Course: CE 401 (Water Resources Engineering)

First abstraction or initial loss????

Abstractions from Precipitation

Initial losses
Evaporation
Evapotranspiration
Infiltration

Instructor:
Prof. M Janga Reddy
mjreddy@civil.iitb.ac.in

First abstraction or first loss????

Interception by trees and buildings

Interception by shrubs

Interception by small pits/depressions

Interception by small plants with
large root system

Initial loss
Interception process + depression storage

Interception by large pits/depressions

Interception process: part of rain

caught by vegetation.
it may be evaporated back into
atmosphere
OR it falls on the earth
It may drip off the plant leaves to join
ground called as through-fall
It may run along the leaves-branchesstem and then reach ground called as
stem-flow

Initial loss

Evaporation

Interception process + depression storage

Depression storage: the volume of
water tapped in depressions, before it
can flow over the surface.
It depends on
Type of soil
The condition of the surface
reflecting the amount / nature of the
depressions
Slope of the catchment
Antecedent precipitation

Contd

Evaporation Processes

Vapour pressure at water surface and above

Evaporation:
It is the process in which liquid changes to gaseous state at the free
surface, below the boiling point through the transfer of heat energy.
Generally expressed in mm/day

EL= (ew-ea) :Called as Daltons Law of evaporation (1802)

This evaporation continues until ew=ea , then condensation
takes place (if ew > ea)

Air and water Temperature

The rate of evaporation is dependent on

Vapour pressure at water surface and above

Air and water Temperature
Wind speed
Atmospheric pressure
Quality of the water
Heat storage in Water bodies (size of the water body)

Rate of evaporation increases with increase in water

temperature but it is less correlated with air temperature

Wind speed
Rate of evaporation increases with wind speed up to critical
speed (until it removes all air vapour) then there is no influence.
Critical wind speed is function of size of water bodies
Small water body less speed is sufficient
Large water body high speed is required

Contd
Atmospheric pressure
A decrease in the barometric pressure increases the evaporation (particularly
in high altitudes)

Quality of the water

Evaporation rate can be quantified by:

Measuring using evaporimeters
Empirical equations
Analytical methods

Dissolved salts decreases the evaporation

Approximately corresponds to the % increase in the specific gravity
Evaporation from Sea water is about 2-3% less than the fresh water

Heat storage in Water bodies (size of the water body)

Deep water bodies stores more heat (than shallow one)?
Has larger evaporation
However the evaporation rates are not on the same day- (they are seasonal)
These water bodies will have less evaporation in summer than evaporation rate
during winter
But the depth and area of submergence are also related

Evaporimeters

Evaporimeters

Pans containing water exposed to atmosphere

Loss of water is measured at regular intervals (day)
Types of evaporimeter
Class A Evaporation Pan
ISI Standard pan
Colorado Sunken pan
US geological survey floating pan

Class A evaporation pan

Colorado Sunken
evaporation pan

Evaporimeters

Evaporimeters

Evaporation pans can model large reservoir

Lake evaporation = Cp Pan evaporation
where Cp is pan coefficient
Table: Values of Pan Coefficient (Cp)
S.No. Types of pan
Average
Value

Evaporation pans can model large reservoir

Some disadvantages:
They differ in the heat storing capacity as well as heat
transfer capacity than those of a large lake or a reservoir.
The height of the rim in an evaporation pan affects the wind
action over the surface. Also, it casts a shadow of variable
magnitude over the water surface which affects the radiation
incident to the water surface.

Range

1.

Class A land Pan

0.70

0.60-0.80

2.

ISI pan (modified class A)

0.80

0.65-1.10

3.

Colorado Sunken pan

0.78

0.75-0.86

4.

USGS floating pan

0.80

0.70-0.82

Evaporation Stations

Empirical Evaporation Equations

Generally, based on the Dalton-type equation

It is usual to install evaporation pans in such locations

where other meteorological data are also simultaneously
collected.

