CHAPTER 3 : SURFACE RUNOFF

By : PN HALINA BINTI HAMID

LEARNING OUTCOME :
Upon completion of this course students will be
able to :
Explain clearly the component of runoff
Define the definition of catchments area and the
catchments characteristics
Calculate the Stream flow measurement using
velocity area method, mean section and mid
section method
Calculate the infiltration using Phi Index-
method

What that means of

SURFACE RUNOFF ???

SURFACE RUNOFF :
Surface runoff is water,
from rain, snowmelt, or
other sources, that flows
over the land surface,
and is a major
component of the water
cycle

COMPONENT OF RUNOFF
1. Direct Runof
It is that part of the runoff which enters
the stream immediately after the rainfall.
Include : surface runoff, prompt interflow
and rainfall on the surface of the stream.
Direct Runof (DRO) is the total of
surface runoff and interflow

COMPONENT OF RUNOFF
2. Interflow
the water that travels laterally or
horizontally through the zone of aeration
(vadose zone) without reaching the water
table during or immediately after a
precipitation event and discharges directly
into a stream or other body of water

3. Baseflow
The delayed flow that reaches a stream
essentially as groundwater flow called base
flow.
In the annual hydrograph of a perennial
stream the base flow is easily recognized as
the slowly decreasing flow of the stream in
rainless periods.

DEFINITION OF CATCHMENT AREA

The area of land draining
into a stream or a water
course at given location is
known as Catchment Area .
It is also called as drainage
area or drainage basin.
A catchment area is separated
from it neighbouring areas by a
ridge called divide in USA and
watershed in UK

Watershed
(divide)

River Flow

Fig : Schematic Sketch of Catchment of River

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
CATCHMENT AREA

The number of streams

The length of streams
Stream density
Drainage density

 Catchment Characteristics Affecting Runoff :

Land Use
Vegetation
Soil type
Drainage area
Basin shape
Elevation
Topography, especially the slope of the land
Drainage network patterns

 Rainfall Characteristics Affecting Runoff :

Type of precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, etc)

Rainfall intensity
Rainfall amount
Rainfall duration
Distribution of rainfall over the drainage basin
Direction of storm movement
Precipitation that occurred earlier and resulting soil
moisture.
Other meteorology and climatic conditions that affect
evapotranspiration, such as temperature, wind, relative
humidity and season

STREAM FLOW MEASUREMENT

Stream flow gauging using :
Velocity area (V-A) method
Mean Section
Mid Section

STREAM GAGING USING VELOCITY AREA

METHOD
Stream gaging is a technique used
to measure the discharge, or the
volume of water moving through a
channel per unit time, of a stream.
The height of water in the stream
channel, known as a stage or gage
height, can be used to determine
the discharge in a stream.
The area-velocity methods as
above using the current meter is
often called as the standard
current meter method

Procedure to Measurement Using

Current Meter :
STEP 1 :
String a measuring tape across the stream at right angles to the
flow. Tie the tape off at both sides of the stream. Make it taut
enough so that it doesnt sage near the middle. Measure the
stream width. Leave the tape in place.
STEP 2 :
First, determine the width intervals that will measure. The official
method requires that at least 20 points of measurement be made
across the width of the stream. To do this, divide the total stream
width by 20 to calculate the distance between points.

Layout of channel cross-section for obtaining discharge

data by the velocity-area
procedure.

STEP 3 :
At each measuring point, read and record the total depth,
multiply the total depth by 0.6 to determine the depth of
average velocity, set the propeller at the new depth, read and
record the velocity.
STEP 4 :
The total amount of water moving through your section is a
function of the size of the stream (cross-sectional area) and the
velocity. Used the velocity measurements and the depth and
distance measurements you recorded to calculate the total
volume of water flowing through the section (total discharge).

