UNIT 5 RUNOFF PROCESS

Structure
5.1 Jnlrocluction
()

l~~e~llvc~

5.2 Sources imd Co~nponents 5.3 F:wtors TnLluencing Runoff 5.4 Estimation of Storill Runoff'

5.5 5.6 5.7 5.X 5.9 5.10 5.11

Estiuiation of Snowmelt Sei~s~~ and i i ~Annual l Runol'T Flow Durntio~lCurve Stirl;~ccWater Resources of Iiidia Su~n~nary Kcy Worcls Answcrs to SAQs
I

5.1 INTRODUCTION
In (11cprevious uoits you have Ie:~mt ahout the basic processes comprising hydrologic cyclc: ps~~cipilalioll, evaporation, cva~?ots:u~spiration, inlerception, depression stol.:lge alitl i1lfi:illration. A F L abslclctions ~ from precipitation, the precipltalion cscess moves over thc Ili~ld surface. Runoff meals the drainage or flowing oTf ol prccipitalion I'rom a catchmait xc>a tluougli thc surface cll'mllcl/cll;ulncls. In this unil you will lci~nl11bout tilc proccss o l ru~ioff,the factors which affect ihls process iuld vilriou~mcthods Sol thc estinlation of nmoff. A discussion on of rul~ofl data, and a11 outline of surhce water analysis and i~iterpretalio~i resources of 111diaarc illso iiicludcd.

Objectives
After coml?lelir~g Uiis unit, you sllould be able to: stale rclaticlnsbip of rainfall wiUl n~iioff, tliscuss the factors lhat ir~lluence nuloff', calculate storni runoff, s ~ ~ o w m eand l t seasonal runoff, arid esli~natethe nlnoulll oT water available for utilisation.

5 . 2 SOURCES -

AND COMPONENTS

Ru~ioffnlay be variously referred to as stream flow, river discharge or catchment yield. It is normally expressed as volullle per unit lime, dtenlate units of runoff being liectare-metrc per day and depth o f water per unit time for a given area. The latter is particularly a useful u i t for comparing rainfall and runoff. The total runoff from a lypical catchment area may be conveniently divided into four compoiieilt parts: direct precipitation on the stream channels, surface luloff, intcrflow, grountlwater flow.

5.2.1 Terminology
In the begunng, let us learn and distinguish amongst the most frequently used terms 1 1 1 rainfall-runoff process.
Direct Precipitation

Direct precipitation onto the water surface and into the stream channels will WXmally represent only a smdl percentage of total volume of water flowing i n

the streams. This component, w11id1 in any case is dil'ficull to estiniate, is usually ignored i11 runoff calculations.
Surhce Runoff

The excess precipitation moves over the land surface as sheet flow of water. up of a This portion of runoff is called overland flow and involves build~~lg storage over the ground surface and fmally its draining off froni the basin. Usually Ihe length and depth of overland flow are small and tllc flow is l'zken to be in the laminar rcgime. Water, afler travelling this srnall length over Ule ground, becomes part of turbulei~tflow in a defined channel where velocities we quite high. Flows from several small cllannels join bigger clia~u~els. a11d tlle ~ ~ O from such channels in turn combine lo foml a larger stream ruld so on, till Ibe ovcrall flow reaches the catchment outlel. The flow in tl~is nlode where it trilvels all the time over the surface as overl'md flow and throi~glltlle cl~iu~nels as ope11 channel flow and reaches UIC calchmcnt outlet is called surface runoff.
Interflow

W S

A part of the precipitation tllat infiltlntes into the soil moves laterally tllrougll upper crusts of tlie soil 'and returns to the surface at some locatioi~ away fro111the point of entry into the soil. This component of mnoff is known variously as interflow, through flow, storm seepage, subsaarfacc storm Bow or quick return flow. A fairly pervious soil overlying a hard impermeable sutiacc is coi~duciveto larger mount of interflows. Depending upon Ihe time delay between intiltration and its outflow from the upper crusts of the soil, the interflow is sometimes classified into prompt interflow, i.e. tl~e i~~tertlow with the least time lag and delayed interflow.
Groundwater Flow

Another route for Ule infiltrated water to follow is percolation through the soil layer lo the underlying groundwater storage in the soil. The groundwater, as such, flows in a complicated manner following a long path of travel to reappear in stream channels as ground water flow (sometimes referred 10 as base flow, dry weather flow, effluent seepage). Since water can move very slowly Lhrough the sub-surface soil, the outflow of groundwater into the strean1 chiulnels may, obviously, lag behind the occurrence of faillfall by several days, weeks or even years, however, it is very regular in its movement. Groundwater c o ~ ~ ~ p o n e n t represent5 the main long term component of total runoff ,and is of particular surface runol'l importance, during long dry spells when rainfall and cor~seque~~tly are totdly absent.
Snowmelt

Finally, particularly in cold climates, a large proportion of streal11 flow inay be derived from the melting of snows and glaciers. In the regions where this melting occurs gradually, over a long period of time, thc resulting contribulion lo stream flow will resemble that of groundwater ffow (base .flow). Based on the time delay (i.e. time lag) between precipitatior~ruld direct runoff, the latter is classified into three categories such as, surface mnofi; prompt interflow and precipitation on the channel surface. Terms such as direct stonn runoff and storm runoff are also used to designate direct furloff, Base Flow The delayed flow tllat reaches the stream essentially as groundwaler flow is called base flow. Tl~isInay include delayed interflow and snowmelt also.

5 . 3 FACTORS INFLUENCING RUNOFF

It will be convenient to differentiate between the factors wllicl~combine to influence the total volune of runoff over say a period of several yeas, 'and those factors which combine to influence the distribution of runoff in Cin~e say over a period of one year or less.

