Wachemo University

Engineering and Technology college

School of civil Engineering & Construction

Department of
Hydraulic and Water Resources Engineering

Engineering Hydrology Lecture Material for GEOMATICS

ENGINEERING

Compiled by: Dawit Y.

05/06/2023

Contact address: ydawit28@gmail.com Welcome!!

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 1. INTRODUCTION
 Water is one of the essential components of the
environment and plays an important role in
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supporting productive human activities.

 So,it requires proper planning and management to

achieve its sustainable utilization.
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 Theassessment of water resources, or the efficient

design of water resources projects, requires an
adequate estimation of hydrological parameters
from catchments of the basins.
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 What is hydrology?
 As a branch of earth science:-
 Focuses on the study of water in the environment.
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 Is a multidisciplinary subject that deals with the occurrence,

circulation and distribution of the waters of the Earth.

 Hydrology is the physical science which treats:-

 the water of the earth,
 their chemical and physical properties, and
 their reaction with the environment including their relation to living
things

 The “Golden Rule” of hydrology is “water flows down hill” under

force of gravity; But, may move up through system via:
Capillary action in soil
Hydraulic pressure in groundwater aquifers
Evapotranspiration 05/06/2023
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 1.2 The Hydrologic Cycle
 Is the representation of mass (water) balance in the earth’s circulatory system.
 Is the central focus of hydrology.
 It has no beginning or end and its main processes occur continuously.
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Clouds
Precipitation Sun
Transpiration
Interception
Snow
Evaporation from land Evaporation
Evaporation from WB from ocean
Precipitation
Interflow Surface Ro
Infiltration

Deep percolation Interflow

Rock Pervious material

Standard Concept Of Hydrologic Cycle 05/06/2023

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 Cont..
 HC is a continuous re-circulating cycle in the sense that there is neither
a beginning nor an end.
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 HC has two/three main component:

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1) Transportation (flow) component:

 Pcp, Ev, Tr, Inf, Perc & Ro
institute

2) Storage component:
 On the land (depression, ponds, lakes, reservoir…)
 Soil moisture storage
Addis Ababaand

 Groundwater storage
 
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3) Change Stage: Pcp

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 1.3 Application of Hydrology
 Hydrology is applied to major civil as well as water resources
engineering projects.
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 Hydrological information is essential in:

 Estimating reservoir storage capacity to ensure adequate water
supplies for municipal, irrigation and hydropower needs

 Estimating the impact of watershed management on the quantity

and quality of the surface and the groundwater resources.

 Helps to design and construct hydraulic structures (Dam/weir,

Bridge, culvert…)

 Delineation of a probable flood levels to plan a protection of

settlements and projects from flooding or to promote better
zoning.

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 1.4 The basic Hydrologic Equation
The quantities of water going through the various paths of the hydrologic cycle
can be described by the continuity equation known as water budget equation or
hydrologic equation.
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 For example, for an open water body, such as a lake or reservoir

(Qin + P+ Gin) - (Qout + E + Gout) = ΔS

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 Example:
A lake has a water surface elevation of 103.2 m above datum
at the beginning of a certain month. In that month the lake
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received an average inflow of 6.0 m3/s from surface runoff

sources.
In the same period the outflow from the lake had an average
value of 6.5m3/s. Further in that month, the lake received a
rainfall of 145 mm and the evaporation from the lake surface
was estimated as 6.10 cm. The average lake surface area can
be taken as 5000 ha. Assume that there is no contribution to
or from the ground water storage.
Write the water budget equation for the lake and calculate the
water surface elevation of the lake at the end of the month.

Solution: 9
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 For a time period Dt, the water budget for the lake can be written as:
Input volume – Output volume = Change in storage
I t  P A  Q t  E A  ΔS
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Where:
I = average inflow rate
Q = average outflow rate
P = precipitation
E = evaporation
A = surface are of the lake
DS = change in lake storage volume
Dt = time

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 1.4 HYDRO - METEOROLOGICAL DATA ANALYSIS
1.4.1 Measurement of Precipitation
 Precipitation (Pcp) denotes all forms of water that reach the
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earth surface from the atmosphere (rainfall, hail, snowfall,

and drizzle…)
 A variety of instruments and techniques have been
developed for gathering information on PCP.
 Since the amount of PCP varies from place to place, it is
necessary to install measuring devices at various key points.
 The PCP is collected and measured in a rain-gauges.
 Two kinds of rain gauges are generally used.
 Non – recording type and
 Recording type rain gauges
 Tipping Bucket type
 Weighing bucket type
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 Natural siphon type 12
 1.4.2 Designing Rain Gauge Network
 To get reliable results, the various rain gauges should be evenly &
uniformly distributed with in a given catchment
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 There are two methods of designing rain gauges network.