Using Weathering the River Method

Using Cabel Method

Example :
The data pertaining to a stream-gauging operation at a
gauging site are given below.
The rating equation of the current meter is
v = 0.51 Ns + 0.03m/s where Ns = Revolutions per second.
Calculate the discharge in the stream.
Distance from left
water edge (m)

1.0

3.0

5.0

7.0

9.0

11.0

12.0

Depth (m)

1.1

2.0

2.5

2.0

1.7

1.0

Revolution of a
current meter kept
at 0.6 depth

39

58

112

90

45

30

Duration of
observation (s)

100

100

150

150

100

100

Solution :
V = 0.51Ns + 0.03 m/s ( Based on calibration of current meter )
0.6 x Depth ( Based
on observation
depth 0.6D, 0.8D
and 0.2D)
Distanc
e from
initial
points
(m)

Area = Mean Depth of section x Width of section

Ns = Time / Rev

Discharge = Area x Mean Velocity in section

VELOCITY

Revise
d
Depth,
m

Depth of
Observat
ion, m

Revolutio
ns

Tim
e, s

Ns
(rev/
s)

Veloci
ty at
point,
V

Mean
Mean
Velocit
Velocit
y in
y in
section
vertical

Area
of
secti
on
(m2)

Mean
Width
Depth
of
of
Sectio
Section
n
(m)
(m)

(0.03+0.229)/2

1.0

1.1

0.66

3.0

2.0

5.0

Discharg
e
(m3/s)

Remar
ks

0.000

1.0

0.152

2.0

1.141

0-0

0.030

0.030

0.129

39

100 0.390 0.229

0.229

0.277

0.55

1.2

58

100 0.580 0.326

0.326

0.368

3.10

1.55

2.5

1.5

112

150 0.747 0.411

0.411

0.373

4.50

2.25

2.0

1.679

7.0

2.0

1.2

90

150 0.600 0.336

0.336

0.298

4.50

2.25

2.0

1.341

9.0

1.7

1.02

45

100 0.450 0.260

0.260

0.221

3.70

1.85

2.0

0.818

11.0

1.0

0.6

30

100 0.300 0.183

0.183

0.107

2.70

1.35

2.0

0.289

12.0

0.030

0.015

0.50

0.50

1.0

0.008

0.030

(0.229+0.326)/2

(0 + 1.1)/2

0.55

(1.1 + 2.0)/2

0 -0
1.0

3.0 1.0

5.0 3.0

Problem Based 1 :
Taking the rates of current meter as V = 0.05 + 0.8Ns, where V is
m/s and Ns is in rev/s, calculate the stream flow according to the
following observations in Table below.
Distance
from river
bank, m
0
0.6
1.2

2.0

3.0

3.8

4.5

5.0

Depth, m

0
1.0
4.0

5.5

6.5

4.5

2.5

1.0

Current
meter depth,
m
0
0.6D
0.2D
0.8D
0.2D
0.8D
0.2D
0.8D
0.2D
0.8D
0.2D
0.8D
0.6D

Revolution
s

Time, s

0
15
30
48
40
60
45
67
33
51
26
44
20

0
50
55
53
46
54
48
52
54
50
48
55
47

ESTIMATION OF INFILTRATION
The rate at which water infiltrates into a ground is called
the infiltration capacity.
When a soil is dry, the infiltration rate is usually high
compared to when the soil is moist.
For an initially dry soil subjected to rain, the infiltration
capacity curve shows an exponentially decaying trend as
shown in Figure below.

INFILTRATION INDICES
The two commonly used infiltration indices are
the following:
index
W index

THE - INDEX
The rate of infiltration - the rainfall volume
equals runoff volume.

PROCEDURE FOR CALCULATION OF

index

Example :
A storm with 10 cm of precipitation produced a direct runoff
of 5.8 cm. The duration of the rainfall was 16 hours and its
time distribution is given below.
Time from
start (h)

10

Intensity of
rain (cm/h)

0.20

0.45

0.75

1.15

0.90

Estimate the -index of the storm.

12

14

16

0.80 0.50 0.25

Solution :
Here duration of rainfall D = 16h, t = 2h and N = 8
Trail 1 :
Assume M = 8, t = 2h and hence te = M, t = 16h
Since M = N, all the pulses are included
Runoff, Rd = 5.8 cm =

Hyetograph and Rainfall Excess of Storm

Mc = number of pulses having

Trial 2 :

that is

Trial 3 :

Problem Based 2 :
The following rainfall distribution was measured during a
12 hour storm :
Time (hour)

0-2

2-4

4-6

6-8

8-10

10-12

Rainfall Intensity
(cm/h)

1.0

2.0

4.0

3.0

0.5

1.5

Runoff depth was 16 cm. Calculate the -index for this storm.