Clj~llate of the catchment area sels the broad upper linlits to the total volu~ne of stream flow leaving the area. However, short term factors such as Lhe manner in wllich precipitation occurs and sudden clialges in Ihc vegetation cover niay lllodify the rclationsl~ipbetween anllual rainfall, annual evapotra~spirationand alnual runo fl. Tlie factors, inlluencing tile tolal amount of runoff, colnprises the physical aspects of tlie calchmenl area. Chief a~nongstthesc, obviously, is the extent of a.ea of tl~e calcliment; U~isdelermines the total volunie ol' rainfall caught by the hilsin. The a\lcrilge elevalion of Ulc catch~~lc~lt iueit may nlTect the total runoff i~ldirectlythrough the orograpliic influence, of Uie topography, on ri~infdltotals. Factors affecting the Distribution of Runoff in Time Clllnalc. cxtelil of catchment iueit, and elevation of tlie hasin arc stable environmental IBctors, with climide sul?ject to gradual chiu~gcs over long periods of til~ie.Otller filctors which tend to Uie vuiablt: nit1 raidom in nalurc have itttracted cotisiderablc ittlention: these are disc~~ssctl as follows: Type of Precipitation : It occurs citlicr as rainfall or its snowl'i~ll.Precipilation falling ;IS rain m;ty of coursc contribute directly tc) runoff. Hail m r l slcel 111ay itlso he conveniently ground with riti~ifidlas these ~neltrapitlly afler colitacl with fie ground. Precipitation falling as snow, in winler ~nouths, will not contrihu(c to runoff until melting occufi during Ule npproi~liii~g spring. R;ii~lfallI~ile~lsity : Heilvy rain falling in cxccss of the inf'iltmtion capacily oS the soil will Iagcly contrihule L o surface ~utioffrl~iclwill IlicreSorc tend lo reach the slrealn channels very rilpidly wliilc the rail] falling : ~ lower t inlciis~licswill cause clclayed runoff (appearing iis gl-oundwi~ter Ilow). Rainfall Duration : Tlie dur.atioil of r;linfiill becomes parliculitrly sign~i'iciuil when considerecl in relation to thc tiicitn lravel limc of a drop of walcr from its polnt of iinpitcl, 011 the calchment itlea as rainlhll, to its exil Crom tlie catcli~ilclit area as streiui~flow. IS the ritinf'all duration is equal to or grc;dcr than this mcitli travel Lime, then lhe whole of the calchment ireils is likely to be conlribuling to ~unoff during Ihe later stages oS Ulc storni, so Uiat llic potcnlial n~tioffis itt il maximum. If, 011 111c olher liai~d,the duralion of rainl'all is less Lllrui thc mciu~ travel time, Ihcn 111c polential runoff will hc lower Lhan llic mitximu~n because only p i ~ of l the citlchn~entwill be contributing L o runorr before Ulc ritin~i111 ceases. In this context, it is ilpparcnt h a t Lllc imporlancc of rainr;~llduration will Lend 10 vary with Uie size ant1 nillure oS the cittclima~t.I11 a s111al1ca~lchnieul, will1 steep slopes, ~ n i ~ x i m u potential n~ ru~ioffis likely to he C ~ I L I by S ~ :I ~ rninb~ll 1 oS 111ucli sl~ortertluratioi~tll:u~ would he required in iI largc, gellily untlulitting catchment. Rainl'all duralio~~ may, however, be importan1 io other ways too. For example, since infiltralion capacity is maximum i11 1l1e bcginliing of rainlhll iulrl te~lclsL o decrease U1roug11 Uie perii~doS rainfall until it attains a conslant v;~luc.It follows thal loilger tlie riun conlinues, sl~iilllerwill i~ifillralioncapidty become, ;tntl tllc greater UIC amoulit ol' surface 11111ol'f is likely lo be. Rainfall Distribution : The tinle relationship between rai~ifalland runofl' 111;ly be greatly idfectecl by Ule distribution of rainfall over tlie calcllmcnt ;Ueil. A given volume 01' rainfi111, wliicll is unil'ornlly distributerl over the wllole of calclnnent, will 11ave lower intensities and is, therefore, less likely to produce surface runoff than is the same voluine of rain falling on a small, localized part of Ulc catchment. The first type of rainfall distribulion will telitl to result in an increased groundwater flow, and consequently a lo~igterlnincrease in strcarntrow, while the latter type of distribution wiIl lend to give 1:uge volunies of surface runoff and thus, a more sudden, sort-livecl increase in streamflow. Catchment P:~ctors: Factors such as shape, topography soil type remain fairly constant over long periods whilc ohers such as tl~oseassocialec! with land use niay change radically and so proioundly influence runoff. Shape of the catchment area iniluences mean travel time oS a drop of water in the catchment.

