Flood Runof

April 25, 2015

Runof is water that flows across the

land surface after a storm event.
The geographical area that contributes to
the flow of a river is called a watershed
(basin).
The river
basins
of Davao
City are
the
River
Basin
Drainage
Area,
km2
following:
1. Davao River

1757.76

2. Talomo River

215.78

3. Lasang River

453.9

4. Lipadas River

167.96

5. Sibulan River

282.13

6. Matina River

78.79

7. Tuganay River

757.47

8. Bunawan River

252.13

TOTAL
Source:

3965.92

Flood Runof
Flood runof results from the following:
1.Short-duration highly intense rainfall
2.Long-duration low intensity rainfall
3.Snowmelt
4.Failure of dam or levee system
5.Combinations of the above conditions
The

best information on flood magnitudes that are

likely to occur in the future is obtained from observed
flow records, what has occurred in the past.

Choice of Method of Flood

Estimation
The choice of flood estimation is often made on a

largely subjective and intuitive basis.

For design at a site where observed flood data are
available, a choice must be made between some
form of flood frequency analysis or one of the
methods based on design rainfall.
a. Flood frequency analysis gives a direct estimate of
the flood of selected exceedance probability and used
flow data.
b. Design rainfall are less variable over time, are
available at more locations and have greater spatial
consistency in the surrounding region because are
generally longer than flow records.

Rainfall Runof
Relationships
Flood runof has often been considered to consist of
1.

2.

3.

surface runof produced at ground surface when the

rainfall intensity exceeds the infiltration capacity, known
as Hortonian overland flow.
Saturated Overland Flow occurs when, on part of the
drainage basin, the surface horizon of the soil becomes
saturated as a result of either the build up of a saturated
zone above a soil horizon of lower hydraulic conductivity
or the rise of shallow water table to the surface.
Throughflow is water that infiltrates into the soil and
percolates rapidly, largely through macropores such as
cracks and root and animal holes, and then moves
laterally in a temporarily saturated zone, often above a
layer of low hydraulic conductivity.

Overland and Interflow

Interception a
phenomenon when rainfall is
intercepted by vegetation
before it reaches the ground.
Depression or storage is
water that is retained in
innumerable depressions on
the basin surface.
Overland flow - the amount
of rainfall in excess of the
Interflow - Part of the water
infiltrated quantity flows over
in the unsaturated zone of
the ground surface following
the soil (also called the
the land slope
vadose zone) moves in a
lateral direction.

Overland and Interflow

Hydrograph is the plot of the stream flow at a
particular location as a function of time.
Hyetograph is the graphical plot of the rainfall plotted
against time.

Distinct Cases of
Hyetograph
Recorded Rainfall for simulating an actual
1.

hydrograph. The hyetograph may be assumed to be

the same at all points over the basin, or if several
gauges are available to provide definition, diferent
hyetographs may be used for diferent subareas.
2.

Design Rainfall with average intensity obtained from

published intensity-duration-frequency (IDF)
information for the region. The design storm may be
assumed to have a constant intensity or a more
realistic variable intensity pattern over its duration.

Design Flood Estimation

A flood is commonly considered to be an unusually high

stage of a river.
For a river in its natural state, occurrence of a flood usually
fills up the stream up to its banks and often spills over to the
adjoining flood plains.
For hydraulic structures planned within the river, due
consideration should be given to the design of the structure
so as to prevent it from collapsing and causing further
damage by the force of water released from behind the
structure.
It must be remembered that proper selection of design flood
value is of great importance.
While a higher value would result in an increase in the cost
of hydraulic structures, an under-estimated value is likely to
place the structure and population involved at some risk.

Design Flood Estimation

The

Design Flood for a hydraulic structure may also

be defined in a number of ways, like:

The maximum flood that any structure can safely

pass.
2. The flood considered for the design of a structure
corresponding to a maximum tolerable risk.
3. The flood which a project (involving a hydraulic
structure) can sustain without any substantial
damage, either to the objects which it protects or to
its own structures.
4. The largest flood that may be selected for design as
safety evaluation of a structure.
1.

Estimation of a Flood of
Selected
Probability
from
Four general approaches used for estimate, the last two
being of greatest practical value.
Rainfall
Frequency analysis of a synthetic streamflow
1.

record generated by a continuous rainfall-runof model

from long rainfall records.
2.Joint probability analysis of the variables contributing
to flood discharge, using transition probability matrices or
a large number of simulations with random values drawn
from assumed distributions.
3.Use of median values of losses, baseflow, temporal
pattern of rainfall and hydrograph model parameters.
Extreme values would convert a design rainfall of selected
exceedance probability to a flood with a much smaller
probability.

Estimation of a Flood of Selected

Probability from Rainfall
4.

Values derived from comparison of floods and

rains of the same probability. This is the most
direct and simple procedure for regional methods.
For each gauged drainage basin, floods of various
probabilities are estimated by frequency analysis of
observed floods.