 The world meteorological organization recommendations and
 The statistical method

 World Meteorological Organization (WMO): recommends the following

minimum densities of precipitation network

◦ In flat regions of temperate, Mediterranean & tropical zones:

 Ideal - 1 stations for 600-900 km2
 Acceptable - 1 station for 900-3000 km2
◦ In mountainous regions of temperate, Mediterranean & tropical zones:
 Ideal - 1 station for 100-250 km2
 Acceptable - 1 station for 250-1000 km2
◦ In arid and polar zones:
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 1 stations for 1500-10,000 km2 12 13
 Designing Rain Gauge Network
 StatisticalMethod
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Statistics has been used in determining the optimum

number of rain gauges required to be installed in a given
catchment.
The basis behind such statistical calculations: a certain
number of rain gauge stations are necessary to give
average rainfall with a certain percentage of error
The optimum number of rain gauges (N) can be obtained
using statistical methods
Where:
Cv = Coefficient of variation of rainfall
based on the existing rain gauge stations ;

E = Allowable percentage error in the

estimate of basic mean rainfall
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 cont..!!
 If there are n stations in the catchment each recording average annual
rainfall values of P1, P2, P3, …, Pn in a known time,
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 The coefficient of variation, CV is calculated as:

1. Calculate mean average annual rainfall value

P
 Pi
n
Where: n is the number of rain gauges existing and 
Pi the total rainfall i.e., summation of their
normal annual rainfalls.

2. Calculate mean of squares as

p2 
 p i
2

n
3. Calculate the sample standard deviation, σ
n  2
 
2
 P  P 
n 1  
4. Calculate the coefficient of variation, Cv;
100 x 
C V

P
n 1

In calculating N from above equation it is usual to take  = 10 %. It is seen that if the value of  is
small, then the number of rain gauge stations will be more. 05/06/2023
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 cont..!!

Example 1.1
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There are four rain gauge stations existing in the catchment of

a river. The average annual rainfall values at these stations
are 800, 620, 400 and 540 mm respectively.
(a) Determine the optimum number of rain gauges in the
catchment, if it is desired to limit error in the mean value of
rainfall in the catchment to 10%.
(b) How many more gauges will then be required to be
installed?

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 cont..!!
Solution: a
i) The mean average annual rainfall value
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P
 Pi

800  620  400  540
 590mm
n 4
ii) Calculate mean of squares as

2
p 
 pi
2


8002  6202  4002  5402 1, 476, 000
  369,000mm 2
n 4 4
iii) Calculate the sample standard deviation, σ
n  2 4
 
369, 00  5902   166.93mm
2
 P  P 
n 1   4 1
iv) Calculate the coefficient of variation, Cv;

100 x 
100 X 166.93
CV  P
n 1

590
  28.29

v) The optimum number of rain gauges (N) is given by

2 2
 Cv   28.29 
N      8.004  8
    10 
b). Additional gauges required = 8 - 4 = 4. 05/06/2023
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 1.4.3 Estimating Missing Rainfall Data
 Due to the absence of observer or instrumental failure
rainfall data record occasionally are incomplete.
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 In such a case one can estimate the missing data by using

the nearest station rainfall data.

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 Estimating Missing Rainfall Data
1. Arithmetic Mean method/ Local method
 Ifthe normal annual PCP at surrounding gauges are within
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the range of 10% of the normal annual PCP at station X,

then the Arithmetic procedure could be adopted to estimate
the missing observation of station X.

 This assumes equal weights from all nearby rain gauge

stations and uses the arithmetic mean of PCP records of
them as estimate.

 If for example rainfall data at day 1 is missed from station

X having mean annual rainfall of Nx and surrounding
stations with mean annual rainfall of N1, N2, N3 and Nm
then the missing data Px can be estimated
1
Px  P1  P2  P3....  Pm 
M 05/06/2023
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 2. Normal Ratio method
 This method is used if any surrounding gauges have
the normal annual precipitation exceeding 10% of
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the considered gauge.

 This weighs the effect of each surrounding station.

 If for example rainfall data at day 1 is missed from

station X having mean annual rainfall of Nx and
surrounding stations with mean annual rainfall of
N1, N2, N3 and Nm then the missing data Px can be
estimated N  P P P P 
Px  x
 
1 2
 3 .......  m 
M  N1 N 2 N 3 Nm 

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 3. Inverse Distance Method
 This method is a reciprocal weighting factor which takes into
account the distance between the missing data gauge and the other
gauges surrounding the missed gauge.
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 In this method, weights for each sample are inversely proportionate

to its distance from the point being estimated
n 1 d i2
Px  w1
i pi wi 
1
4

1
d i2

4. Multiple Regression method

 Develop fitting equation with different stations in the same rainfall
regimes Equating.
 Specifically, given a set of measurements on two random variables,
y and x, regression provides a means for finding the values of the
coefficients a and b for the straight line (y = a + bx) that best fits
the data.
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Y= a + bx 21
 EXAMPLES
1) To illustrate the station average method, use the following data and Determine the monthly
precipitation at gage X
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 The steps are

I. I. Calculate ten percent of annual precipitation at gage X which is 41
II. Add and subtract 41 from the annual PCP of gage X to determine the range which is from
369 mm to 451 mm
III. Check whether all the annual PCP of the stations are with in the above range
IV. If at least one station is outside the rage, use normal ratio method other ways use
Athematic mean method. As indicated in the table the annual PCP of gage is in the range,
therefore, we use Athematic mean method to determine the missing data at station X.