Several allempts liavc been mirtic to rxpscss cntchme~ltslial~eq~~a~iLitati\~ely, a~id Wisler iu~d Bratcr rsftr~etllo the foml S;lclor and the co~lipilctlllisscoefl'icient first proposod by Gr;ivelius in 1914. The form fi~ctor 1s der~vecll)y cliv~dingtilt . average width ol' lhe calchulent by its aslid lengh mensu~cilfroni tlic vllllcl to tlle Inosl relllotc point, so lh;11a compa~t calclimenl will yiclcl o value close to unity, whilc a long, narrow catcI~nlcntwill y~cltla low valuc of l l ~ e I'aclor, iuld generally a lower-pel& mnofl' total Llian a sirn~lilrsized areil with a high fntlll fiiclor, sincc ,I heavy lainsall is less lilcelp to la11 s ~ m u l l a ~ ~ e oovcr ~ ~ s lLlie y elllire irca The compactness coefficient is derived by clividiilg the pc~rplic~y of the walershed by the ci~cunll'ertnce'oSthe cucle whose area equals that of the catchnent, and Ihus Ilils a theoretical 1l1iriiiriu11l valuc of unily for a colnplelely circul;~rcalclime~it.Ohv~r)usly, lhc lourc~Llie value or Lhe coel'l'ic~enl.the rllnre rap~dlyis walcr likely 10 he d~sch:~rgcd from thc ci~tchnient xei~ via Lhc illall1 strc;tlns Snyde~ suggcstctl \hilt one wily to express the elfcclivc shape vl ii ci~li.h~~lcllt w:l~ to dr;w isopleths 01 travel tiliic of (he wxler up10 lllc tlralnagc outlet ;I~ILI L o plot Ule ilea belween isoplethq 'lgi~i~lst limc. Tlie ~csullitlgcurve would then cxpsesa Llic shape ot the c:rlchment. Slope of tlie C a t c l ~ ~ nArea e~~t : II w ~ l l Lcncl lo i~lTcclmai~lly1110 :ulloilnt ol' iilfillral~o~l ;uid the speerl \vilh wli~cli\vator moves over die su11;lcc lowatd lhc strealll chnrinels. Surlace ruiiol'l is Iilrgc ilnd. also there 1s rapid lncrcnse ill suenm Plow ou stcepcr slopes. Geology : 111catch~ll~~lts, co~llprisingrockc Iiav~nga higli 1x1111c;11>ilily aiid transni~ssibilily,Uic lesponsc of co~llrihulional' groundwalcr Slow LO ii11ic)SS will tend L o be l:u more lapid than 111 ~liusccatchmcnls composed 01 cumpar;~livcly impenneablc layc~s. A close ~elationsliipexists bclwccn underlying geology and Ule ove~lyingm,ul~lc01' so11 micl bclwecii gcology ;md Lcxlurc of drainilgc. The iiiflucnce of soil type on inl'iltra~ionc:lpacity :m11 it? collsccluent effect vpcm die disposal of nunfall us eifllcr surlacc or grvul~dwatcr runol'l lias already been discussed. Coarse Leslurcil, sandy soils will Lcnd L o give rise to lilllc runrllT 011 tlie olller Iiand Cine grained closely comnp,iclcd clily soils will tc~ltllo yield nlorc surface runof'f. Moisturc content of sod also allccls runoff 1111-oug11 1tb clCccl on i~lfiltratio~l capacity. Vegetation : Undoubtctlly, the tilost mipollwit cflect o l Lhc \c_trclalc'ovc~is lo slow down the moveluent of wale1 ovei tllc surfL1ccaflel ~.a~nf;~ll. lhus, i~llowmg Inore time Ibr infilltation It) Like pli~cc.The timing of rillloll' altcr 1;1111tall may he considerably modified and, Iurthe~mo~e, pei~kstrei~mflows w ~ l le~lrl l to he much lower, although inore prolonged, where vegclaliol~is eSli.ctlve 111 Uiis \Yay. Some types of vegetalion arc Illore etfecuvc Lhim others in bec;lusc of ponding-back effect on ovcrlald flow. A Ulick rni~tof malure grass will present a grealer obstacle L o liie passage of tiny rivulets of water lhiul will a11area of cluite dense forest, in which the interhole (i.e. between the tree Lrullks) sround space cor~sists of smooth, bare earth. On Ule otlicr hand, a forested area m which the ground surface is covered with a thick layer of mulch and 11tle1 may gcnerate no smface runoff, even during heavy rainfall. Drainage Network : Drainage network is dircctly related to thc efficiency of drainage of water re~novalfro111a basin. Closely spaced streams allow ct'fic~enl precipilaled water; aid in such case over-land flow will be shorl iuld surface runoff will rapidly rend1 the nuin streams. On tllc other hand ii' slreilnls are few uld widely spaced, the drainage of water fronl h e catchment is likely to be iilefficienl, overla~ld$low will be long, allowiilg more opporlunity for iufiltra tion L o take place so that groundwater flow tends to predominate in these circumstances. A term called drainage density is oflen used to describe drainage characteristics of tile basin. Drainage Density is defined as the nunlber of strca~ns per unit area of the catclinient or as the le~lgtllof streams per unit area, Ule later definition being preferable. It is easy to visualise h a t the dis1;mce belween two adjacent streams is, by defbilion, is inversely proportional to Ule drainage density, and one half of this distnnce represents the length of overland flow in between the adjacent stream. Lakes and swamps in a catchment area tend to

'

I 1

itbsorb high ['caks of surface ru11off :uid thus exert a lrloderating illflue~lce on the hydrograph.
Hurriari 17actol-s: 'There rue very few areas in the world where mnoff is r g t i~flkcled, to so~llc ~xte111. t)y t l l ~ influence activities ol' m;ul, hl remote uplands, da~ns have llcell co11slruct.cdfor water supply iuld hydroelectric power generation. Elsewhere, l'ormcr grasslmds have been ploughed up, moorl;ulds have bee11 Soresledt semi-desert iLTCiLS have bee11 irriga.ted, swanlps have been drained, ,and evcrywhcre Llic~.e113s bcen a great illcrease in urb:uiisation. imtl the resulti~lg spread 01' i~tiTiciill,i~npcr~neable surhces. Therelore, the respouse of' ciltclimerlt ireas L o rni11li111 i111c1,conseclueully, the pattern and clistribulion of runoff has' heen chalgetl.

Rul~ofT Process

It is of iiitercst to rlolc L h i ~ llitrgely Ule lluman factors, mentioned above, are helieveil to he rcspor~siblclor Ule appuenl increi~scdsevcrity oT floods during recent times. Floods, which nlay be del'inetl as usually high rates of discharge ol'ten lei~dingto tllc inundation of lCmdac?j;rcenr to the streams, are nearly always 1l1c rcsull ol' surSace, nitllcr than ground water, runoSf and are usually caused by i~ite~isc r;~i~lfirll, sl~onrnlcll, or an u~~filvourable combin:ltion of these two factors. Any incrc;lsc in lllc scvcrity of floods, il ciui be sununed up, is likely Io be ciluscd by incrcnsctl ~.ili~il';~ll intensities, rcducecl illfiltraliorl capacities, or the charlgeel el'l'icic~icyol' the drainage network. There is no evidence to suggest that stornls ilrc i~icrc;lsir~g ill inte~lsity, but Ihc ci'lecls of u-I>:ulisat.ionin reducing inl'iltralio~ici~pirciticshave :~lreadybeen noted and, i l l addition, such factors as lorest clci~~.a~ice anti thc burning, ;~ccidentally or otherwise, of large areas of peal noo or land must also he Inkcn inlo i~ccounl.Finally, tile el'l'iciency of ilrainage . cha~inclsis likely lo be impeded by hridgcs, levees, flootl walls, i~ndsilrlilnr structures, ii~iclalthougli llle i~ldividualell'ecl. of' each may be small, their L()illhilled cffect in li~rgebuill-lip weas 111;~~ he surprisingly 'significml.

