Chapter 1: Introduction

to Hydrology

Dr. Ng Jing Lin

 Learning Outcomes

1. Define hydrology & its importance to civil engineering,

2. Explain process of hydrology cycle
3. Apply water balance equation which cover processes of
precipitation, evaporation, infiltration, runoff and
groundwater.
 Introduction to Hydrology
• Hydrology is the science of water concerned with the origin, circulation, distribution,
and properties of waters of the earth and their reaction with their environment,
including transformation among liquid, solid and gas in atmosphere, surface and
subsurface land.

Science - Research tending towards the aspect of water

occurrence theory, it’s chemical and biological
characteristics and behavior.

Hydrology
Engineering - Research tending towards the practical
aspect; that is using the knowledge of hydrology science to
complete water source projects. Also involves researches
to evaluate and approximate the available amount of
water, according to the context of time and space.
Earth Water Distribution
 Hydrological Cycle

The cyclic movement of water from the sea to the atmosphere and hence by
precipitation to the earth, where it collects in streams and runs back to the sea. This
endless circulation has neither beginning nor end.
 Hydrological Processes
1. Evaporation (E) - The transformation of water from liquid to gas phases as it moves
from the ground or bodies of water into the overlying atmosphere. The source of
energy for evaporation is primarily solar radiation.
2. Transpiration (T) - The loss of water vapor through plant tissue and leaves.
3. Precipitation (P) - Condensed water vapor that falls to the earth surface. Most
precipitation occurs as rain, but also includes snow, hail, fog drip, sleet, etc.
4. Run-off (R) - The variety of ways by which water moves across the land. This
includes both surface runoff and channel runoff. As it flows, the water may
infiltrate into the ground, evaporate into the air, become stored in lakes or
reservoirs, or be extracted for agricultural or other human uses.
5. Infiltration (F) - The flow of water from the ground surface into the ground. Once
infiltrated, the water becomes soil moisture or groundwater.
6. Groundwater flow (G) – Water that infiltrate into the ground will flows in porous
media in the subsurface in either shallow or deeper aquifer systems that can be
pumped for water supply to agricultural and municipal water systems.
 Watershed (Catchment area/drainage
area/drainage basin)
• Watershed is a contiguous area (ground surface or through the ground) that intercepts
the rainfall and drains to an outlet (lake/river/ocean) via stream, tributaries or ditches.
COMPONENTS OF WATERSHED

• Precipitation: Water that falls to earth as rain and flows into stream
and is absorbed into the ground for plants to take up in their roots

• Headwaters: Places where streams begin, usually the highest point

• Tributary: Small streams flow into one another to make larger

streams. Larger streams join to form rivers

• Floodplain: Area that can become flooded when a river or stream

overflows

• Estuary: Area where the river meets the ocean. Fresh water from
river and salt water from ocean mix here

• Ridgeline: Top edge of the mountain that divides one watershed

from another
Watershed (Catchment area/drainage
area/drainage basin)
 Water Balance Equations
• The total amount of water available to the earth is finite and conserved. Although
the total volume of water in the global hydrologic cycle remains constant, the
distribution of this water is continually changing on continents, in regions and local
catchments.
• From the conservation of mass, water balance for any storage can be expressed as:
Qi − Qo = ds/dt eq.(1)
where,
Qi - input flow rate,
Qo - output flow rate,
ds/dt - change in storage per time.

• For a discrete system with a time duration Δt, eq.(1) can be expressed as:

Vi − Vo = ΔS eq.(2)
where Vi and Vo are input volume and output volume, while ΔS is storage
change.
 Water Balance Equations
• The same concept can be applied to small basins or large watersheds, with the
added difficulty that all loss terms in the hydrologic balance may not be known.
For a given time period, a conceptual mathematical model of the overall balance
for eq.(1) would become, in unit of depth (inch @ mm) over the basin.

ΔS = P – (R + E + T + G) eq.(3)

where,
ΔS = change in storage in a specified time period
P = precipitation
R = surface runoff
G = groundwater - infiltration into ground
E = evaporation
T = transpiration
 Common Units
• Flow rate in stream and rivers are usually recorded as cubic metres per second
(m3/s) or cubic feet per second (cfs).
• Volumes are often measured as cubic metres, gallons, and litres.
• Precipitations are commonly recorded in inches (inch) or millimetres (mm).
• Rainfall rates are usually represented in inches or centimetres per hour (cm/h).
• Evaporation, transpiration and infiltration rate are measured as inches (inch) or
millimetres (mm) per day or longer time periods.

• Some common conversions:

1 ha = 10,000 m2
1 inch = 0.254 metre = 25.4 mm
1 foot = 0.3048 metre
1 gallon = 0.003785 m3
1 m3 = 1000 litres
1 mile = 1.609 km
 Example 1.1

For a given month, a 121 ha lake has 0.43 m3/s of inflow, 0.37 m3/s of outflow,
and total storage increase of 1.97 ha-m. a USGS gage next to the lake recorded a
total of 3.3 cm precipitation for the lake for the month. Assuming that
infiltration loss is insignificant for the lake, determine the evaporation loss, over
the lake for the month.
 Example 1.2
A swimming pool (6m x 6m x 1.5m) has a small leak at the bottom. Daily data of
rainfall, evaporation, and water level are measure taken for 10 days to determine what
should be done for repair. Estimate the average daily leakage out of the swimming
pool in cm3/day. Assume the pool is exactly 1.5m deep at the end of day 1.
Day Evaporation (mm) Rainfall (mm) Measured Level (mm)
1 12.7 - 1,524
2 0 25.4
3 12.7 -
4 0 50.8
5 12.7 -
6 12.7 -
7 0 101.6
8 12.7 -
9 12.7 -
10 12.7 - 1,321
The end… thank you!