EL = K f(u) (ew ea)

The WMO recommends the minimum network of

evaporimeter stations as below:

where

Arid Zones - One station for every 30,000 km2

EL = lake evaporation mm/day

ew = Saturated vapour pressure at the water surface temperature
in mm of mercury
ea = Actual vapour pressure of overlying air at a specified height in
mm of mercury
f(u) = Wind speed correction function
K = a coefficient

Humid temperate climates One station for every 50,000 km2

Cold regions One station for every 100,000 km2

15

A sample empirical linear relationship for estimation of

reservoir evaporation Sri Ram Sagar (TS)

Reservoir Evaporation
The water volume lost due to evaporation from a reservoir in a
month is calculated as

VE = A Epm Cp
Empirical equations can give best approximation
EL=f(St, St+1)
EL= f(At, At+1)
Note: Linear and non-linear relationships can be developed.

Month

Evaporation
loss

Historical evaporation
(Mm3)

Relationship between evaporation and the storage

Et = at + bt * (St+St+1)/2

(mm)

Average

Constant
at

Standard
deviation

Coefficient
bt

Correlation
coefficient

June

277.2

32.45

21.28

-0.04526

0.032891

0.930

July

221.5

35.96

19.13

0.337934

0.026263

0.957

August

177.6

44.24

14.39

7.048066

0.019883

0.949

September

194.4

52.38

11.71

19.19361

0.014872

0.714

October

124.3

49.98

12.69

10.63109

0.016538

0.873

November

165.1

38.64

9.67

12.74526

0.011463

0.898

December

151.1

31.95

10.28

7.959367

0.012263

0.936

January

171.0

26.74

11.54

2.536207

0.014708

0.981

February

201.3

26.69

12.33

3.772574

0.017282

0.944

March

311.8

37.28

19.84

3.464567

0.033528

0.981

April

369.3

36.71

21.58

6.534537

0.039498

0.962

May

386.3

34.97

23.26

3.220164

0.044379

0.966

Reservoir Evaporation - Reduction

Transpiration

Reduction in surface area

Mechanical covers

Processes in which the water reaches

the atmosphere from earth through the
plants
The plants receive water from soil
through roots and transpire this water
into atmosphere as vapour through
stomata in their leaves.

Permanent roof
Temporary roofs
Floating roofs (applicable to very small reservoirs)

Chemical films
Used for large reservoirs
One of the practical and viable solution
Cetyl alcohol (hexadecanol) and stearyl alcohol (octadecanol)
Applied as thin films (0.35 to 0.4 kg/ha/day)

Some of the important characters of the chemical

The films should be strong & flexible,should not break easily due to wave
action
If punctured due to rain or birds etc, the film has to close soon after
It should be pervious to oxygen and carbon dioxide
It should not affect the water quality
It should be colorless, odorless and non toxic
Only disadvantage is that strong winds blow this films to one side of the water
body

Evapotranspiration

Transpiration is function of???

In irrigated area, natural vegetation evaporation and

transpiration occurs together
This processes is called as evapotranspiration
Potential evapotranspiration
Actual evapotranspiration
Field capacity
Permanent wilting point

Evapotranspiration: Penman (1948) defined as the quantity of water

required by actively growing plant of 15 cm height completely shading
the ground and growing with out any shortage of water.
Normally estimated / measured for a standard crop and then applied to
individual crops

1. Meteorological parameters
2. Plant characteristics

Contd

Lysimeters

ET is a function of meteorological parameters, crop

characteristics, location (latitude, longitude, altitude) and time
Direct Measurement
Lysimeters
Field plots

Field plots

The direct method for measuring

the water balance.
Lysimeter consists artificially enclosed
volume of soil for which inflows and
outflows of water can be measured.
Lysimeters have a weighing device and a
drainage system, which permit continuous
measurement of excess water
Allows measuring deep drainage,
evapotranspiration, & storage.