\\l:~tcrsurl'i!c;cl ;r~acl into (lie stri:aln d!i~!,ii~irli, i:; i) Di~.t:ciprccil>iliitionio~ltc)

LIS~I:III;~ i;!.~i~)~~i.!iI 111 ! L I I ~ O ~ ~' :~: ~~ l ~ : t ~ l : ~ ~ i o ~ ~ : i .

ii: Enlirc! i,n~~:~.l'lo\v is pmrt ol' h;~sdlow, i i ~ iE~'l'l11clil si:itp;lgi: i:; t11;1l 1,ru.~ 01' rivtlr llow which is seepetl into river i.~iliil.;s t1l.1~: t o high walcr Icvcl in ri\rc!~,.

v) 1 1 tlu~al~o 01' ~! 1;1i111ahl is loss tlii~ntliu luroll Iravc'l 1111ie tl~ciip(~tt~l~tiial *.LIII( )i I ~ 1 1 1 l>c lo\vcr t1i:i11 Illc III:IX~I~ILIIII, vi) Ilui11;c11 ~ n t ~ ~ r l i ~ rwith c n c .cil(ch~~~r:nl ~ iziay ~;;IIISL'rcclu~lio~l 1 1 1 ilblilll.i~li~~l capacitic\ ;ml ;~l!;oiu Ihe cl'lic~cncyor draini~ficlnetwork.

5.4 ESTIMATION OF STORM RUNOFF

Tlle relationship which can be used for eslimatiig the runoff from the give11 ilverage rainfall over a catchment is geiierally known as rainfall-~unoff relatiouship. Tlie b;isic steps in Ule developnlent of such relationships are as follows: Identification of various ilood event? and collectioil of all relevant data sucll 1) as rainfall from various stations, stage and hence the dischwge at I h e specified duration, ;u~dother basin parameters, correspoildil~gto eacli flood event, Estin~ation of average rainfall over the basin during this ilood period, wiLll 2) the help oS available rainfall record from several statioils in the catchment by usiilg a suitable technique as discussed earher, 3) Plotting of the discharge dala to get a flood hydrograph, judicious separation of the base llow coillpoilent for each hydrograp11 that is plotted and coillpuL1tion of totill direct tunoff in innl, Estilllation of various relcvzult prlraineters such as API, moisture storage, elcl, 4) by using Ll~e usual {eclliliques, and Plottiilg of Llie Lotal average rainfall and runoff witl~ or w~tliout an addihonal 5) parainetcr to get a relationship. The relations can also be developed by using statistical anaIysis. Regression a1:llysis, as discussed in Section 5.6, ciul be used to co~~elale storill rainfall with slor~ll runoff froill observed records for similar catchments. Hydrological-soil-cover coillplex method call be used to estinlate storm runoff based or1 the knowledge of ston11 rainfall, land use, land cover, and hydrologic condition of soil. Storin runoff can also be estimated from the knowledge of time dislrihution of raiilfall and infiltration.

5.5 ESTIMATION OF SNOWMELT

Snclwmelt plays a major role in h e hydrology of Himalayan rivers. In contrast to rainkill, snowfall has a delayed effect on river hydrology. Accullluiations occurring during winter nionths will become important during t l ~ e followiilg spring months. Melt waters r2fe crucial for water supply (irrigation) in the non-monsoon period. 1 1 1 Uie range lands, sno~vmeltcan be fairly important in the replenishnient of soil nloisture ancl in the recharging of ground water supplies. I1 is generally difficult to measure and obtain good data on the extei~siveand spatially higldy variable snowCall, particularly given the harsh weather conditio~ls that prevail during winter periods. Snow Accumulation and Measurement Air temperature is a reasoilable index of precipitation type. Chances are that snowfall will occur at temperatures below 0' to 1C.The density of newly fallen silow ranges from about 0.05 to 0.2 g per cubic centimeter with a density near or somewhat below Ule c n m ~ ~ o n used l y value of 0.1 g per cubic centimeter. Snow accrunulalion is largely a funclion of elevation, slope, exposure a11d vegetative cover. It increases with elevation because of the combined effect of the prevailing lower tenlperatures and the increased frequency of precipitation events caused by orographic effects. Interception of snowfall by vegetation can be fairly effective, ?his may lead to direct sublimation of snow from the forest canopy. Wind and lllelting may cause redistribution of intercepted snow. Diferen't surfaces have different snow-reten tion capacity. Snow retention coefficient is the ratio o C snow catch on the surface under reference to the accumulation on an otherwise virgin soil, Table 5.1 given snow retention coefficients for some of the surfaces.
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Table 5.1 : Snow-Retention Coefficients

Surface
open ice surface of lakes Arable land Vugir~soil Hilly districts Large forest tracts River beds

Coefticie~it
0.4 to 0.5

0.9
1.O 1-2 1 3 U) 1.4 3.0 3.0 3.2 b 3.3

Rush grnwth near lakes

Forcst cuttirlps of a radius o f about 100 to 200 m and edges o f forests

S ~ i ~ ~ lis ' i usually ~ll measured w i h the same recording or lion-recordiug gauges that measure rainfall. However, snow ineasure~ilents are col'lsiderah2y sensitive to wind-induced under-eslimation errors. Shields are gcrlerally provided to slow dow~iand direct the oilconling wind so to minimize snow driftir~g over 'thc gauge. Snow pack is the amalgil~nation01old and new snow. Old snow suffers changes induced by added weight, freeze ,and thaw cycles and rainfall. The eiid results ate chiuigcs in density, water content, albedo and other characteristics. It is the inelli~ig or Uie snow pack Ulal is of importance to hydrologists, When ffae snow pack becomes nearly honiogeneous and conlahis dl Ule liquid waler it car1 Ilold against gravily, it is rercrred to as "ripe" (saturated md isothernu1 nt OC) i.e., .ready L o produce nieltwater. Sriowinelt runoff estimates are generally required for many cold regions of world to : i) forecast seasoi'lal water yields, ii] regulate rivers and storage works, iii) implement ilood control programnles effectively, arid iv) select design l'lows for particular watersheds. The s~iowlllelt process is, in essence, a heat-trru~sferprocess. Therefore, a relevant energy-budget equatioii can bc written to determine heat equivalent of snow melt ( i t , heat energy of snow .melt) as below:
Htll = Hrp
-I- HI:r -C

Ht, -I- I3e

-1-

Hg+ H p -C Hq

... (5.1)

where,
= Heats ecluivalei~t of snowmclt (which is Uic algebraic suin of

right-11md terms of Ule equation),

H I , = Net long-wave radiatioil cxchange between the snowpack and

surroundings,
Hll, = Absorbed solar radiation,

Ha = Heat transferred by air tlkougli convection,

He =Latent heat of vaporisation derived from condensation, H, = Heat transferred by ground U~rougll conduction, H p = Heat transferred by rainfall, and Hq = Internal energy change in thc snowl~ack. H , , H, and H, are all positive, but H r p is usually negative in the open while He and H , inay be positive or negative, and H, is norinally positive,

