CE-405 – HYDROLOGY Distribution of rainfall in a catchment
may vary and runoff also vary
Reviewer More rainfalls closer to the outlet, peak
flow occurs quickly
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Direction of prevailing wind
If the wind direction is towards the flow
Lecture 9: Runoff
direction, peak flow will occur quickly
Runoff Other climatic factors
Temperature, wind velocity, relative
The draining of flowing off of precipitation
humidity, annual rainfall etc. affect initial
from a catchment area through a surface
loss of precipitation and thereby affecting
channel.
runoff
The portion of rainfall which flows through the
Physiographic factors
rivers, streams, etc.
Physiographic characteristics of watershed
and channel both
Size of watershed
Larger the watershed, longer time
needed to deliver runoff to the outlet
Small watersheds dominated by overland
flow and larger watersheds by runoff
Shape of watershed
Fan shaped, fan shaped (elongated) and
broad shaped
Fan shaped runoff from the nearest
tributaries drained out before the floods
of farthest tributaries. Peak runoff is less
Broad shaped –all tributaries contribute
runoff almost at the same time so that
Types of Runoff peak flow is more
Surface runoff Orientation of watershed
Portion of rainfall (after all losses such as Windward side of mountains get more
interception, infiltration, depression storage rainfall than leeward side
etc. are met) that enters streams immediately Landuse
after occurring rainfall Forest –thick layer of organic matter and
After laps of few time, overland flow joins undercover – huge amounts absorbed to
streams soil – less runoff and high resistance to
Sometime termed prompt runoff (as very flow
quickly enters streams) barren lands – high runoff
Subsurface runoff Soil moisture
Amount of rainfall first enter into soil and Runoff generated depend on soil
then flows laterally towards stream moisture – more moisture means less
without joining water table infiltration and more runoff
Also take little time to reach stream Dry soil –more water absorbed to soil
Base flow and less runoff
Delayed flow Soil type
Water that meets the groundwater table and Light soil (sandy) –large pores and more
join the stream or ocean infiltration
Very slow movement and take months or Heavy textured soils –less infiltration
years to reach streams and more runoff
Topographic characteristics
Factors affecting runoff Higher the slope, faster the runoff
Climatic factors Channel characters such as length,
Type of precipitation shape, slope, roughness, storage, density
Rain and snow fall of channel influence runoff
Rainfall intensity
High intensity rainfall causes more Natural Flow
rainfall Runoff representing the response of a catchment
Duration of rainfall to precipitation reflects the integrated effects of
When duration increases, infiltration a wide range of catchment, climate and rainfall
capacity decreases resulting more runoff characteristics.
Rainfall distribution True runoff is therefore streamflow in its natural
condition (without human intervention) such
stream flow unaffected by works of man, such
as reservoir and diversion structures on a
stream, is called natural flow or virgin flow.
Rational Method
Time of Concentration (Tc)
Time required to reach the surface runoff from
remotest point of watershed to its outlet
At Tc all the parts of watershed contribute to the
runoff at outlet
Have to compute the rainfall intensity for the
duration equal to time of concentration
Runoff Volume
Yield – The total quantity of surface water that can
be expected in a given period from a stream at the
outlet of its catchment is known as yield of the
catchment in that period.
Curve Number Method
Calculates runoff on the retention capacity of
soil, which is predicted by wetness status
(Antecedent Moisture Conditions [AMC]) and
physical features of watershed
AMC - relative wetness or dryness of a
watershed, preceding wetness conditions
CN depends on land use pattern, soil
conservation type, hydrologic condition,
hydrologic soil group
