HYDROLOGY
aspect inherent in hydrological studies.
Lesson 1: Hydrology and Hydrologic Cycle
I. Definition of Hydrology
Hydrology means the science of water. It is the
science that deals with the occurrence, circulation
and distribution of water of the earth and earth’s
atmosphere. Hydrology is basically an applied
science. To further emphasize the degree of
applicability, the subject is sometimes classified as
1. Scientific hydrology - the study which is
concerned chiefly with academic aspects.
2. Engineering or applied hydrology - a study
concerned with engineering applications.
In general sense, engineering hydrology deals with (i)
estimation of water resources, (ii) the study of
processes such as precipitation, runoff,
evapotranspiration and their interaction and (iii) the
study of problems such as floods and droughts, and
strategies to combat them.
II. Applications in Engineering
Hydrology finds its greatest application in the
design and operation of water-resources
engineering projects, such as those for (i) irrigation,
(ii) water supply, (iii) flood control, (iv) water power,
and (v) navigation. In all these projects hydrological
in 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.
The hydrological study of a project should
necessarily precede structural and other detailed
design studies. It involves the collection of relevant
data analysis of the data by applying the principles
and theories of hydrology to seek solutions to
practical problems.
Many important projects in the past have failed
due to improper assessment of the hydrological
factors. Some typical failures of hydraulic structures
are: (i) overtopping and consequent failure of an
earthen damn due to an inadequate spillway
capacity, (ii) failures of bridges and culverts due to
excess flood flow and (iii) inability of a large
reservoir to fill up with water due to overestimation
of the stream flow. Such failure, often called
hydrological failure underscore the uncertainty
Various phases of the hydrological cycle, such as
rainfall, runoff, evaporation and transpiration are all
non-uniformly distributed both in time and space.
Further, practically all hydrologic phenomena are
complex and at the present level of knowledge, they
can be at best be interpreted with the aid of
probability concepts. Hydrological events are
treated as random processes and the historical data
relating to the event are analyzed by statistical
methods to obtain information on probabilities of
occurrence of various events. The probability
analysis of hydrologic data is an important
component of present-day hydrological studies and
enables the engineer to take suitable design
decisions consistent with economic and other
criteria to be taken in a given project.
III. Importance of Hydrology
1. Design of Hydraulic Structures: Structures such
as bridges, causeways, dams, spillways etc. are in
contact with water. Accurate hydrological
predictions are necessary for their proper
functioning. Due to a storm, the flow below a bridge
has to be properly predicted. Improper prediction
may cause failure of the structure. Similarly, the
spillway in case of a dam which is meant for
disposing excess water in a dam should also be
designed properly, otherwise flooding water may
overtop the dam.
2. Municipal and Industrial Water Supply: Growth
of towns and cities and also industries around them
is often dependent on fresh water availability in
their vicinity. Water should be drawn from rivers,
streams, ground water. Proper estimation of water
resources in a place will help planning and
implementation of facilities for municipal (domestic)
and industrial water supply.
3. Irrigation: Dams are constructed to store water
for multiple uses. For estimating maximum storage
capacity seepage, evaporation and other losses
should be properly estimated. These can be done
with proper understanding of hydrology of a given
river basin and thus making the irrigation project a
successful one. Artificial recharge will also increase
ground water storage.
4. Hydroelectric Power Generation: A
hydroloelectric power plant need continuous water
supply without much variations in the stream flow.
Variations will affect the functioning of turbines in
the electric plant. Hence proper estimation of river
flow and also flood occurrences will help to
construct efficient balancing reservoirs and these
will supply water to turbines at a constant rate.
5. Flood Control in Rivers: Controlling floods in a
river is a complicated task. The flow occurring due to
a storm can be predicted if the catchment
characteristics are properly known. In many cases
damages due to floods are high. Joint work of
hydrologist and meteorologists in threatening areas
may reduce damage due to floods. Flood plain zones
maybe demarked to avoid losses.
6. Navigation: Big canals in an irrigation scheme can
be used for inland navigation. The depth of water
should be maintained at a constant level. This can be
achieved by lock gates provided and proper draft to
be maintained. If the river water contains sediments,
they will settle in the channel and cause problems
for navigation. Hence the catchment characteristics
should be considered and sediment entry into the
canals should be done.
7. Pollution Control: It is an easy way to dispose
sewage generated in a city or town into streams and
rivers. If large stream flow is available compared to
the sewage discharge, pollution problems do not
arise as sewage gets dilluted and flowing water also
has self-purifying capacity. The problem arises when
each of the flows are not properly estimated. In case
sewage flow is high, it should be treated before
disposal into a river or stream.
IV. Sources of Data
Depending upon the problem at hand, a
hydrologist would require data relating to the
various relevant phases of the hydrological cycle
playing on the problem catchment. The data
normally required in the studies are:
1. Weather records-temperature, humidity and
wind velocity
2. Precipitation data
3. Stream flow records
4. Evaporation and evapotranspiration data
5. Infiltration characteristics of the study area
6. Soils of the area
7. Land use and land cover
8. Groundwater characteristics
9. Physical and geological characteristics of the
area
10. Water quality data.
V. The Hydrologic Cycle
Figure 1 - The Hydrologic Cycle
The figure above is a schematic representation
of the hydrologic cycle. A convenient starting point
to describe the cycle is in the oceans. Water in the
oceans evaporate due to the heat energy provided
by solar radiation. The water vapour moves upwards
and forms clouds. While much of the clouds
condense and fall back to the ocean as rain, a part of
the clouds is driven to the land areas by winds.
