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CONTENT
• Watershed, catchment and basin
• Catchment characteristics
• factors affecting runoff
• Run off estimation using empirical formula
(Strange‟s table and SCS methods)
• Stage discharge relationships
• flow measurements
• Hydrograph: Unit Hydrograph & IUH

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 What is a runoff?
• The portion of the precipitation which appears in the surface (perennial or
intermittent) is called runoff.
• CATCHMENT AREA: The area from which rainfall flows into a river, lake, or
reservoir.
• BASIN: is the area of land over which surface run-off flows via streams,
rivers, and lakes into the sea.
• WATERSHED: an area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to
different rivers, basins, or seas

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components of runoff:
i) Direct runoff
a. Surface flow (overland flow)
b. Subsurface flow (interflow)
ii) Base flow (groundwater flow)

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 Factors affecting Runoff
• PRECIPITATION CHARACTERISTICS
– Intensity
– Duration
– Form of precipitation
– Aerial distribution
– Direction of storm movement
• CATCHMENT CHARACTERISTICS
– Topography
– Soil characteristics
– Land use
– Meteorological factors
– Size and shape
– Presence of storages.
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 Geometrical parameters of catchment
• Stream order: It is a classification reflecting the pattern of branches that
unite to form the trunk stream leaving the catchment. (the smallest
stream at the start – order 1)
• Stream density: Ratio of number of streams of all orders to the area of the
basin.
• Drainage density: ratio of total length of streams of all orders within a
basin to its area.

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 Methods to determine runoff
• Emperical formula
– Khosla’s formula:
R=P–L
R monthly runoff in cm, P monthly rainfall in cm, L monthly
losses in cm
– Inglis’s formula:
R = 0.85P – 30.5 for western ghats
R = P (P – 17.8)/254 for Deccan plateau
R is annual runoff in cm and P is annual rainfall in cm
– Lacey’s formula:
R = P
( 1 + 304.8 F)
P Z
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• Rational Method
Q = CIA
360
Qpeak = peak runoff rate, m3/s
C = runoff coefficient 0 to 1 (ratio of the runoff and rainfall. Its value
depends on the land use and soil types)
I = rainfall intensity (mm/h)
A = watershed area (ha)

• Use of Runoff: a relationship between rainfall and runoff is established by

linear regression analysis.
R = aP + b
where a & b are constants representing losses

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•Use of infiltration curve & infiltration index
•Hydrographs

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 SCS Method
• It is a simple, widely used and efficient method for determining the amount of
runoff from a rainfall even in a particular area.
• The method is designed for a single storm event, it can be scaled to find
average annual runoff values.
• Stat requirement: rainfall amount and curve number. The curve number is
based on the area's hydrologic soil group, land use, treatment and hydrologic
condition.
• The SCS-CN method is based on the following:
i. water balance equation: P = Ia + F + Q
ii. First hypothesis: equates the ratio of the actual amount of direct surface
runoff (Q) to the total rainfall (P) to the ratio of the amount of actual
infiltration (F) to the amount of the potential maximum retention (S).
Q/P = F/S
iii. Second hypothesis: relates the initial abstraction (Ia) to the potential
maximum retention. Ia= λ S

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SCS Method

Pe - Runoff
P – Total Rainfall
S – Retention
Potential
CN – Curve Number

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 Strange’s Table
• Strange (1892) studied the available rainfall and runoff in the border areas
of Maharashtra and Karnataka and has obtained yield ratios.
• Catchments are classified as good, average and bad according to the
relative magnitudes of yield.
• Two methods using tables for estimating the runoff volume in a season are
given.
(I) Runoff Volume from Total Monsoon Season Rainfall
(II) Estimating the Runoff Volume from Daily Rainfall

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 Hydrograph
• It is a graph drawn between discharge against time. It consists of direct runoff
and base flow.
• Components of Hydrograph
• Rising Limb: It shows the increase in discharge from the catchment area. Rises
slowly in the early stage of the flood but more rapidly toward the end portion.
• Falling limb or Recession Limb: is the extension of the graph from the peak
flow rate. Represents the withdrawal of water. Depends only on basin.
• Peak Discharge: It is the highest point on the graph (discharge is maximum).
Occurs when all parts of basins contribute at the outlet simultaneously
• Lag Time: the time taken between peak rainfall and peak discharge

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 Stage-Discharge relationships
• Discharge: volume of water flowing through a section per
unit time. M3/s or ft3/s. once in a day or hourly basis is
flooded.
• For planning and management of any water resource
project, discharge measurement is required.
• Stage: elevation of water surface at a location in a river or
stream above a reference datum.
• It is difficult to measure discharge continuously, therefore
stage-discharge or gauge-discharge relation at the site is
established – Rating curve
• Stage recorders include
1. non-recording stage recorders
2. Automatic gauge recorders.

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Rating curve

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 Stage measurement
Non-recording Stage recorders
• Staff gauge
• Tape or wire gauge
Automatic Gauge recorders
• Water stage recorder
• Bubble gauge

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 Discharge measurement
• Discharge measuring structures
Weirs, notches, flumes and sluice gates.
Q = f(H)
• Approximate area-slope method
With known water surface elevation at
the two sections and applying energy
principles discharge is determined.

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• Dilution method
Chemical solution or tracer of known concentration is
added and the downstream concentration is
measured.
Q = q (c1-c2)/(c2-c0)
• Area velocity method
Depth and velocity varies. Therefore stream is
divided into number of parts and its area and velocity
is determined separately and added.
• Electromagnetic method
Coils buried at the bottom produce vertical magnetic
field. Electrodes at sides of channel measure the
voltage change due to flow of water.

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 Types of Hydrograph
• Unit hydrograph: It is defined as the hydrograph if direct runoff resulting
from an isolated rainfall of D-duration occurring uniformly over the basin
produces unit runoff.
– Depth of rainfall = 1cm
– Duration of rainfall = D hrs
– Intensity of rainfall = 1/D cm/hrs
• Synthetic Unit Hydrograph: it is the hydrograph derived from empirical
equations. The following three parameters are used for development of
synthetic unit hydrograph. i) Base width ii) Peak discharge iii) Lag time
• Instantaneous unit hydrograph: If the duration of effective rainfall
approaches zero, the unit hydrograph may be called as instantaneous unit
hydrograph.

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 Unit Hydrograph
• Uses of Unit Hydrograph
– For development of flood hydrographs for extreme
rainfall magnitudes.
– For use in the design of hydraulic structures.
– Useful for the development of flood forecasting and
warning systems based on rainfall.

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 Methods to determine the unit
hydrograph
• Method of Super position: If a D-h unit
hydrograph is available and it is easy to develop
hydrographs of nD-h where n is an integer. It is
easily accomplished by superimposing n-unit
hydrograph with each separated from the
previous on D-h.
• S-Curve technique: It is a curve obtained from
the summation of infinite series of D-h unit
hydrograph spaced by D-h apart. A smooth curve
is obtained resulting to S shape called S-curve.

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