Valious approaches havc b ~ d l l :l~>plicd 10 ~I~tc~.tllilil: LIIC s~111ofl' for111 S I I ~ I V I ~ ~ C ~ ~ such as

I)

sitiiple Lechn~qucof tcgresbion iut~illys~s,

ii) physical crjuiltions li)r bas111 snun.mcll, lii) analysis of hy~irogri~ph ~ccessio~ls, ant1 iv) liyclroprilph syntheses. [Refer L o Mu1rej:i (1986) lor tLsta~ls I Physical Equations for Birsin Snowtrielt

Based 011 e x l e ~ ~ s i v studies, e carried oul :lt v;rrivus lahc,s;~Loricsill ~111.\vc.st.cfll United Stales. IJ.S. A m y Corps of tlllginecrs has ~IevelopcJ;cncsalisciI ccllla(ioils for: rain-free periods, and r;~.inperiods. Two periods, wilt) and wilhoul, rilit~,have I,eell slutliet! scpxu.atcly hccausc ulllcll rain is falling, heat transfcr by convectioii n.nd cc>nticlls:lt,ion is 111ordililpilltant tf1;111 otller littat kailst'er moties, wllilc during rain-free periotls. il is 1 1 1 r sol;lr and Lerrestrial ~adii\tionwhich iue ni[>re import all^.
Pe~iods of Rain

a j For open (cover helow 10'2.)' or mr.tly L'orc:j(ed (c()vcr. I'ro~n 10 LO 60':'; 1 w a lersheds.
M74

= ( 0.1326 -t 0.0140 I{\. t 0.01 16 Y , ) Tir i 0.27Xfi

... ( 5 . 2 )

b)

For heavily forcstetl iwas (over 80% cover).

M~I = daily snowmclt t~nlldily,.

V = iwcrngc wind velocity

;I[

15.0

111 1cvcl

(ItnJllt. i ~ ~ i r l

k ' = hasirl c o ~ ~ s l : ri~tlgrtig ~ ~ l l c ~ n s l a ~ti.orn i t 1.0 I'or ullli>rc:;tcrl pI:l111\ to 0.3 I.or very thick f~trresls. Rain-free Periorls a) Fol Ileav)~l'orcslclcl arcas,
M24 = 0.3.38 ( 0.51 T,,' + 0.47 Trj )

b) For forested areas (coves 01 60 to SO%)).

M2.r = 0.22 KV j 0.12 7;'
C)

i (1.78

v+ O.l:{:i

1;: )

Far partly Ibrcsted arras (cover of 10 to 60%~)

MY

K ( I - F ) ( l - { l ) ( O O l l,)-kK(0.024 L J ) ( 0 , 2 2 I ~ ~ ' + o 7 .. ; ~s ),..,5.fij

+ 1;( 0.133 7;,' )

d) For open x c a s (cuvcr of less
L ~ Z10%) I
)

M 2 4 = 0.129 K' 1; ( 1 - a ) + ( 1 - N ) ( O.008 TI,, - 2.1 3

where,
A424,

I
..,(5.6)

+ 0.133 NT', + K ( 0.024 V ) ( 0.22 Ti + 0.75 2;,' )

V ;md K have been clcfincd nhovc, a1lr1

7 ' =

difference betweeti air Lempcn~ture 3-111 lcvcl ;uul the snow surl';lce telilperature ("C),

Ii

observed o r estimated insolation (Langleys r l,, ) , 1 I.,' = 1 c.al/cmL )

I(' =

Ixlsin shor~-wa\lc radialion melt I'aclor ( helween 0 9 and 1 i J, clcpcnclin~ on llle ; ~ \ ~ e r ; ~ exposure ge of open arcas to shorl-wnvc luclialion in colilpnrison wilh aui unsl~iclcledl~orizo~lliil surfilcc,

I: = c'stinintetl mcim basin forest-canopy covcr expressed ;is decimal fraclion,

1;' = dil?crence belweeri clouci-base tcmperalure i ~ n d snow-surl'acc

lenq,eraturc (Or), cstiinatcd from upper air 1ernperalurc.s or by lapse rates liom su~face station, preferably on a sriowfrcr site, uld eslilnalcd clout1 cover cxl>rcsscd as a decimal l'1ac1ioii. I1 should hc noletl U l i ~ 1Lhe use ol' Lht. ec]uahuns glvcll i~hovc111usl hc relilled to the rueal cxlcnL ol' U 1 c s~low cover il realistic vidues iuc to he oblaiiled. Preselll melhotls of ~lclurminingextent of snow covcr ale, however, 1101co~npletcly ;1tlcqu;1te. Lls~ngccli1;~6101l (5.2) cslilzlalr \llc si~o\vnicllat ;In clcvation 01- 1000 nli for ;I p;11 Ily tlelisc I'oresl il tlbe ~'iiiill'itll illlcllsily is o.!, ~ili/tJiLy, !I~LIwinel veloclly 30 I\lll/h i111tlthe tcnlpcr:rlulc 01 tllc a;itrlrr~lstl;1i1 7C'.
Ixih;~ W ~O L I ~he L ~ Illc snowmell i l the Iorr:st (,?A(,) !_(iL)) IS
li~lit~ ;IS ~ l~ Z I ~ S C ' !

I>)

5 . 6 SEASONAL AND ANNUAL RUNOFF

is called season;ll/;~nn~li~l yield of the river. The csliinii~idnor yield is ol' l'undi~lncntilliinl~orliulccill all w ; l l e r - r e s ~ ~ u r ~ e ~ dcvclop~ncnlstutlics. The v:lric-ns methods usctl Ii)r tlat cslilniltioi~oi yicltl ca.11 irc lislcci i L s hclow:
SLIC~I :LS 111011~0011 S C ~ ~ S O 01, I ~ SiiY i l l ;I ye;^,

I ) Oorrclalion 01' slrei~illilowand raiilfr~ll.