 The estimated catch at the 1gage with the missing monthly precipitation total is
Px  P1  P2  P3 ....  Pm 
M

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Px = 1/3 (26 +31 + 23) = 26.67 mm 22
 Cont..
Engineering and Technology college To illustrate the normal-ratio method, consider the following data:

Determine the monthly precipitation at gage X

The steps are
 10% of annual precipitation at gage X which is 40
 ± 40 from the annual PCP of gage X ranges from 360mm to 440mm
 annual PCP of gage C is 460mm which is outside the range, therefore,
we use normal ratio method:

N  P1 P2 P3 Pm 
Px  x    .......  
M N
 1 N 2 N 3 N m

Px = 400/3 ( 24/410 + 23/370 + 31/460) = 25.08 mm

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 1.4.4 Methods of Areal Assessment / The Mean
Rainfall over a Drainage Basin
 The rain catch at one station in a basin may be different
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from that of second station in the same basin mainly due to

spatial variability of rainfall over the basin.

 Hence, an average value of these rain catches has to be

worked out so as to get an idea of average precipitation on
the entire basin.

 Some of the methods for estimating the areal rainfall of

an area from point rainfalls are
1. Arithmetical mean Method
2. Thiessen’s polygon method
3. Isohyetal Method
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P The Mean Rainfall over a Drainage Basin

I. Arithmetic mean Method

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It consists of averaging all the amounts that have been recorded at the
various stations in the area

The central assumption in the arithmetic mean method is that each rain gauge
has equal weight and thus the mean depth over a watershed is estimated by:

P1  P2  .......  Pi  .........Pn 1 N
P
N

N
p
i 1
i

Itis a simple method, and well applicable if the gages are uniformly distributed over
the watershed and individual gage measurements do not vary greatly about their
mean.
Provides a satisfactory estimate for a relatively uniform rain.
Not appropriate for mountainous areas or if the rain gauges are not evenly
distributed.

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 II. Thiessen’s Polygon Method
P
In this method the rainfall recorded at each stations is given a weightage on basis of an area closest to the station.
Is recommended when the stations are not evenly distributed over the area.
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The steps for Thiessen polygon method are:

Construct polygons by connecting stations with lines
Bisect the polygon sides
Estimate the area of each stations polygon
Sum the areas
 Determine the stations weights by dividing the station area by the total area
Determine areal precipitation by summing weighted precipitation for each station

To determine the mean, the rainfall amount of each station is multiplied by the area of its polygon and the sum of the products is divided by the
total area.

where
P1, P2, P3, …, Pn represent rainfalls at the respective stations whose surrounding polygons have the areas A1, A2, A3, …, An respectively.

P1 A1  P 2 A2  P 3 A3  ...  PnAn
P
A

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 Engineering and Technology college P
cont..!!

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 III. Isohyetal Method
 The Isohyetal method can be applied when the rainfall is not evenly
distributed over the area (because of differences in topography).
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 This approach involves drawing contours equal rainfall depth, known

as isohyets (an isohyet is a line joining points of equal rainfall
magnitude) by interpolation from the recorded (observed) rainfall
depths plotted on a map of the river basin.

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 CON

 The method is good where there is a dense network of rain gages.

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 It is also flexible

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 1.4.5 Analysis of Precipitation Data
The precipitation data can be presented graphically,
depend upon the purpose of the plots. Some common
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type of these plots include:

1. Mass Curve or Cumulative Rainfall Diagram
- Plot of cumulative rainfall (P) vs. time (t).
- Intensity (i) is the slope (dP/dt) of this diagram.
Intensity is depth of rainfall per unit time (mm/hr
or in./hr).

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 2. Hyetograph
- A plot of rainfall depth or intensity(i) versus time,
shown in the form of a histogram.
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- Derived from mass curve and represented as a bar

chart to predict extreme floods.

- Area under a hyetograph represents the total

precipitation received in the period.

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 3. Depth-Area-Duration (DAD) Curves
• Area X-tices of a storm of a given duration is reflected in
its depth-area relationships
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• Compilation of isohyetal maps (depth of rainfall, area)

and mass curves (depth of rainfall, time) data.

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 4. Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) Curve
• A plot that shows the relationship between the
intensity, duration and frequency.
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• For design purposes, projects are designed for a

storm of a particular magnitude which is
specified by the intensity and duration of rainfall
and the frequency of occurrence of the storm.

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