Chapter Three

Runoff and stream flow

1
Surface flow types, runoff generation and hydrograph
➢ During precipitation, some of rainfall is intercepted by
vegetation, some of rain fall is evaporates after reaching the
ground surface, some of the rainfall is infiltrates into the
pervious soil or ground.
➢ A considerable portion of the precipitation water from
the land is returned as stream flow, which is defined as
the movement of water under the force of gravity
through well defined channels.
➢ All the water that moves over the land in undefined
channel is termed as runoff.
➢ When a storm or rainfall reaches the ground, the water
that does not infiltrate and evaporate, forms depression
storage or flows as a thin sheet over the land surface,
which is called overland flow or surface runoff.
2
Figure explains overland flow

3
 Cont.……
➢ When the overland flow starts (due to a storm) some
flowing water is held in puddles, pits and small ponds;
this water stored is called depression storage.
➢ The volume of water in transit in the overland flow which
has not yet reached the stream channel is called surface
detention or detention storage.
➢ The overland flow occurs only when the rainfall intensity
exceeds the infiltration capacity.
➢ Conditions that encourage a high infiltration rate include
coarse soils, well vegetated land, low soil moisture, and a
top soil layer made porous by insects and other
burrowing animals, in addition to land-use practices that
avoid soil compaction. 4
 Cont.…
➢ The portion of runoff in a rising flood in a stream, which
is absorbed by the permeable boundaries of the stream
above the normal phreatic surface is called bank storage,
Figure. 3.1

5
Figure 3.1: Bank storage
 Cont.……
➢ The infiltrated water that percolates into the saturated
zone below the water table becomes stored in the
groundwater reservoirs or aquifers.
➢ This is not a static storage, as groundwater is in constant
movement.
➢ Groundwater as base flow is discharged to the stream
flow, if the groundwater table is higher than the water
surface level of the stream, creating a hydraulic gradient
towards the stream (see figure 3.2 (a) ).
➢ Water that infiltrates into the soil on a slope can move
down slope as lateral unsaturated flow (through flow).

6
 b
a

Figure 3.2 Cross-sections of a gaining stream (left) and a

losing stream (right).

7
 Continued…
➢ The difference between through flow and inter flow is
that through flow emerges as seepage at the foot of the
slope rather than entering a stream, as does interflow.
➢ Thus, through flow appears as overland flow before
entering a stream channel. This peculiar overland flow is
called return flow.
➢ While all the three types of flow contribute to the stream
flow, namely, the overland flow, which reaches first the
stream channel, the inter flow being slower reaches after
a few hours and the groundwater flow (base flow) being
the slowest reaches the stream channel after some days
(see figure 3.3).
➢ The term direct runoff is used to include the overland
8
flow and the interflow.
Figure 3.3 Components of stream flow
Pathways

Overland
flow
Channel
Precipitation
interflow

River

Groundwater
Flow
9
 Continued…

Figure. 3.4: Disposal of rain water 10

 Run off characteristics of streams
➢ Studies on runoff will yield to classification of three
types of streams:
✓Perennial Stream
✓Intermittent Stream
✓Ephemeral Stream

11
Stream type Runoff contribution Characteristics

Perennial Direct runoff and Flow throughout the year (greater than 90%
baseflow of the time), water table always above the
bed. So, groundwater can make a
continuous contribution to total runoff.

Intermittent Direct runoff and Flow during wet season (30-90% of the
baseflow in wet season time), but dry up during dry periods.
Limited contribution from groundwater.

Ephemeral Direct runoff Does not have any base flow contribution,
no well defined channel. Water table below
bed.

