DEDAN KIMATHI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS

2015/2016 ACADEMIC YEAR

FOURTH YEAR, FIRST SEMESTER EXAMINATIONS

FOR THE DEGREE OF

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN CIVIL ENGINEERING

UNIT CODE: ECE 2402

UNIT TITLE: HYDROLOGY I

DATE: 7TH SEPTEMBER 2015 TIME: 2.00PM – 4.00PM

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

• This paper contains FOUR (4) questions

• Answer any THREE questions
• ALL Questions carry 20 Marks each
• All workings MUST be shown on the provided answer booklets
• All symbols have their usual meaning unless otherwise stated

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QUESTION 1 (20 MARKS)

a) With the aid of a neat sketch, describe the hydrologic cycle (6 Marks)

b) Four rain gauges are located within a rectangular area with four corners at (0, 0), (4, 0),
(4, 4) and (0, 4) have the coordinates and recorded rainfalls as shown in Table 1, All
coordinates are expressed in KM.

Table 1: Rain gauges and their Annual Rainfall

Rain Gauge Location Annual Rainfall (cm)

(1,1) 50
(3,1) 60
(3,3) 40
(1,3) 50

Answer the following:

i. Compute average areal rainfall by Thiessen polygon method
ii. Compute results of Thiessen polygon method and un-weighted mean for this
case
iii. State two disadvantages of Thiessen polygon method

(8 Marks)
c) Describe three types of precipitation (6 Marks)

QUESTION 2 (20 MARKS)

a) List FOUR Conditions necessary for formation of precipitation (2 Marks)

b) Describe THREE rainfall measurement methods (3 Marks)
c) Explain FIVE parameters used to define rainfall, what is the significance of each in civil
engineering practice? (10 Marks)
d) With aid of a diagram, explain the double mass test used in hydrological data screening.
(5
Marks)

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QUESTION 3 (20 MARKS)

a) Explain how the following factors affect evaporation (6 Marks)

i) Temperature of water and air
ii) Wind
iii) Water Depth and Soil Type
b) Explain any TWO methods of estimating evaporation from water bodies (4 Marks)
c) The following observations were made at a reservoir site on a particular day for the purpose of fitting
the data in Penman’s equation
 Mean air temperature (T) was 20 C
 Average area of water spread is 3.5Km^2
 Effective net radiation is 6.4mm/day
 Factor Ea in penman is 2.8mm/day
 Another dimensionless factor
∆
=¿
∆+ γ
Make any other necessary assumption and compute reservoir evaporation in ha-m (4 Marks)
d) Estimate the monthly change in storage in metres of a reservoir in the month of April of certain year
using the following data:
 Surface area of the lake is 150 ha
 Inflow during the period of April is 1m^3/s
 Outflow during the period of april is 0.8m^3/s
 Total seepage loss in the month is 2cm
 Total precipitation in the month is 3cm
 Total evaporation is 8 cm for the month (6 Marks)

QUESTION 4 (20 MARKS)

a) Distinguish between short and long duration rainfall-runoff relations (4 Marks)

b) Discuss any TWO practical application of hydrology (2 Marks)
c) Using a sketch show Time of Concentration and Peak Discharge as it relate to rainfall –
runoff Modelling (4 Marks)
d) State TWO types of rainfall –runoff models (2 Marks)
e) Explain any FOUR factors that influence Rainfall – Runoff relationship in a catchment
(8
Marks)

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