Runoff Mechanisms
Unit Hydrograph, Flood Routing
Urban Hydrology
CIVE 6361
interflow involving
preferential flow through
macropores
Day-To-Day Hydrology vs Extreme Weather
Hydrology vs Natural Hazards Hydrology
• RF to runoff
• Day-To-Day: runoff amount, intensity and duration, infiltration, baseflow,
antecedent moisture conditions, capacity of primary (pipes) and secondary
(street) drainage networks, carrying capacity of receiving streams
• What is the typical storm in Houston?
• Extreme: Flood insurance definition, flow-duration curves, intensity and
duration
• Natural Hazard: hurricanes (wind, storm surge) often accompanied by
extreme rainfall (before, during or after)
• Elevates water level in receiving streams due to storm surge thereby reducing capacities
08075000:$Flow$Duration$Curve$(2001D2011)
100000
Day-to-Day
High flows
Hydrology 10000
Flow data Low flows
expressed
1000
statistically in
Log$Discharge$(cfs)
terms of their
frequency of Median flow
occurence 100
10
1
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Percent$of$time$indicated$that$discharge$was$equaled$or$exceeded
Flow/duration/curve
As watersheds urbanize, peak flows increase – how do we
define natural flows and extreme events with this data?
White Oak at Houston (1936-2002)
35000 01
30000 92
98
'98
25000
Peak Flow (cfs)
20000
15000
10000
5000
0 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 61 63 65 67
Years
As watersheds urbanize, stormwater quality worsens
Permitted (pipe flows), versus non-point, unpermitted, and illegal flows
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES)
• The EPA NPDES storm water program
regulates stormwater discharges associated
with industrial and construction activities and
municipal storm sewer systems
• The Joint Task Force was created by Harris
County, the City of Houston, HCFCD, and
TxDOT to work together to address stormwater
issues in the Houston Metro Area
• Best Management Practices (BMPs) are the
focus of the effort to reduce contamination in
lakes and rivers from stormwater
Primary Non-Point Sources of
Bacteria to Bayous
High Density Land Uses WW Treatment Plants
Ag / CAFO
Wildlife
am Storm Sewer
Stre
Stream Overflows
Construction Residential
& Pets
Some Models Capable of Continuous Runoff
Calculations including Storm Events (e.g., HSPF)
No dynamically coupled models capable of simulating all
relevant hydrologic, hydraulic and hydrodynamic processes
Runoff Modeling
• Basic/simple: Qp=CiA
– Limited to intensities and durations on the order of time of travel within the area. Does
not provide detailed hydrograph or volumes involved
• Convolution or time-area methods: accumulating runoff based on hourly ppt and
time of travel within different parts of the watershed
– Limited to accumulation, does not account for losses and time of travel within channels
• Other empirical graph based models (intensity-duration-frequency curve for
example, Figure 1-15 in hydrology book)
• Area-dependent peak flow estimations for designing primary drainage (pipes) –
smaller design storm events
• Area-dependent peak flow estimations for designing secondary drainage (street
drainage or lot drainage) for smaller watersheds
Intensity – Duration – Frequency Curve
Figure 1-15
Time-Area Convolution Principle - Watershed
Figure 2-6(a)
Time-Area Convolution – Flow Schematic
Figure E2-2a
Time-Area Convolution – Accumulating runoff from the watershed as a function of time
Figure E2-2c
Time-Area
Method
• Watershed travel times
• Time Area Graph
• Rainfall Intensities
• Add and Lag Method
• Resulting Hydrograph
Time Area Hydrograph
Peak Flow at Q2
• Q1 = P1 * A1
• Q2 = P2*A1 + P1*A2
• Q3 =P3*A1 + P2*A2
+ P1*A3
• And So Forth
At time step 2, P2 over A1 and P1 over A2
arrive at the same time -
Similar for time step 3 with 3 contributors
Hydrology and Floodplain Analysis, Chapter 2.2
Unit Hydrograph
Defined as 1-in of precipitation spread uniformly over a
watershed in a given duration
0.5 hr UH
1 hr UH
3 hr UH
Used to easily represent the effect of rainfall on a
particular basin
Hypothetical unit response of watershed to a unit of rainfall
UH Example
2-Hr UH
Note that 0.5 in/hr fall for the 2 hours
UH Applications
Development of
