CEL251 Hydrology: SURFACE FLOW : Runoff

Runoff
Runoff means the draining of precipitation from a catchment area through a surface channel.
It is the output from the catchment in a given time. Initially a large proportion of the
precipitation contributes to surface storage and soil moisture storage. There are two types of
storage: retention and detention. Retention is storage held for a long period of time and
depleted by evaporation. Detention is short term storage depleted by flow away from the
storage location viz. unsaturated flow, groundwater flow and overland flow. Rainfall excess,
which is neither retained on the land surface nor infiltrated into the soil, moves over the land
surfaces to reach smaller channels and then bigger channel to form streamflow. The
precipitation which becomes streamflow may reach the stream by overland flow or
subsurface flow or both. Overland flow and channel flow reaching the catchment outlet is
called surface runoff. The part of the precipitation that infiltrates and joins channel at some
downstream location is known as interflow or subsurface storm flow. The amount of
interflow depends on the geological conditions of the catchment. The velocity of subsurface
flow is so low that not all of a watershed can contribute subsurface flow to a stream during a
storm. Depending upon the time delay between the infiltration and the outflow it may be
prompt inter flow or delayed interflow. Further, based on the time delay between the
precipitation and the runoff, the runoff may be (i) direct runoff, or (ii) base flow. Direct
runoff enters the stream immediately after the precipitation (surface runoff plus prompt
interflow plus precipitation on channel surface). The delayed flow that reaches a steam
essentially as groundwater flow is called base flow.
Runoff representing the response of a catchment to the precipitation reflects the
integral effects of a wide range of catchment (soil, vegetation, slope, geology, shape and
drainage density), climatic (temperature, humidity, wind velocity etc which influence
evapotranspiration), and precipitation (intensity, distribution in time and space and its
variability) characteristics. True runoff is therefore streamflow in the natural conditions
without human interventions. Such a streamflow unaffected by works of man is called virgin
flow.
Hortons Law of Streams Ordering
Rainfall excess moves over the land surfaces to
reach smaller channels. This portion of the
runoff is called overland flow and involves
building up storage over the surface and draining
off the same. Overland flow starts as sheet flow,
as flow accumulates going down a slope its
depth increases until discharges into a stream
channel. Usually the lengths and depths of
overland flow are small and the flow is in
laminar regime. Flows from several small
channels join bigger channels and so on till the
flow reaches the catchment outlet. Hortons laws
of Stream ordering (laws relating the number and
length of streams of different order) (1) the
smallest recognizable channels are designated
order 1; these channels normally flow only
during wet weather; (2) where two channels of order 1 join, a channel of order 2 results

downstream; (3) in general where two channels of order i join, a channel of order i+1 results;
(4) where a channel of lower order joins a channel of higher order, the channel downstream
retains the higher of the two orders; (5) the order of the drainage basin is designated as the
order of the steam draining its outlet, the highest stream order in the basin.
Horton found that the bifurcation ratio RB is constant from one order to another for a
basin. This is known as Hortons law of Stream Numbers. The typical range of RB is 3 to 5
while the theoretical minimum possible value is 2.
RB =

Ni
Number of channels of order i
=
N i +1 Number of channels of order i + 1

Similarly there is a length ratio RL and a Hortons law of Stream Length

RL =

Li +1 Average length of channels of order i + 1

=
Li
Average length of channels of order i

The drainage density D is the ratio of the total length of stream channels in a catchment to its
area.
D=

ij

Total length of steam channels of all orders

Area of catchment

Presentation of Runoff Data

(1) HYDROGRAPH: A stream flow or runoff or discharge hydrograph is a graph or table
showing the runoff or flow rate as a function of time at a given location on the stream. The
area under a hydrograph between a time intervals is equal to the volume of runoff during that
interval. In effect the hydrograph is an integral expression of the physiographic and climatic
characteristics that govern the relationship between the rainfall and runoff of a particular
drainage basin. A hydrograph may be an annual hydrograph or a storm hydrograph.
The annual hydrograph is a plot of streamflow versus time over a year, shows the long
term balance of precipitation, evaporation and stream flow in a watershed. The total volume
of flow under the annual hydrograph is the basin yield. The basin yield of a stream is mainly
controlled by the amount of rainfall and evapotranspiration. The geology of the catchment is
significant to the extent of deep percolation losses. Annual hydrographs are of use in (i)
calculating the surface potential of a stream (ii) reservoir sizing and water release studies, and
(ii) drought studies. The annual hydrographs differ depending on the type of a stream. A
stream may be (i) perennial, (ii) intermittent, or (iii) ephemeral. A perennial stream is one
which always carries some flow. There is considerable amount of groundwater flow
throughout the year. Even during dry seasons the water table will be above the bed of the
stream. It is an effluent stream. Most of the basin yield for such a stream usually comes from
base flow, indicating that a large proportion of the rainfall is infiltrated into the basin and
reaches the stream as subsurface flow. An intermittent stream has limited contribution from
the groundwater. During the wet season the water table is above the stream bed and there is a
groundwater contribution to stream flow. However, during dry seasons the water table drops
to a level lower than that of the stream bed and the stream dries up. An ephemeral stream is
one which does not have any groundwater contribution. The annual hydrograph of such a
stream show series of short duration spikes marking flash flows in response to storms. The
stream becomes dry soon after the end of the storm flow since it is an influent stream. Basin
yield from such catchment is the result of direct runoff from large storms.
2

