a pulse of sound to reach the river bottom at back to the
ADCP.