Fig. Lysimeter with installed sensors,

field sensors in the background

ET estimation models
All the models estimate the reference crop evapotranspiration
(ETo). Then converts into crop evapotranspiration (ETc)

ET estimation models
Generally use meteorological
data

Reference Crop ET (ETo)

ET rate of actively growing, well-watered, reference crop
Alfalfa is commonly used as the reference crop
A measure of the amount of energy available for ET

Crop ET:

Maximum temperature.
Minimum temperature
Relative humidity
Wind velocity
Solar Radiation
Sunshine hours

Temperature based methods

Thoronthwaite
Blaney-Criddle and others

Radiation methods
Hargreaves
Jensen-Haise and Others

Combination methods

ETc = Kc ETo
Where ETc = actual crop evapotranspiration rate; ETo = the evapotranspiration rate for a
reference crop; Kc = the crop coefficient

Penman
Kimberly-Penman
Priestly-Taylor
Penman-Monteith and others

Crop Coefficient (Kc)

Empirical coefficient which incorporates type of crop & stage of growth

ET estimation
Table: Data

Estimating ET

Required for different ET methods

The Blaney-Criddle formula:

ET = c[p (0.46 Tmean +8)]
where
ET = Reference crop evapotranspiration (mm/day)
Tmean = mean daily temperature (C)
p = mean daily percentage of annual daytime hours
c= adjustment factor

Evapo-transpiration

Evapo-transpiration

mean daily percentage (p) of annual daytime hours for different latitudes
Latitude

Apr

May

June

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Example on Blaney-Criddle Method

North

Jan

Feb

Mar

Nov

Dec

South

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

June

.15

.20

.26

.32

.38

.41

.40

.34

.28

.22

.17

.13

55

.17

.21

.26

.32

.36

.39

.38

.33

.28

.23

.18

.16

50

.19

.23

.27

.31

.34

.36

.35

.32

.28

.24

.20

.18

45

.20

.23

.27

.30

.34

.35

.34

.32

.28

.24

.21

.20

the ET is calculated as follows:

40

.22

.24

.27

.30

.32

.34

.33

.31

.28

.25

.22

.21

ET = p (0.46 Tmean + 8)

35

.23

.25

.27

.29

.31

.32

.32

.30

.28

.25

.23

.22

ET = 0.29 (0.46 21.5 + 8)

30

.24

.25

.27

.29

.31

.32

.31

.30

.28

.26

.24

.23

= 0.29 (9.89 + 8)

25

.24

.26

.27

.29

.30

.31

.31

.29

.28

.26

.25

.24

= 5.2 mm/day

20

.25

.26

.27

.28

.29

.30

.30

.29

.28

.26

.25

.25

15

.26

.26

.27

.28

.29

.29

.29

.28

.28

.27

.26

.25

10

.26

.27

.27

.28

.28

.29

.29

.28

.28

.27

.26

.26

.27

.27

.27

.28

.28

.28

.28

.28

.28

.27

.27

.27

.27

.27

.27

.27

.27

.27

.27

.27

.27

.27

.27

.27

60

Given:

At Latitude 35 South in the month of October, p = 0.29

Let Tmean = 21.5C

FAO Penman method

Estimating ET
The modified Hargreaves method

ETo = Cp [W Rn + (1-W). f (u). (es ea)]

where

Where
RA

= extraterrestrial radiation (MJ/m2 per day)

Tmax ,Tmin = max and min. daily temperature (Celsius)

Rn = Rns Rnl
Rns = Net short wave radiation mm/day = (1-)Rs
= reflection factor (albedo)
= 0.29+0.06 sin[30(M+0.0333N+2.25)]

ETo = Reference crop evapotranspiration in mm/day

W = temperature and altitude dependent weighting factor
Rn = Net radiation in equivalent evaporation in mm/day
f(u) = Wind related function
(es ea) = difference between the saturated vapour pressure at mean air temp. and the
mean actual vapor pressure of air , both in mbar
Cp = adjustment factor to compensate for the effects of day and night weather
conditions

Rnl = Net long wave radiation mm/day

Rnl = f(T).f(ea).f(n/N) mm/day
f (T) = Effect of temperature on long wave radiation (Rnl)
f (ea) = Effect of actual vapour pressure on long wave radiation (Rnl)
f(n/N) = Effect of ratio between actual and maximum bright sunshine
wave radiation (Rnl)

hours on long

M = number of month Jan=1, N day of month

Rs = Solar radiation in mm/day = (a+b*n/N)Ra

n
= Actual sunshine hours
N
= Maximum possible sunshine hours
Ra = Extra terrestrial radiation in mm/day
Rnl = Net long wave radiation mm/day
Cp = 0.68+0.0028(RHmax)+0.018(Rs)-0.068(U2)+0.013(Uday/Unight)+ 0.0097(U2)
(Uday/Unight) +0.000043(RHmax)(Rs)(U2)