The relalionship hctwcen nlinlall ant1 llic rcsultil~grunol'l', in reliltlo11 to iL giver] bilsi11, is cluile complex and is inl'lucncccl by a hosl ol' l'ilclors rclatil~gtlic c:~tclanenliultl cli~llaticchxacterislics. Furlher, hcrc is, gcncri~lly , Ulc prohleln 01% p;iucily ol' di~tiiwhich conipels seeking L o adopl silriplc correlations lor pracLically adequate eslinlation oP runol'l'. Olle ol' Ule lnosl conilnon mellici~lsis lo corrclale runoll, R, with raiahll, P, Plolti~igol' valucs ol' R against 111c values (11' P :uxl drawing ;I hesl-fil line can he adopted I'or very rough cslirnatcs. A bcUcr mcthod is to Sil a linear regression line helween R :ulcl P aild lo accept Lhe resull if the correlation coeSficicii1 is nearer unily. The equation for slrilighl-line rcgressiwl hetwccn runofl' R alicl rainfall P is writlcn as:
i

'

'

al~d the values of cocn'icienls a uld 1) are given by,

and,

0=

CR-aZP N

... (5.10)

in which, N = nurnhcr of observation sets of R and P. The cr)eSl'icicnt of correlalio~~ r can be calculated as

The value of I- lies hetween 0 to + I as R can have only posilive correlalion witll P. A value of 0.6 to 1.0 indicate good correlation. For lugc catchments, it is found advantageous to have ulstead ol' linear relationship given by Equation (5.8) XI exponenlial relationship as give11 below:
R =

fi p"i

...(5.12)
... (5.13)

where, fl and rn are constants, Eqi~ation(5.12) is reduced to a lincar form by logarithmic trmsSonnalion as :
1,R = m I n p + l n ~

aid the coeflicicitts ni and In p are determined by using tlle metllod as indic~lted above. Sillce rainfall records of longer duration Ulan the n~noffdata are nonnally availal~lefor n catchment, tile regrcssio~lequation (5.8) or eyuati;,n (5.12) can be used to geuerate synthetic runoff data by using the given rainfall data. While this may lbe adequate for preliminary s~udies, but for rilore accuriitt: results sophisticated,methods are adopted for synthetic generation of rmloSf data, M m y iil~prove~~lents of the above basic ratillfall-runoff correlatiorl by cvnsidering additional paranleters, such as soil moisture or antecedeul rainfall have bcen attempted. Antecctlenl rainfall inlluences the initid soil moisture and lle~icethe infiltration rate at tlie star1 of storm. For calculatior~of the am1u;ll runoff froin the iuirlual rainPaI1 a comnonly used antecedent precipitation index, P, is grven by
P,, = ( a P i ) + ( b P ( ; . . l , ) + ( ~ P ( ; - 2 ) )
...( 5.14)

where P,, Pi- I and P;- 2 are the amual precipitation in il", (i - I)"' and (i - 2)*' year, i = current year, a b ilnd i' are coefficients with their sum erp~alto unity. The coefficients are Sound by trial 2nd error to producc best resulls. There are m l y other types of antecedent precipitation indices in use to achieve good correlations of raini'all and runoff. The use of cc~axialchart with c? definetl antecedent precipitation index is given by Linsley et XI. Empirical Equations The importmce of estimating the water availability from Ule avai1;lblc hydrologic dim For purposes of planning water-resource projects was recopnised more inte11sely hy engineers since the last century. With tllc help of a keen sense of observation, many engineers have developed empirical runoff estimation I'ormulae relevant to pilrticular basinslareas only. These Sorinulile me essentially rainfall-runoff relatior~swit11 additional third and fourth pxuneter's lo account for clinialic or catchment ch~acteristlcs. Some of Ihe i~nportantf~rmulae used in various parts of India are given below. Rinnie 7s Percentages Sir Alexulcler Binnie measured Ule runoff f r o ~ n a small catchment near Nagpur (Area, 16 km2) during 1869 a11d 1872, md developed curves of cu~nulative rux~offagainst cumulative rainfall, From these he established percentages of nliloff from rainfnll, and tliese two curves were found to be sinlilar. Tllese percentages have been used in Madhya Pradesh arid Vidarbha rcgiori of MdiharasI~tra for the estimation of yield. Barlow7s Tables Barlow, tile first Chief Engineer of the Hydro-electric Survey of India (1C)15) on ' the basis of his study in small catchments (Area, 130 kn?) in Uttnr Pradesh expressed runoff R as

Runoff I'roccss

where Kr, = runoff coefficient which depends upon tlze type of catchment and nature of Inonsoon raulfall. Values of Kh are given in TabIe (5.2)
Tshle 5.2 : Barlow's Runoff Coefficient Kb in Percentage (Developed for use in U.P.)
Class
Uescri~>tion of Catchment

Value of Kh (percentagcr)
Season' I

Season 2 10
15

Season 3

Flat. cultivntecl mtl absorbeut soils

7
12 Ih
28 36

IS
18

B
C:
I )

Flat. I>artlycultivateil stifl sirils

Average cntclilr~et~t

20 34
45
'

32
60
84

Hills

a1111

plailrs wit11 little c u l t i ~ l i o f i

;;rntl

Very hilly. steep

l~artlly any cultivation

Season I : Light r d h , n o hravy cltrwnpour. Senson 2 : Avenge (11 v'uying ririnfd, no continutws drrwnprrtrr, Seasort 3 : Ccrntin~rrrus ilownpcrur.

Strange's Tables

Strlzlige (1928) studied the tlzen available data on rainfall ' u l d runoff in the border ~ of the areas of preseat-day Mdlrtrashtra and Kan~atakaand abtair~edt l values runoff-coefficient as:

It may be pointed out that K, is a fustction of t l ~ e crrtd~inentcharacteristics, For prrrposes of calculating [lie yield frorn h e total rnonsoon rairrfiilI, the catchments were c l ~ ~ i ~ c t e r i s as ed gcrod, average and bad. Values of K ,for thcso catchments are slic~wni i ~ Table 5.3. Strange also gave a table for calcul'ating Ule daily rutlnff fri'om daily r a i ~ ~over l l the catcl~ment of interest. 111 &is approach it is assurnetl that the ruiroff coefficient tlepek~ds not or~lyon the amount of rainfall But also on U t e state of the grcrurmd, Three categories of the original grountl ataic, SXICII as, dry, damp and wet are recognised i ~ r tlris cmection,
Table 5.3 :Extract of Strange's Tables for Rtmoff Coefficient K , in Percent (1701 tlse in border areas a P Mzrharmhtra trnd Karnataka)
TolaP Mnnstron KnlnfaB (cm)
25

