 CIVE 2304

 Hydrology

by
Noor Farahain
Muhammad Amin
 Chapter 1
Hydrological Cycle
and Precipitation
 WHAT IS HYDROLOGY?
Hydrology is an earth science that treats the waters
of the earth,
•their occurrence, distribution, movement,
•their interaction with the environment, including
interaction with living things and, in particular,
human being.
It is tied to disciplines of climatology, meteorology,
oceanography, geography, geology, environmental
science, physics and hydraulics.
 QUESTIONS
…
•How much water is there?
•Where the water comes from?
•Where the water is heading to?
•What if the amount of water is insufficient?
•What if the amount of water is too much?
•How to solve the relevant predicament?
 ENGINEERING
HYDROLOGY
Engineering hydrology is mainly concerned with
quantifying amounts of water
at various locations (spatially),
as a function of time (temporally)
for surface water applications.
 Variability in Hydrological
Modeling
Hydrologic systems are inherently random because
the major input is precipitation, a phenomenon that
varies with time and space.
In addition, the surface and soil of the watershed
contains enormous number of possible paths with
different shape, slope and surface roughness at
different location. Soil moisture content also varies
with time and space.
Knowledge of the physical system helps in
developing a good model and verifying its accuracy.
 How hydrology is studied?
Hydrology is basically an interpretive science.
Experimental work is restricted due to the scale of
natural events.
The fundamental requirement is observed and
measured data on all aspects of precipitation, runoff,
percolation, river flow, evaporation etc.
The data is then analyzed using statistical methods
and probability analysis for recognizable trends, and in
particular, the extremities, to facilitate engineering
problems solving.
 Hydrological Analysis
Statistical approach plays a prominent role in
hydrologic analysis.
A hydrologist must be able to interpret data about
these processes and to predict from his studies the
most likely quantities involved in the extreme cases
of flood and drought.
He must also be able to express opinion about the
likely frequency with which such events will occur
so that feasible hydraulic engineering design can be
formulated.
 Historical Data
Reliable historical data is needed to describe
precipitation, streamflows, evaporation, soil
moisture, snowfields, sedimentation, transpiration, infiltration, water
quality, air, soil and water temperature, and other variables of the
hydrologic system.
Where the required data is not available or in doubt, hydrologist will
have to first implement a data collection program with the ultimate
aim of supporting a reliable modeling effort.
 Why learn
hydrology?

•understand how water is affected by and

how water affects ecosystems manipulations.

?
Input SYSTEM Output
 Why learn hydrology?
•to plan and manage water resources for the
sustainability of life

MANAGE

Input SYSTEM Output

 Why learn hydrology?
• design and operation of engineering facilities like
drainage, hydraulics structures, reservoirs, canals,
hydropower generation etc

Input SYSTEM Output

FACILITIES
 Why learn
hydrology?
•to control the use of water, to regulate streams and
rivers, to control flood, to control erosion and
sedimentation, to control pollution, to store and
distribute waters, and more.

Input SYSTEM Output

CONTROL
 Hydrology vs
Hydraulic
Hydrology is concerned with quantifying the water,
identifying where the water comes from and
where it goes to.
Quantity

Hydraulic is concerned with containing, conveying

and control of the expected quantity of water so as
to ensure that it does not pose any threat or
inconvenience and can be used for the good of the
public.
Structure
 Issues
today…
•Flood flows due to urbanization are much larger
then pre-development.
•Floods tend to devastate much larger areas of
populated settlement causing huge damages and
economic losses.
•Many places now use water at a rate near the
maximum available supply.
•Groundwater sources are being depleted and new
methods of recharging need to be considered so that
the sources can be properly managed.
 About
Water
A “Single” Resource – has no substitute
A Limited Resource
A Scarce Resource with Social, Economic, and
Environmental Value
Finite & indestructible
 A Unique
Resource
Every organism, individual, and ecosystem on the
planet depends on water for survival.
Water impacts all aspects of life on the planet
Poor water management and water shortages can
lead to disease, malnutrition, reduced economic
growth, social instability, conflict, and
environmental disaster.
 Global Water Budget
Item Area Volume % of % of
(106 km2) (km3) total water fresh water
Oceans 361.3 1,338,000,000 96.5

