Flood Routing

Flood Routing

• Flood routing is a technique of determining the flood

hydrograph at a section of a river by utilizing the data
of flood flow at one or more upstream sections.

• The hydrologic analysis of problems such as flood

forecasting, flood protection, reservoir design and
spillway design invariably include flood routing.
 Applications of Flood Routing
• Flood:

• Flood Forecasting

• Flood Protection

• Flood Warning

• Design:
• Water conveyance (Spillway) systems
• Protective measures
• Hydro-system operation

• Water Dynamics:
• Ungauged rivers
• Peak flow estimation
• River-aquifer interaction
Types of Flood Routing
• Flood routing divided into two basic types:
• Reservoir Routing
• Channel Routing

• Reservoir Routing - analyses the effect of reservoir

storage on the flood hydrograph.
• Channel Routing – analyses the effect of storage of a
specified channel reach on the flood hydrograph.
Reservoir Routing

• The equation of continuity used in reservoir routing

as the primary equation states that the difference
between the inflow and outflow rate is equal to the
rate of change of storage, i.e.
Reservoir Routing
Establishing storage- discharge
relationship
• The area enclosed by the contours are knows as the
incremental volumes of the water storage between
any two successive contour can be determined
using one of the equations:

This information is used to prepare a curve of

elevation vs storage fig a.
Establishing storage - discharge
relationship

The outflow from the reservoir corresponding to any

elevation can be determined using the discharge
equations
 Establishing storage - discharge
relationship
If the reservoir is provided with both spillway and sluices
will give the discharge corresponding to the elevation H

When the outflow plotted against elevation, a curve is

obtained known as elevation - discharge curve

The previous curves are utilized to prepare a curve of

storage vs discharge. It is this curve which is used in
reservoir routing.
Establishing storage- discharge
relationship
Example 1
The tropical survey at a proposed reservoir site
yielded the following data:

Contour elevation, m: 470 472 474 478 480 482 484 486

Contour area,
219 227 257 278 303 330 362 396
hectares:
Example 1

There are 2 circular sluices with a diameter of 2.5 m

and with their centers at an elevation of 470 m. A
Spillway with an effective crest length of 20 m is also
provided with its still at 480 m. The Cd for sluices
may be taken as 0.8 and for spillway C = 2.25.
Prepare the storage – discharge (S-Q) curve for the
reservoir.
Example 1
Example 1
Example 1
Example 1
IDS Method
• Inflow-storage-discharge method developed by L.G.
Puls of the U. S Army crops of engineers. According
to this method

𝐼1 + 𝐼2 𝑄1 𝑄2
. ∆𝑡 + 𝑆1 − ∆𝑡 = 𝑆2 + ∆𝑡
2 2 2

• Left hand side all the quantities are known and

𝑄2
hence quantity 𝑆2 + ∆𝑡 is determined.
2
IDS Method
• From the available storage-discharge curve, the curve
𝑄 𝑄
of 𝑆 − ∆𝑡 Vs Q and 𝑆 + ∆𝑡 Vs Q are developed
2 2
called routing curve.
𝑄1
• From known value of Q1, the value of 𝑆1 − ∆𝑡 is
2
𝑄
read from 𝑆 − ∆𝑡 Vs Q
2

𝐼1 +𝐼2
• The value is then added to . ∆𝑡 to given 𝑆2 +
2
IDS Method
𝑄2
• Entering the graph with this values of 𝑆2 + ∆𝑡
2
𝑄
the value of Q2 is read out from 𝑆 + ∆𝑡 Vs Q
2

• The value of Q2 thus determined becomes Q1 for

the next time interval.

• This procedure is repeated for all subsequent

routing period till complete outflow hydrograph is
obtained.
Example 2
Example 2
Example 2
Example 2
Example 2
Example 2
Example 2
Example 2
Example 2
• Attenuation = 50 m3/s
• Reservoir lag = 7.5 hr
• Max. water surface elevation = 482.92 m
The attenuation and the reservoir lag are very much
dependent on the initial outflow. For example, if the
routing is performed with an initial outflow of only
50 m3/s instead of 200 m3/s, it will be observed that
the attenuation and lag are 177 m3/s and 18 hr
respectively
Modified Puls Method
• The modified puls routing method is probably most
often applied to reservoir routing

• The method may also be applied to river routing

for certain channel situations.

• The modified puls method is also referred to as the

storage-indication method.
Modified Plus Method
• The heart of the modified puls equation is found by
considering the finite difference form of the continuity
equation.

• Basic continuity equation rearranged to take the form

given by:
 2S 2   2S1 
  Q2   I  I     Q1
 t  t
2 1
 

• Left hand side of equation is known as storage

indication quantity.
Steps for Modified Plus Method
• After selecting time interval t, develop routing curve of
Q versus Q+ 2S/t.

• For the first interval I1, I2 and Q1 are known. So from

routing curve, (Q1+ 2S1/t) is read against the known Q1,
and form this quantity 2Q1 is subtracted to get (2S1/t-Q1)
which is then added to (I1+I2) to provide an estimate of
(2S2/t + Q2).
Steps for Modified Plus Method
• Again with the known quantity, the values of Q2 is
obtained from routing curve.

• The value of Q2 thus determined becomes Q1, and [(2S2/t

+ Q2) – 2Q2] becomes (2S1/t - Q1) for the next interval.