Ranoff CoefKcienf K, percent

Cimd Catchment

Average Catckmmt
2.2

Rrd Catchment
2.1

4.3

As a result of caetfd stream gauging at 53 s41es ia W e m .hd& L@isad Rin~m k S m a (1929) evolved two r e g i d dmmIae Between m m I md m a l rainfall P (m)ss followg; 1). FM OIPrtb regimd d WtMm W a

a=

0.85 P

- 30-5

.,.(5.13

2) For DCCC;UI platcau

Khosla' Fol.mula Khosl;~ (1960) illli~ly~ed tllc rtlinfiill, I i111ol'Cand Lcn~peraturcdatn lor var~ouh cilt~h111~11ls in Iilllia :uld USA to iurivc at an empirical relationshlp hclween runol'f wit1 rainfr~ll.The ti~llcpeljot[ 1s Laken as a rnontl~,;1nd tli: rclat~onshtpt'or ~ l ~ ~ l i t lr~uioll l l y I.\ ~ I Y L ' ilS I~ : ruld,
I,,,,
=

0.48 1;,, , I'cw Y;,,> 4.5" C

R,II= monthly n111oSf ill ~111, arid Rtrr 2 0 ,

TI,,= mean nlontlily tc~~iperalurc of Lhe catchment in "C'.

However, Tor T,,,<4.S0C, ttlc loss ( I,,, ) may directly be i ~ ~ s ~ ~ iah l l cgiv~11 tl b~Iu\v

Lln ( ~111 )

2.17
11

I .78

1.52

Tlicrel'ore, arulud runol't = T. R,,,

It1

. . , (5.20)

= 1

I<hosla's fornnula IS ~l'ldireclly based 011 thc water balance coliccpt and UII: mean monthly calchmcnt tmpcrature is used to reflect Lhe losses due to evapc>transp~ratiun. Thc Sc)nnuln has been tcsled on a ~ i u n ~ h c 01 r catcln~~enls in India iuld is tound to givc hirly good results t'or U 1 e annual yicld T o 1 ahc iii preli~ninary st~dics. The li~rinulacan also be uspd to gellei-atc sylithelic ruiioll' data froul h~slor~ical rainfall a11d tenlpe~aturcdata. fi)r a calchincnl in Utl:n' Pradesh, llle p e a ~ inorithly rai~lli~ll :~itl lempcrclturc! iKC give11 as helvw. Cihl~ulat~ tilt illl11llilI r~11i011 i.oelli~it'ilthy Khosla l o r ~ n ~ ~ l a .

It is appropriate to conceive annual streamflow data over a year such U1al tlle flood season is not divided between successive years, In Ulis connection vuious water years have bcen used for special purposes. One of tlle popular nelliods of studying stream tlow variability is through flow duratiorl curves. A flow-duration curve of a stream is a plot of discharge against tlle percent of time the flow was eclualled or exceeded, This curve is also known as discharge-frequency curve.

indic;ltcs ~nlilu variah~l~ty. At the lower erid ot' the curves, a Llat p(lrti01i indcates considerable basc flow. A flat curve ou the upper portion is typical of river basks having Ixge flood plains and zdso or rivers having large sllowfall du~.mga wet season. Flow diuatiun curve finds considerable use in waler-resources plmlting arld development activities. Solr!r: of the important uscs are: 1) lu evdaating various clependable tlows in the planning of water resources enghrceting projects, evrtluating Lhc clraracteristics of lhe hyclropower potential of a river, 2) 3) h the & s i p of dramage systems, 4) h~$rood-ccsi~hoE studxes, 5)r 1 1 1co~zipuuing the sedirnetit load and dissolved solids load or a strem, and 6 ) h1, cornpxii~g the adj,a.c;cntcatchments with a view to extend tllc skearn flow dala wherevcx nccded.

5,8 SUWACE WATER RESOURCES OF INDIA

011c ol Uic foremost input re~lt~iremcnls for efticiellt planning or tlie water ros~liirccsof a country is the avdabilily of rcquisilc data pertahlirlg lo stscilud'luw. U~~fo:'ortunately, reliable discharge data arc hard to oblaill. especially clcvclol>~~g courllries. For India, reliable sueamtrlow m a cuve~inp t l i : entire river system ol; tlx eouuky axe uoL wailal~le.. Based on Elhosla's foruiuIa Ecl~rations t51.494; ~ L 651.20,)1 S tlw tohall annu,fil!tlaw i n all the rivets of India tliu been eshztcdr as 1h72.5 biklion. Latex (197,4;)1, an esfinute, based 011 a ~u~tlp~eli!l.tl~usiuc rtndysi~o i i~~ailablr: &ah, uuihc'ted: &e total! auluali nu.roiF tfom tl1e C ~ V sys&m C ~ o f hdia i l ~ 1.645, billioa my, which & nemukshby close to the earlier cslimahe.

Tlle LoIJ eatcl~~mnb area o P all the zivc~sin M i a is app~ximteIiy 3.05 These cUchmeflls can bo calegoxised into] tluee types:

m2.

Assessment: nude irz Ulc yeat: Egg5 inckatm that U ~ g c catclnmcnts occu~ynezly 85% of the counmy's total &&age am a n d po&a mu1y 8 5 % oh' the m~f'i: The n ~ c d i u land: i mism e ~ ~~ G Q , ~ W~J,U ~ 7%smcll; 8% , of muad runoff, re~pccti~ve1.y. h, Um ~ m j p a &ea bwim ofi @e c o r n y two) mighty tluerh the Brahmi~u~tra, arulI 8'mgtx).ItogeWxl cvnstii~iwk 711.5% 08 the totdl m m B i inn their class and:oonb:ibute QU% 01 GQU~J &m ' ' s , flhwV' Fhhht:~~, h s e two1 trivmS i i a o l Ottmz. WQUWS, 1 1 0 1lugest niveris, talk ci@Lh and: tenth! n.oasg~cLi~ely i m I (Table 5 . 4 ) i Ib . is,i'~wesimg to, s ~ B e n m m T&te 5.4 b M l & $ I ? 1 1 0 1njnrmra zCCr@wE far ile~lclySB% 'oat' bJ& nonlkr)i's, mmall mI.

