| Faculty Engineering Technology

Chapter 4
Hydrology and hydraulics
Streamflow and runoff analysis

Najihah Abdul Rashid

 Streamflow and runoff analysis
To analyse streamflow measurement and
identify runoff characteristics of stream,
catchment characteristics and storage
analysis
 Streamflow
Stream flow is one of the most important
topics in engineering hydrology because it
directly relate to water supply, flood
control, reservoir design, navigation,
irrigation, drainage, water quality, and
others
 Streamflow measurement
Define as a flow channel into which the
surface runoff from a specified basin
drains. It is measured in units of discharge
(m3/s) occurring at a specified time.
 Streamflow Measurement
• Floodplain management
• Flood forecasting & analysis
• Reservoir operations
• Low flows – water quality concerns
• Design structures – culverts, bridges,
stormwater systems
• Evaluate changes in land use on watersheds
and/or changes in climatic regimes
 Measurement of stage
Water surface elevation measured above
datum. This datum can be the Mean Sea
Level (MSL) or any arbitrary datum
connected independently to the MSL
 Manual Gauges
Staff Gauge
• Fixed rigidly to a structure
(abutment, pier, wall, etc)
• Vertical or inclined with clearly and
accurately graduated permanent
markings
Wire gauge
• Measure the water surface elevation
from above the surface such as from
a bridge or similar structure.
• A weight is lowered by a reel to
touch the water surface
• A mechanical counter measures the
rotation of the wheel which is
proportional to the length of the wire
 Manual gauges (Cont)
• Gauges should not be located in rivers
with scouring characteristics.
• The locations should steer clear of river
bends because the water surface is
inclined and there is turbulence making
the stage measurement inconsistent.
• The upstream of a natural control eg. a
rapid should be used, not downstream.
 (cont)
• A uniform channel helps good stage
measurement. Irregular cross sections
should be avoided.

O.K. Avoid this irregular section

 Automatic Stage recorders
Float gauge recorder
• Float movement fluctuates with change in
stage and this is recorded by a chart. In
hydrologic measurements, both the big
and low flows are measured within the
chart.
Fig 2.1: Stream gauges
 Bubble gauge
• Compressed air or gas is made to bleed
out at a very small rate through an outlet
placed at the bottom of the river
Advantages of bubble gauge
• Cheap (compared to stilling wells)
• Large change in stage (up to 30 m) can be
measured
• Due to constant bleeding action there is
less likelihood of the inlet getting blocked
or choked
Fig 2.2: Bubble gauge
 Stage data
• Presented in the form of a plot of stage
against chronological time known as stage
hydrograph.
• It is crucial for designing hydraulics
structures, flood warning and flood
protection works.
Fig 2.3: Stage hydrograph
 Streamflow measurements
Measurement of velocity
• Current meter
• Floats: Suitable for straight channel, V = L/T
• Dilution
• Manning Equation
 Streamflow measurements
Measurement of velocity
Current meters

The most common instrument in hydrometry.

It has a propeller which is rotated when
water hits it and is connected to magnets
which actuates recorders when the
propeller rotates. The velocity of water
increases the propeller rotation.
Fig 2.4: Current meters
Current meters

Fig 2.5: Vertical-axis meters

 Current meters

Fig 2.6: Horizontal-axis meters

 Current meters
• The number of rotations are measured
and correlated to velocity using the
formula:
• v = a + bN where N is the rotation of
the propeller (revolutions per sec {rps})
• a and b are coefficients determined by
calibration in an experimental flume.
 Current meters

Velocity

b
1
v = a + bN
a

Propeller Rotation, N
 Measuring
streamflow
in small
streams with
a current
meter
Large rivers
– from
bridges or
boats
 For streamflow measurement, we
need:
• Wading
• Bridges
• Boat
• Cablecar
• Cable way
 Velocity area method
• Mostly/frequently used
• River cross-section determined
• Velocity measured using
• Float (for linear channel)
• Current meter
• Vertical velocity measured at 0.2d and
0.8d if depth,d >0.6m. If d<0.6m, velocity
measured at 0.6dm.
 Velocity area method (Cont)
• Q = [Velocity x Area]
• Need to know width of channel (w), Depth of channel
(d), and Velocity of flow (V) (ft/s or m/s)
• Area = w x d
• Because depth & velocity vary across a
channel:
• Important to divide the channel into manageable
segments (slices); Typically use 10-20 segments
• For each segment measure depth, width and velocity
 Velocity area method
Measuring streamflow discharge
• Procedure: at each segment measure
depth then velocity
– If Depth < 0.6m, take one reading @ 60% depth
– If Depth > 0.6m take 2 measurements and
compute the average
• One @ 20% depth
• One @80 % depth
• Average the two readings
Measuring streamflow discharge
 Velocity measurement by floats
• Any floatable substance eg. a tennis ball is
placed at a point and the time(t) it takes it
to move a known distance is noted
• d/t gives the average surface velocity of
the water
Where,
d = distance travelled in time t
 Area
velocity
method
 Area velocity method
Consist of measuring the area of cross
section of the river at a selected section
called the gauging site and measuring the
velocity of flow through the cross-sectional
area
Gauging site must be selected with care to
assure that the stage-discharge curve is
reasonably constant over a long period of
about a few years
 Area velocity method (cont)
• The stream should have:
– A well defined cross section which does not
change in various seasons
– It should be easily accessible all through the year
– The site should be in a straight, stable reach
– The gauging site should be free from backwater
effects in the channel
• At the selected site, the section line is
marked off by permanent survey markings
and the cross section determined
Fig 2.7: Stream section for area velocity method
 Calculation of discharge
• Two method of measurement
• Mean section method
• Mid section method
 Calculation of discharge
mid-section method
Δ Qi = yi x (Wi/2 + Wi+1/2) x Vi
Δ Qi = discharge in the ith segment
For the first and last sections, the segments are
taken to have triangular areas and area
calculated as:
W = (W1 + W2/2)2/ 2W1 (For the first and last section)