12
 Hydrograph
➢ A hydrograph is a plot of flow (Q) against time (t).
➢ A hydrograph is a graph showing the rate of flow
(discharge) versus time past a specific point in a
river, or other channel or conduit carrying flow.
➢ Also known as storm hydrograph, flood hydrograph
or hydrograph.
➢ The rate of flow is typically expressed in cubic
meter per second or cubic feet per second.
➢ The discharge hydrograph is obtained from
continuously recorded river stages and the stage
discharge relationship appropriate to the river
gauging station.
13
 Terminology of the hydrograph
➢ The discharge is measured at a specific point in a river
and is typically time variant.
➢ Some of time variant hydrograph terminology are;
❖ Rising limb: The rising limb of hydrograph, also
known as concentration curve, reflects the increase in
discharge from a catchment area, in response to a
rainfall event.
❖ Recession (or falling) limb: The recession limb
extends from the peak flow rate onward.
❖ The recession limb represents the withdrawal of water
from the storage built up in the basin during the
14
earlier phases of the hydrograph.
Figure explain Components of streamflow
hydrograph

15
 Cont.…
❖ Peak discharge: the highest point on the hydrograph
when the rate of discharge is greatest
➢Discharge: the rate of flow (volume per unit time)
passing a specific location in a river or other channel
accumulation.
➢It is the most widely method used to analyzing surface
runoff.
➢ Hydrograph is often combined with rainfall analysis to
analysis how a watershed responds to rainfall.
➢ Hydrograph is plotted by measuring the runoff at the
watershed outlet/stream gauging station.
16
 Cont.…….
➢ The hydrograph is the response of a given watershed
to the rainfall inputs.
➢ These inputs are:
1. Surface runoff (Overland flow)

2. Interflow

3. Groundwater flows or base flow

17
 day
18
Figure 3.5 Hypothetical hydrographs
Methods used to separate base flow and surface runoff
Extended method
❖ Steps to separate the two components are;
1) Extend the base flow recession curve to point under
the peak
2) Estimate the end of runoff. This may be done by
using the equation:
D=0.827A0.2 where;
D= is number of days between the storm peak and
the end of overland flow
A= is drainage area in square km

19
 Continued ……

12/30/2022 principle of hydrogeology 20

 Stream flow measurements and gauging
➢ As in the measurement of precipitation, measurement of
river flow is a sampling procedure.
➢ For springs and very small streams, accurate volumetric
quantities over timed interval can be measured.
➢ For a large stream a continuous measure of one variable,
river level is related to the discharge calculated from
sampled values of other variables, velocity and depth, so
that the final result is strictly an estimated measurement.
➢ The water level at a gauging station, the most important
measurement in hydrometery, is generally known as the
stage.
✓ River stage is the elevation above some arbitrary zero
datum of the water surface at station.
✓ The datum is sometimes taken as mean sea level but
more often is slightly below the point of zero flow in the
stream. 21
 Cont.…..
➢ The staff gauge, crest gauges, autographic recorders,
punched tape and magnetic tape recorders, flood warning
gauges, pressure gauges, acoustic level gauges are some
of the instruments used to measure stage .

➢ The stage record is transformed to a discharge record by

calibration.
➢ Calibration is accomplished by relating field
measurements of discharge with the simultaneous river
stage.

22
 Stage – discharge relationship
➢ The establishment of reliable relationship between stage
and the corresponding discharge is essential when
continuous flow data are required from the continuous
stage record.
➢ The relationship can be represented in three ways:
❖ The rating curve
❖ The rating table and
❖ The rating equation
➢The rating curve: discharge measurements are plotted
against the corresponding mean stage on suitable
arithmetic scale. The relation is parabolic. For any stage
record, the corresponding discharge can be obtained from
the curve.
23
24
stage measurement
25
 Cont.…
➢The rating table: when satisfactory rating curve is
established, value of stage (H) and discharge (Q) may be
read from the curve at convenient intervals and from this
rating table can be constructed by interpolating.
➢The rating equation: the rating curve can often be
represented approximately by this equation;
Q=aHb where; a and b are constants
➢ For large streams a continuous measure of river level is
related to the discharge calculated from sampled value of
other variables, velocity and depth, so that the final
result is strictly an estimated measurement.
➢ The velocity of a river flow can be measured in to two
ways:
26
1) Float: the simplest method for determining velocity, by
timing the movement of the floating object over a
known distance. (v=d/t)
2) Propeller current-meter: is a reasonably precise
instrument that can give a nearly instantaneous constant
response to velocity changes.
➢ A propeller counts the revolution generated by the
moving water in a given time.
➢ The reading is converted to velocity value using
calibration curve or table.
28
 Cont…..
Also estimated by using Rainfall Runoff
relationships