FAO Penman-Monteith Approach

FAO Penman-Monteith Method for estimating reference ETo

f(u) = Wind related function

f(u)= 0.27 [1 + U/100]
U = Wind speed in km / day at 2 m height

es = Saturated vapour pressure at mean air temperature in mbar

es= 33.8639[(0.00738Tmean+0.8072)8-0.000019*|1.8Tmean+48| +0.001316]
ea = Actual vapour pressure of the air in mbar
ea= es (RHmean / 100)

Infiltration
It is the processes of surface entry of water into the soil
Seepage
Percolation

where :
ETo
Rn
G
T
u2
g
D
es
ea
es - ea

= reference evapotranspiration [mm day-1],

= net radiation at the grass surface (MJ m-2 day-1),
= soil heat flux density (MJ m-2 day-1),
= mean daily air temperature at 2m height (oC),
= average hourly wind speed at 2m height (m s-1).
= psychrometric constant (kPa oC-1)
= saturation slope vapor pressure curve (kPa oC-1),
= saturation vapor pressure (kPa),
= actual vapor pressure (kPa), and
= saturation vapor pressure deficit (kPa)

Infiltration is a function of soil characteristics and is expressed

in mm/h
But infiltration opportunity time is also important, which is
function of rainfall intensity, and time available for the water to
enter the soil mass
It affects the surface runoff process by affecting the timing,
distribution and magnitude of surface runoff
It is primary step in ground water recharge

Variation in infiltration rate

Sandy soils have the highest infiltration rates
Clay soils have the lowest infiltration rates.
High organic matter improves infiltration rates.

Infiltration Capacity (fc)

The maximum rate,
at which a given soil at a given time can absorb water

Actual rate of infiltration (expressed in mm/h)

f = fc
f=i

when i fc (runoff starts)

when i< fc (no runoff condition)
where i = intensity of rainfall

Infiltration process is affected by

Characteristic of soil
Surface of entry
Fluid characteristics

Measurement of infiltration

Infiltration indices
In hydrological studies, sometimes it is convenient to use a
constant, average value of infiltration loss for the duration
of the storm, instead of an exponentially decaying
infiltration capacity curve.

Flooding (ring) infiltrometers

Single Ring Infiltrometer
Double Ring infiltrometer

Tension Infiltrometers

The average infiltration rate is known as infiltration index.

Fig. Single Ring Infiltrometer

It assumes a lower infiltration loss at the beginning of the

storm and a higher value at the end of the storm, which is
actually opposite of the real situation.

Two types of infiltration index are in use:

W-index

- index and

46

Fig. Double Ring Infiltrometer

- index

Infiltration indices

-index is derived from the hyetograph of a known storm and

Infiltration index: the average

infiltration rate
Types of infiltration indices
1. -index:

resulting runoff,

it is the average rainfall intensity above

which the rainfall volume is equal to
runoff volume.

2. W-index:
It is a modified version of - index, where
initial losses are separated from the total loss.

where
P= precipitation (cm)
R= runoff (cm)
te= duration of rainfall excess (hrs)
W= average rate of infiltration (cm/h)
Ia= initial losses (cm)

In deriving - index from rainfall hyetograph, it is treated as a

constant infiltration loss.

If the rainfall intensity i is less than , then infiltration rate is

equal to i and there is no runoff.

If rainfall intensity i is more than , then infiltration rate = and

the runoff during t = (i ) t .

- index includes initial losses along with infiltration loss.

Example: A storm with 10.0 cm precipitation produced a

direct runoff of 5.8 cm. Given the time distribution of
the storm as below, estimate the -index of the storm
Time of Start (h)
Incremental rainfall in
each hour (cm)

Various Analytical Models of Infiltration

0.4 0.9 1.5 2.3 1.8 1.6 1.0 0.5

Note:
The first hr and last hr rainfall has not
contributed to the runoff !

