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A hydrograph is a graph showing the rate of flow (discharge) versus time past a
specific point in a river, channel, or conduit carrying flow. The rate of flow is typically
expressed in cubic meters or cubic feet per second (cms or cfs). It can also refer to a
graph showing the volume of water reaching a particular outfall, or location in a
sewerage network. Graphs are commonly used in the design of sewerage, more
specifically, the design of surface water sewerage systems and combined sewers.
Storm hydrographs
Flood hydrographs
Annual hydrographs a.k.a. regimes
Direct Runoff Hydrograph
Effective Runoff Hydrograph
Raster Hydrograph
Storage opportunities in the drainage network (e.g., lakes, reservoirs, wetlands, channel
and bank storage capacity)
1. Rising Limb
2. Peak Segment (or Crest Segment) : Peak segment is shown by inverted U in the
hydrograph. This is the part which is taken as matter of interest by hydrologists. Peak of
hydrograph occurs when all parts of basins contribute at the outlet simultaneously at the
maximum rate. Depending upon the rainfall-basin characterstics, the peak may be
sharp, flat or may have several well defined peaks.
3. Falling Limb (or Recession Limb) : Recession Limb represents the withdrawal of water
from the storage built up during the early phase of hydrograph. It extends from the point
of inflection at the end of the crest to the beginning of the natural groundwater flow. The
shape of recession limb depends upon basin characteristics only and independent of
the storm.
Separating baseflow using the straight line method is suitable only for individual storm
events. For continuous hydrographs, other techniques must be used. To separate
baseflow using the straight line method, the times at which the direct runoff begins and
ends must be determined by looking at the streamflow hydrograph. Open the input
streamflow hydrograph in Excel and plot the streamflow values on y-axis as shown in the
figure below. By looking at the streamflow values, the beginning of runoff is relatively
easy to identify because the hydrograph rises steeply on 09/25/2000. Lets assume that
the direct runoff begins at 8:15 AM on 09/25/2000 (streamflow = 1.9 cfs). Next, we need
to identify when the direct runoff ends. Generally, this point is located somewhere on
the falling limb of the streamflow hydrograph. For a flashy hydrograph, it is reasonable
to assume that it point is located towards the end of the of falling limb. In this case,
assume that the
runoff ends on
8:00 AM on
09/28/2000
(streamflow = 12
cfs). As you can
imaging this is an
inexact science
because it is
difficult to exactly
distinguish
between
baseflow and
direct runoff
purely by using a
streamflow
hydrograph.
Once the beginning and ending of runoff are determined, create a third column in
Excel for baseflow and populate it with values equal to streamflow until 8:15 AM on
09/25/2000. This means that all the discharge until this time is baseflow. Similarly, the
baseflow is equal to streamflow after 8:00 AM 09/28/2000 until the end of the
hydrograph. The values between 1.9 cfs (at 8:15 AM on 09/25/2000) and 12 cfs (at 8:00
AM on 09/28/2000) are then linearly interpolated to get the complete baseflow
hydrrograph. Subtracting the baseflow column from the streamflow values will give you
the direct runoff hydrograph as shown below.
At the end of this step, you should have a baseflow time series and direct runoff
hydrograph. The following figure shows the baseflow (red area) and the direct runoff
(blue line) hydrographs on a single plot.
How do we apply the Green-Ampt equations and the SCS method in
computing for the abstractions from rainfall?
SCS CN Method
According to the SCS method, the total rainfall (P) is divided into three parts: initial
abstraction (Ia), continuous abstraction (Fa) and excess rainfall (Pe). Initial abstraction is
the amount of rainfall that is used for satisfying surface depressions, and never leaves
the watershed. It is calculated as 20% of the total maximum storage or retention (S) of
the watershed. Therefore, Ia = 0.2S. After this initial abstraction is satisfied, the remaining
amount of rainfall is used to satisfy remaining soil storage as continuous abstraction (Fa).
The expression to compute Fa by using the total amount of rainfall (P)and the maximum
retention (S) is given by the following equation:
where, P, Fa, S and Ia have the same unit of length [L]. Usually total rainfall (P) is
known, and S is computed by using the CN (assumed to be given for this exercise) as
shown in the equation below:
S=
Where S is in inches. If the rainfall data is given in some other units, S needs to be
converted to those units before using in the SCS equation.
Essentially, the continuous abstraction term Fa gives the amount of rainfall that is lost
as infiltration from the total rainfall. A more detailed description and explanation for the
SCS CN methodology can be found in documents listed in the Reference Document
and Files section.
REFERENCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org
https://serc.carleton.edu
http://engineeringhydrology.blogspot.com