design storm
hydrograph
Development of
watershed
hydrograph
UH developed from a single storm
Total storm hydrograph
Hydrograph minus
baseflow, rainfall minus
losses
Hydrograph adjusted
to be a 2-hr UH
Concerns with UH
Assumptions of linearity are inherent in
UH development
Linearity can be violated if…
intensity variations are large over long-
duration storms
Storage effects in watershed are important
Typically should not exceed areas of 3 – 5
mi2 in urban areas, 10 sq mi natural A
Divide the watershed into subareas if needed
Unit Hydrograph Convolution
Deriving hydrographs from multiperiod rainfall excess
or
Where
○ Qn = storm hydrograph ordinate
○ Pi = rainfall excess
○ Uj = UH ordinate
where j = n - i + 1
Unit Hydrograph Convolution
Can view this
graphically
Note that the final
hydrograph goes
to time-step 10
○ UH goes from 0-7
○ 4 Rainfall periods
of 1 time step
UH Convolution Example
Pn= [0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 0.0, 0.5] in
Un= [0, 100, 320, 450, 370, 250, 160, 90, 40, 0] cfs
Storm Hydrograph - Qn
1400
1200
1000
Outflow (cfs)
800
600
400
200
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Time (hr)
UH Convolution Example
Pn= [0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 0.0, 0.5 ] in
UH
Time (hr) P 1U n P 2U n P 3U n P 4U n P 5U n Qn
Storm Hydrograph - Qn
1400
0 0 0 1200
Outflow (cfs)
1 50 0 50 1000
800
2 160 100 0 260 600
3 225 320 150 0 695 400
200
4 185 450 480 0 0 1115
0
5 125 370 675 0 50 1220 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Time (hr)
6 80 250 555 0 160 1045
7 45 160 375 0 225 805
8 20 90 240 0 185 535
9 0 40 135 0 125 300
10 0 60 0 80 140
11 0 0 45 45
12 0 20 20
13 0 0
Unit Hydrograph Convolution
Can reverse procedure
Multiperiod rainfall excess hydrograph à UH
Uses matrix methods
[Q] = [P][U] à
[PTP][U] = [PT][Q] à
[U] = [PTP]-1[PT][Q]
UH Hydrograph Example 2-1
Convert a DRO (direct runoff hydrograph) to a 2-hr UH
Time (hr) Q (cfs) 2-hr UH
Net rainfall is 1.0 inch/hr for 2 hrs
0 0 0
which is 1 inch too much since UH is 1 inch 1 0 0
2 200 100
in 2 hrs 3 600 300
450
Therefore, need to divide all ordinates by 2 4
5
900
700 350
6 500 25
7 300 150
8 300 150
Peak Flow 9 100 50
Tp = 2hrs 10 0 0
Base is 9 hrs 11 0 0
Storm hydrograph from UH – Ex 2-2
Given Pn =
Storm
[0.5,1,1.5,0,.5) Time UH P1=0.5 P2=1.0 P3=1.5 P4=0 P5=.5 Hydrograph
Un = 0 0 0 0
[0,100,320,450,370,25 1
2
100
320
50
160
0
100 0
50
260
0,160,90,40,0] 3 450 225 320 150 0 695
4 370 185 450 480 0 0 1115
Calculate storm 5 250 125 370 675 0 50 1220
6 160 80 250 555 0 160 1045
hydrograph 7 90 45 160 375 0 225 805
8 40 20 90 240 0 185 535
9 0 0 40 135 0 125 300
10 0 60 0 80 140
11 0 0 45 45
12 0 20 20
13 0 0
Convert a 1-hr UH to a 3-hr UH
UH=[0,25,50,100,80,60,40,20,0]
Time (hr) UH (cfs) Hr 1 Hr 2 Hr 3 Sum 3-HR UH
What happens when duration 0 0 0 0 0
is not an integer? 1 25 25 0 25 8.3
2 50 50 25 0 75 25.0
We can do fractions but the S- 3 100 100 50 25 175 58.3
method is easier 4 80 80 100 50 230 76.7
5 60 60 80 100 240 80.0
6 40 40 60 80 180 60.0
7 20 20 40 60 120 40.0
8 0 0 20 40 60 20.0
0 20 20 6.7
0 0 0
S-Curve Method
Allows for the construction of UH of any
duration
Creating the S-Curve
Add and lag series of UH of duration, D, by
time period D’
○ Gives runoff hydrograph from continuous
rainfall excess intensity of 1/D
○ Equilibrium hydrograph or an S-Curve
S-Curve Method
S-Curve to UH
Shift the curve by D’ hr
Subtract ordinates between the two curves
○ Receive curve (b)
Multiply all ordinate
by D/D’
Receive UH of
duration D’
S curve
for a
30 minute
UH
To get a 15-minute UH
• Lag the 30-minute S curve
by 15 minutes
• Subtract the 2 S-curves
• Adjust the volume to get 1
inch
Hydrology and Floodplain Analysis, Chapter 2.3
Synthetic Unit Hydrographs – 60s
UHs developed for ungaged basins
Based on data for similarly gauged basins
Revolutionized ability to predict hydro
response
Produce storm hydrographs from rainfall data
Can be updated to reflect changes in
watershed geography/land cover
Variety of approaches but most based on
tp (lag time) and Qp (peak flow)
Synthetic Methods
Snyder’s Method (1938) - **
Clark Method (1945) – TC & R**
Nash IUH (1958)
SCS (1957, 1964) – Soil Conserv Serv.