Overton Model
Holtan Model
Huggins-Monke (HM) Model
Kostiakov
Green-Ampt (GA) Model
Horton Model
Philip Model

Hence omit the two rainfall duration

and magnitude, thus
Actual rainfall contributed to runoff
is =10-0.4-0.5=9.1 cm only

Kostiakov Model

Horton Model

The infiltration rate is represented by

The infiltration rate is represented by
where a and b are constants,
determined by method of least squares

Problem:
For experimental data given in
Table below, fit the Kostiakov
model and Horton infiltration
model. Show graphically the
model fit to experimental data.
Also plot the relative error in
model fit against time.
Relative error =
(Observed value computed value)
Observed value

Time from start of

rain (min.)

Observ ed Infiltration
rate (cm/h)

6.730

3.605

10

3.438

15

3.101

20

2.776

25

2.600

30

2.567

35

2.565

40

2.487

45

2.494

50

2.510

55

2.384

60

2.275

65

2.303

70

2.336

75

2.323

80

2.240

85

2.381

90

2.377

95

2.208

100

2.282

105

2.264

110

2.316

115

2.195

120

2.168

125

2.325

130

2.085

135

1.969

140

2.102

Kostiakov Model
Step1: plot the data
Step2: Kostiakov model
Take log of f and t
Step3: Plot log (f ) Vs log(t)

Kostiakov Model
Slope = -0.21461
Hence value of
(b-1) = -0.21461
Intercept = 0.787172
=log10(a)

Hence a=5.850

Step4: Fit a straight line find the slope

and intercept
Step5: Slope is equal to b-1; and
antilog of intercept will give you the a
Step6: Estimate the error in estimation

Time from start of

rain (min.)

Observ ed Infiltration
rate (cm/h)

6.730

0.48

0.83

4.62

45.66

3.605

0.70

0.56

4.14

-12.93

10

3.438

1.00

0.54

3.57

-3.63

15

3.101

1.18

0.49

3.27

20

2.776

1.30

0.44

3.07

-9.69

25

2.600

1.40

0.41

2.93

-11.26

30

2.567

1.48

0.41

2.82

-8.89

35

2.565

1.54

0.41

2.73

-5.90

40

2.487

1.60

0.40

2.65

-6.11

45

2.494

1.65

0.40

2.58

-3.43

50

2.510

1.70

0.40

2.52

-0.58

55

2.384

1.74

0.38

2.47

-3.62

60

2.275

1.78

0.36

2.43

-6.29

65

2.303

1.81

0.36

2.39

-3.49

70

2.336

1.85

0.37

2.35

-0.54

75

2.323

1.88

0.37

2.31

0.38

80

2.240

1.90

0.35

2.28

-1.85

85

2.381

1.93

0.38

2.25

5.69

90

2.377

1.95

0.38

2.23

6.82

95

2.208

1.98

0.34

2.20

0.38

100

2.282

2.00

0.36

2.18

4.90

105

2.264

2.02

0.35

2.15

5.17

110

2.316

2.04

0.36

2.13

8.66

115

2.195

2.06

0.34

2.11

120

2.168

2.08

0.34

2.09

3.64

125

2.325

2.10

0.37

2.07

12.12

130

2.085

2.11

0.32

2.06

1.40

135

1.969

2.13

0.29

2.04

-3.46

140

2.102

2.15

0.32

2.02

log t

log f

Estimated Infiltration
rate (cm/h)

-5.16

3.97

3.86
Average

Horton's Model
Step1: plot the data
Step2: Find the basic infiltration
rate from the graph (1.95
cm/hr)
Step 3: Estimate (f-fc), then find
ln (f-fc)
Step3: Plot ln (f-fc) Vs t
Step4: Fit a straight line find the
slope and intercept
Step5: Slope is equal to k
and antilog of intercept will give
the (fo-fc)
Step6: Estimate the error in
estimation

Error in estimation
(%)

0.54

Self Study
1. Analytical models for estimation of
evaporation loss
2. Various models available for estimating
Evapotranspiration and Infiltration
3. Solve all the given problems

?? Solve the Problem and fit the

equation

10