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represents a volume of water equal to
Elevated regions 1 in 260-390 k
Hilly and very heavy rainfall areas 1 in 130 Km2 preferably with 10%
of the rain-gauge stations equipped
with the self recording type
In India, on an average, there is 1 rain-gauge station for every 500 k
, while in more
developed countries, it is 1 station for 100 k
.
The aim of the optimum rain-gauge network design is to obtain all quantitative data averages
and extremes that define the statistical distribution of the hydro meteorological elements,
with sufficient accuracy for practical purposes. When the mean areal depth of rainfall is
calculated by the simple arithmetic average, the optimum number of rain-gauge stations to be
established in a given basin is given by the equation (IS, 1968)
2
v
c
N
p
(
=
(
Where, N = optimum number of raingauge stations to be established in the basin
C
v
= Coefficient of variation of the rainfall of the existing rain gauge stations (say, n)
p = desired degree of percentage error in the estimate of the average depth of
rainfall over the basin
The number of additional rain-gauge stations (Nn) should be distributed in the different
zones (caused by isohyets) in proportion to their areas, i.e., depending upon the spatial
distribution of the existing raingauge stations and the variability of the rainfall over the basin.
Saturated Network Design
If the project is very important, the rainfall has to be estimated with great accuracy; then a
network of rain-gauge stations should be so set up that any addition of rain-gauge stations
will not appreciably alter the average depth of rainfall estimated. Such a network is referred
to as a saturated network.
Example: The normal annual rainfalls of a basin are 88cm, 104cm, 138cm, 78cm and 56cm.
Determine the optimum number of rain-gauge stations to be established in the basin if it is
desired to limit the error in the mean value of rainfall to 10%.
Solution:
Arithmetic mean, x =
= 92.8cm
Standard deviation,
( )
2
1
x x
n
o
=
= 30.7cm
station Normal annual rainfall, x (cm) difference ( x x ) Difference ( x x )
2
A 88 -4.8 23
B 104 11.2 125
C 138 45.2 2043
D 78 -14.8 219
E 56 -36.8 1354
464
( x x )
2
=3767.4
C
v
=
x
=
100 = 33.1%
The optimum number of rain-gauge stations to limit the error in the mean value of rainfall to
p=10%.
2
v
c
N
p
(
=
(
=
2
33.1
10
(
(
= 11
Additional rain-gauge stations to be established = N n = 11 5 = 6
1.15 Estimation of missing rainfall data
Many precipitation stations have short breaks in their records because of absence of
the observer or because of instrumental failures. It is often necessary to estimate this missing
record. In the procedure used by the U.S. Environmental Data Service, precipitation amounts
are estimated from observations at three stations as close to and as evenly spaced around the
station with the missing record as possible. If the normal annual precipitation at each of the
index stations is within 10% of that for the station with the missing record, a simple
arithmetic average of the precipitation at the index stations provides the estimated amount.
Normal ratio method- If the normal annual precipitation at any of the index stations differs
from that at the station in question by more than 10%, the normal-ratio method is used. In this
method, the amounts at the index stations are weighted by the ratios of the normal-annual-
precipitation values. That is, precipitation P
x
at station X is:
1 2
1 2
1 2 1 2
1
... ...
x x x x n
x n
n n
N N N N P P P
p P P P
n N N N n N N N
( (
= + + = + +
( (
Where N
1,
N
2
N
n
= normal annual rainfall of index stations
N
x
= normal annual rainfall of missing station
n = number of index stations
Example: A precipitation station X was inoperative for some time during which a storm
occurred. The storm totals at three stations A, B and C surrounding X, were respectively 6.60,
4.80 and 3.70 cm. the normal annual precipitation amounts at stations X, A, B and C are
respectively 65.6, 72.6, 51.8 and 38.2 cm. Estimate the storm precipitation for station X.