A storm hydrograph is graph for an isolated storm. The shape of the storm hydrograph
and hence the peak flow is essentially controlled by the storm and physical characteristics of
the catchment. Evapotranspiration plays a minor role in this. Storm hydrographs are essential
in analysing stream characteristics associated with floods.
(2) FLOW DURATION CURVE: Flow duration curve is another method of studying
streamflow variability. A flow duration (or discharge-frequency) curve of a stream is a plot of
discharge against the percentage of time the flow was equalled or exceeded. The streamflow
data is arranged in a descending order of discharges. If N numbers of data points are used,
then the plotting position (Pp) of any discharge (Q) at order m is
Pp =

m
100 %
N +1

Arithmetic scale paper or semi-log or log-log paper is used depending upon the range of data
and use of the plot. The flow duration curve represents the cumulative frequency distribution
and can be considered to represent the streamflow variation of an average year. The ordinate
Qp at any percentage probability Pp represents the flow magnitude in an average year that can
be expected to be equalled or exceeded Pp % of time and is termed as Pp % dependable flow.
The slope of a flow duration curve depends upon the interval of data selected. This curve is
useful in comparing the flow characteristics of different streams, in evaluating various
dependable flows in the planning of water resources projects, in the design of drainage
systems, and in flood control studies.
(3) FLOW-MASS CURVE: The flow-mass curve is a plot of the cumulative discharge
volume against time plotted in chronological order. The ordinate of the mass curve, V at any
time t from the beginning is
t

V = Q dt
0

Since hydrograph is a plot of Q vs. t,

mass curve is an integral (summation)
curve of the hydrograph; conversely
slope of the mass curve at any point
represents rate of flow (Q), i.e. ordinate
of the hydrograph, at that instant. The
slope of line joining two points on a mass
curve represents average discharge
between these two points. Mass curve is
used in calculation of
storage
volume/reservoir capacity, and in
calculation of maintainable demand from
a given capacity reservoir.
Calculation of reservoir capacity: If it is
assumed that the reservoir is full at the
beginning of a dry period the maximum
amount of water drawn from the storage
is the cumulative difference between inflow and outflow/demand volumes from the
beginning of the dry season, so storage S required is

S = max( in flow outflow)

The storage S which is the maximum cumulative deficiency in any dry season is
obtained as the maximum difference in the ordinate between mass curves of supply/ inflow
and demand/outflow. The minimum storage volume required by a reservoir is the largest of
such S values over different dry periods.
Calculation of maintainable demand from a given capacity reservoir: In the converse case
tangents are drawn from the ridges of the inflow mass curve across the next valleys at various
slopes. The demand line that requires just the given storage is the proper demand that can be
sustained by the reservoir in that dry period. Similar demand lines are drawn at other valleys
in the mass curve. The smallest of the various demands thus found denotes the maximum or
safe maintainable demand that can be sustained by the given storage.
It is to be noted that (i) the
vertical distance between two
successive tangents to a mass curve
at the ridges represent the water
wasted over the spillway and (ii) a
demand line must intersect the mass
curve if the reservoir is to refill.
Non-intersection of the demand line
and
mass
curve
indicates
insufficient inflow. Further it is
necessary
to
account
for
evaporation, leakage and other
losses from the reservoir in the
analysis of problems related to
reservoirs. These losses may either
be included in demand rates or
deducted from inflows. In the latter
method the mass curve may have negative slopes at some points.
Sequent Peak Algorithm: In storage analysis by mass curve method it is assumed that (i) if N
years data are available the inflow and demands are assumed to repeat in cyclic progression
of N year cycles; (ii) the reservoir is assumed to be full at the beginning of dry period.
Sequent peak algorithm is a variation of the basic mass curve method to facilitate graphical
plotting and handling of large data. In the sequent peak algorithm a mass curve of cumulative
net flow volume against
time (or residual mass
curve) is used. Net flow
volume = Inflow volume
Outflow volume. For any
the
next
peak
P1,
following peak (P2) of
magnitude greater than P1,
is called a sequent peak.
The lowest point between
P1 and P2 is called trough
T1. Then the reservoir
capacity is P1 T1.
Likewise
subsequent
sequent peaks Pi and
troughs Ti can be found and the required reservoir capacity S = Max of (Pi Ti).