There they condense and precipitate onto the land
mass as rain, snow, hail, sleet, etc. A part of the
precipitation may evaporate back to the atmosphere
even while falling. Another part may be intercepted
by vegetation, structures and other such surface
modification from which it may be evaporated back
to the atmosphere or move down to the ground
surface.
A portion of the water that reaches the ground
enters the earth’s surface through infiltration,
enhance the moisture content of the soil and reach
the groundwater body. Vegetation sends a portion
of the water from under the ground surface back to
the atmosphere through the process of transpiration.
The precipitation reaching the ground surface after
meeting the needs of infiltration and evaporation
moves down the natural slope over the the surface
and through a network pf gullies, streams and rivers
to reach the ocean. The groundwater may come to
the surface through springs and other outlets after
spending a considerably longer time than the
surface flow. The portion of the precipitation which
by a variety of paths above and below the surface of
the earth reaches stream channel is called runoff.
Once it enters a stream channel, runoff becomes
stream flow.
Condensation - is the cooling of water vapor until it
becomes a liquid. Condensation generally occurs in
the atmosphere when warm air rises, cools and
loosed its capacity to hold water vapor. As a result,
excess water vapor condenses to form cloud
droplets. The upward motions that generate clouds
can be produced by convection in unstable air,
convergence associated with cyclones, lifting of air
by fronts and lifting over elevated topography such
as mountains.
Precipitation - the moisture that falls from the
atmosphere as rain, snow, sleet or hail. Precipitation
varies in amount, intensity, and form by season and
geographic location. These factors impact whether
water will flow into streams or infiltrate into the
ground.
Evaporation - it is the phase chage of liquid water
into a vapor. Evaporation is an important means of
transferring energy between the surface and air
above. The energy used to evaporate water is called
“latent energy”. Latent energy is “locked up” in the
water molecule when water undergoes the phase
change from a liquid to a gas.
Transpiration - it is the process by which plants
return moisture to the air. Plants take up water
through their roots and then lose some of the water
through pores in their leaves.
Evapotranspiration - it is the combined net effect of
evaporation and transpiration. Evapotranspiration
uses a larger portion of precipitation than the other
processes associated with the hydrologic cycle.
Infiltration - it is the entry of water into the soil
surface. Infiltration constitutes the sole source of
water to sustain the growth of vegetation and it
helps to sustain the ground water supply to wells,
springs and streams. The rate of infiltration is
influenced by the physical characteristics of the soil,
soil cover, water content of the soil, soil
temperature and rainfall intensity.
Percolation - Percolation is the downward
movement of water through soil and rock.
Percolation occurs beneath the root zone. Ground
water percolates through the soil much as water fills
a sponge, and moves from space to space along
fractures in rock, through sand and gravel, or
through channels in formations such as cavernous
limestones.
Runoff - is the movement of water, usually from
precipitation, across the earth’s surface towards
stream channels, lakes, oceans, or depressions or
low points on the earth’s surface. Excess runoff can
lead to flooding, which occurs when there is too
much precipitation.
VI. Human Impact on Water Cycle
Human impacts on the hydrological cycle are
not new. However, as population growth continues
and standards of living rise, there is increasingly
more impact on all aspects of the hydrological cycle.
Many of these impacts are negative but some are
positive.
The earth’s water supply is constant, but man is
capable is changing the series of this fundamental
supply. Population increases, rising living standards
and industrial and economic growth have placed
greater stress on the natural environment. Man
activities can cause inequity in the hydrologic
equation and can affect te quantity and quality of
natural water resources available to current and
future generations.
Water used by households, industries, and
farms have increased. People demand clean water
at reasonable costs, yet the amount of fresh water is
limited and the easily accessible sources have been
developed. As the population increases, so will our
need to withdraw more water from rivers, lakes and
aquifers, threatening local resources and future
water supplies. A larger population will not only use
more water but will discharge more wastewater.
Domestic, agricultural, and industrial wastes,
including the intensive use of pesticides, herbicides
and fertilizers, after overload water supplies with
hazardous chemicals and bacteria. Also, poor
irrigation practices raise soil salinity and evaporation
rates. These factors contribute to a reduction in the
availability of potable water, putting even greater
pressure on existing water resources.
Large cities and urban sprawl particularly affect
local climate and hydrology. Urbanization is
accompanied by accelerated drainage of water
through road drains and city sewer systems, which
even increases the magnitude of urban flood events.
This alters the rates of infiltration, evaporation and
transpiration that would otherwise occur in a
natural setting. The replenishing of ground water
aquifers does not occur or occurs at a slower rate.
Together, these various effects determine the
amount of water in the system and can result in
extremely negative consequences for river
watersheds, lake levels, aquifers, and the
environment as a whole.
VII. World Water Balance
The total quantity of water in the world is
estimated to be about 1386 million cubic kilometers.
About 96.5% of this water is contained in the oceans
as saline water. SOme of the water on the land
amounting to about 1% of the total water is also
saline. Thus only about 35.0 M km3 of fresh water is
available. Out of this about 10.6 M km3 is both liquid
and fresh and the remaining 24.4 M km3 is
contained in frozen state as ice in the polar regions
and on mountain tops and glaciers. An estimated
distribution of water on the earth is given in Table
1.1.
 The global annual water balance is shown in discharge of 200,000 m3/s. India’s largest river, the
Table 1.2. Brahmaputra, and the second largest, the Ganga,
flow into the Bay of Bengal with a mean annual
average discharges of 16,200 m3/s and 15,600 m3/s
respectively.