Solution: If N
x
, N
A
, N
B
and N
C
are the average annual precipitation amounts at X, A, B and
C and P
A
, P
B
and P
C
are the storm totals of stations A, B and C surrounding X, the storm
precipitation P at station X is given by
1
3
x x x
x A B C
A B C
N N N
p P P P
N N N
(
= + +
(
1 65.6 65.6 65.6
6.6 4.8 3.7
3 72.6 51.8 38.2
x
p
(
= + +
(
= 6.11cm
Arithmetic mean method- If the normal annual precipitation at various stations is within
about 10% of the normal annual precipitation at station X, then a simple arithmetic average
procedure is followed to estimate Px. Thus
( )
1 2
1
...
x m
p P P P
M
= + +
1.16 Double mass curve
The trend of the rainfall records at a station may slightly change after some years due
to a change in the environment (or exposure) of a station either due to coming of a new
building, fence, planting of trees or cutting of forest nearby, which affect the catch of the
gauge due to change in the wind pattern or exposure.
The checking for inconsistency of a record is done by the double-mass curve
technique. This technique is based on the principle that when each recorded data comes from
the same parent population, they are consistent. The consistency of records at the station in
question (say, X) is tested by a double mass curve by plottting the cumulative annual (or
seasonal) rainfall at station X against the concurrent cumulative values of mean annual (or
seasonal) rainfall for a group of surrounding stations, for the number of years of record.
Figure 1.15 Double mass curve
Since the past response is to be related to the present conditions, the data
(accumulated precipitation of the station x, i.e., P
x
and the accumulated values of the
average of the group of the base stations, i.e., P
av
) are usually assembled in reverse
chronological order. Values of P
x
are plotted against P
av
for the concurrent time periods,
Fig. 1.15. A definite break in the slope of the resulting plot points to the inconsistency of the
data indicating a change in the precipitation regime of the station x. The precipitation values
at station x at and beyond the period of change is corrected using the relation,
c
cx x
a
S
p P
S
=
where, P
cx
= corrected value of precipitation at station x at any time t
P
x
= original recorded value of precipitation at station x at time t.
S
c
= corrected slope of the double-mass curve
S
a
= original slope of the curve.
Thus the older records of station x, have been corrected so as to be consistent with the new
precipitation regime of the station x.
1.17 Calculating Average Rainfall
The time of rainfall record can vary and may typically range from one minute to one day for
non recording gauges, recording gauges, on the other hand, continuously record the rainfall
and may do so from one day one week, depending on the make of instrument. For any time
duration, the average depth of rainfall falling over a catchment can be found by the following
three methods.
The Arithmetic Mean Method
The Thiessen Polygon Method
The Isohyetal Method
1. The arithmetic-mean method
The arithmetic-mean method is the simplest method of determining areal average
rainfall. It involves averaging the rainfall depths recorded at a number of gages. This
method is satisfactory if the gages are uniformly distributed over the area and the
individual gage measurements do not vary greatly about the mean.
ave
P
p
n
=
Where, P
ave
= average depth of rainfall over the area
P
= 10 mm
This method is fast and simple and yields good estimates in flat country if the gauges are
uniformly distributed and the rainfall at different stations do not vary very widely from the
mean. These limitations can be partially overcome if topographic influences and aerial
representativity are considered in the selection of gauge sites.
2. The Thiessen polygon method
This method attempts to allow for non-uniform distribution of gauges by providing a
weighting factor for each gauge. The stations are plotted on a base map and are connected by
straight lines. Perpendicular bisectors are drawn to the straight lines, joining adjacent stations
to form polygons, known as Thiessen polygons (Fig. 1.17). Each polygon area is assumed to
be influenced by the raingauge station inside it, i.e., if P
1
, P
2
, P
3
, ...P
i
are the rainfalls at the
individual stations, and A
1
, A
2
, A
3
,...A
i
. are the areas of the polygons surrounding these
stations, (influence areas) respectively, the average depth of rainfall for the entire basin is
given by
( )
i i
ave
i
AP
p
A
=
Where,
i
A
= 10.40 mm
3. The isohyetal method
In this method, the point rainfalls are plotted on a suitable base map and the lines of
equal rainfall (isohyets) are drawn giving consideration to orographic effects and storm
morphology, Fig. 1.18. The areas may be measured with a planimeter if the catchment map is
drawn to a scale. The average rainfall between the succesive isohyets taken as the average
of the two isohyetal values are weighted with the area between the isohyets, added up and
divided by the total area which gives the average depth of rainfall over the entire basin, i.e.,
P
ave
=
(Area between two adjacent isohyets) (mean of the two adjacent isohyets
values)
Figure 1.18 Isohyetal method (a) recorded rainfall (b) Isohyets and areas enclosed
between two consecutive isohyets
For the problem shown in Figure 1.18, the following may be assumed to be the areas
enclosed between two consecutive isohyets and are calculated as under:
Area I = 40 km
2
Area II = 80 km
2
Area III = 70 km
2
Area IV = 50 km
2
Total catchment area = 240 km
2
The areas II and III fall between two isohyets each. Hence, these areas may be thought of
as corresponding to the following rainfall depths:
Area II : Corresponds to (10 + 15)/2 = 12.5 mm rainfall depth
Area III : Corresponds to (5 + 10)/2 = 7.5 mm rainfall depth
For Area I, we would expect rainfall to be more than 15mm but since there is no record, a
rainfall depth of 15mm is accepted. Similarly, for Area IV, a rainfall depth of 5mm has to be
taken.
