FLOOD HYDROGRAPH

a. Explain briefly five factors (except precipitation and

land use) that can influence the flood hydrographs.

1. Drainage Basin Size.

Small Size Large Size
It is likely that rainfall will It is likely that rainfall will
reach the river or channel reach the river or channel is
more rapidly. more slowly.
Water has short distance to Water has long distance to
travel. travel.
Lag time is shorter Lag time is longer

2. Drainage Basin Shape.

Circular Basin Elongated Basin
It is more likely to have a It is more likely to have a
shorter lag time and a higher longer lag time and a lower
peak flow. peak flow.

3. Rock Type.
Permeable Rock Impermeable Rock
Rocks that allow water to Rocks that do not allow water
pass through them. to pass through them such as
Two types of permeable rock: granite (impermeable).
1. porous (sandstone and
chalk) – allow water to
fill the many pores in
the rock.
2. pervious ( carboniferous
limestone) – allowing
water to enter bedding
planes and joints.
Give rapid or high infiltration, Give less infiltration, thus
thus there is little surface produce more run-off and a
run-of and limited number of greater number of streams.
streams

4. Soil Type.
• The type of soil controls the rate of infiltration, the amount
of soil moisture storage and the rate of throughflow.
Sandy Soil Clays
 with Large Pore Spaces with Smaller Pore Spaces
Rapid (rate and volume) Less (rate and volume)
infiltration and do not infiltration and encourage
encourage flooding surface run-off. Thus, increase
the risks of flooding.

5. Temperature.
Higher Temperature Lower Temerature
(Very Hot and Dry in (Very Cold in Winter)
Summer)
The rate of The rate of evapotranspiration
evapotranspiration is higher is lower
Restrict infiltration Restrict infiltration
Less water flow into river. More water flow into the river
when there is a lot of water.
Less water flow into river.

b. Explain how types of precipitation can influence the

flood hydrographs and drainage basin.

Amount
• Long period of rainfall are a frequent cause of flooding.
• The soil becomes saturated and infiltration is reduced.
• This generates large quantities of surface runoff causing
rapid rises in the river discharge.

Types of Precipitation
(A) Prolonged Rainfall
• Flooding most frequently occurs following a long period of
heavy rainfall when the ground has become saturated and
infiltration has been replaced by surface runoff (overland
flow).
(B) Intense Storms
• Example; Convectional Thunderstorms.
• When heavy rain occurs, the rainfall intensity may be
greater than the infiltration capacity of the soil (example;
in summer in Britain, when the ground may be harder).
• This resulting large quantities of surface runoff and
produce a rapid rise in river levels (flash floods) or rapid
rise in river discharge.
(C) Snowfall
• Heavy snowfall means that water is held in storage and
river level drop. [Heavy snow is intercepted and stored.
This lead to a fall in river levels].
• When temperatures rise rapidly, meltwater soon reaches
the main river. [melting occurs the water is released].
• It is possible that the ground will remain frozen for some
time, in which case infiltration will be impeded (hinder).
• This may generate large quantities of surface runoff,
which reach river channel quickly especially if the ground
 remains frozen restricting infiltration.
• Rainfall is also intercepted but may infiltrate quickly if the
soil is unsaturated.
• The rate at which it reaches the river channel depends
upon interception, infiltration and overland flow.

c. Explain how land use can influence the flood

hydrographs and drainage basin.

Vegetation
• It may help to prevent flooding by intercepting rainfall
(storing moisture on its leaves before it evaporates
back into the atmosphere).
 • Estimates suggest that tropical rainforests intercept up
to 80% of rainfall (30% of which may later evaporate)
whereas arable land may intercept only 10%.
• Interception is less during the winter in Britain when
deciduous trees have shed their leaves and crops have
been harvested to expose bare earth.
• Plant roots, especially those of trees, reduce
throughflow by taking up water from the soil.
• Flooding is more likely to occur in deforested area, e.g.
the increasingly frequent and serious flooding in
Bangladesh is attributed to the removal of trees in
Nepal and other Himalayan areas.
• In area of afforestation, flooding may initially increase
as the land is cleared of old vegetation and drained, but
later decrease as the planted trees mature.

Urbanisation
• Urbanisation has increased flood risk. Water cannot
infiltrate through tarmac and concrete, and gutters and
drains carry water more quickly to the nearest river.
• Small streams may be either canalized so that (with
friction reduced) the water flows away more quickly, or
culverted (a transverse and totally enclosed drain under a
 road or railway – parit di bawah jalan), which allows only a
limited amount of water to pass through at one time.

Land use & Human Activity

• Deforestation, afforestation, urbanization and
agriculture all have major impacts on the storage
capabilities of a drainage basin.
• In addition to these ‘accidental’ impacts, the
construction of dams and reservoirs strongly influences
hydrograph.

INPUTS OUTPUTS STORES FLOWS

- - Evaporation - Atmosphere Vertical:
Precipitation - - Interception - Throughfall
- interbasin Evapotranspiratio - Soil - Stemflow
transf n - Surface - Infiltration
er - Runoff or - - Percolation
overland Groundwater - Capillary
flow - Channel Action
 - interbasin
transfer Lateral:
- Runoff
- Throughflow
- Interflow
- Baseflow

Measuring Discharge
• Discharge is the velocity or speed of the river, measured
in metres per second, multiplied by the cross-sectional
area of the river, measured in square meters. This gives
the volume in cubic metres per second or cumecs and can
be expressed as:

Q=AxV where Q = discharge

A = cross-sectional area
V = velocity
 Interpreting the Hydrograph

Approach Segment
• It shows the discharge of the river before the storm –
antecedent flow rate.
• At the time when the storm begins, the river’s response
is negligible for although some of the rain does fall
directly into the channel, most falls elsewhere in the basin
and takes time to reach the channel.

Rising Limb
• However, when the initial surface runoff and later the
throughflow eventually reach the river there is an increase
in discharge.
• This is indicated by the rising limb.
• Once overland flow begins (after interception storage and
the infiltration rate are exceeded) and later, throughflow,
the river’s discharge begins to increase.
• The steeper the rising limb the faster the water is
reaching the channel from the drainage basin.

Lag Time
• The period between maximum precipitation and peak
discharge is referred to as lag time.
• Lag time varies according to conditions within the
drainage basin.
• Examples; soil and rock type, slop and size of the basin,
drainage density, type and amount of vegetation and
water already in storage.
• In river basins with a short lag time there is often a high
peak discharge and the river is more prone to flooding.

Falling or Receding Limb

• It is the segment of the graph where discharge is
decreasing and the level of the river is falling.
• This segment is usually less steep than the rising limb
because throughflow is still being released into the
channel.
• By the time, all the water from the storm has passed
through a given point in the channel.
• The river will have returned to its baseflow level – unless
there has been another storm within the basin.

Base Flow
• Base flow is very slow to respond to a storm but by
continually releasing water from the lower ground it
maintains the river’s flow during period of low
precipitation.
• Indeed, baseflow is more significant over a longer period
of time than an individual storm and reflects seasonal
 changes in precipitation, snow melt, vegetation and
evapotranspiration.

Bankfull Discharge
• It is the point when the level of water has reached the top
of its channel and any further increase in discharge will
result in flooding of the surrounding land.