Peak Flows for Small to

Runof Coefficient
Medium-Sized Basin Table
Source: ASCE (1976)

1. Rational Method
Estimation of peak flows is required for
hydraulic structures. The commonly
used method is the Rational Method
given the formula;

Q 0.2755CIA

where:
Q = peak flows, m3/sec
C = runof coefficient
I = rainfall intensity (in mm/h) for
the required return period,
corresponding to a duration equal to
the time of concentration of the
watershed

Time of Concentration is the time taken by surface runof

to travel from the remotest point in the watershed to the
point where peak flow is to be estimated. A few relatively
simple and useful methods are:
a.Kirpich Method (USBR 1997)

0.87 L3 0.385
tc (
)
H

where:

end of the
is to be

tc = time of concentration (hour)

L = length of the longest watercourse (km)
H = diference in elevation between the upper
watershed and the location at which flow
estimated (m)

Note: This method results in relatively low estimates of t c (Prakash 1987)

Time of Concentration
b.Soil Conservation Service (SCS) Curve Number Method
(USDA 1972, 1985)
tL

1.347 L f

0.8

S a 2.54 0.7

1900 S p

t L 0.6t c
2540
25.4
CN

S a

where:
tL
Lf
CN
Sa
Sp
(%)

=
=
=
=
=

basin lag (hour)

hydraulic length of watershed (m)
curve number of the watershed
potential maximum retention (cm)
average land slope of the watershed

Time of Concentration
c.Snyders Method (Chow 1964)

t L 0.7517C t LLca

0.3

where:
Lca
the
estimated to the
watershed (km)
Ct

Ct
where:
S

= length of the longest watercourse from

location where
flow is to be
centroid of the
= a coefficient or by using,

0.6
S
= basin slope (m/m)

Note: Advisable to use calibrated values of Ct

Example Problem:
1.Estimate the time of concentration for a 36.369 km2
watershed in Southern Mindanao using (a) Kirpich Method,
(b) SCS Method and (c) Snyders Method with the following
relevant watershed parameters:
Watershed Length
Basin Slope
H
CN
Ct

=
=
=
=
=

11.67 km
33.87%
2,041 m
60
0.50

2.
Estimate the Peak Flow (Q) of Problem 1 using the
average of all tc computed with a coefficient of runof
equivalent to 0.35 and rainfall intensity I = 25.48 mm/hr.

Peak Flows for Small to MediumSized Basin

2.

Soil Conservation Service Method. SCS method is

widely used fro estimating floods on small to mediumsized ungauged drainage basins.

Replaced rational method due to its wider apparent data

base and manner in which physical characteristics are
considered in its application.

Peak Flows for Small to MediumSized Basin

3.

Unit Hydrograph Method. Proposed by Sherman

Unit Hydrograph is the direct runof hydrograph resulting

from unit depth of excess rainfall produced by a storm of
uniform intensity and specified duration.

Derivation of Unit Hydrographs from Observed Data:

a.

Preparation of Data.

b.

Baseflow Separation

c.

Calculate the volume of direct runof.

d.

Estimate average depth and intensity of basin rainfall in

each time period of the storm.

e.

Calculate the rainfall excess in each time period of the

storm using an appropriate loss model to determine the
loss in each time period.

Peak Flows for Small to MediumSized Basin

4.

Log Pearson Type III Distribution Method. The results

obtained indicate the various forms of density function and
relationships that exist between distribution parameters and
moments, coefficient of variation, and coefficient of skewness.

Procedure to Compute for Flood Magnitudes:

a.

Obtain Streamflow Data. Calculate the Maximum for each water

year in the period of record.

b.

Rank the data from the largest discharge to the smallest discharge.

c.

Create a column with the log of each maximum or peak flow.

d.

Calculate the Average of the Maximum Peak Flow and that of the
Maximum log Q.

e.

Create a column with {(log Q Ave(log Q)2}.

f.

Create a column with {(log Q Ave(log Q)3}.

g.

Create a column with the return period (T) for each discharge using
the formula {T=(n+1)/m. Where n = number of values and m =
rank.

Peak Flows for Small to MediumSized Basin

4.

Log Pearson Type III Distribution Method.

Procedure to Compute for Flood Magnitudes:

h.

Complete the table with a final column showing the

exceedence probability of each discharge using the excel
formula {Ex = 1/T}.

i.

Calculate the sum for the Sum for the {(log Q Ave(log
Q)2} and {(log Q Ave(log Q)3} columns.

j.

n
Calculate the variance,
standard deviation
and skew
2
coefficient as follows: log Q avg log Q
Variance i
n 1
Standard Deviaiton log Q Variance
n

Skew Coefficient

n log Q avg log Q

i

n 1 n 2 log Q 3

Peak Flows for Small to MediumSized Basin

4.

Log Pearson Type III Distribution Method.

Procedure to Compute for Flood Magnitudes:

k.

Calculate k values. Use the frequency factor table and

interpolate values between the two number from the
table to get the appropriate k value.

l.

Using the general equation, compute for the flood

discharge associated with each return period.
log QT avg log Q K TCs log Q

m.

Create the table of discharge values calculated using the

Log Pearson Type III Analysis.

n.

Plot the Flood Frequency Curve with Return Period in the

x-axis and Flood Discharge in the y-axis.

References
Maidment,

D. , Handbook of Hydrology
Prakash, A. Water Resources Engineering: Handbook
of Methods and Design
Kharagpur, Water Resources Engineering

END