➢ The derivation of relationships between the rainfall

over a catchment area and the resulting flow in a river
is a fundamental problem for the hydrologist.
➢ Estimating runoff or discharge from rainfall
measurement is complex for short duration and
simpler for longer duration like annual bases.
 ( P − 0.2 S ) 2
Q=
( P + 0.8S )
1000
S = − 10
CN
Where,
✓ CN is known as curve number as sugested by
American Soil Conservation Service (SCS)
✓ Q is volume of runoff in inches
✓ P is rainfall depth in inches
✓ S = potential maximum retention after runoff
begins
 Some example of CN values for different type of soil (page
145 Env.Hydrology)
Land use description A B C D
Commercial, town houses 80 85 90 95
Cultivated with conventional tillage 72 81 88 91
Woods or forest thin stand and poor cover 45 66 77 83
Pavement and roofs 100 100 100 100
Pasture or range poor condition 68 79 86 89
Farmsteads 59 74 82 86

Group A: soil are Deep well drained sand and gravel

Group B: Moderately drained, Moderately fine or
moderately coarse, moderately deep soil
C: Moderately fine to fine texture
D: Clay soils with a high sweling potential
 The manning equation
➢ The manning equation provides a quick means of
estimating the average velocity of large flows in streams,
channelized water ways, or canals, in situation that one
reason or another, preclude other forms of measurements.
1 2 1

V =  R 3S 2

n 
Where:
❖ V = average stream velocity (m/s)
❖ R = hydraulic radius (m). The hydraulic radius may be
determined by dividing cross sectional area of flow
(square meter) by the length of wetted perimeter.
❖ S = gradient of the stream dimensionless. This is the
slope of the water surface. It may be estimated from spot
heights or contours, taken from topographic map of the
area and
❖ n = Manning roughness coefficient (dimensionless) 32
 Cont…
❖ The following are typical values for n
✓ Smooth – concrete lined canals 0.012
✓ Straight unlined earth canals 0.020
✓ Mountain streams with rocky beds 0.045
✓ Winding natural streams with weeds 0.035
✓ Natural streams with little vegetation 0.025
❖ Example: A concrete lined water way is given for
discharging stream flow through the down town area of
a city. The water way has a rectangular shaped cross
section. The invert (base) width of this recently built
structure is 25 feet and the depth of water when
measured from a staff gauge attached to the wall was
12 feet. The gradient of the water surface has been
determined from surveyed elevation of the water way
floor to be 0.0008. 33
 Continued …..
❖ Use the manning equation to obtain a quick estimate of
the velocity of flow in the water way, and
❖ Determine the discharge for assessing the flood potential
to parts of the city
Solution:
❖ R = (Cross sectional area)/wetted perimeter =(
(25 * 12) feet2)/12+12+25 feet = 6.12 ft = 1.87
meter , where 1 feet = 0.3048 meter
❖ V = ((1.87)2/3(0.0008)1/2)/0.012
❖ V = 3.57 m/s
❖ Discharge = Q = V.A = 3.57 m/s * 27.9 m2 =
99.6 m3/s

34
Watershed characteristics (Basin morphometry)
1. Size
❖Best explained in terms of Perimeter (P) and area (A)
of the basin.
❖A expressed usually in km2 and (P) expressed in km,
2. Shape of the basin
❖Represents the shape of water divide.
❖Gravelius coefficient or compactness index (K) is
used to characterize a basin from this perspective.
P p
k= =
p 2 A
*

Where: P is perimeter of the basin, P* is perimeter

of a circle having the same areal extent A.
❖The more K value tends to unity, the more the
hydrographic basin approaches a circular shape.
❖The shape of the basin influences significantly the
response to precipitation.
3. Slope
❖Given by the weighted mean of the slope gradients
belonging to all the elementary areas
❖ai is the area of the quadrilateral abcd which
surrounds the ith contour level line, and
❖given the mean width of the quadrilateral
abcd (di),
❖the length of the ith contour level line (li), we
have: =
a dl
i i i
Then we may estimate the mean slope gradient Si
of the given quadrilateral as:
Where: D is the contour interval
The slope index for the whole basin is given by:
A : the total area of the given
basin
4. Elevation
❖The maximum altitude is the elevation of the highest
point of the watershed.
❖The minimum altitude is the elevation of the lowest
point.
5. Stream Density
❖The drainage density, expressed in km/km2, may be
defined as:
LT : the whole length of the hydrographic
= L
d d AT net of the given basin, expressed in km.
A : the whole areal extent of the given
basin, expressed in km2
❖Controlling factors: rainfall amount and distribution,
hydraulic properties of soils and rocks, the infiltration
capacity and the initial resistance to the erosion agents.
6. Drainage pattern
❖Determined mainly by lithology and tectonic events
occurred during the geological past.
❖The main drainage patterns:

