Environmental Hydrology

Course code: EST 2111

2nd year, 1st semester

Course instructor
Dr. Md. Sabbir Hossain
Assistant professor
Department of Environmental
Science and Technology
Jashore University of Science and
Technology
Email: [email protected],
[email protected]
Objectives of this lecture

➢Available water resources and crises in our present world.

➢Properties of water.

➢Hydrology and its scope.

➢Hydrologic cycle.
 Water crisis
The world’s population is struggling
with water stress.
---The World Economic Forum

The biggest freshwater consumer sector?

❖ Agriculture sector

Responsible for over

70% of the global
exploitation of
freshwater
resources. Source: Hekmatnia et al., 2024, 26(3), 7377-7408.
The distribution of water on, in, and above the Earth

✓ The World’s total water

resources are estimated at
1.36 × 108 Μ ha-m.
 Physical and Chemical
properties of water

Water has several unique

properties essential to life.

Some special characteristics of

water include:
✓polar character,
✓tendency to form hydrogen
bonds, and
✓ability to hydrate metal ions.
 Properties of water
property Effect and significance
➢ Excellent solvent Transport of nutrients and waste products, making biological process
possible in an aqueous medium
➢ Highest dielectric constant of any High solubility of ionic substances and their ionization in solution
common liquid
➢ Higher surface tension than any other Controlling factor in physiology; governs drop and surface phenomena
liquid
➢ Transparent to visible and longer- Colorless, allowing light required for photosynthesis to reach
wavelength fraction of UV light considerable depths in bodies water
➢ Maximum density as a liquid at 4 0C Ice floats; vertical circulation restricted in stratified bodies of water

➢ Higher heat of evaporation than any Determines the transfer of heat and water molecules between the
other material atmosphere and bodies of water
➢ Higher latent heat of fusion than any Temperature stabilized at the freezing point of water
other liquid except ammonia
➢ Higher heat capacity than any other Stabilization of temperatures of organisms and geographical regions
liquid except ammonia
 The Water Molecule
Water’s properties can best be understood by considering the structure and
bonding of the water molecule:

✓ The three atoms are not in a straight line; instead, they form an angle of 105°.
✓ Because of water’s bent structure and the fact that the oxygen atom attracts
the negative electrons more strongly than the hydrogen atoms.
✓ The water molecule behaves like a dipole having opposite electrical charges
at either end.
 The Water Molecule
A second important characteristic of the water molecule is its ability to form
hydrogen bonds. Hydrogen bonds are a special type of bond that can form
between the hydrogen in one water molecule and the oxygen in another water
molecule. This bonding takes place because the oxygen has a partial negative charge
and the hydrogen has a partial positive charge. Hydrogen bonds, shown in the
Figure below as dashed lines, hold the water molecules together in large groups.
 The Water Molecule
Hydrogen bonds also help to hold some solute molecules or ions in solution. This
happens when hydrogen bonds form between the water molecules and
hydrogen, nitrogen, or oxygen atoms on the solute molecule.

Hydrogen bonding also aids in retaining extremely small particles called colloidal
particles in suspension in water. Water is an excellent solvent for many materials;
thus it is the basic

The extremely high dielectric constant of water

relative to other liquids has a profound effect on its
solvent properties in that most ionic materials are
dissociated in water.
 The Water Molecule

• It also influences the transfer of heat and water vapor between bodies of water
and the atmosphere. Water has its maximum density at 4°C, a temperature above
its freezing point. The fortunate consequence of this fact is that ice floats so that
few large bodies of water ever freeze solid.

• Furthermore, the pattern of vertical circulation of water in lakes, a determining

factor in their chemistry and biology, is governed largely by the unique
temperature-density relationship of water.
 o Groundwater is
becoming
increasingly more
dynamic in the
global water cycle

Fig: Simplified global water cycle with its components (source: Kuang et al., 2024. Science, 383, 6686)
 What is hydrology?

Hydrology: branch of Earth Science

broadly defined as ‘water science’.

It is the study of the occurrence and movement of water above, on, and
below the earth's surface, as well as water’s properties and relationship to the
biological and non-biological components of the environment.

Hydrology is the science that deals with the various phases of the hydrologic cycle.
 International
1. Scientific hydrology: the study
Hydrological Decade concerned chiefly with academic aspects.
2. Engineering/applied hydrology: a
1965-1974: proclaimed by UN. study concerned with engineering
applications.
Emphasized on
In a general sense, engineering hydrology
✓Hydrologic education research,
deals with:
✓development of analytical
techniques, and (i) estimation of water resources,
✓collection of hydrological (ii) the study of processes such as
information on a global basis precipitation, runoff, evapotranspiration
and their interaction and
(iii) the study of problems such as floods
and droughts, and strategies to combat
them.
Scope of hydrology

The study of hydrology helps us to know

✓the maximum probable flood that may occur at a given site and its
frequency; this is required for the safe design of drains and culverts, dams
and reservoirs, channels, and other flood control structures.
✓the water yield from a basin—its occurrence, quantity, and frequency this is
necessary for the design of dams, municipal water supply, and river
navigation.
✓Groundwater development requires knowledge of the area's hydrogeology,
i.e., of the formation of soil, recharge facilities like streams and reservoirs,
rainfall patterns, climate, and cropping patterns.
✓the maximum intensity of the storm and its frequency for the design of a
drainage project in the area.
Hydrologic cycle and phase

Hydrologic cycle
➢water transfer cycle
➢occurs continuously in nature

Fig. Transportation Components of the Hydrologic Cycle

The main components of the hydrologic cycle:

Transportation components Storage components
Precipitation Storage on the land surface
Evaporation (Depression storage, Ponds, Lakes,
Transpiration Reservoirs, etc)
Infiltration Soil moisture storage
Runoff Groundwater storage
Hydrologic phase

Important phases of the hydrologic cycle:

i. Evaporation and evapotranspiration
ii. precipitation and
iii. Runoff

Evaporation from
-Surfaces of ponds, lakes, reservoirs, and ocean surfaces.

Transpiration from
-surface vegetation

Runoff
A part of this precipitation flows over the land called runoff and part infilters into
the soil which builds up the groundwater table.
Fig. Hydrological cycle (Source: Hydrology, H.M. Raghunath, second edition)
Sources of hydrologic data

• Weather records: temperature, humidity, and wind velocity

• Precipitation data
• Stream flow records
• Evaporation and evapotranspiration data
• Infiltration characteristics of the study area
• Soils of the area
• Land use and land cover
• Groundwater characteristics
• Physical and geological characteristics of the area
• Water quality data
 Application of Hydrology in Engineering

Hydrology can be applied in the following projects:

(i) irrigation, (ii) water supply, (iii) flood control, (iv) water power, and (v) navigation.

In all these projects, hydrological investigations for the proper assessment of the
following factors are necessary:
1.The capacity of storage structures such as reservoirs.
2.The magnitude of flood flows to enable safe disposal of the excess flow.
3.The minimum flow and quantity of flow available at various seasons.
4.The interaction of the flood wave and hydraulic structures, such as levees,
reservoirs, barrages, and bridges.
Outcomes of this lecture

After completion of this lecture, students will be able to

• Learn about available water resources and crisis
• Understand the physical & chemical properties of water
• Explain hydrology and its importance with application
• Understand the world's hydrological cycle.

Textbook reference: Hydrology, Principles, analysis & design (H. M. Raghunath).