ESTIMATION OF SEDIMENT YIELD

AND PEAK RUNOFF

Programmer: Christine Rohrer
Date:
3/27/2003

Purpose:

This workbook is used to calculate sediment yield using the method presented
in River Mechanics. (Julien, 2002). This workbook is also used to estimate peak
discharge, given a drainage area size.

References:

Julien, P.Y. 2002. River Mechanics. Cambridge University Press.

INPUT DATA - SEDIMENT YIELD

Required Model Input for Sediment Yield Calculation:
SI
Enter one value
(in either
SI or English)
for each required
input type.

Drainage Area, At

English
[km ]
[m]
[m]
[m]
[m/s]
[m/yr]

[mi2]
[ft]
[ft]
[ft]
[ft/s]
[ft/yr]

Average Runoff Length, L

Highest Watershed Elevation, H1
Lowest Watershed Elevation, H2
Average Rainfall Intensity, I
Average precipitation, hr

Optional Model Input for Sediment Yield Calculation:

Default Values1
0.2

Runoff coefficient, Cr
Soil erodibility factor, K 2
Cropping management factor, C

0.3
2

Conservation practice factor, P 2

0.1
1

Watershed-size correction factor, Qe 3

1

Default values for Cr, K, C and P will be used by the program if watershed specific values are not entered.

See "K, C and P Values" worksheet for appropriate values for these parameters.
Watershed-size correction factor must be entered for watersheds < 0.125 km 2. See Figure 3.27.
For watersheds > 0.125 km2, Qe is calculated automatically.

RESULTS SUMMARY - SEDIMENT YIELD

Summary of Input Data and Calculated Values:
SI
Drainage Area, At
Average Runoff Length, L
Highest Watershed Elevation, H1
Lowest Watershed Elevation, H2
Average Rainfall Intensity, I
Average precipitation, hr
Runoff coefficient, Cr
Soil erodibility factor, K
Cropping management factor, C
Conservation practice factor, P

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.00E+00
0.0

English
[km2]
[m]
[m]
[m]
[m/s]
[m/yr]

0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.00E+00
0.0

0.20
0.30
0.10
1.00

Calculated Values:
Sediment-delivery ratio, SDR
Watershed-size correction factor, Qe
Slope, S

#NUM!
0.0000
#DIV/0!

Summary of Results:
Sediment Yield, Y

#DIV/0! [tons/yr]
#DIV/0! [tons-short/yr]

Gross Erosion, E

#DIV/0! [tons/km2/yr]
#DIV/0! [tons-short/acre/yr]

Warnings:
One or more required values have not been entered. Model results are inaccurate.
One or more default values have been used. Model results my not be accurate.

[mi2]
[ft]
[ft]
[ft]
[ft/s]
[ft/yr]

INPUT AND RESULTS - PEAK DISCHARGE

Enter one value in either SI or English
SI
Drainage Area, At

[km2]

English
[mi2]

Summary of Results
SI
Drainage Area, At

English

0.0 [km2]

0.0 [mi2]

Peak Specific Discharge, q

#NUM! [m3/s/km2]

#NUM! [ft3/s/mi2]

Peak Discharge, Q

#NUM! [m3/s]

#NUM! [ft3/s]

Calculation of Sediment Yield, Y:

At
Y SDR 3 . 4 x 1011 L S1 .66 C r h r i K^ C^ P^
Q e
Where:
S DR =Sediment delivery ratio
A t =Drainage area in square kilometers
Q e=Watershed size correction factor
L=Average runoff length (m)
S =Watershed slope
Cr =Runoff coefficient
hr =Average precipitation during the period considered (m)
i =Average rainfall intensity (m/s)
K^ =Watershed average soil erodiblity factor
^ =Watershed average cropping management factor
C
P^ =Watershed average conservation practice factor
3
2
S DR =0 . 41A-0.
t ( A t in km )

H
1,000 A t
H =Elevation distance in meters between the highest and the lowest elevation on the watershed

S =

For A t > 0 .125 km 2

Q e=0 .8At-0. 137
Calculation of Gross Erosion
Y
E=
S DR

on the watershed

Peak Specific Discharge

Peak Specific Discharge (pi3/s/mi2)

100

10

f(x) = 132.2023853119 x^-0.5962993113

R = 0.9799399171

0.1

0.01
1.00E+01

1.00E+02

1.00E+03

1.00E+04

Drainage Area (mi2)

1.00E+05

1.00E+06

From the figure at the left, Drainage Area vs Peak Specific Discharge
values were identified:
Drainage
Area
[km2[
1.00E+01
1.00E+02
1.00E+03
1.00E+04
1.00E+05
1.00E+06

Peak
Specific
Discharge
[m3/s/km2]
22
9
3
0.9
0.12
0.025

An exponential regression was performed to create a best fit line for

use in estimating peak discharge.
Peak Specific Discharge, q, is calculated using:
q = 132 A-0.5963
Where:
q = Peak Specific Discharge [m3/s/km2]
A = Drainage Area [km2]
Peak Discharge, Q:
Q=q*A

1.00E+06

Model Validation
This is a summary of the output obtained by running calculations for California Gulch.

This is a summary of the output obtained by calculating peak discharge for a 100 km 2 watershed.

m 2 watershed.