Kinematic Wave (1970s) - **
Snyder’s Method (1938)
First to develop a synthetic UH
Studied watersheds in Appalachian Highlands
Simple and popular method
tp = Ct*(L*Lc)0.3 Qp = 640*Cp A/tp
Tp = lag time (hr) Qp = peak flow (cfs)
Ct = coeff. (1.8-2.2) Cp = coefficient (0.4-0.8)
L = length of main A = area (sq mi)
stream (mi)
Lc = length to centroid
(mi) Tb = 3 + tp/8
Tb = time base of
hydrograph (days)
Snyder’s Method (1938)
Example
Skecth the approximate shape of hydrograph for an area of
100 mi2
Given: Ct = 1.8 L = 18 mi
Cp = 0.6 Lc = 10 mi
tp = Ct*(L*Lc)0.3
= 8.6 hr
Qp = 640*Cp A/tp
= 4465 cfs
Tb ~ 4tp
= 34.4 hr
Duration = tp/5.5 hr
= 1.6 hr
SCS Method - Triangle
Early method assumed a simple triangle
hydrograph with certain parameters
D – rain duration (hr)
TR – time of rise (hr)
B – time of fall (hr)
QP – peak flow (cfs)
tP – lag time from
centroid of rainfall
to QP
SCS Method - Triangle
Volume of direct runoff from hydrograph
Where
SCS Method - Triangle Lag Time
Lag time (tP) is most often estimated
using formula below – 3000 watersheds
Make sure units match
L = length to divide (ft)
y = average watershed slope (%)
S = 1000/CN – 10”
○ CN = curve number from soil/land use table
Clark UH Method (1945)
Based on the use of a watershed
Handout from CHAP 5
Modeled as a linear channel in series
with a linear reservoir
Accounts for translation and attenuation
Creates instantaneous UH (IUH) from
the outflow (Oi) from the linear reservoir
Inflow (Ii) to the linear reservoir is the outflow
from the linear channel
UH Applications
For complex watersheds:
1. Design storm hydrographs (10-yr, 25-
yr,100-yr)
2. Historical rainfall events
3. Evaluate effects of land use changes,
channelization, storage additions, and
other variables
4. Simulate storm hydrographs (Ch. 4)
5. Analysis of flood control options (Ch. 4)
UH Applications
1. Design storm hydrographs (10-yr, 25-yr,100-yr)
Typical Design Rainfall Dist’n
1. Design storm hydrographs (10-yr, 25-yr,100-yr)
10 yr – 7.35 in
25 yr – 9.51 in
100 yr – 13.89
in
UH Applications
Design storm inches by duration (10-yr, 25-yr,100-yr)
Developed by the NWS for all urban areas
Duration 10 - yr 25 - yr 100 – yr
15 min 0.69 0.83 1.08
1 hr 2.76 3.33 4.32
3 hr 4.25 5.3 7.33
6 hr 5.27 6.76 9.82
12 hr 6.37 8.31 12.31
24 hr 7.35 9.51 13.89
UH Land Use Effects
1. Effects of land use changes, storage additions, and
other variables – normally increase peak flows
UH Conversion to Storm Hydr
1. Create storm hydrograph from UH for each
subbasin as function of rainfall
2. Combine hydrographs at each confluence
3. Flood route combined hydrographs downstream
4. Add in additional runoff from subbasins
5. Finally add together to get final storm hydrograph
Hydrograph Watershed Analysis
3
Hydrograph Combining/Routing
Subarea G + Subarea F = Combine PT1
1
Hydrograph Combining/Routing
Subarea G + Subarea F = Combine PT1
Subarea E + Route to 3 + Subarea C = Combine PT3
11
3
Hydrograph Combining/Routing
Subarea G + Subarea F = Combine PT1
Subarea E + Route to 3 + Subarea C = Combine PT3
Combine PT1 + Route to 2 + Subarea D = Combine PT2
3
Hydrograph Combining/Routing
Subarea G + Subarea F = Combine PT1
Subarea E + Route to 3 + Subarea C = Combine PT3