Basin Yield or Annual Runoff Volume

The total volume of water that can be expected from a stream in a given period such as a
water year is called the yield of the stream or the catchment basin. The water year in India is
from June 1st to May 31st since during this period a complete annual cycle of climatic change
is expected. The basin yield is invariably calculated in all water resources development
studies. The methods used are (i) hydrograph method, (ii) runoff rainfall correlation
method, (ii) empirical equations, and (iv) watershed simulations.
Rainfall runoff correlation: The relationship between rainfall and the resulting runoff is
quite complex and is influenced by a host of factors relating the catchment and climate. For
simplicity a linear correlation between the rainfall and runoff is adopted through regression
analysis. If the resultant correlation coefficient is near to unity, the linear relationship is
acceptable. The equation straight line regression between runoff (R) and rainfall (P) is
R = aP + b

and the coefficients a and b are given by

a=

N ( PR ) ( P )( R )
N

( P ) ( P )
2

and b =

( R ) a( P )
N

where N = number of observation sets of P and R. The coefficient of correlation r is

r=

N ( PR ) ( P )( R )

[N ( P ) ( P ) ] [N ( R ) ( R) ]
2

The value of r may lie between -1 to +1. But rainfall and runoff have always positive
correlation and a value of correlation coefficient between 0.6 to 1.0 indicates a good
correlation. For large catchments, it is found advantageous to have an exponential
relationship as R = aP b . The correlation method is adequate for preliminary studies, for
accurate results sophisticated methods are adopted.
Empirical Equations: Empirical equations are applicable only to the region in which they
were derived. These relations are essentially rainfall runoff relations with additional third or
fourth parameters to account for climatic or catchment characteristics. Simplest one is in the
form
R = CR P

where CR is runoff coefficient, which depends upon the type of catchment and nature of
monsoon rainfall. There are tabulated for different investigators for the different regions.
Watershed Simulation: This is based on the hydrologic water budget equation for the
determination of runoff for a given period as
R = P E S

This technique of predicting the runoff, which is the catchment response to a given rainfall
input, is called deterministic watershed simulation. In this the mathematical relationships
describing the interdependence of various parameters in the system are first prepared and this
is called the model.

Droughts
A drought is a climatic anomaly characterized by deficit supply of moisture. This may result
from subnormal rainfall over large regions causing below normal natural availability of water
over long periods of time. Drought phenomenon is a hydrological extreme like flood and is a
natural disaster. However unlike floods the droughts are of creeping kind; they develop in a
region over a length of time and sometimes may extend to continental scale. The
consequences of droughts on the agricultural production, hydropower generation and regional
economy are well known. Further during droughts the quality of available water is highly
degraded resulting in serious environmental and health problems. Meteorological drought is a
situation where there is more than 25% decrease in precipitation from normal over an area. A
year is considered a drought year if more than 20% area of a country is affected by a
moderate (rainfall is 50-75% of normal) and/or severe (rainfall < 50% of normal) drought. If
the probability of occurring a drought in an area is 20 to 40% it is a drought prone area; if this
probability is greater than 40% then it is chronically drought prone area. Meteorological
drought if prolonged results in hydrological drought with marked depletion of surface water
and ground water. The consequences are in the drying up tanks, reservoirs, streams and
rivers, cessation of springs and fall in the ground water level. Agricultural drought occurs
when the soil moisture and rainfall are inadequate during the growing season to support
healthy crop growth to maturity. Drought Management: The causes of drought are essentially
due to temporal and spatial aberrations in the rainfall, improper management of available
water and lack of conservation of runoff in surface and sub-surface storages. As such the
strategy for making drought prone areas less vulnerable to drought associated problems
should include the following measures: (1) creation of storages through water resources
development, (2) inter basin transfer of surface waters, (3) development of ground water
potential, (4) development of appropriate water harvesting practices, (5) soil moisture
conservation measures, (6) minimization of evaporation losses from water bodies, and (7)
encouraging pastures, forestry and other modes of development which are relatively less
water demanding.