Groundwater
Fresh 134.8 10,530,000 0.76 30.1
Saline 134.8 12,870,000 0.93
Soil Moisture 82.0 16,500 0.0012 0.05
Polar ice 16.0 24,023,500 1.7 68.6
Other ice and snow 0.3 340,600 0.025 1.0
Lakes
Fresh 1.2 91,000 0.007 0.26
Saline 0.8 85,400 0.006
Marshes 2.7 11,470 0.0008 0.03
Rivers 148.8 2,120 0.0002 0.006
Biological water 510.0 1,120 0.0001 0.003
Atmospheric water 510.0 12,900 0.01 0.04
Total water 510.0 1,385,984,610 100

Fresh water 148.8 35,029,210 2.5 100

 The Global Water
Budget
Global Water 87% Not Accessible
97% Seawater 13% Accessible (0.4% of global)
3%
Freshwater
A challenge to water management
 Dynamic equilibrium
While the total volume of water remains a constant
in the global hydrologic cycle, its distribution
continually changes on continents, in regions and
within local drainage basins.
The dynamic equilibrium is attributed to weather
pattern and physical changes in topography, geology
and vegetation, most of which as a result of human
activities.
Consequently, the availability of fresh water supply
varies with time and space and shall continues to be
a challenge to engineers in catering to this very
basic human needs.
 Hydrologic cycle
Hydrologic cycle describes the continuous process
controlling the distribution and circulation of water
between the three sub-systems, namely:
•Atmospheric water system
•Surface water system
•Sub-surface water system.
This global water transport system is driven by the
sun, which furnishes the energy required for
evaporation.
 Hydrological processes
• precipitation
• interception, throughfall, stemflow
• storage, depression storage
• overland flow
• infiltration, percolation
• interflow, baseflow, surface runoff
• evapotranspiration
 Atmospheric water system

sublimation transpiration precipitation

evaporation

Surface water system

interception

SNOW VEGETATION
melt throughfall
stemflow
LAND SURFACE (DEPRESSIONS)
overland flow
SURFACE WATER BODIES
surface runoff
STREAMS OCEANS

exfiltration infiltration interflow groundwater flow

Subsurface water system

SUBSURFACE WATER
capillary rise percolation
GROUNDWATER (AQUIFERS)
Although the concept of the hydrologic cycle
is simple, the phenomenon is enormously
complex and intricate.
It is indeed a large cycle comprising many
interrelated cycles of continental, regional
and local extent.
For most practical problems, only a few processes of
the hydrologic cycles are considered at a time and
only considering a small portion of the earth’s
surface.
This smaller subsystem within the entire hydrologic
system may be studied based on geographical area
water budget using the method of control volume.
 Watershed Hydrologic System
Watershed, catchment or drainage basins refer to
the topographic area that collects and discharges
surface runoff as streamflow through one outlet.

Precipitation

Watershed boundary
Watershed
surface

Outflow
 Watershed Hydrologic System
They accurately define surface water boundaries and
can be pictured in a pyramidal fashion as the
runoff from smaller basins (subsystems) combine to
form large basins and the runoffs from these basins
in turn combine to form even larger basins, and so
on.
Urban Catchment
Catchment = the land area over which rain falls;
Watershed = the land area that contributes surface
runoff to any point of interest;
Drainage basin = the tract of land, both surface and
subsurface, drained by a river and its tributaries of
both surface runoff and groundwater discharge.
 Watershed Control Volume
It is not necessary to know the precise flow pattern
inside the control volume, nor the biological,
chemical and physical processes taken place in the
system, but the flow across the control surfaces.
Precipitation

System boundary
(Control surfaces)

Watershed
Watershed boundary
surface
Rainfall excess

Outflow
Contributing area
 Water Budget Equation
(Mass Balance)

Inflow – Outflow = Storage for a given time period.

Units:
•Depth e.g cm, mm
•Volume e.g m3, Mm3
•Volumetric rate e.g m3/s, Mm/s
 Water Budget Equation
(P – ET – F – IA) – R = S

P = precipitation
ET = evapotraspiration
F = infiltration Losses
IA = initial abstraction
R = runoff/ outflow
S (+) accumulation; S (– ) depletion
Assuming no change in storage,

(P – ET – F – IA) – R = S

R=CP C = runoff coefficient ( 0, 1 )

If C = 0, R = 0 no runoff
If C = R = P no losses
1, R is large in urbanized area
Generall R is low in natural catchment
y,
The system concept using control volume method
greatly simplifies the modeling of such large and
complex processes.