Combine PT1 + Route to 2 + Subarea D = Combine PT2
Combine PT2 + Route to 3 + Subarea B = Combine PT3
3
4
Hydrograph Combining/Routing
Combine PT3 + Route to 4 + Subarea A = RESULTING HYDROG
3 Q
4
T
Channel Routing
• Simulate the movement of water through a channel
Continuity equation
• Used to predict the magnitudes, volumes, and temporal
Hydrologic Routing patterns of the flow (often a flood wave) as it translates
down a channel.
Hydraulic Routing
• 2 types of routing : hydrologic and hydraulic.
Momentum Equation
• both of these methods use some form of the continuity
equation.
56
Flood Routing – Reservoir & River
Tends to shift hydrograph in time and reduce the flow
S S
Q Q
Reservoir Routing River Routing
Continuity Equation
The change in storage (dS) equals the
Continuity equation difference between inflow (I) and outflow (O)
or :
Hydrologic Routing
dS
Hydraulic Routing =I -O
Momentum Equation dt
For open channel flow, the continuity
equation is also often written as :
¶A ¶Q A = the cross-sectional area, Q = channel
+ =q flow, and
¶t ¶x q = lateral inflow
58
Hydrologic Routing
Continuity equation
• Methods combine the continuity equation with some
Hydrologic Routing
relationship between storage, outflow, and possibly
Hydraulic Routing
inflow.
Momentum Equation
• These relationships are usually assumed, empirical,
or analytical in nature.
• An of example of such a relationship might be a
stage-discharge relationship.
59
Use of Manning Equation
Continuity equation Stage is also related to the
Hydrologic Routing
outflow via a relationship such as
Hydraulic Routing
Manning's equation
Momentum Equation
1.49
Q= ARh S f
2 1
3 2
n
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Hydraulic Routing
Continuity equation • Hydraulic routing methods combine the continuity
equation with some more physical relationship
Hydrologic Routing describing the actual physics of the movement of
Hydraulic Routing the water.
• The momentum equation is the common
Momentum Equation relationship employed.
• In hydraulic routing analysis, it is intended that the
dynamics of the water or flood wave movement be
more accurately described
61
Routing Methods
• Modified Puls
Modified Puls
Kinematic Wave • Kinematic Wave
Muskingum
• Muskingum
62
Modified Puls
• The modified puls routing method is probably most often
Modified Puls applied to reservoir routing
Kinematic Wave • The method may also be applied to river routing for
Muskingum certain channel situations.
Muskingum-Cunge
• The modified puls method is also referred to as the
storage-indication method.
• The heart of the modified puls equation is found by
considering the finite difference form of the continuity
equation.
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Modified Puls
Modified Puls I 1 + I 2 - ( O1 + O 2 = S 2 - S 1 Continuity Equation
Kinematic Wave
Muskingum 2 2 Dt
Muskingum-Cunge
Dynamic æ 2 S1 ö 2 S2
Modeling Notes I1 I2 ç
+ + - O1 ÷ = + O2 Rewritten
è Dt ø Dt
The solution to the modified puls method is accomplished by developing a
graph (or table) of O -vs- [2S/Δt + O]. In order to do this, a stage-discharge-
storage relationship must be known, assumed, or derived.
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