It is seen from Table 1.2 that the annual

evaporation from the world’s oceans and inland
areas are 0.505 and 0.072 M km3 respectively. Thus,
over the oceans about 9% more water evaporates
than that falls back as precipitation. Correspondingly,
there will be excess precipitation over evaporation
on the land mass. The differential, which is
estimated to be about 0.047 M km3 is the runoff
from land mass to oceans and groundwater outflow
to oceans. It is interesting to know that less than 4%
of this total river flow is used for irrigation and the
rest flows down to sea.
Annual water balance studies of the sub-areas
of the world indicate interesting facts. The water
balance of the continental land mass is shown in
Table 1.3(a). It is interesting to see from this table
that Africa, in spite of its equatorial forest zones, is
the driest continent in the world with only 20% of
the precipitation going as runoff. On the other hand,
North America and Europe emerge as continents
with highest runoff. Extending this type of analysis
to a smaller land mass, viz. the Indian subcontinent,
the long term average runoff for India is found to be
46%.

Water balance studies on the oceans indicate that

there is considerable transfer of water between the
oceans and the evaporation and precipitation values
vary from one ocean to another (Table 1.3(b)).

Each year he rivers of the world discharge about

44,700 km3 of water into the oceans. This amounts
to an annual average flow of 1.417 Mm3/s. The
world’s largest river, Amazon, has an annual average