Figure 3.6 Some examples of drainage patterns: (a) dendritc;

(b) Radial; (c) rectangular; (d) trellis; (e) parallel
❖Other drainage patterns:meandering and braided.
Figure 3.7:Explain meandering river
41
Figure 3.8 :Explain braided river.
42
 Stream Order
❖ Stream Order: is a measure of the position of a stream in
the hierarchy of the tributaries.
❖ The Strahler Method: This method attributes the first
order to the river segments which occur up stream the
first bifurcation (branching), as well as the highest order
to the main river.
❖ According this method secondary order segment will be
formed by the confluence(meeting) of two first order
segments; third order segments formed by the confluence
of two second order segments and so on.

43
 Cont…

Figure 3.9: Ordering of stream 44

Factors affecting Runoff
1. Precipitation characteristic
2. Shape and size of the catchment
3. Topography
4. Geological characteristics
5. Meteorological characteristics
6. Character of the catchment surface
7. Storage character

45
 1. Precipitation characteristic
Runoff depends
➢ Duration of Rainfall: It is directly related to the volume
of runoff because infiltration rate of soil decreases with
duration of rainfall.
➢ Rainfall Distribution: Runoff from a watershed depends
very much on the distribution of rainfall.
➢ Rainfall Intensity: If the rainfall intensity is greater than
infiltration rate of soil then runoff starts immediately
after rainfall.
➢ The more the rainfall, the more will be the runoff.

46
2. Shape and size of the catchment
➢ Runoff depends upon size, shape and location of the
catchment.
➢ Generally more rain fall on smaller area results in great
runoff
➢ Size of catchment: A large watershed takes longer time
for draining the runoff to outlet than smaller watershed
and vise-versa.
➢ Shape of catchment: Runoff is greatly affected by shape
of watershed.

47
 Two types of catchment shapes
A. Fan shape catchment [tends to produce higher runoff
very early]
➢ All the tributaries are approximately of the same size.
➢ Gives great runoff because the peak flood from the
tributaries is likely to reach the main stream
approximately at the same time.

48
B. Fern shape catchment [tend to produced less runoff]
➢ The tributaries are generally of different lengths and
meet the main stream at the regular interval of time.
➢ In such narrow catchment, the peak flood intensity is
reduced since discharge are likely to be distributed over
long period of time

49
3. Topography
➢ Runoff depends on slope.
➢ If slope is steep, flow will be quick and less evaporation
and absorption, resulting greater runoff.
➢ If the catchment is in mountain area and on the
windward side of the mountain, then more rain resulting
more runoff.
High runoff

Low runoff

50
4. Geological characteristics
➢ It includes the type of surface soil, subsoil, types of rock
and their permeability character.
➢ If soil and subsoil is porous seepage will be more
resulting reduction of peak flood.
➢ Rocks which are hard and with out pores or fractures or
conduits increase the total volume of runoff.

51
5. Metrological character
➢ Run off may also affected by temperature, wind and
humidity.
➢ If temperature is low and ground is saturated, then runoff
will be greater.
➢ If temperature is high and greater wind, it gives raise to
greater evaporation loss and resulting in less runoff.
6. Character of the catchment surface
➢ Runoff depends on upon the surface conduction like
drained, undrained, and cultivated.
➢ If the surface has natural drainage, the absorption loss
will be more and results more runoff.
➢ If more area of catchment is cultivated, it results less
runoff.
52
7. Storage characteristics
➢ The artificial storage such as dams, and natural storage
such as lakes and ponds etc tend to reduce the peak flow.
➢ They also gives rise to greater evaporation loses.

53