Hence, the average precipitation by the isohyetal method is calculated to be
=9.89 mm
1.18 Depth-Area-Duration curves
In designing structures for water resources, one has to know the areal spread of rainfall
within watershed. However, it is often required to know the amount of high rainfall that may
be expected over the catchment. It may be observed that usually a storm event would start
with a heavy downpour and may gradually reduce as time passes. Hence, the rainfall depth is
not proportional to the time duration of rainfall observation. Similarly, rainfall over a small
area may be more or less uniform. But if the area is large, then due to the variation of rain
falling in different parts, the average rainfall would be less than that recorded over a small
portion below the high rain fall occurring within the area. Due to these facts, a Depth-Area-
Duration (DAD) analysis is carried out based on records of several storms on an area and, the
maximum areal precipitation for different durations corresponding to different areal extents.
The result of a DAD analysis is the DAD curves which would look as shown in Figure 1.19
Figure 1.19 A typical Depth-Area-Duration (DAD) Curve.
For a rainfall of a given duration, the average depth decreases with the area in an exponential
fashion given by
0
n
KA
P Pe
=
Where P = average depth in cm over an area A km
2
0
P = highest amount of rainfall in cm at the storm centre and k and n are constants for
a given region
1.19 Intensity-Duration-Frequency curves
For many engineering problems such as run off disposal and erosion control, it is
necessary to know the rainfall intensities of different durations and different recurrence
intervals. The relationship between intensity, storm duration and frequency at any location
can be obtained from the analysis of rainfall records available at that location. First of all, the
rainfall intensity record of selected rainfall duration, say 10 minutes, is collected for a
location and the frequency analysis is carried out to obtain the rainfall intensity for different
frequencies. The process is then repeated for other durations, and one can obtain a plot as
shown in figure 1.20.
It has been found that intensity-duration-frequency curve can be represented by the
following mathematical expression
( )
b
n
KT
t
D a
=
+
In which i = the intensity of rainfall (cm/hr)
T = the recurrence interval and
D = the duration of rainfall
Constants K, b, a and n do not have fixed value
Figure 1.20 A typical Rainfall Intensity Duration frequency (IDF) curve
Two new concepts are introduced here, which are:
Rainfall intensity
This is the amount of rainfall for a given rainfall event recorded at a station
divided by the time of record, counted from the beginning of the event.
Return period
This is the time interval after which a storm of given magnitude is likely to recur.
This is determined by analyzing past rainfalls from several events recorded at a
station. A related term, the frequency of the rainfall event (also called the storm
event) is the inverse of the return period. Often this amount is multiplied by 100
and expressed as a percentage. Frequency (expressed as percentage) of a rainfall
of a given magnitude means the number of times the given event may be expected
to be equaled or exceeded in 100 years.
1.20 Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP)
The values of extreme rainfall events are important from the water resources
engineering point of view. This is the amount of rainfall over a region which cannot be
exceeded over at that place. The PMP is obtained by studying all the storms that have
occurred over the region and maximizing them for the most critical atmospheric conditions.
The PMP will of course vary over the Earths surface according to the local climatic factors.
Naturally, it would be expected to be much higher in the hot humid equatorial regions than in
the colder regions of the mid-latitudes when the atmospheric is not able to hold as much
moisture. PMP also varies within India, between the extremes of the dry deserts of Rajasthan
to the ever humid regions of South Meghalaya plateau.
From the statistical studies, PMP can be estimated from the following equation
PMP P Ko = +
Where
P
= mean of annual maximum rainfall series
o
= standard deviation of the series
K = frequency factor, which is usually in the neighbourhood of 15