Effort is directed to relating inputs and outputs

rather than representing the system details which
may not be crucial or may not be known in precise.
 Example (1)
A catchment with an area of 20,000km2 receives
120cm precipitation in a year. The runoff in the
river at the outlet of the catchment has a flowrate of
180 m3/s. Estimate the losses in the catchment.
 Solution
A = 20,000km2 (P – ET – F – IA) – R = S
P = 120cm (P – L) – R = S
R = 180m3/s Assume S =
L=? 0 Hence L=P–R
t = 1 year

L = 1.20m(20,000x106m2) – 180m3/s(3600 x 24 x 365s)

L = 1.8x1010m3/yr = 581m3/s
 Example (2)
In Example (1), if it is known that the water level in
a lake with surface area of 200km2 within the
catchment increased by 1.2m within the 1 year
duration, re-estimate the losses.
What conclusion can you make?
 Solution
A = 20,000km2
P = 120cm
(P – L) – R = S
R = 180m3/s
Hence L = P – R – S
L=?
t = 1 year L = 1.8x1010m3/yr =
S = 563m3/s
200km2 x
1.2m
The losses is still about the same. The change is storage is
negligible because the area of the lake is very small
compared to the catchment size.
 Example (3)
In Example (1), if it is known that the average
evapotranspiration rate is 3cm/month, determine the
rate of seepage. Other losses may be ignored.
 Solution
A = 20,000km2 (P – ET – F – IA) – R = S
L = 1.8x1010m3/yr L = ET + F + IA
ET = 36cm
t = 1 year Hence F = L – ET

S = 0 F = 1.1x1010m3/yr =
342m3/s
 Example (4)
A reservoir has an area of 900km2. The water level
is currently 5m below the danger level. It is
forecasted that in the following week, a large storm
will occur in the upstream catchment area of
20,000km2, bringing a total of 25cm rainfall within
7 days.
Determine whether the storm event will cause the
water level to rise above the danger level. Given the
reservoir maintain a flow of 200m3/s to the
downstream.
 Solution
A = 20,000km2
P = 25cm (P – L) – R = S
R = 200m3/s Assume L=0
S = ? Hence S = P – R
t = 7 days

S = 4.9x109m3  5.4m in the reservoir

The water level will exceed danger level.
 Example (5)
In Example (4), it is decided that the the water level
should be reduced to at least 6.0m below the danger
level prior to the storm event. If the release of water
is performed over a period of 5 days, estimate the
increase in discharge downstream of the reservoir.
 Solution
A = 900km2
S = 1m (P – L) – R = S
t = 5 days
Hence R = S
R = 2083m3/s
 Example (6)
In Example (5), the downstream river is has a main
channel which is 50m wide and 10m deep, and
carries an average flow of 500m3/s (including the
regular outflow from the reservoir).
Determine whether the release of water from the
reservoir will cause the river to overflow. The
Manning’s roughness coefficient may be taken as
0.025, and the bed slope 1:1000.
 Solution
River capacity Q  1 AR 2 / 3S 1/
2 = 2345m3/s
n
Total flow = 500 + 2083 = 2583m3/s > 2345m3/s !!

The river will overflow.

 TUTORIAL 1

1. A catchment area of 140 km2 received 120 cm of

rainfall in a year. At the outlet of the catchment the flow
in the stream was found to have a average rate of 2
m3/s for 3 months, 3 m3/s for 6 months and 5 m3/s for
3 months.
What is the runoff coefficient of the catchment?
If the afforestation of the catchment reduce the runoff
coefficient to 0.5, what is the increase in abstraction
from precipitation for the same annual rainfall of 120
cm
 TUTORIAL 2

2. Estimate the constant withdrawal rate from a 1375

ha reservoir in a month of 30 days during which the
water level in the reservoir dropped by
0.75 m despite an average inflow of 0.5 Mm3/day.
During the month, the average seepage loss from the
reservoir was 2.5 cm, total precipitation was
18.5 cm and total evapotranspiration is 9.5 cm.