Rainfall Runoff Processes

Physical Processes involved in Runoff Generation

Runoff Generation Mechanisms
 (a) Infiltration excess overland flow P
(also called Horton overland flow)

f
P
P qo

Robert Horton (1933)

Hortonian Flow
• Sheet flow described by
Horton in 1930s
• When i<f, all i is absorbed
• When i > f, (i-f) results in
Rainfall, i
rainfall excess
• Applicable in i>q
– impervious surfaces (urban
areas)
– Steep slopes with thin soil Infiltration, f
– hydrophobic or compacted
soil with low infiltration
 f0
f1

Figure 7. Rainfall, runoff, infiltration and surface storage during a natural rainstorm. The shaded
areas under the rainfall graph represent precipitation falling at a rate exceeding the infiltration rate.
The dark grey area represents rainfall that enters depression storage, which is filled before runoff
occurs. The light grey shading represents rainfall that becomes overland flow. The initial infiltration
rate is f0, and f1 is the final constant rate of infiltration approached in large storms. (from Dunne and
Leopold, 1978)
(b) Partial area infiltration excess overland flow
P
Fraction of area contributing to
overland flow

qo P
P
f

Betson (1964) pointed out that the area contributing to infiltration excess runoff
may only be a small portion of the watershed. This idea has become known as the
partial-area concept of infiltration excess overland flow.
Overland flow can occur due to surface water input on areas that are already
saturated. This is referred to as saturation excess overland flow.

(c) Saturation excess overland flow

P
Variable source area

P
P qo
qr
qs

Hewlett and Hibbert 1967

Saturation overland flow
• Any precipitation occurring over a saturated surface
becomes overland flow
• Occurs mainly at the bottom of hill slopes and near stream
banks
Map of saturated areas showing expansion during
a single rainstorm. The solid black shows the
saturated area at the beginning of the rain; the
lightly shaded area is saturated by the end of the
storm and is the area over which the water table
had risen to the ground surface. (from Dunne and
Leopold, 1978)
Seasonal variation in pre-storm
saturated area (from Dunne
and Leopold, 1978)
(d) Subsurface stormflow

P
P

qs
Subsurface flow
Lateral movement of water occurring through the soil above the
water table
primary mechanism for stream flow generation when f>i
- Matrix/translatory flow
• Lateral flow of old water displaced by precipitation
inputs
• Near surface lateral conductivity is greater than overall
vertical conductivity
• Porosity and permeability higher near the ground
- Macropore flow
• Movement of water through large conduits in the soil
Soil macropores
(e) Perched subsurface stormflow

P
ri zon 1
Ho
on 2
i z
Hor
P
P qs Impeding layer
 (a) Rain

Water
Baseflow table
0 s 0 s
Rain
(b)
Water
Baseflow + subsurface stormflow table
0 s 0 s
Rain
(c) Direct precipitation
on saturated zone Water
Return flow table
Baseflow + subsurface stormflow
Groundwater ridging s
0 subsurface stormflow0 s
processes in an area of high
infiltration rate.
 Evapotranspiration Surface Water Input

Hortonian OF
Infiltration Saturation OF
capacity Saturation
Variable
Infiltration source area
Return flow
Soil regolith
Regolith subsurface flow
(interflow)
Percolation

Deeper
groundwater Aquifer subsurface flow
aquifer (baseflow)
 Factors affecting runoff
• Apart from rainfall characteristics such as intensity, duration and distribution,
there are a number of site (or catchment) specific factors which have a direct
bearing on the occurrence and volume of runoff.

i. Soil type
• The infiltration capacity is among others dependent on the porosity of a soil
which determines the water storage capacity and affects the resistance of water
to flow into deeper layers.
Figure 9 Infiltration capacity curves for different soil types
 ii. Vegetation
• The amount of rain lost to interception storage on the foliage depends on the
kind of vegetation and its growth stage. Values of interception are between 1
and 4 mm. A cereal crop, for example, has a smaller storage capacity than a
dense grass cover.
• More significant is the effect the vegetation has on the infiltration capacity of
the soil. A dense vegetation cover shields the soil from the raindrop impact
and reduces the crusting effect as described earlier.
iii. Slope and catchment size
• Investigations on experimental runoff plots (Sharma et al. 1986) have shown that
steep slope plots yield more runoff than those with gentle slopes. In addition, it was
observed that the quantity of runoff decreased with increasing slope length.

• The runoff efficiency (volume of runoff per unit of area) increases with the decreasing
size of the catchment i.e. the larger the size of the catchment the larger the time of
concentration and the smaller the runoff efficiency.
Figure 10. Runoff efficiency as a function of catchment size (Ben Asher 1988)
  Estimates of runoff

• Estimates Based on Previous Data

Table 2.1: Runoff Proportion (%) versus Catchment Size (average of 2 replicates)
Theoretical Estimates of Flow

 Hydrographic Basis of the Rational Method

“Just a drop of water in the ocean cannot avail much;
but if a great river runneth into it, that maketh a great
commotion.”

-Jacob Bohme