Hydrology

Syed Obaidullah Shah

Role of Hydrology in Civil Engineering, Job of Hydrologist & his role in different civil engineering projects and Need for development in this field.

Assignment# 1 CMS ID# 8383 Civil 6th Section A Submitted to Engr. Nawaz Ali 05-Apr-12

WHAT IS HYDROLOGY? Hydrology is the science of properties of the earth's water, especially of its movement in relation to land. Hydrology is primarily concerned with the amounts and quality of water moving and accumulating on the land surface and in the soils and rocks near the surface. It therefore encompasses water in rivers, lakes, aquifers and glaciers.

ROLE OF HYDROLOGY IN CIVIL ENGINEERING Hydrology plays an important role in the design and operation of water resources engineering projects like irrigation, flood control, water supply schemes, hydro power projects and navigation. Many important civil engineering projects have failed because of improper assessment of hydrologic aspects of the projects. Hydraulic structures which are part of very important civil engineering projects and cost billions of Rupees, may fail due to improper hydrologic design.

ROLE OF HYDROLOGIST Hydrologists undertake a wide range of activities in order to monitor, manage and protect the water environment. Many activities and studies would be impossible without hydrometric data measurement, collection and archiving. Much of hydrology involves the interpretation and analysis of such data, and hydrologists frequently develop and use mathematical models to mimic the physical processes they examine.

A hydrologist's activities typically include: 1) HYDROMETRIC AND WATER QUALITY MEASUREMENT: Maintaining monitoring networks to record river flows, water levels in rivers, lakes and groundwater; rainfall and other climate variables; Taking water samples and conducting analysis for chemical properties. Working with biologists and ecologists to monitor river and lake conditions.

2) PROCESS STUDIES:

Investigating patterns of rainfall and other forms of precipitation. The study of ice, snow and glaciers. Modeling river flow processes including water quality, sediment movements and channel shapes. Investigating water in the biosphere at all scales, including soil and water interactions.

3) APPLICATIONS: The study of drought and floods, including statistical studies of drought and flood risks. Modeling complex water resource and water supply systems for planning and operation. Investigating the causes of flooding, and possible solutions to flooding problems. Undertaking water quality and other environmental management studies. Assessing water use (e.g. in agriculture and forestry). Examining the impact of climate change on water resources and flooding patterns. Assessing the consequences of changes in land use. Developing models of hydrological processes and systems. Considering environmental impacts on water bodies and the effect of engineering works to manage water (e.g. dams).

ROLE OF HYDROLOGIST IN CIVIL ENGINEERING PROJECTS Hydrologist is an essential member for analysis, design and operation of any hydraulic structure which retain or conveys water i-e from the construction of the simplest culvert to the largest complex of dams, hydroelectric works, barrages and irrigation structures. A hydrologist has to provide the magnitude of stream flow and their probability of occurrence not only for the design of hydraulic structure but also for flood control. He has to predict the water availability into the reservoir from the basin. He has to calculate the reservoir capacity sizing required to assure adequate water for irrigation, hydropower or municipal water supply during droughts.

NEED FOR DEVELOPMENT IN HYDROLOGY The availability of water for agriculture has always been of vital importance to Pakistan. The natural rainfall for crops is adequate only in the Himalayan foothills. Although use of underground waters is increasing, Pakistan may be said to be dependent on its rivers, and all its useful rivers are part of the Indus system. About 60 percent of the flow in the Indus system is concentrated in the three rainy months, there is a great need for reservoirs and dams to regulate the flow, reduce floods and loss to the sea, and provide more water for irrigation. And for that purpose hydrology should be of high importance and should be developed as much as possible so that most advanced and effective methods can be used for the development of countrys water resource related Projects.

EXAMPLES & REFERENCES

Hydrology is used to find out maximum probable flood at proposed sites e.g. Dams. The variation of water production from catchments can be calculated and described by hydrology. Engineering hydrology enables us to find out the relationship between a catchments surface water and groundwater resources. The expected flood flows over a spillway, at a highway Culvert, or in an urban storm drainage system can be known by this very subject. It helps us to know the required reservoir capacity to assure adequate water for irrigation or municipal water supply in droughts condition. It tells us what hydrologic hardware (e.g. rain gauges, stream gauges etc) and software (computer models) are needed for real-time flood forecasting Used in connection with design and operations of hydraulic structure Used in prediction of flood over a spillway, at highway culvert or in urban storm drainage Used to assess the reservoir capacity required to assure adequate water for irrigation or municipal water supply during drought Hydrology is an indispensable tool in planning and building hydraulic structures. Hydrology is used for city water supply design which is based on catchments area, amount of rainfall, dry period, storage capacity, runoff evaporation and transpiration.

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