W = (Wi/2 + Wi+1/2) (For the rest of the segments)

Calculation of discharge
 Example 4.1
• The data pertaining to a stream-gauging operation at a
gauging site are given below. The rating equation of the
current meter is v= 0.51Ns + 0.03 m/s
• Where, Ns = revolution per second. Calculate the
discharge in the stream
Distance from 0 1.0 3.0 5.0 7.0 9.0 11.0 12.0
left water edge
(m)
Depth (m) 0 1.1 2.0 2.5 2.0 1.7 1.0 0
Revolution of a 0 39 58 112 90 45 30 0
current meter
kept at 0.6 depth
Duration of 0 100 100 150 150 100 100 0
observation (s)
 Example 4.2
The following data were collected during a stream-
gauging operation in a river. Compute the
discharge
Distance from Depth (m) Velocity (m/s)
left water
edge (m)
At 0.2 d At 0.8 d
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
1.5 1.3 0.6 0.4
3.0 2.5 0.9 0.6
4.5 1.7 0.7 0.5
6.0 1.0 0.6 0.4
7.5 0.4 0.4 0.3
9.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
 Dilution technique of streamflow
measurement
The dilution method of flow measurement,
also known as the chemical method ,
depends upon the continuity principle
applied to a tracer which is allowed to mix
completely with the flow
 Dilution gauging
• Using tracer/chemical at upstream
• For uneven stream base and stones stream
• Q can be determined by tracer quantity and
concentration at upstream and downstream
(after dilution) using mass transfer equation.
• Example of tracer:
– Chemical: Sodium cloride,sodium dicromat,manganese sulphate
– Dye: sodium fluoroscein, Rhodamine-WT
– Radioactive: Bromine-82,Sodium-24,Iodine-132
• 2 method
– Sudden injection
– Constant rate injection
Fig 2.8: Sudden injection method
Fig 2.9: Constant rate injection method
 Sudden injection method

Where,
Q = discharge of the stream
V1 = the volume of the tracer solution injected into the stream
C1 = concentration of the tracer solution injected into the stream
C = is the measured tracer concentration at a given time at the
downstream sampling site
Cb = is the background concentration of the stream
T = time
 Constant rate injection method

Where,
q = is the rate of flow of the injected tracer solution
Q = discharge of the stream
Cb = is the background concentration of the stream
C 1= concentration of the tracer solution injected into the stream
C 2= is the measured tracer concentration of the plateu of the
concentration – time curve (fig 2.9)
 Example 4.3
A 25 g/L solution of a fluorescent tracer was
discharged into a stream at a constant rate
of 10 cm3/s. The background
concentration of the dye in the stream
water was found to be zero. At a
downstream section sufficiently far away,
the dye was found to reach an equilibrium
concentration of 5 ppb. Estimate the
stream discharge
 Hydraulic Structures
• Used for small watersheds – such as
experimental watersheds – where need
accurate, continuous flow measurements.
Two types:

– Weirs

– Flumes
 Weirs
• Obstruct flow and
force
• it through a notch
• Stage-Q relationship
established
mathematically for
different types of
notches
Trapezoidal Weir
Trapezoidal Weir
Rectangular Weir
90 degree V-notch Weir
 900 V-notch Weir

Q = 2.5H2/3
 Flumes

• An artificial open channel built to contain

flow within a designed cross-section and
length

• No impoundment

• Water height in flume measured with a

stilling well
 Flumes
• Used to measure flow in:
– water and wastewater treatment plants
– irrigation channels
– agricultural runoff
– runoff plots – research applications
– small watersheds
Large Crest Flumes
Parshall Flume
 Runoff
• Runoff results from rainfall occurrence in a
hydrologic catchment. Rainfall-runoff
relations are very important in hydrology.
• Most work on the prediction of runoff requires
past records.
• The problem is that some streams are not
gauged.
• Also, non-recording gauges only gives the
volume of water and not intensities.
 Runoff (cont)
• There is the need to get records of stream
flow and recording gauge information to
predict runoff from rainfall.
• Some empirical methods are available for
predicting runoff in a catchment without
the stream flow and recording gauge
information.
 Runoff (cont)
• Based on the time delay between the
precipitation and the runoff, the runoff is
classified into two categories:
– Direct runoff
– Base flow
Fig 2.9: Different routes of runoff
 Runoff
• Direct runoff
– Runoff which enters the stream immediately
after the rainfall
• Base flow
– Delayed flow that reaches a stream
essentially as groundwater flow is called
based flow.
– Many times delayed interflow is also included
under this category
 Runoff
Natural flow
• True runoff, stream flow in its natural
condition (without human intervention).
• When there exists storage or diversion works
on a stream, the flow on the downstream
channel is affected by the operational and
hydraulic characteristics of these structures
and does not represent the true runoff, unless
corrected for the diversion of flow and return
flow
The natural flow volume in time Δt at the terminal point of
a catchment is expressed by water balance equation
as
RN = (R0 – Vr) + Vd + E + Ex + ΔS
Where,
RN = natural flow volume in time
R0 = observed flow volume in time at the terminal site
Vr =volume of return flow from irrigation, domestic water
supply and industrial use
Vd = volume diverted out of the stream for irrigation,
domestic water supply and industrial use
E = net evaporation losses from reservoirs on the stream
Ex = net export of water from the basin
ΔS = change in the storage volumes of water storage
bodies on the stream