Mississippi

5.9

SUMMARY

The total ruiloft' fro111 a calchil~eiltarea niay be coiive~lielitlydivided illlo four conlponenl: parts: direct precipi tati:ion on the s1rea.m ch;mnels, surface runoff, interflow and groundwater flow. Direct precipitatio11,on Ihe stream chalilnels is generally negligible. Interl-low, if it joins river flow in a short time (within the base period of flood hydrograph), is t;lkai as a part of direct runoff, otherwise it is included in the baseLlow. Climate, catchnlent area, shape, topography aiid soil type reillaii~fairly constrult over long periods while land use ;md other type of human interference m;ly proi'oulldly iiifluence runoff. Storin nl~loffc a bc ~ measured or esliillatd by einpirical forillulae and regression xlalysis. Silowillcll n~iiol'fcan be estiinatcd by sinlple regression axdysis, and physical equations [or silowrllelt hydrograph analysis. Sinlilarly, several approaches x e available for the esliination or seasolla1 and nnnual ruiloff from a catchmeilt.

5.10 KEY WORDS

Flow-duration Curve
:

A flow duration curve of a stream is a plot of dischuge equalled or exceeded against the percentage of time,

Surface Runoff

The rainfall in excess ol' vauio~~s losses (u~terceplion,depression storiige. cvapotrruispiration, and i~if~ltillio~i) resulls in the flow of water uver Uw lzuid surface ru~dreaches the catclimelit oullet. Part of precipitation that llows laterally through the upper crest of soil, ar~d returns to the surface at soine 1oc:ltion aulily fro111 the point of enwy.
:

Interflow

Groundwater Flow,

The groundwater, ullimalely. contributes lo the tlow in a stream, due to tlie level difference between water level in tlie streams aid grouiid water lcvel ( i . ~water . table) i11 the surrou~idilig;wean The process of solid ice texture cliangirig into its liquid form, at a temperilturc alwve the n~eltingpoint of ice, yields snowmelt.

Snow Melt

Runoff Coefficient

It is Uie ratio of tlie uiaximunl rate of runoff to the unifor~l~ rate of rainfall, tllat causes this runoff, with a duraliou eclualling or exceeding Ule tirne of concentration.
The ~lzininlumIlow available in a specified time period. The output flow fro111 the catchn~ent area in a given unit of tirne. Ru~ioffof a catchlnent due to a give11 storm. It essentially excludes the base tlow of a stream. The total quantity of runoff during the season obtained from a given catclllllent. ?lie total quantity of ruiloff per year obtained from a given catchment. A weighted summation of daily precipitatioil amounts, used as index of soil ~noisture. The sum oE surface runoff, interflow aid channel precipitation.

Dependable flow Runoff Storm Runoff

:
:

Seasonal Runoff Annual Runoff

:
'

. Antecedent Precipitation Index :

Direct Runoff

5.11 ANSWERS TO SAQs

SAQ 1 Direct runoff includes surface rui~off; prompt interflow, uld precipilation on the channel surface. A major portion of flood hydrograph consists of direct runoff unless stored this part remains unutilised. Flow that reaches a stream essentially as groundwater flow is called baseflow. It lags behind tl~e occurrence of rainfall by several days, weeks or even years and is very regular. It js particularly important with respect to utilisation when rainfall and consequently surface runoff are' totally absent during long dry spells.
'

c
i)

Truc. 11 represcllls only a small percentage or total volullle of water Ilotving. iu (he streams.

i ~ ) Falsc TL' tlille delay between i111iltr;ltionand out l'low (in a cllnnncl) is sillall tlic11 it 1s part of surface runvfl' (tlood hydrograph) othcrw~se it is par1 oI' b i ~ c Ilow.

iiii) False. Et Plue~ltscepage river.

111

groundwater flow aq)pcxing as basetlow in

iv) False. I11 Irldia h e snowlnell generally occurs ui M;uch to June whercas I'lood producing slornis generally occurring in inonsoon season.
V)

True. Because oiily p u t of the catchment will hc contribuling to rtmoff [luring later stages of the slorin. Urbanisation, forest clexailce ruld bt~r~ling tend to rerlucc inl'iltraljon capacilies. Ef'f'i~ienciesof drainage is likely to bc 'impeder1 by hritlges! levees, flood walls i ~ l d sil.nilrr structures.

v ~ ) True.

SAQ 2
a)

E q ~ ~ a l i 5.2 o i ~ giving daily snow~nclt(cndday) is given RcIow

= 0.6 assu~nedh r partly deforested

area

= 4.26 ciu/day.

b For heavily forested mas the sn;)wmelt is givcn by,

= 2.57 cm/day.

SAQ 3

In the Kllosla for~nula,

If the loss L,, is higher tllnrl Plrl then Rnr is taken to be zero,
and L,!, = 0.48 Tn, Tor Ib, > 4.5 O C
,..

(5.19 b)

Considering the month of January (I):

..
I
I

R,,, = O
I
I

.
I

Similarly R,, for other montlis are calculated arid tal,ulated as under:
I
I
I
I I I I I

Runoff (cm)

17.1

15.1

2.6

: .

Annual runoff = 17.1 + 15.1 + 2.6 = 34.8 cm

Runoff

Annual n111off Annual rurioff coefticient Allnual

,

34.8 - o.33

nfall .106.0 -

SAQ 4

In a ~noliththe virgin flow volui~ie RV is obtained as

where,

VYis the volume of tlow as measured V d the volunie of waler diverted out of the stream, md Vr the Volume returned to the strean.

: .

V r = 0.8 + 0.3 = 1.10 Mm-per month, 'md

3

Vd =

3.0 + 0.5 = 3.5 ~ r n per ' lnoilth

So; for the month of January, The computed virgin tlow, for all the months we tabulated below:
I

Month

3
3.2

5
4.5

20.4

8
24.4

9
16.4

10
11.4

11

5.4

12

R V M N ~ 4.4

3.9

3.0

10.4

9.4

Total m~ofl' per yea

Totd rainfall per year

C ( 4.4 + ... 4- 5.4 )

100

= 116.8

~ m "

i j 185 = 120 x 10 x - = 222 Mm

"

: .

Runoff-Rainfall ratio

= 116'X - 0.53

222