• Repeat the procedure for all the subsequent routing period

till the complete outflow hydrograph is obtained.
Example 3
Example 3
Example 3
Example 3
Example 3
Example 3
Example 3
 Channel Routing
• Also called stream channel routing, uses mathematical
relations to calculate outflow from a stream channel once
inflow, lateral contributions and channel characteristics are
known.
• Channel routing: the storage is a function of both outflow
and inflow discharges.
• The specific length of a stream channel between the
upstream section where the hydrograph is known (input
hydrograph) and downstream section where the
hydrograph is to be determined (output hydrograph) is
called a channel reach.
• There may be lateral contributions due to interflow and
groundwater flow which may be distributed over the part
or full length of the reach.
Channel Routing
• When there is no lateral inflow into the channel
reach, the unsteady flow in the channel is
described by the following Saint-Venant equation:
𝑑𝑄 𝑑𝐴
• + = 0
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑡

The solution of these two partial differential equations will be used

for flood routing problems.
 Muskingum Method:
• This equation assumes that the storage in the channel
reach at any time is dependent both on inflow and
outflow.
• The total volume in storage for a channel reach having
a flood wave can be considered as prism storage +
wedge storage.
• At a fixed depth at a downstream section of a river reach, the
prism storage is constant while , the wedge storage changes from a
positive value for advancing flood to a negative value during a
receding flood.
• Total storage in the channel reach can be expressed as :

• where k and x are coefficients and m= a constant exponent . It has

been found that m varies from 0.6 for rectangular channels to a
value of about 1.0 for natural channels, Q = outflow
• The value of x depends on the shape of the wedge ranging from 0
for reservoir type storage to 0.5 for a full wedge. For natural
streams x lies between 0 and 0.3.
• K represents the time of travel of the flood wave through the
channel reach.
• Assuming that the cross sectional area of the flood
flow section is directly proportional to the discharge at
the section, the volume of prism storage is equal to KQ
where K is a proportionality coefficient, and the
volume of the wedge storage is equal to KX(I- Q), where
X is a weighing factor having the range 0 < X < 0.5. The
total storage is therefore the sum of two components .

• S= KQ + Kx (I –Q)

• It is known as Muskingum storage equation

representing a linear model for routing flow in streams.
• The equation can be rearranged as

S = K[xI + (1-x)Q]
• By using the previous equation change in storage is given as
•
• Further rearranging terms we get,
•
•

• For best results, the routing interval ∆t should be so chosen

that K>∆t>2KX. If ∆t<2KX, the coefficient C1 will be negative.
Generally negative values of coefficients are avoided by
choosing appropriate values of ∆t.
Crest Segment Routing:
• Purposes:
• solve for single outflow rate or
• route only a segment of inflow hydrograph
• Basis: O  C I  C I  C O
t 1 0 t 1 1 t for t =1, 2, …
2 t

• Since
• By substituting Ot into the routing equation for Ot+1
and, after some algebraic calculations, we get

From recursive substitution of outflow at one time in

terms of that at the previous time, we get

where K1=C0, K2 = C0 C2 + C1; Ki = Ki-1 C2, i≥3

Example 4:
Using the crest segment routing method determine
in peak flow and lag time between the peaks of a
hydrograph when it passes through a stream reach
whose Muskingum parameters are gives as K=9h
and x=0.125. the ordinates of he hydrograph in
cubicm/sec at 4hr interval are 50, 82, 140,197, 233,
250, 230, 204, 180, 154, 127, 106, 89, 74 and 65.
Example 4:
Example 4:
Example 4:
Example 5:
Example 5:
Example 5:
Estimation of Muskingum Parameters
K and x
• When a pair of observed inflow and outflow
hydrographs is available for a reach, the values of K
and X of the reach can be determined using these
graphs.
• When these two graphs are plotted it will be seen
that both will cross on the recession side of the
inflow hydrograph.
• When the two hydrographs are crossing I =Q and I – Q = 0.
• Making use of this condition in above equation we get,

• Determination of x requires finding out the slopes of inflow and

outflow hydrographs at the point of crossing and substituting them in
the above equation.
• Next the slopes of the hydrographs are found out at any other time and
these values along with the known value of x are substituted in the
routing equation to obtain value of K.
• The values of K and x can be computed by the
routing equation at two points on the hydrographs
and solving the resulting equations simultaneously.
• The values obtained reflect the storage
characteristics of the reach only at those discharge
conditions which are used in their determination.
• The following procedure is commonly used to
determine the values of K and x that are
representative of the reach.
• When I > Q water enters the storage and when I< Q,
water leaves the storage.
• The storage in the reach at any time can be
computed as the cumulative integration of the
difference graph. That is
𝑡
• S(t) = 0
(I – Q) . dt
• The storage is then plotted against time.
• Now assuming trial values of x the value of the
expression [xI + (1 – x)Q] is evaluated at various
points of time and these values are plotted against
the corresponding storage read.
• Such a plot usually results in a loop.
• Similar plots are made with different values of x till
the plot is very nearly a straight line the slope of
which gives an estimate of K and the best values of x
is taken to be that which causes the plot to be a
straight line.
Example 6:
• The inflow and outflow hydrograph ordinates of a
particular channel reach are given in cubic m/s at 6
hr intervals in col. 2 and 3 of the following table.
Determine the Muskingum parameters K and x for
this reach.
Example 6:
Example 6:
Example 6:
Example 6: