Hydraulic Design Manual - Hydrograph Method

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HydraulicDesignManual:HydrographMethod
Section13:HydrographMethod
Ahydrographrepresentsrunoffasitvariesovertimeataparticularlocationwithinthewatershed.Theareaintegratedunderthehydrograph
representsthevolumeofrunoff.
Estimationofarunoffhydrograph,asopposedtothepeakrateofrunoff,isnecessaryforwatershedswithcomplexrunoffcharacteristics.The
hydrographmethodalsoshouldbeusedwhenstoragemustbeevaluated,asitaccountsexplicitlyforvolumeandtimingofrunoff.The
hydrographmethodhasnodrainageareasizelimitation.
Figure42showsthatincasesforwhichastatisticaldistributioncannotbefittedandaregressionequationwillnotpredictadequatelythe
designflow,somesortofempiricalorconceptualrainfallrunoffmodelcanbeusedtopredictthedesignflow.Suchapplicationisfoundedon
theprinciplethattheAEPofthecomputedrunoffpeakorvolumeisthesameastheAEPoftherainfallusedasinputto(theboundary
conditionfor)themodel.
Thehydrographmethodisapplicableforwatershedsinwhichtcislongerthanthedurationofpeakrainfallintensityofthedesignstorm.
Precipitationappliedtothewatershedmodelisuniformspatially,butvarieswithtime.Thehydrographmethodaccountsforlosses(soil
infiltrationforexample)andtransformstheremaining(excess)rainfallintoarunoffhydrographattheoutletofthewatershed.Figure49shows
thedifferentcomponentsthatmustberepresentedtosimulatethecompleteresponseofawatershed.
Figure410.Componentsofthehydrographmethod
Becausetheresultingrunoffhydrographisatimeseriesofflowvalues,themethodprovidesapeakflowvalueaswellasvolumeofrunoff.
Thismakesthemethodsuitablefordesignproblemsrequiringrunoffvolumeasadesignparameter.
Successfulapplicationofthehydrographmethodrequiresthedesignerto:
DefinethetemporalandspatialdistributionofthedesiredAEPdesignstorm.
Specifyappropriatelossmodelparameterstocomputetheamountofprecipitationlosttootherprocesses,suchasinfiltration,and
doesnotrunoffthewatershed.
Specifyappropriateparameterstocomputerunoffhydrographresultingfromexcess(notlost)precipitation.
Ifnecessaryfortheapplication,specifyappropriateparameterstocomputethelaggedandattenuatedhydrographatdownstream
locations.
BasicstepstodevelopingandapplyingarainfallrunoffmodelforpredictingtherequireddesignflowareillustratedinFigure410.Thesesteps
aredescribedinmoredetailbelow.
http://onlinemanuals.txdot.gov/txdotmanuals/hyd/hydrograph_method.htm
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Figure411.Stepsindevelopingandapplyingthehydrographmethod
WatershedSubdivision
Themethodisalsoapplicabletocomplexwatersheds,inwhichrunoffhydrographsformultiplesubbasinsarecomputed,thenroutedtoa
commonpointandcombinedtoyieldthetotalrunoffhydrographatthatlocation.
TxDOTresearchonundevelopedwatersheds(05822012)hasindicatedthatthereislittlejustificationforsubdividingawatershedforthe
purposeofimprovingmodelaccuracy.Ingeneral,subdivisionhadlittleornoimpactonrunoffvolumeforthefollowingreasons:
1.Ingeneral,subdivisionofwatershedsformodelingresultsinnomorethanmodestimprovementsinpredictionofpeakdischarge.
Improvementsgenerallyarenotobservedwithmorethanaboutfivetosevensubdivisions
2.Watershedsubdivisionmultipliesthenumberofsubprocessmodelparametersrequiredtomodelwatershedresponseandintroduces
therequirementtorouteflowsthroughthewatersheddrainagenetwork.Discriminationofparametersbetweensubwatershedsis
difficulttojustifyfromatechnicalperspective
3.Theintroductionofwatershedsubdivisionsrequireshydrologic(orhydraulic)routingformovementofsubwatersheddischarges
towardthewatershedoutlet.Theroutingsubprocessmodelrequiresestimatesofadditionalparametersthataresubjecttouncertainty
4.Thedependenceofcomputedhydrographsoninternalroutingbecamemoreapparentasthenumberofsubdivisionsincreasedand
5.Applicationofdistributedmodeling,ascurrentlyimplementedinHECHMS,wasdifficultandtimeconsuming.Itisunclearwhat
technicaladvantageisgainedbyapplicationofthismodelingapproachinanuncalibratedmode,giventhelevelofeffortrequiredto
developthemodels.
Therearecircumstancesinwhichwatershedsubdivisionisappropriate.Ifoneofthesubwatershedsisdistinctlydifferentthantheother
componentsofthewatershed,andifthedrainageofthatsubwatershedisasignificantfractionofthewhole(2050%),thenasubdivisionmight
beappropriate.Specificexamplesofanappropriateapplicationofwatershedsubdivisionwouldbe:
thepresenceofareservoironatributarystream,
asignificantdifferenceinthelevelofurbanizationofonecomponentofawatershed,or
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asubstantialdifferenceinphysicalcharacteristics(mainchannelslope,overlandflowslope,losscharacteristics,andsoforth).
uniquestormdepthsareappropriateforthedifferentsubbasinareas.
computedhydrographsareneededatmorethanonelocation.
DesignStormDevelopment
Adesignstormisaprecipitationpatternorintensityvaluedefinedfordesignofdrainagefacilities.Designstormsareeitherbasedonhistorical
precipitationdataorrainfallcharacteristicsintheprojectareaorregion.Applicationofdesignstormsrangesfrompointprecipitationfor
calculationofpeakflowsusingtherationalmethodtostormhyetographsasinputforrainfallrunoffanalysisinthehydrographmethod.The
fundamentalassumptionusingdesignstormsisthatprecipitationofanAEPyieldsrunoffofthesameAEP.
SelectionofStormDuration
Selectingstormdurationisthefirststepindesignstormmodeling.Theappropriatestormdurationforstormwaterrunoffcalculationsis
dependentonthedrainageareashydrologicresponse.Theselectedstormdurationshouldbesufficientlylongthattheentiredrainagearea
contributestodischargeatthepointofinterest.Stormdurationisdefinedintermsoftimeofconcentration(tc),whichisthetimeittakesfor
runofftotravelfromthehydraulicallymostdistantpointofthewatershedtoapointofinterestwithinthewatershed.
Forcompletedrainageofthearea,timeforoverlandflow,channelflow,andstoragemustbeconsidered.Typicallyforhydrograph
computationsthestormdurationshouldbefourorfivetimesthetimeofconcentration.Longerdurationofstormwillnotincreasethepeak
dischargesubstantially,butwillcontributegreatervolumeofrunoff.
Commonly,astormdurationof24hoursisused.Howeverthe24hourstormdurationshouldnotbeusedblindly.Runofffromlongerand
shorterstormsshouldbecomputedtodemonstratethesensitivityofthedesignchoices.
ForTxDOT,theNRCS24hourstormshouldbeusedasastartingpointforanalysis.However,iftheanalysisresultsappearinconsistentwith
expectations,siteperformance,orexperience,analternativestormdurationshouldbeconsidered.Inthatcase,thedesignershouldconsultthe
DesignDivisionHydraulicsBranchforadvice.
StormDepth:DepthDurationFrequency(DDF)Relationships
Oncethestormdurationisselected,thenextstepistodeterminetherainfalldepthorintensityofthatdurationfortheselectedAEP.Depth
DurationFrequencyPrecipitationforTexas(Asquith1998)providesprocedurestoestimatethatdepthforanylocationinTexas.TheAtlasof
DepthDurationFrequencyofPrecipitationAnnualMaximaforTexas(TxDOT51301011)isanextensionofthe1998studyandanupdateof
TechnicalPaperNo.40:RainfallFrequencyAtlasoftheUnitedStates(Hershfield1961),TechnicalPaperNo.49:2to10DayPrecipitation
forReturnPeriodsof2to100YearintheContiguousUnitedStates(Miller1964),andNOAANWSHydro35:5to60MinutePrecipitation
FrequencyfortheEasternandCentralUnitedStates(Fredericketal.1977).
TheAtlasofDepthDurationFrequencyofPrecipitationAnnualMaximaforTexasincludes96mapsdepictingthespatialvariationoftheDDF
ofprecipitationannualmaximaforTexas.TheAEPsrepresentedare50%,20%,10%,4%,2%,1%,0.4%,and0.2%(2,5,10,25,50,100,
250,and500years).Thestormdurationsrepresentedare15and30minutes1,2,3,6,and12hoursand1,2,3,5,and7days.
IntensityDurationFrequencyRelationships
Whilehydrographmethodsrequirebothrainfalldepthandtemporaldistribution,therationalmethodrequiresonlyintensity.Therainfall
intensity(I)istheaveragerainfallrateininches/hourforaspecificrainfalldurationandaselectedfrequency.FordrainageareasinTexas,
rainfallintensitymaybecomputedby:
1.UsingmapsintheAtlasofDepthDurationFrequencyofPrecipitationAnnualMaximaforTexaspublicationtoobtainthe
precipitationdepthforagivenfrequency.
2.Convertingtheprecipitationdepthtoaprecipitationintensitybydividingthedepthbythestormduration.Theprecipitationis
measuredininches/hour.
Forexample,ifthe100year,6hourdepthis3.2inches,theprecipitationintensityequals3.2inches/6hours=0.53inches/hour.
ArealDepthAdjustment
Whenestimatingrunoffduetoarainfallevent,auniformarealdistributionofrainfalloverthewatershedisassumed.However,forintense
storms,uniformrainfallisunlikely.Rather,rainfallvariesacrossthedrainagearea.Toaccountforthisvariation,anarealadjustmentismadeto
convertpointdepthstoanaveragearealdepth.Fordrainageareassmallerthan10squaremiles,thearealadjustmentisnegligible.Forlarger
areas,pointrainfalldepthsandintensitiesmustbeadjusted.Twomethodsarepresentedhereforuseindesignofdrainagefacilities:thefirstis
bytheUSWeatherBureauandthesecondisbyUSGS.
USWeatherBureauArealDepthAdjustment
TheUSWeatherBureau(1958)developedFigure411fromanannualseriesofraingaugenetworks.Itshowsthepercentageofpointdepths
thatshouldbeusedtoyieldaveragearealdepths.
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Figure412.Depthareaadjustment(USWeatherBureau1958)
USGSArealReductionFactorsforthePrecipitationofthe1DayDesignStorminTexas
Arealreductionfactors(ARFs)specificforTexasfora1daydesignstormweredevelopedbyAsquith(1999).Asquithsmethodusesanareal
reductionfactorthatrangesfrom0to1.Themethodisafunctionofwatershedcharacteristicssuchassizeandshape,geographiclocation,and
timeofyearthatthedesignstormispresumedtooccur.ThestudywasbasedonprecipitationmonitoringnetworksintheAustin,Dallas,and
Houstonareas.Ifusinga1daydesignstorm,thisistheappropriatemethodofarealreductiontousefordesignofhighwaydrainagefacilitiesin
Texas.
However,theapplicabilityofthismethoddiminishesthefartherawayfromtheAustin,Dallas,orHoustonareasthestudyareaisandasthe
durationofthedesignstormincreasinglydiffersfromthatof1day.ForfurtherinformationandexampleproblemsoncalculatingtheARF,refer
toAsquith(1999).
Arelationshipexistsbetweenthepointofanannualprecipitationmaximaandthedistancebetweenboththecentroidofthewatershedand
everylocationradiatingoutfromthecentroid.Thisisassumingthewatershedisornearlysocircular.ST(r)istheexpectedvalueoftheratio
betweenthedepthatsomelocationadistancerfromthepointofthedesignstorm.Treferstothefrequencyofthedesignstorm.Equationsfor
ST(r)forthe50%(2year)orsmallerAEPvarybyproximitytoAustin,Dallas,andHouston.Foranapproximatelycircularwatershed,theARF
iscalculatedwiththefollowingequation:
Equation424.
Where:
r=variableofintegrationrangingfrom0toR
R=radiusofthewatershed(mi)
S2(r)=estimated2yearorgreaterdepthdistancerelation(mi)
ThesitespecificequationsforS2(r)fordifferingwatershedradiiareinTable412attheendofthissection.
OncetheARFiscalculated,theeffectivedepthofthedesignstormisfoundbymultiplyingtheARFbythepointprecipitationdepthfound
usingAtlasofDepthDurationFrequencyofPrecipitationAnnualMaximaforTexas.
Forexample,anapproximatelycircularwatershedintheDallasareais50.3squaremiles(R=4miles).FromTable412:
S2=1.00000.06(r)for
S2=0.96700.0435(r)for
SubstitutingtheaboveexpressionsintoEquation424gives:
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ARF=0.85
AneasierwaytodetermineARFforcircularwatershedsistousetheequationfromTable412incolumnARFforcircularwatershedshaving
radiusrforthecityandradiusofinterest.Forthepreviousexample(CityofDallas,R=4miles),theequationwouldbe:
ARF=0.96700.0290(r)+(0.0440/r2)
ARF=0.85
Fromtheprecipitationatlas,the1%(100year)1daydepthis9.8inches.Multiplythisdepthby0.85toobtainthe24hour1%AEPareally
reducedstormdepthof8.3inches.
Ifthedesignerfindsthatacircularapproximationofthewatershedisinappropriateforthewatershedofinterest,thefollowingprocedurefor
noncircularwatershedsshouldbeused.Theprocedurefornoncircularwatershedsisasfollows:
1.Representthewatershedasdiscretecellsthecellsdonothavetobethesamearea.
2.Locatethecellcontainingthecentroidofthewatershed.
3.Foreachcell,calculatethedistancetothecentroid(r).
4.UsingthedistancesfromStep3,solvetheappropriateequationsfromTable412forS2(r)foreachcell.
5.MultiplyS2(r)bythecorrespondingcellareatocomputeARFtheareamultiplicationsimplyactsasaweightforaweightedmean.
6.Computethesumofthecellareas.
7.ComputethesumoftheproductofS2(r)andcellareafromStep5.
8.DividetheresultofStep7byStep6.
Table412:EquationsThatDefinetheEstimated2YearorGreaterDepthDistanceRelationandtheArealReductionFactorforCircular
Watersheds
City
Estimated2yrorgreaterdepthdistancerelation
fordistancer(mi)
ARFforcircularwatershedshavingradiusr(mi)
Equationlimits
Austin
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Dallas
Houston
RainfallTemporalDistribution
Thetemporalrainfalldistributionishowrainfallintensityvariesovertimeforasingleevent.Themassrainfallcurve,illustratedinFigure412,
isthecumulativeprecipitationuptoaspecifictime.Indrainagedesign,thestormisdividedintotimeincrements,andtheaveragedepthduring
eachtimeincrementisestimated,resultinginarainfallhyetographasshowninFigure413.
Figure413.Examplemassrainfallcurvefromhistoricalstorm
HyetographDevelopmentProcedure
Intherationalmethodtheintensityisconsideredtobeuniformoverthestormperiod.Hydrographtechniques,however,accountforvariability
oftheintensitythroughoutastorm.Therefore,whenusinghydrographtechniques,thedesignermustdeterminearainfallhyetograph:a
temporaldistributionofthewatershedrainfall,asshowninFigure413.
Figure414.Rainfallhyetograph
MethodsacceptablefordevelopingarainfallhyetographforadesignstormincludetheNRCSmethod,thebalancedstormmethod,andthe
Texasstormmethod.
NRCSHyetographDevelopmentProcedure
TheNRCSdesignstormhyetographswerederivedbyaveragingstormpatternsforregionsoftheU.S.Thestormsthusrepresentapattern
distributionofrainfallovera24hourperiodtowhichadesignrainfalldepthcanbeapplied.Thedistributionitselfisarrangedinacritical
patternwiththemaximumprecipitationperiodoccurringjustbeforethemidpointofthestorm.
Figure414andTable413showtheNRCS24hourrainfalldistributionsforTexas:TypeIIandTypeIII.Figure415showstheareasinTexas
towhichthesedistributiontypesapply.Thedistributionrepresentsthefractionofaccumulatedrainfall(notrunoff)accruedwithrespecttotime.
Figure415.NRCS24hourrainfalldistributions(NRCS1986)
Table413:NRCS24HourRainfall
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Distributions
Time,t
(hours)
Fractionof24hourrainfall
TypeII
TypeIII
0.000
0.000
0.022
0.020
0.048
0.043
0.080
0.072
0.098
0.089
0.120
0.115
8.5
0.133
0.130
0.147
0.148
9.5
0.163
0.167
9.75
0.172
0.178
10
0.181
0.189
10.5
0.204
0.216
11
0.235
0.250
11.5
0.283
0.298
11.75
0.357
0.339
12
0.663
0.500
12.5
0.735
0.702
13
0.772
0.751
13.5
0.799
0.785
14
0.820
0.811
16
0.880
0.886
20
0.952
0.957
24
1.000
1.000
Figure416.RainfalldistributiontypesinTexas(TR551986)
Usethefollowingstepstodeveloparainfallhyetograph:
1.Determinetherainfalldepth(Pd)forthedesireddesignfrequencyandlocation.
2.UseFigure415todeterminethedistributiontype.
3.Selectanappropriatetimeincrementforcomputationofrunoffhydrographordinates.Anincrementequal1/5or1/6ofthetimeof
concentrationisadequateformostanalyses.
4.Createatableoftimeandthefractionofrainfalltotal.Interpolatetherainfalldistributionstablefortheappropriatedistributiontype.
5.Multiplythecumulativefractionsbythetotalrainfalldepth(fromstep1)togetthecumulativedepthsatvarioustimes.
6.Determinetheincrementalrainfallforeachtimeperiodbysubtractingthecumulativerainfallattheprevioustimestepfromthe
currenttimestep.
BalancedStormHyetographDevelopmentProcedure
Thetriangulartemporaldistribution,withthepeakofthestormlocatedatthecenterofthehyetograph,isalsocalledbalancedstorm.Ituses
DDFvaluesthatarebasedonastatisticalanalysisofhistoricaldata.Theprocedureforderivingahyetographwiththismethodisasfollows:
1.FortheselectedAEP,tabulaterainfallamountsforastormofagivenreturnperiodforalldurationsuptoaspecifiedlimit(for24
hour,15minute,30minute,1hour,2hour,3hour,6hour,12hour,24hour,etc.).UsethemapsinAsquith2004,locatingthestudy
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areaontheappropriatemapforthedurationandAEPselectedfordesign.
2.Selectanappropriatetimeinterval.Anappropriatetimeintervalisrelatedtothetimeofconcentrationofthewatershed.Tocalculate
thetimeinterval,use:
Equation425.
Where:
t=timeinterval
tc=timeofconcentration
Forexample,ifthetimeofconcentrationis1hour,t=1/5tc=1/5of1hour=12minutes,or1/6of1hour=10minutes.
Choosing1/5or1/6willnotmakeasignificantdifferenceinthedistributionoftherainfalluseonefractionortheotherto
determineaconvenienttimeinterval.
3.Forsuccessivetimesofintervalt,findthecumulativerainfalldepthsfromtheDDFvalues.Fordepthsattimeintervalsnotincluded
intheDDFtables,interpolatedepthsforintermediatedurationsusingalogloginterpolation.(Durationsfromthetableareusually
giveninhours,butinminutesontheplot.)Forexample,givenastudyareainthenorthernpartofBexarCounty,theloglogplotin
Figure416showsthe10%depthsforthe15,30,60,120,180,360,720,and1440minutedurationsincludedinAsquithand
Roussel2004.Theprecipitationdepthat500minutesisinterpolatedas5.0inches.
Figure417.Logtimeversuslogprecipitationdepth
4.Findtheincrementaldepthsbysubtractingthecumulativedepthataparticulartimeintervalfromthedepthattheprevioustime
interval.
5.Rearrangetheincrementaldepthssothatthepeakdepthisatthecenterofthestormandtheremainingincrementaldepthsalternate(to
leftandrightofpeak)indescendingorder.
Forexample,inFigure417,thelargestincrementaldepthfora24hourstorm(1,440minutes)isplacedatthe720minutetimeintervalandthe
remainingincrementaldepthsareplacedaboutthe720minuteintervalinalternatingdecreasingorder.
Figure418.Balancedstormhyetograph
TexasStormHyetographDevelopmentProcedure
TexasspecificdimensionlesshyetographsweredevelopedbyresearchersatUSGS,TexasTechUniversity,UniversityofHouston,andLamar
University(WilliamsSetheretal.2004,Asquithetal.2005).Twodatabaseswereusedtoestimatethehyetographs:1)rainfallrecordedfor
morethan1,600stormsovermostlysmallwatershedsaspartofhistoricalUSGSstudies,and2)hourlyrainfalldatacollectionnetworkfromthe
NWSovereasternNewMexico,Oklahoma,andTexas.
Threemethodsofdevelopingdimensionlesshyetographsarepresented:1)triangulardimensionlesshyetograph2)Lgammadimensionless
hyetographand3)empiricaldimensionlesshyetograph.AnyofthesehyetographscanbeusedforTxDOTdesign.Briefdescriptionsofthe
threemethodsarepresentedhere.ForfurtherinformationandexampleproblemsontheTexashyetographs,refertoAsquithetal.2005.
TriangularDimensionlessHyetograph
AtriangulardimensionlesshyetographispresentedinFigure418.Theverticalaxisrepresentsrelativerainfallintensity.Therainfallintensity
increaseslinearlyuntilthetimeofpeakintensity,thendecreaseslinearlyuntiltheendofthestorm.Thetriangularhyetograph,intermsof
relativecumulativestormdepth,isdefinedbyEquations426and427,withvaluesforparametersaandbprovidedinTable414.
Equation426.
Equation427.
Where:
p1=normalizedcumulativerainfalldepth,(rangingfrom0to1)forFrangingfrom0toa
p2=normalizedcumulativerainfalldepth,(rangingfrom0to1)forFrangingfromato1
F=elapsedtime,relativetostormduration,rangingfrom0to1
a=relativestormdurationpriortopeakintensity,fromTable414
b=relativestormdurationpriortopeakintensity,fromTable414
Figure419.TriangulardimensionlessTexashyetograph
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Table414:TriangularModelParametersaandb
Stormduration
Triangularhyetographmodel
parameters
512hours
1324hours
2572hours
0.02197
0.28936
0.38959
0.97803
0.71064
0.61041
Basedonthestormduration,thedesignerselectstheappropriateparametersaandbforuseinEquations426and427.Theordinatesof
cumulativestormdepth,normalizedtototalstormdepth,arethusobtained.Valuesofrainfallintensityareobtainedbycomputingtotalstorm
depthfordurationsofinterest,anddividingbytheduration.
TriangularDimensionlessHyetographProcedure
Thefollowingisanexamplecomputationusingthetriangulardimensionlesshyetographprocedurefora12hourstormwithcumulativedepth
of8inches:
1.ExpressFinEquations426and427intermsoftimetandtotalstormdurationT:F=t/T.
2.ExpresspintermsofcumulativerainfalldepthdandtotalstormdepthD:p=d/D.
3.SubstitutingintoEquations426and427gives:
4.FromTable414,a=0.02197andb=0.97803.
5.Substituting12(hours)forTand8(inches)forDgives:
6.Simplifying:
Theseresultingequationsprovidecumulativedepthininchesasafunctionofelapsedtimeinhours,asshowninTable415.
Table415:ExampleDimensionlessHyetographOrdinates
Time,t(hr.)
PrecipitationDepth,d(in.)
PrecipitationIntensity,I(in./hr.)
0.13
0.04
0.33
0.26
0.17
0.99
0.50
0.49
1.32
0.75
0.81
1.29
1.00
1.13
1.26
2.00
2.32
1.19
3.00
3.40
1.08
4.00
4.36
0.97
5.00
5.22
0.85
6.00
5.96
0.74
7.00
6.58
0.62
8.00
7.09
0.51
9.00
7.49
0.40
10.00
7.77
0.28
11.00
7.94
0.17
12.00
8.00
0.06
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LgammaDimensionlessHyetograph
Asquith(2003)andAsquithetal.(2005)computedsampleLmomentsof1,659dimensionlesshyetographsforrunoffproducingstorms.
Stormsweredividedbydurationinto3categories,0to12hours,12to24hours,and24to72hours.Dimensionlesshyetographsbasedonthe
Lgammadistributionweredevelopedandaredefinedby:
Equation428.
Where:
e=2.718282
p=normalizedcumulativerainfalldepth,rangingfrom0to1
F=elapsedtime,relativetostormduration,rangingfrom0to1
b=distributionparameterfromTable416
c=distributionparameterfromTable416
ParametersbandcoftheLgammadistributionforthecorrespondingstormdurationsareshowninTable416.Untilspecificguidanceis
developedforselectingparametersforstormsofexactly12hoursand24hours,thedesignershouldadoptdistributionparametersforthe
durationrangeresultinginthemoresevererunoffcondition.
Table416:EstimatedLGammaDistributionParametersb
andc
Lgammadistributionparameters
Stormduration
012hours
1.262
1.227
1224hours
0.783
0.4368
2472hours
0.3388
0.8152
LgammaDimensionlessHyetographProcedure
UsethefollowingstepstodevelopanLgammadimensionlessTexashyetographforstormdurationof24hoursandastormdepthof15inches:
1.EntertheLgammadistributionparametersfortheselectedstormdurationintothefollowingequation:
2.ExpressFintermsoftimetandtotalstormdurationT:F=t/T.Expresspintermsofcumulativerainfalldepthdandtotalstorm
depthD:p=d/D.Substitutinggives:
3.Substitute24(hours)forTand15(inches)forD:
Thisequationdefinesthestormhyetograph.disthecumulativedepthininches,andtistheelapsedtimeinhours.
EmpiricalDimensionlessHyetograph
Empiricaldimensionlesshyetographs(WilliamsSetheretal.2004,Asquithetal.2005)havebeendevelopedforapplicationtosmalldrainage
areas(lessthanapproximately160squaremiles)inurbanandruralareasinTexas.Thecumulativehyetographsaredimensionlessinboth
durationanddepth,andareapplicableforstormdurationsrangingfrom0to72hours.Thehyetographshapesarenotgivenbyamathematical
expressionbutareprovidedgraphicallyfor1st,2nd,3rd,and4thquartilestormsaswellasforacombined(1stthrough4thquartile)storm.
Tousethehyetographs,thedesignerdeterminestheappropriatestormdepthanddurationfortheannualexceedanceprobability(AEP)of
interest.Thequartiledefinesinwhichtemporalquarterofthestormthemajorityoftheprecipitationoccursthegraphsforindividualquartiles
aswellascorrespondingtabulationsareavailableinWilliamsSetheretal.,(2004).
Figure420.Dimensionlesshyetographsfor0to72hoursstormduration(fromWilliamsSetheretal.2004)
Table417:Median(50th)and90thPercentile,1stthrough4thQuartile,
EmpiricalDimensionlessHyetographs(fromWilliamsSetheretal.2004)
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50th
90th
Percentile
Percentile
Depth
Depth
Stormduration(%)
(%)
(%)
0.00
0.00
0.00
2.50
8.70
21.60
5.00
13.58
37.57
7.50
20.49
51.55
10.0
26.83
63.04
12.5
32.42
71.66
15.0
37.21
77.38
17.5
41.00
80.89
20.0
44.11
83.32
22.5
46.55
85.01
25.0
48.54
86.35
27.5
50.23
87.66
30.0
51.68
88.96
32.5
52.9
90.18
35.0
54.27
91.29
37.5
55.49
92.25
40.0
56.80
93.05
42.5
58.03
93.72
45.0
59.31
94.24
47.5
60.49
94.64
50.0
61.97
94.92
52.5
63.51
95.18
55.0
65.39
95.40
57.5
67.56
95.70
60.0
69.85
96.06
62.5
72.11
96.47
65.0
74.32
96.9
67.5
76.38
97.32
70.0
78.21
97.68
72.5
80.00
97.97
75.0
81.61
98.19
77.5
83.25
98.38
80.0
84.84
98.56
82.5
86.54
98.72
85.0
88.30
98.90
87.5
90.21
99.09
90.0
92.18
99.29
92.5
94.22
99.49
11/34
10/14/2016
95.0
96.21
99.70
97.5
98.21
99.92
100.0
100.00
100.00
Figure419isagraphicalrepresentationofthecombinedstormwiththe50thpercentile(green)and90thpercentile(magenta)storm
hyetographhighlighted,andTable417isthecorrespondingtabulationfora50thpercentile(median)stormanda90thpercentilestorm.The
recommended50thpercentilecurverepresentsamediancombined(1stthrough4thquartile)storm.The90thpercentilecurverepresentsan
uppersupportcombined(1stthrough4thquartile)stormwhere90percentofhyetographswouldbeanticipatedtotrackeitheronorbelowthe
curve.
Confidencelimitsfortheempiricaldimensionlesshydrographshavebeencomputedforeachofthefourquartilehyetographsandarereported
inWilliamsSetheretal.,(2004).Becausethehyetographsaredimensionless,allofthepercentilehyetographshavethesamedimensionless
stormdepthbutrepresentvariationsinthetemporaldistributionofrainfallduringthestormduration.
Aspreadsheettool,TXHYETO2015.xlsx(developedbyClevelandetal.,(2015))isavailabletofacilitatetheuseofthedimensionless
hyetograph.Itwillassistthedesignerinproducingelapsedtimeinminutes(orhours)andcumulativedepthininches(ormillimeters)forthe
50thor90thpercentilehyetograph.AvideotutorialforuseofthetoolisincludedinClevelandetal.,(2015).Thetoolcanalsobeusedin
conjunctionwiththeEBDLKUP2015v2.1spreadsheet.
ModelsforEstimatingLosses
Lossesrefertothevolumeofrainfallingonawatershedthatdoesnotrunoff.Witheachmodel,precipitationlossisfoundforeach
computationtimeinterval,andissubtractedfromtheprecipitationdepthforthatinterval.Theremainingdepthisreferredtoasprecipitation
excess.Thisdepthisconsidereduniformlydistributedoverawatershedarea,soitrepresentsavolumeofrunoff.
LossmodelsavailabletotheTxDOTdesignerinclude:
Initialandconstantratelossmodel.
Texasinitialandconstantratelossmodel.
NRCScurvenumberlossmodel.
GreenandAmptlossmodel.
InitialandConstantRateLossModelBasicConceptsandEquations
Fortheinitiallossandconstantratelossmodel,norunoffoccursinthewatersheduntilaninitiallosscapacityhasbeensatisfied,regardlessof
therainfallrate.Oncetheinitiallosshasbeensatisfied,aconstantpotentiallossrateoccursforthedurationofthestorm.Thismethodisa
simpleapproximationofatypicalinfiltrationcurve,wheretheinitiallossdecaysoverthestormdurationtoafinalnearconstantlossrate.Inthe
exampleinFigure420,theinitiallossissatisfiedinthefirsttimeincrement,andtheconstantrateaccountsforlossesthereafter.
Figure421.Initialandconstantlossratemodel
Theinitialandconstantlossratemodelisdescribedmathematicallyas:
Equation429.
Equation430.
Equation431.
Where:
I(t)=rainfallintensity(in./hr.)
f(t)=lossrate(in./hr.)
P(t)=cumulativerainfalldepth(in.)attimet
Ia=initialloss(in.)
L=constantlossrate(in./hr.)
Iaaccountsforinterceptionanddepressionstorage,andtheinitialrateofinfiltrationatthebeginningofthestormevent.Interceptionrefersto
thecaptureofrainfallontheleavesandstemsofvegetationbeforeitreachesthegroundsurface.Depressionstorageiswheretheponded
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10/14/2016
rainfallfillssmalldepressionsandirregularitiesinthegroundsurface.Depressionstorageeventuallyinfiltratesorevaporatesduringdry
weatherperiods.Untiltheaccumulatedprecipitationontheperviousareaexceedstheinitiallossvolume,norunoffoccurs.
EstimatingInitialLossandConstantRate
Theinitialandconstantratelossmodelincludesoneparameter(theconstantrate)andoneinitialcondition(theinitialloss).Respectively,these
representphysicalpropertiesofthewatershedsoilsandlanduseandtheantecedentcondition.
Ifthewatershedisinasaturatedstate,Iawillapproach0.Ifthewatershedisdry,thenIawillincreasetorepresentthemaximumprecipitation
depththatcanfallonthewatershedwithnorunoffthiswilldependonthewatershedterrain,landuse,soiltypes,andsoiltreatment.
Theconstantlossratecanbeviewedastheultimateinfiltrationcapacityofthesoils.TheNRCSclassifiedsoilsonthebasisofthisinfiltration
capacityaspresentedinTable418valuesinColumn4representreasonableestimatesoftherates.
TexasInitialandConstantRateLossModel
Recentresearch(TxDOT041937)developedfourcomputationalapproachesforestimatinginitialabstraction(IA)andconstantloss(CL)
valuesforwatershedsinTexas.Theapproachesareallbasedontheanalysisofrainfallandrunoffdataof92gaugedwatershedsinTexas.One
ofthosemethods,presentedhere,allowsthedesignertocomputeIAandCLfromregressionequations:
Equation432.
Equation433.
Where:
IA=initialabstraction(in.)
CL=constantlossrate(in./hr.)
L=mainchannellength(mi.)
D=0forundevelopedwatersheds,1fordevelopedwatersheds
R=0fornonrockywatersheds,1forrockywatersheds
CN=NRCScurvenumber
Intheaboveequations,Lisdefinedasthelengthinstreamcoursemilesofthelongestdefinedchannelshownina30meterdigitalelevation
modelfromtheapproximatewatershedheadwaterstotheoutlet(TxDOT041937).
NRCSCurveNumberLossModel
NRCShasdevelopedaproceduretodividetotaldepthofrainfallintosoilretention,initialabstractions,andeffectiverainfall.Thisparameteris
referredtoasacurvenumber(CN).TheCNisbasedonsoiltype,landuse,andvegetativecoverofthewatershed.Themaximumpossiblesoil
retentionisestimatedusingaparameterthatrepresentstheimpermeabilityofthelandinawatershed.Theoretically,CNcanrangefrom0
(100%rainfallinfiltration)to100(impervious).Inpractice,basedonvaluestabulatedinNRCS1986,thelowestCNthedesignerwilllikely
encounteris30,andthemaximumCNis98.
TheCNmayalsobeadjustedtoaccountforwetordryantecedentmoistureconditions.DrysoilconditionsarereferredtoasCNI,average
conditions(thosecalculatedusingEstimatingtheCN)arereferredtoasCNII,andwetsoilsarereferredtoasCNIII.Antecedentmoisture
conditionsshouldbeestimatedconsideringaminimumofafivedayperiod.Antecedentsoilmoistureconditionsalsovaryduringastorm
heavyrainfallingonadrysoilcanchangethesoilmoistureconditionfromdrytoaveragetowetduringthestormperiod.
Equation434.
Equation435.
HydrologicSoilGroups
Soilpropertiesinfluencetherelationshipbetweenrainfallandrunoffbyaffectingtherateofinfiltration.NRCSdividessoilsintofour
hydrologicsoilgroupsbasedoninfiltrationrates(GroupsAD).Urbanizationhasaneffectonsoilgroups,aswell.SeeTable418formore
information.
Table418:HydrologicSoilGroups
Rangeoflossrates
Soilgroup
Description
Soiltype
Deepsand,deeploess,aggregated
(in./hr.)
(mm/hr.)
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Lowrunoffpotentialduetohigh
infiltrationratesevenwhen
saturated
Moderatelylowrunoffpotential
duetomoderateinfiltrationrates
whensaturated
Moderatelyhighrunoffpotential
duetoslowinfiltrationrates
Soilsinwhichalayernearthe
surfaceimpedesthedownward
movementofwaterorsoilswith
moderatelyfinetofinetexture
Highrunoffpotentialduetovery
slowinfiltrationrates
Deepsand,deeploess,aggregated
silts
0.300.45
7.611.4
Shallowloess,sandyloam
0.150.30
3.87.6
Clayloams,shallowsandyloam,
soilslowinorganiccontent,and
soilsusuallyhighinclay
0.050.15
1.33.8
Soilsthatswellsignificantlywhen
wet,heavyplasticclays,and
certainsalinesoils
0.000.05
1.3
EstimatingtheCN
Rainfallinfiltrationlossesdependprimarilyonsoilcharacteristicsandlanduse(surfacecover).TheNRCSmethodusesacombinationofsoil
conditionsandlandusetoassignrunoffCNs.SuggestedrunoffcurvenumbersareprovidedinTable419,Table420,Table421,andTable4
22.NotethatCNsarewholenumbers.
Forawatershedthathasvariabilityinlandcoverandsoiltype,acompositeCNiscalculatedandweightedbyarea.
Table419:RunoffCurveNumbersForUrbanAreas
Averagepercent
imperviousarea
Poorcondition(grasscover<50%)
68
79
86
89
Faircondition(grasscover50%to75%)
49
69
79
84
Goodcondition(grasscover>75%)
39
61
74
80
Pavedparkinglots,roofs,driveways,etc.(excludingrightofway)
98
98
98
98
Pavedcurbsandstormdrains(excludingrightofway)
98
98
98
98
Pavedopenditches(includingrightofway)
83
89
92
93
Gravel(includingrightofway)
76
85
89
91
Dirt(includingrightofway)
72
82
87
89
Naturaldesertlandscaping(perviousareasonly)
63
77
85
88
Artificialdesertlandscaping(imperviousweedbarrier,desertshrubwith1to
2in.sandorgravelmulchandbasinborders)
96
96
96
96
Urbandistricts:
Commercialandbusiness
85
89
92
94
95
Industrial
72
81
88
91
93
1/8acreorless(townhouses)
65
77
85
90
92
1/4acre
38
61
75
83
87
1/3acre
30
57
72
81
86
1/2acre
25
54
70
80
85
1acre
20
51
68
79
84
Covertypeandhydrologiccondition
Openspace(lawns,parks,golfcourses,cemeteries,etc.):
Streetsandroads:
Westerndeserturbanareas:
Residentialdistrictsbyaveragelotsize:
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1acre
2acres
Developingurbanareas:Newlygradedareas(perviousareaonly,no
vegetation)
20
51
68
79
84
12
46
65
77
82
77
86
91
94
Table419notes:Valuesareforaveragerunoffcondition,andIa=0.2S.Theaveragepercentimperviousareashownwasusedtodevelop
thecompositeCNs.Otherassumptionsare:imperviousareasaredirectlyconnectedtothedrainagesystem,imperviousareashaveaCNof
98,andperviousareasareconsideredequivalenttoopenspaceingoodhydrologiccondition.
Table420:RunoffCurveNumbersForCultivatedAgriculturalLand
Covertype
Fallow
Rowcrops
Treatment
Hydrologiccondition
77
86
91
94
Poor
76
85
90
93
Good
74
83
88
90
Straightrow(SR)
Poor
72
81
88
91
Good
67
78
85
89
SR+CR
Poor
71
80
87
90
Good
64
75
82
85
Poor
70
79
84
88
Good
65
75
82
86
Baresoil
Cropresiduecover(CR)
Contoured(C)
C+CR
Poor
69
78
83
87
Good
64
74
81
85
Poor
66
74
80
82
Good
62
71
78
81
Poor
65
73
79
81
Good
61
70
77
80
SR
Poor
65
76
84
88
Good
63
75
83
87
SR+CR
Poor
64
75
83
86
Smallgrain
Good
60
72
80
84
Poor
63
74
82
85
Good
61
73
81
84
C+CR
Poor
62
73
81
84
Good
60
72
80
83
C&T
Poor
61
72
79
82
Good
59
70
78
81
C&T+CR
Poor
60
71
78
81
Good
58
69
77
80
Poor
66
77
85
89
Good
58
72
81
85
Poor
64
75
83
85
Good
55
69
78
83
Contoured&terraced(C&T)
C&T+CR
SR
Closeseededorbroadcast
legumesorrotationmeadow
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10/14/2016
C&T
Poor
63
73
80
83
Good
51
67
76
80
Table420notes:Valuesareforaveragerunoffcondition,andIa=0.2S.Cropresiduecoverappliesonlyifresidueisonatleast5%ofthe
surfacethroughouttheyear.Hydrologicconditionisbasedonacombinationoffactorsaffectinginfiltrationandrunoff:densityandcanopy
ofvegetativeareas,amountofyearroundcover,amountofgrassorclosedseededlegumesinrotations,percentofresiduecoveronland
surface(good>20%),anddegreeofroughness.Poor=Factorsimpairinfiltrationandtendtoincreaserunoff.Good=Factorsencourage
averageandbetterinfiltrationandtendtodecreaserunoff.
Table421:RunoffCurveNumbersForOtherAgriculturalLands
Covertype
Hydrologiccondition
Poor
68
79
86
89
Fair
49
69
79
84
Good
39
61
74
80
30
58
71
78
Poor
48
67
77
83
Fair
35
56
70
77
Good
30
48
65
73
Poor
57
73
82
86
Fair
43
65
76
82
Good
32
58
72
79
Poor
45
66
77
83
Fair
36
60
73
79
Good
30
55
70
77
59
74
82
86
Pasture,grassland,orrangecontinuousforageforgrazing
Meadowcontinuousgrass,protectedfromgrazingand
generallymowedforhay
Brushbrushweedgrassmixture,withbrushthemajor
element
Woodsgrasscombination(orchardortreefarm)
Woods
Farmsteadsbuildings,lanes,driveways,andsurroundinglots
Table421notes:Valuesareforaveragerunoffcondition,andIa=0.2S.Pasture:Pooris<50%groundcoverorheavilygrazedwithno
mulch,Fairis50%to75%groundcoverandnotheavilygrazed,andGoodis>75%groundcoverandlightlyoronlyoccasionallygrazed.
Meadow:Pooris<50%groundcover,Fairis50%to75%groundcover,Goodis>75%groundcover.Woods/grass:CNsshownwere
computedforareaswith50percentgrass(pasture)cover.OthercombinationsofconditionsmaybecomputedfromCNsforwoodsand
pasture.Woods:Poor=forestlitter,smalltrees,andbrushdestroyedbyheavygrazingorregularburning.Fair=woodsgrazedbutnot
burnedandwithsomeforestlittercoveringthesoil.Good=woodsprotectedfromgrazingandwithlitterandbrushadequatelycovering
soil.
Table422:RunoffCurveNumbersForAridAndSemiaridRangelands
Covertype
Hydrologiccondition
80
87
93
71
81
89
Good
62
74
85
Poor
66
74
79
48
57
63
Good
30
41
48
Poor
75
85
89
58
73
80
Good
41
61
71
Poor
67
80
85 16/34
Poor
Herbaceousmixtureofgrass,weeds,andlowgrowing
brush,withbrushtheminorelement
Oakaspenmountainbrushmixtureofoakbrush,aspen,
mountainmahogany,bitterbrush,maple,andotherbrush
Pinyonjuniperpinyon,juniper,orbothgrassunderstory
Fair
Fair
Fair
10/14/2016
Poor
Sagebrushwithgrassunderstory
Fair
Good
Saltbush,greasewood,creosotebush,blackbrush,bursage,
paloverde,mesquite,andcactus
67
80
85
51
63
70
35
47
55
Poor
63
77
85
88
Fair
55
72
81
86
Good
49
68
79
84
Table422notes:Valuesareforaveragerunoffcondition,andIa=0.2S.HydrologicCondition:Poor=<30%groundcover(litter,grass,
andbrushoverstory),Fair=30%to70%groundcover,Good=>70%groundcover.CurvenumbersforGroupAhavebeendeveloped
onlyfordesertshrub.
SoilRetention
Thepotentialmaximumretention(S)iscalculatedas:
Equation436.
Where:
z=10forEnglishmeasurementunits,or254formetric
CN=runoffcurvenumber
Equation436isvalidifSislessthantherainfallexcess,definedasprecipitation(P)minusrunoff(R)orS<(PR).Thisequationwas
developedmainlyforsmallwatershedsfromrecordedstormdatathatincludedtotalrainfallamountinacalendardaybutnotitsdistribution
withrespecttotime.Therefore,thismethodisappropriateforestimatingdirectrunofffrom24houror1daystormrainfall.
InitialAbstraction
Theinitialabstractionconsistsofinterceptionbyvegetation,infiltrationduringearlypartsofthestorm,andsurfacedepressionstorage.
Generally,Iaisestimatedas:
Equation437.
EffectiveRainfallRunoffVolume
Theeffectiverainfall(orthetotalrainfallminustheinitialabstractionsandretention)usedforrunoffhydrographcomputationscanbeestimated
using:
Equation438.
Where:
Pe=accumulatedexcessrainfall(in.)
Ia=initialabstractionbeforeponding(in.)
P=totaldepthofrainfall(in.)
S=potentialmaximumdepthofwaterretainedinthewatershed(in.)
SubstitutingEquation437,Equation438becomes:
Equation439.
PeandPhaveunitsofdepth,PeandPreflectvolumesandareoftenreferredtoasvolumesbecauseitisusuallyassumedthatthesamedepths
occurredovertheentirewatershed.ThereforePeisconsideredthevolumeofdirectrunoffperunitarea,i.e.,therainfallthatisneitherretained
onthesurfacenorinfiltratedintothesoil.Pealsocanbeappliedsequentiallyduringastormtocomputeincrementalprecipitationforselected
timeintervalt.
ClimaticAdjustmentofCN
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10/14/2016
NRCScurvenumbers,estimated(predicted)usingtheproceduredescribedinEstimatingtheCN,maybeadjustedtoaccountforthevariation
ofclimatewithinTexas.Theadjustmentisappliedasfollows:
Equation440.
Where:
CNobs=CNadjustedforclimate
CNpred=EstimatedCNfromNRCSproceduresdescribedinEstimatingtheCN
CNdev=DeviationofCNobsfromCNpred=climaticadjustmentfactor
Intwostudies(HaileyandMcGill1983,Thompsonetal.2003)CNdevwascomputedforgaugedwatershedsinTexasasCNobsCNpredbased
onhistoricalrainfallandrunoffvolumes.ThesestudiesshowthatCNdevvariesbylocationwithinthestate.
Thefollowingexcerpt(Thompsonetal.2003)guidesthedesignerinselectionandapplicationoftheappropriateclimaticadjustmenttothe
predictedCN.
GiventhedifferencesbetweenCNobsandCNpred,itispossibletoconstructageneraladjustmenttoCNpredsuchthatanapproximationof
CNobscanbeobtained.ThelargeamountofvariationinCNobsdoesnotlendtosmoothcontoursorfunctionfits.Thereissimplyan
insufficientamountofinformationforthesetypesofapproaches.However,ageneraladjustmentcanbeimplementedusingregionswitha
generaladjustmentfactor.SuchanapproachwastakenandispresentedinFigure421.
ThebulkofrainfallandrunoffdataavailableforstudyweremeasuredneartheI35corridor.Therefore,estimatesforthisregionarethemost
reliable.Thegreaterthedistancefromthemajorityofthewatershedthatwerepartofthisstudy,thenthemoreuncertaintymustbeimplied
abouttheresults.Forthesouthhighplains,thatareasouthoftheBalconesescarpment,andthecoastalplain,therewasinsufficientdatatomake
anygeneralconclusions.
Applicationofthetoolisstraightforward.Forareaswhereadjustmentfactorsaredefined(seeFigure421)theanalystshould:
DetermineCNpredusingthenormalNRCSprocedure.
Findthelocationofthewatershedonthedesignaid(Figure421).Determineanadjustmentfactorfromthedesignaidandadjustthe
curvenumber.
ExamineFigure422andfindthelocationofthewatershed.Usethelocationofthewatershedtodeterminenearbystudywatersheds.
ThenrefertoFigure422andTable423,Table424,Table425,Table426,andTable427anddetermineCNpredandCNobsfor
studywatershedsnearthesiteinquestion,ifanyarenearthewatershedinquestion.
ComparetheadjustedcurvenumberwithlocalvaluesofCNobs.
Theresultshouldbearangeofvaluesthatarereasonablefortheparticularsite.
Asacomparison,theadjustedcurvenumberfromHaileyandMcGill(Figure423)canbeused.
AlowerboundequivalenttothecurvenumberforAMCI(dryantecedentconditions),oracurvenumberof60,whicheverisgreater,shouldbe
considered.
NotethatCNvaluesarewholenumbers.RoundingofvaluesofCNpredinthetablesmayberequired.
Judgmentisrequiredforapplicationofanyhydrologictool.TheadjustmentspresentedonFigure421arenoexception.AlowerlimitofAMC
Imaybeusedtopreventanoveradjustmentdownward.Forareasthathavefewstudywatersheds,theHaileyandMcGillapproachshould
providesomeguidanceontheamountofreductiontoCNpredisappropriate,ifany.
Figure422.ClimaticadjustmentfactorCNdev
Figure423.LocationofCNdevwatersheds
Figure424.ClimaticadjustmentofCNcomparisonofHaileyandMcGilladjustedcurvenumbers,CNH&M,withCNobs.Negative
differencesindicatethatCNH&MislargerthanCNobs.AlsoshownarethelinesofequaladjustmenttocurvenumberfromHaileyand
McGills(1983)Figure4.
Table423:CNobs,CNpred,andCNdevfortheAustinregion
USGSGaugeID
QuadSheetName
CNobs
CNpred
CNdev
8154700
AustinWest
59
68.9
9.9
8155200
BeeCave
65
70.7
5.7
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10/14/2016
8155200
BeeCave
8155300
65
70.7
5.7
OakHill
64
69.8
5.8
8155550
AustinWest
50
87.3
37.3
8156650
AustinEast
60
83.6
23.6
8156700
AustinEast
78
86.6
8.6
8156750
AustinEast
66
86.8
20.8
8156800
AustinEast
66
87
21
8157000
AustinEast
68
88.3
20.3
8157500
AustinEast
67
89.1
22.1
8158050
AustinEast
71
83.9
12.9
8158100
PflugervilleWest
60
72.6
12.6
8158200
AustinEast
62
75.6
13.6
8158400
AustinEast
79
88.9
9.9
8158500
AustinEast
71
85.6
14.6
8158600
AustinEast
73
76.7
3.7
8158700
Driftwood
69
74.5
5.5
8158800
Buda
64
73.3
9.3
8158810
SignalHill
64
69.8
5.8
8158820
OakHill
60
67.9
7.9
8158825
OakHill
49
67.2
18.2
8158840
SignalHill
74
69.8
4.2
8158860
OakHill
60
68
8158880
OakHill
67
79.4
12.4
8158920
OakHill
71
77.5
6.5
8158930
OakHill
56
75.2
19.2
8158970
Montopolis
56
77.7
21.7
8159150
PflugervilleEast
63
78.8
15.8
Table424:CNobs,CNpred,andCNdevfortheDallasRegion
USGSGaugeID
QuadSheetName
CNobs
CNpred
CNdev
8055580
Garland
85
85.2
0.2
8055600
Dallas
82
86.1
4.1
8055700
Dallas
73
85.5
12.5
8056500
Dallas
85
85.8
0.8
8057020
Dallas
75
85.5
10.5
8057050
OakCliff
75
85.7
10.7
8057120
Addison
77
80.2
3.2
8057130
Addison
89
82.9
6.1
8057140
Addison
78
86.8
8.8
8057160
Addison
80
90.3
10.3
8057320
WhiteRockLake
85
85.7
0.7
8057415
Hutchins
73
87.8
14.8
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10/14/2016
8057418
OakCliff
85
79.1
5.9
8057420
OakCliff
80
81
8057425
OakCliff
90
82.9
7.1
8057435
OakCliff
82
81.1
0.9
8057440
Hutchins
67
79.1
12.1
8057445
Hutchins
60
86.5
26.5
8061620
Garland
82
85
8061920
Mesquite
85
86
8061950
Seagoville
82
85.3
3.3
Table425:CNobs,CNpred,andCNdevfortheFortWorthRegion
GaugeID
QuadSheetName
CNobs
CNpred
CNdev
8048520
FortWorth
72
82.3
10.3
8048530
FortWorth
69
86.7
17.7
8048540
Covington
73
88
15
8048550
HaltomCity
74
91.2
17.2
8048600
HaltomCity
65
84.3
19.3
8048820
HaltomCity
67
83.4
16.4
8048850
HaltomCity
72
83
11
Table426:CNobs,CNpred,andCNdevfortheSanAntonioRegion
USGSGaugeID
QuadSheetName
CNobs
CNpred
CNdev
8177600
CastleHills
70
84.8
14.8
8178300
SanAntonioWest
72
85.7
13.7
8178555
Southton
75
84.2
9.2
8178600
CampBullis
60
79.7
19.7
8178640
Longhorn
56
78.4
22.4
8178645
Longhorn
59
78.2
19.2
8178690
Longhorn
78
84.4
6.4
8178736
SanAntonioEast
74
92.3
18.3
8181000
Helotes
50
79.2
29.2
8181400
Helotes
56
79.8
23.8
8181450
SanAntonioWest
60
87.3
27.3
Table427:CNobs,CNpred,andCNdevfortheSmallRuralWatersheds
USGSGaugeID
QuadrangleSheetName
CNobs
CNpred
CNdev
8025307
Fairmount
53
55.4
2.4
8083420
AbileneEast
65
84.7
19.7
8088100
True
60
85.9
25.9
8093400
Abbott
61
88.1
27.1
8116400
Sugarland
70
82.9
12.9
8159150
PflugervilleEast
55
83.7
28.7
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8159150
PflugervilleEast
8160800
55
83.7
28.7
Freisburg
56
67.8
11.8
8167600
Fischer
51
74.3
23.3
8436520
AlpineSouth
64
86.4
22.4
8435660
AlpineSouth
48
86.7
38.7
8098300
Rosebud
88
80.5
7.5
8108200
Yarrelton
77
79.9
2.9
8096800
Bruceville
62
80
18
8094000
Bunyan
60
78.4
18.4
8136900
BangsWest
51
75.8
24.8
8137000
BangsWest
52
74.5
22.5
8137500
Trickham
53
76.5
23.5
8139000
Placid
53
74.6
21.6
8140000
Mercury
63
74.4
11.4
8182400
Martinez
52
80
28
8187000
Lenz
53
83.8
30.8
8187900
Kenedy
63
73.3
10.3
8050200
Freemound
80
79.6
0.4
8057500
Weston
80
78.2
1.8
8058000
Weston
86
80.1
5.9
8052630
Marilee
80
85.4
5.4
8052700
Aubrey
74
84.1
10.1
8042650
Senate
59
63.4
4.4
8042700
LynnCreek
50
62.5
12.5
8042700
Senate
56
62
8042700
Senate
65
55.9
9.1
8063200
Coolidge
70
79.4
9.4
GreenandAmptLossModel
BasicConceptsandEquations
TheGreenandAmptlossmodelisbasedonatheoreticalapplicationofDarcyslaw.Themodel,firstdevelopedin1911,hastheform:
Equation441.
Where:
f=infiltrationcapacity(in./hr.)
Ks=saturatedhydraulicconductivity(permeability)(in./hr.)
Sw=soilwatersuction(in.)
s=volumetricwatercontent(watervolumeperunitsoilvolume)undersaturatedconditions
i=volumetricmoisturecontentunderinitialconditions
F=totalaccumulatedinfiltration(in.)
Theparameterscanberelatedtosoilproperties.
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AssumptionsunderlyingtheGreenandAmptmodelarethefollowing:
Asraincontinuestofallandwaterinfiltrates,thewettingfrontadvancesatthesameratethroughoutthegroundwatersystem,which
producesawelldefinedwettingfront.
Thevolumetricwatercontents,sandi,remainconstantaboveandbelowthewettingfrontasitadvances.
Thesoilwatersuctionimmediatelybelowthewettingfrontremainsconstantwithbothtimeandlocationasthewettingfront
advances.
Tocalculatetheinfiltrationrateatagiventime,thecumulativeinfiltrationiscalculatedusingEquation442anddifferencescomputedin
successivecumulativevalues:
Equation442.
Where:
t=time(hr.)
Equation442cannotbesolvedexplicitly.Instead,solutionbynumericalmethodsisrequired.OnceFissolvedfor,theinfiltrationrate,f,can
besolvedusingEquation441.ThesecomputationsaretypicallyperformedbyhydrologiccomputerprogramsequippedwithGreenAmpt
computationalroutines.Withtheseprograms,thedesignerisrequiredtospecifys,Sw,andKs.
EstimatingGreenAmptParameters
ToapplytheGreenandAmptlossmodel,thedesignermustestimatethevolumetricmoisturecontent,s,thewettingfrontsuctionhead,Sw,
andthesaturatedhydraulicconductivity,Ks.Rawlsetal.(1993)provideGreenAmptparametersforseveralUSDAsoiltexturesasshownin
Table428.Arangeisgivenforvolumetricmoisturecontentinparentheseswithtypicalvaluesforeachalsolisted.
Table428:GreenAmptParameters
Soiltextureclass
Volumetricmoisturecontentunder
saturatedconditionss
Volumetricmoisturecontentunder
initialconditionsi
Wettingfrontsuction
headSw
Saturatedhydraulic
conductivityKs
Sand
0.437(0.3740.500)
0.417(0.3540.480)
1.95
9.28
Loamysand
0.437(0.3630.506)
0.401(0.3290.473)
2.41
2.35
Sandyloam
0.453(0.3510.555)
0.412(0.2830.541)
4.33
0.86
Loam
0.463(0.3750.551)
0.434(0.3340.534)
3.50
0.52
Siltloam
0.501(0.4200.582)
0.486(0.3940.578)
6.57
0.27
Sandyclayloam
0.398(0.3320.464)
0.330(0.2350.425)
8.60
0.12
Clayloam
0.464(0.4090.519)
0.309(0.2790.501)
8.22
0.08
Siltyclayloam
0.471(0.4180.524)
0.432(0.3470.517)
10.75
0.08
Sandyclay
0.430(0.3700.490)
0.321(0.2070.435)
9.41
0.05
Siltyclay
0.479(0.4250.533)
0.423(0.3340.512)
11.50
0.04
Clay
0.475(0.4270.523)
0.385(0.2690.501)
12.45
0.02
CapabilitiesandLimitationsofLossModels
Selectingalossmodelandestimatingthemodelparametersarecriticalstepsinestimatingrunoff.Someprosandconsofthedifferent
alternativesareshowninTable429.Theseareguidelinesandshouldbeusedassuch.Thedesignershouldbefamiliarwiththemodelsandthe
watershedwhereappliedtodeterminewhichlossmodelismostappropriate.
Table429:ComparisonofDifferentLossModels,BasedonUSACE2000
Model
Pros
Hasbeensuccessfullyappliedinmanystudies
throughouttheUS.
Initialandconstantloss
rate
Easytosetupanduse.
Modelonlyrequiresafewparameterstoexplainthe
variationofrunoffparameters.
Cons
Difficulttoapplytoungaugedareasduetolackof
directphysicalrelationshipofparametersand
watershedproperties.
Modelmaybetoosimpletopredictlosseswithin
event,evenifitdoespredicttotallosseswell.
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Texasinitialand
constantlossrate
DevelopedspecificallyfromTexaswatersheddatafor
applicationtositesinTexas.
Methodisproductofrecentandextensiveresearch.
Simpletoapply.
MethodisdependentonNRCSCN.
Relativelynewmethod,andnotyetwidelyused.
Predictedvaluesnotinaccordancewithclassical
unsaturatedflowtheory.
Simple,predictable,andstable.
NRCSCN
Reliesononlyoneparameter,whichvariesasa
functionofsoilgroup,landuse,surfacecondition,and
antecedentmoisturecondition.
WidelyacceptedandappliedthroughouttheU.S.
Infiltrationratewillapproachzeroduringastormof
longduration,ratherthanconstantrateasexpected.
Developedwithdatafromsmallagricultural
watershedsinmidwesternUS,soapplicability
elsewhereisuncertain.
Defaultinitialabstraction(0.2S)doesnotdependupon
stormcharacteristicsortiming.Thus,ifusedwith
designstorm,abstractionwillbesamewith0.5AEP
stormand0.01AEPstorm.
Rainfallintensitynotconsidered.
GreenandAmpt
Parameterscanbeestimatedforungaugedwatersheds
frominformationaboutsoils.
Notwidelyused,lessexperienceinprofessional
community.
RainfalltoRunoffTransform
Afterthedesignstormhyetographisdefined,andlossesarecomputedandsubtractedfromrainfalltocomputerunoffvolume,thetime
distributionandmagnitudeofrunoffiscomputedwitharainfalltorunofftransform.
Twooptionsaredescribedhereinforthesedirectrunoffhydrographcomputations:
Unithydrograph(UH)model.Thisisanempiricalmodelthatreliesonscalingapatternofwatershedrunoff.
Kinematicwavemodel.Thisisaconceptualmodelthatcomputestheoverlandflowhydrographmethodwithchannelroutingmethods
toconvertrainfalltorunoffandrouteittothepointofinterest.
UnitHydrographMethod
Aunithydrographforawatershedisdefinedasthedischargehydrographthatresultsfromoneunitdepthofexcessrainfalldistributed
uniformly,spatiallyandtemporally,overawatershedforadurationofoneunitoftime.Theunitdepthofexcessprecipitationisoneinchfor
Englishunits.Theunitoftimebecomesthetimestepoftheanalysis,andisselectedasshortenoughtocapturethedetailofthestormtemporal
distributionandrisinglimboftheunithydrograph.
Theunithydrographassumesthattherainfalloveragivenareadoesnotvaryinintensity.Ifrainfalldoesvary,thewatershedmustbedivided
intosmallersubbasinsandvaryingrainfallappliedwithmultipleunithydrographs.Therunoffcanthenberoutedfromsubbasintosubbasin.
Foreachtimestepoftheanalysis,theunithydrographordinatesaremultipliedbytheexcessrainfalldepth.Theresultingtimecoincident
ordinatesfromeachresultinghydrographaresummedtoproducethetotalrunoffhydrographforthewatershed.Thisprocessisshown
graphicallyinFigure424.Hydrographsa,b,c,anddare1hourunithydrographsmultipliedbythedepthofexcessrainfallintheindividual1
hourtimesteps.Thetotalrunoffhydrographresultingfrom4hoursofrainfallisthesumofhydrographsa,b,c,andd.
Figure425.Unithydrographsuperposition(USACE1994)
Mathematically,thecomputationoftherunoffhydrographisgivenby:
Equation443.
Where:
n=numberoftimesteps
Qn=therunoffhydrographordinaten(attiment)
Pm=effectiverainfallordinatem(intimeintervalmt)
=computationtimeinterval
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Qu(nm+1)=unithydrographordinate(nm+1)(attime(nm+1)t)
m=numberofperiodsofeffectiverainfall(ofdurationt)
M=totalnumberofdiscreterainfallpulses
Equation443simplifiedbecomesQ1=P1U1,Q2=P1U2+P2U1,Q3=P1U3+P2U2+P3U1,etc.
Severaldifferentunithydrographmethodsareavailabletothedesigner.Eachdefinesatemporalflowdistribution.Thetimetopeakflowand
generalshapeofthedistributionaredefinedbyparametersspecifictoeachmethod.Thechoiceofunithydrographmethodwilldependon
availableoptionswithinthehydrologicsoftwarebeingused,andalsotheavailabilityofinformationfromwhichtoestimatetheunithydrograph
parameters.
TwounithydrographmethodscommonlyusedbyTxDOTdesignersareSnydersunithydrographandtheNRCSunithydrograph.These
methodsaresupportedbymanyrainfallrunoffsoftwareprograms,whichrequirethedesigneronlytospecifytheparametersofthemethod.
Thesetwomethodsarediscussedinthefollowingsections.
SnydersUnitHydrograph
Snyderdevelopedaparametricunithydrographin1938,basedonresearchintheAppalachianHighlandsusingbasins10to10,000square
miles.Snydersunithydrographisdescribedwithtwoparameters:Ct,whichisastorageortimingcoefficientandCp,whichisapeaking
coefficient.AsCtincreases,thepeakoftheunithydrographisdelayed.AsCpincreases,themagnitudeoftheunithydrographpeakincreases.
BothCtandCpmustbeestimatedforthewatershedofinterest.ValuesforCprangefrom0.4to0.8andgenerallyindicateretentionorstorage
capacityofthewatershed.
Thepeakdischargeoftheunithydrographisgivenby:
Equation444.
Where:
Qp=peakdischarge(cfs/in.)
A=drainagearea(mi2)
Cp=secondcoefficientoftheSnydermethodaccountingforfloodwaveandstorageconditions
tL=timelag(hr.)fromthecentroidofrainfallexcesstopeakofhydrograph
tLisgivenby:
Equation445.
Where:
Ct=storagecoefficient,usuallyrangingfrom1.8to2.2
L=lengthofmainchannel(mi)
Lca=lengthalongthemainchannelfromwatershedoutlettothewatershedcentroid(mi)
Thedurationofexcessrainfall(td)canbecomputedusing:
Equation446.
Equation446impliesthattherelationshipbetweenlagtimeandthedurationofexcessrainfallisconstant.Toadjustvaluesoflagtimefor
othervaluesofrainfallexcessduration,thefollowingequationshouldbeused:
Equation447.
Where:
tLa=adjustedtimelag(hr.)
tda=alternativeunithydrographduration(hr.)
Thetimebaseoftheunithydrographisafunctionofthelagtime:
Equation448.
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Where:
tb=timebase(days)
Thetimetopeakoftheunithydrographiscalculatedby:
Equation449.
EmpiricalrelationsofSnydersunithydrographwerelaterfoundtoaidthedesignerinconstructingtheunithydrograph(McCuen1989).The
USACErelations,showninFigure425,areusedtoconstructtheSnyderunithydrographusingthetimetopeak(tp),thepeakdischarge(Qp),
thetimebase(tb),and2timeparameters,W50andW75.W50andW75arethewidthsoftheunithydrographatdischargesof50percentand75
percentofthepeakdischarge.Thewidthsaredistributed1/3beforethepeakdischargeand2/3after.
Figure426.Snydersunithydrograph
ValuesforW50andW75arecomputedusingtheseequations(McCuen1989):
Equation450.
Equation451.
Where:
qa=peakdischargepersquaremile(i.e.,Qp/A,ft3/sec/mi2)
NRCSDimensionlessUnitHydrograph
TheNRCSunithydrographmodelisbaseduponananalysisandaveragingofalargenumberofnaturalunithydrographsfromabroadcross
sectionofgeographiclocationsandhydrologicregions.Forconvenience,thehydrographisdimensionless,withdischargeordinates(Qu)
dividedbythepeakdischarge(Qp)andthetimevalues(t)dividedbythetimetopeak(tp).
Thetimebaseofthedimensionlessunithydrographisapproximatelyfivetimesthetimetopeak,andapproximately3/8ofthetotalvolume
occursbeforethetimetopeak.Theinflectionpointontherecessionlimboccursat1.67timesthetimetopeak,andthehydrographhasa
curvilinearshape.Thecurvilinearhydrographcanbeapproximatedbyatriangularhydrographwithsimilarcharacteristics.
ThecurvilineardimensionlessNRCSunithydrographisshowninFigure426.
Figure427.NRCSdimensionlessunithydrograph
TheordinatesofthedimensionlessunithydrographareprovidedinTable430.
Table430:NRCSDimensionlessUnitHydrographOrdinates
t/tp
Q/Qp
0.0
0.00
0.1
0.03
0.2
0.10
0.3
0.19
0.4
0.31
0.5
0.47
0.6
0.66
0.7
0.82
0.8
0.93
0.9
0.99
1.0
1.00
1.1
0.99
1.2
0.93
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1.2
0.93
1.3
0.86
1.4
0.78
1.5
0.68
1.6
0.56
1.7
0.46
1.8
0.39
1.9
0.33
2.0
0.28
2.2
0.207
2.4
0.147
2.6
0.107
2.8
0.077
3.0
0.055
3.2
0.04
3.4
0.029
3.6
0.021
3.8
0.015
4.0
0.011
4.5
0.005
5.0
0.00
Table430notes:Variablesaredefinedasfollows:t=time(min.)tp=timetopeakofunithydrograph(min.)
Q=discharge(cfs)andQp=peakdischargeofunithydrograph(cfs).
Thefollowingprocedureassumestheareaorsubareaisreasonablyhomogeneous.Thatis,thewatershedissubdividedintohomogeneousareas.
Theprocedureresultsinahydrographonlyfromthedirectuncontrolledarea.Ifthewatershedhasbeensubdivided,itmightbenecessaryto
performhydrographchannelrouting,storagerouting,andhydrographsuperpositiontodeterminethehydrographattheoutletofthewatershed.
ApplicationoftheNRCSdimensionlessunithydrographtoawatershedproducesasitespecificunithydrographmodelwithwhichstorm
runoffcanbecomputed.Todothis,thebasinlagtimemustbeestimated.Thetimetopeakoftheunithydrographisrelatedtothelagtimeby:
Equation452.
Where:
tp=timetopeakofunithydrograph(min.)
tL=basinlagtime(min.)
t=thetimeintervaloftheunithydrograph(min.)
Thistimeintervalmustbethesameasthetchosenforthedesignstorm.
Thetimeintervalmaybecalculatedby:
Equation453.
Andthelagtimeiscalculatedby:
Equation454.
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Thepeakdischargeoftheunithydrographiscalculatedby:
Equation455.
Where:
Qp=peakdischarge(cfs)
Cf=conversionfactor(645.33)
K=0.75(constantbasedongeometricshapeofdimensionlessunithydrograph)
A=drainagearea(mi2)and
tp=timetopeak(hr.)
Equation455canbesimplifiedto:
Equation456.
Theconstant484,orpeakrateconstant,definesaunithydrographwith3/8ofitsareaundertherisinglimb.Asthewatershedslopebecomes
verysteep(mountainous),theconstantinEquation456canapproachavalueofapproximately600.Forflat,swampyareas,theconstantmay
decreasetoavalueofapproximately300.ForapplicationsinTexas,theuseoftheconstant484isrecommendedunlessspecificrunoffdata
indicateadifferentvalueiswarranted.
AftertpandQpareestimatedusingEquations452and456,thesitespecificunithydrographmaybedevelopedbyscalingthedimensionless
unithydrograph.
Foreachtimestepoftheanalysis,thesitespecificunithydrographordinatesaremultipliedbytheexcessrainfalldepth.Theresulting
hydrographaresummedtoproducethetotalrunoffhydrographforthewatershed.ThisprocessisshowngraphicallyinFigure424.Whilethe
computationscanbecompletedusingaspreadsheetmodel,amanualconvolutioncanbesomewhattimeconsuming.Thesecomputationsare
typicallyperformedbyhydrologiccomputerprograms.
Forexample,assumeanareaof240acres(0.375sq.mi.)withTcof1.12hoursandCNof80.For1inchofexcessrainfall,=9min,tp=45
min,andQp=243cfs,usingEquations453,452and456respectively.
Column1ofTable431showsthetimeintervalof9minutes.Column2iscalculatedbydividingthetimeintervalbytp,inthiscase45
minutes.ValuesinColumn3arefoundbyusingthet/tpvalueinColumn2tofindtheassociatedQu/Qpvaluefromthedimensionlessunit
hydrographshowninFigure426,interpolatingifnecessary.Column4iscalculatedbymultiplyingColumn3byQp,inthiscase243cfs.
Table431:ExampleSitespecificUnitHydrograph
t(min.)
t/tp
Qu/Qp
Qu(cfs)
0.00
0.000
0.20
0.100
24
18
0.40
0.310
75
27
0.60
0.660
160
36
0.80
0.930
226
45
1.00
1.000
243
54
1.20
0.930
226
63
1.40
0.780
190
72
1.60
0.560
136
81
1.80
0.390
95
90
2.00
0.280
68
99
2.20
0.207
50
108
2.40
0.147
36
117
2.60
0.107
26
126
2.80
0.077
19
135
3.00
0.055
13
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144
3.20
0.040
10
153
3.40
0.023
162
3.60
0.021
171
3.80
0.015
180
4.00
0.011
189
4.20
0.009
198
4.40
0.006
207
4.60
0.004
216
4.80
0.002
225
5.00
TheexamplesitespecificunithydrographisshowninFigure427.
Figure428.Examplesitespecificunithydrograph
RememberthatthesitespecifichydrographdevelopedinFigure427wasbasedon1inchofexcessrainfall.Foreachtimestepoftheanalysis,
theunithydrographordinatesaremultipliedbytheexcessrainfalldepth.Excessrainfallisobtainedfromarainfallhyetographsuchasa
distributiondevelopedfromlocallyobservedrainfallortheNRCS24hour,TypeIIorTypeIIIrainfalldistributions.Theresultinghydrograph
aresummedtoproducethetotalrunoffhydrographforthewatershed.ThisprocessisshowngraphicallyinFigure424.
ThecapabilitiesandlimitationsoftheNRCSunithydrographmodelincludethefollowing:
Thismethodshouldbeusedonlyfora24hourstorm.
Thismethoddoesnotaccountforvariationinrainfallintensityordurationoverthewatershed.
Baseflowisaccountedforseparately.
KinematicWaveOverlandFlowModel
Akinematicwavemodelisaconceptualmodelofwatershedresponsethatuseslawsofconservationofmassandmomentumtosimulate
overlandandchannelizedflows.Themodelrepresentsthewatershedasawideopenchannel,withinflowequaltotheexcessprecipitation.
Thenitsimulatesunsteadychannelflowoverthesurfacetocomputethewatershedrunoffhydrograph.Thewatershedisrepresentedasasetof
overlandflowplanesandcollectorchannels.
Inkinematicwavemodeling,thewatershedshowninFigure428(a)isrepresentedinFigure428(b)asseriesofoverlandflowplanes(gray
areas)andacollectorchannel(dashedline).Thecollectorchannelconveysflowtothewatershedoutlet.
Figure429.Kinematicwavemodelrepresentationofawatershed(USACE2000)
TheequationsusedtodefineconservationofmassandmomentumaretheSaintVenantequations.Theconservationofmassequationis:
Equation457.
Where:
A=crosssectionalareaofflow(ft2,m2)
T=time(sec.)
Q=flowrate(cfs,m3/sec.)
x=distancealongtheflowpath(ft,m)
qo=lateraldischargeaddedtotheflowpathperunitlengthoftheflowpath(cfs/ft,m3/sec./m)
Themomentumequationenergygradientisapproximatedby:
Equation458.
Where:
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and=coefficientsrelatedtothephysicalpropertiesofthewatershed.
SubstitutingEquation456intoEquation455yieldsasinglepartialdifferentialequationinQ:
Equation459.
Where:
qL=lateralinflow(cfs/ft,m3/s/m)
Equation454canbeexpressedintermsofManningsn,wettedperimeter,andbedslopebysubstitutingthefollowingexpressionforinto
Equation456:
Equation460.
Where:
n=Manningsroughnesscoefficient
P=wettedperimeter(ft,m)
So=flowplaneslope(ft/ft,m/m)
Thesolutiontotheresultingequation,itsterms,andbasicconceptsaredetailedinChow(1959)andothertexts.
HydrographRouting
Insomecases,thewatershedofinterestwillbedividedintosubbasins.Thisisnecessarywhengroundconditionsvarysignificantlybetween
subbasinareas,orwhenthetotalwatershedareaissufficientlylargethatvariationsinprecipitationdepthwithinthewatershedmustbe
modeled.Arainfallrunoffmethod(unithydrographorkinematicwave)willproduceaflowhydrographattheoutletofeachsubbasin.Before
thesehydrographscanbesummedtorepresentflowatthewatershedoutlet,theeffectsoftraveltimeandchannel/floodplainstoragebetween
thesubbasinoutletsandwatershedoutletmustbeaccountedfor.Theprocessofstartingwithahydrographatalocationandrecomputingthe
hydrographatadownstreamlocationiscalledhydrographrouting.
Figure429showsanexampleofahydrographatupstreamlocationA,andtheroutedhydrographatdownstreamlocationB.Theresulting
delayinfloodpeakisthetraveltimeofthefloodhydrograph.Theresultingdecreaseinmagnitudeofthefloodpeakistheattenuationofthe
floodhydrograph.
Figure430.Hydrographrouting(USACE1994)
Therearetwogeneralmethodsforroutinghydrographs:hydrologicandhydraulic.Themethodsaredistinguishedbywhichequationsare
solvedtocomputetheroutedhydrograph.
Hydrologicmethodssolvetheequationofcontinuity(conservationofmass),andtypicallyrelyonasecondrelationship(suchasrelationof
storagetooutflow)tocompletethesolution.Theequationofcontinuitycanbewrittenas:
Equation461.
Where:
I=averageinflowtoreachorstorageareaduringt
O=averageoutflowtoreachorstorageareaduringt
S=storageinreachorstoragearea
t=timestep
Hydrologicmethodsaregenerallymostappropriateforsteepslopeconditionswithnosignificantbackwatereffects.Hydrologicrouting
methodsinclude(USACE1994):
ModifiedPulsforasinglereservoirorchannelmodeledasseriesoflevelpoolreservoirs.
Muskingumchannelmodeledasaseriesofslopedpoolreservoirs.
MuskingumCungeenhancedversionofMuskingummethodincorporatingchannelgeometryandroughnessinformation.
Mosthydrologicsoftwareapplicationscapableofmultibasinanalysisofferaselectionofhydrologicroutingmethods.
HydraulicroutingmethodssolvetheSaintVenantequations.Thesearetheonedimensionalequationsofcontinuity(Equation460)and
conservationofmomentum(Equation461)writtenforopenchannelflow.Theequationsarevalidforgraduallyvariedunsteadyflow.
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Theonedimensionalequationofcontinuityis:
Equation462.
Where:
A=crosssectionalflowarea
V=averagevelocityofwater
x=distancealongchannel
B=watersurfacewidth
y=depthofwater
t=time
q=lateralinflowperunitlengthofchannel
Theonedimensionalequationofconservationofmomentumis:
Equation463.
Where:
Sf=frictionslope
So=channelbedslope
g=accelerationduetogravity
Hydraulicroutingmethodsarecomputationallymoreintensivethanhydrologicmethodsandaredistinguishedbywhichtermsinthe
momentumequation(Equation461)areincluded(notneglected)inthesolutionalgorithm.Hydraulicroutingmethodsinclude(USACE1994):
Dynamicwave(alltermsofSt.Venantequations)
Diffusionwave
Kinematicwave
Onedimensionalunsteadyopenchannelflowsoftwareapplicationsimplicitlyroutehydrographsfromonelocationtoanotherbysolvingfor
depthandvelocityatalllocations(crosssections)inastreamreach(ornetworkofreaches)foreverytimestep.Thehydraulicroutingmethod
employedisdefinedbythesolutionalgorithmofthesoftwareapplication.Someapplicationsallowtheusertoselectwhichhydraulicrouting
methodisused,whileotherapplicationssupportonlyonemethod.
Themostrobustroutingmethod(intermsofsteep/mildstreamslopeandwith/withoutbackwatereffects)isdynamicwaverouting.
SelectionofRoutingMethod
Selectionofanappropriateroutingmethoddependsonseveralfactors.Theapplicationofanymethodwillbeimprovedifobserveddataare
availableforcalibration/verificationofroutingparameters.Generally,hydrologicmethodsaremostsuitableforsteeperreacheshavinglittleor
nobackwatereffectsresultingfromhighstagesdownstreamoftheroutingreach.Hydraulicmethodsaregenerallymoreappropriateforawider
rangeofchannelslopes,includinggradualslopes,andcanaccommodatebackwatereffects.TheexceptiontothisistheMuskingumCunge
method,whichdoesnotperformwellwithsteeprisinghydrographsingradualslopes,orbackwaterconditions.Ofallmethods,onlythe
dynamicwaveroutingmethodisappropriateforsteepandgradualslopes,aswellaswithorwithoutbackwaterconditions.
Asabaselineapproach,thedesignermayconsiderusingtheMuskingumCungemethodincaseshavingsteepslope(greaterthan10feetper
mile)andnobackwatereffects.Thismethod,whichisdescribedinChow(1988)andFread(1993),hastheadvantagethatitwillincorporatethe
shapeofthecrosssectionintocomputations.Insomecases,crosssectiondatamaybeobtainedfromexistinghydraulicmodelsofthereach.If
channelgeometrydataareunavailable,thentheMuskingumormodifiedPulsmethods,whicharedescribedbelow,maybeused.However,
thesetwomethodsshouldbeavoidedforchannelroutingapplicationsunlessobserveddataareaavailableforcalibration/verificationofrouting
parameters.
Incaseshavingbackwaterthatsignificantlyaffectthestorageoutflowrelationshipoftheroutingreach,andtherebysignificantlyaffectthe
routedhydrograph,thedynamicwave,diffusionwave,andmodifiedPulsmethodsareappropriate.
Allmethods,exceptforkinematicwave,areappropriateincaseshavingachannelslopebetween2to10feetpermile,nobackwatereffects,
andsatisfyingtheconditiongivenbyEquation462(USACE1994):
Equation464.
Where:
T=hydrographduration(s)
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So=averagefrictionorslope(ft/ft)
uo=meanvelocity(ft/s)
do=averageflowdepth(ft)
Onlythedynamicwave,diffusionwave,andMuskingumCungemethodsareappropriateincaseshavingachannelslopelessthan2feetper
mile,nobackwatereffects,andsatisfyingtheconditiongivenbyEquation463(USACE1994):
Equation465.
Where:
g=32.2ft/s
Incaseshavingachannelslopelessthan2feetpermile,nobackwatereffects,andnotsatisfyingtheconditiongivenbyEquation463,then
onlythedynamicwavemethodisappropriate.
Itmaybetemptingforthedesignertoselectthedynamicwaveroutingmethodasageneralapproachforallconditions.However,thedesigner
willfindthatthesubstantialamountofinformation(detailedandcloselyspacedcrosssectiongeometrydata)requiredtoconstructaone
dimensionalunsteadyflowmodel,andthesignificanttimerequiredtoensurethatthemodelisrunningproperlywithoutnumericalinstabilities,
willprovidemotivationtoidentifyasuitablehydrologicroutingmethodwhenappropriate.Ifhydrologicmethodsarenotappropriateforthe
caseunderconsideration,thenanunsteadyflowmodelmayberequiredtoproperlyrouteflows.
ReservoirVersusChannelRouting
Inflowhydrographscanberoutedthroughreservoirsusingasimple(singlereservoir)hydrologicroutingmethod,suchasthemodifiedPuls
storagemethod.Thisisbecausetherelationshipbetweenstorageanddischargeisunique(singlevalued).Inotherwords,thestorageinthe
reservoirisfullydescribedbythestageinthereservoirbecausethesurfaceofthereservoiristhesameshapeandslopeduringtherisingand
fallinglimbsofthehydrograph.
Hydrologicroutingmethodsmayalsobeusedforchannelrouting.Achanneldoesnothaveasinglevaluedstorageoutflowcurve.Instead,the
storageoutflowrelationislooped,asshowninFigure430.Asaresult,ahydrologicroutingmethodemployingasinglereservoir
representationcannotbeused.
Figure431.Loopedstorageoutflowrelation(USACE1994)
Thelevelpoollimitationofhydrologicroutingmethodsisovercomebyrepresentingthechannelasaseriesofreservoirs.Thesearetermed
subreaches,orsteps,withintheroutingreach.Anotherenhancementtothelevelpoolapproach,employedbytheMuskingummethod,isto
representthestorageineachreservoirasacombinationofprismstorage(similartolevelpoolreservoir)andwedgestorage(additionalsloped
waterontopofprism).
Anestimateofthenumberofroutingstepsrequiredforahydrologicchannelroutingmethodisgivenby(USACE1994):
Equation466.
Where:
n=numberofroutingsteps
K=floodwavetraveltimethroughthereach(min.)
t=timestep(min.)
Kintheaboveequationisgivenby:
Equation467.
Where:
L=lengthofroutingreach(ft)
VW=floodwavevelocity(ft/s)
VWmaybeapproximatedasequaltotheaveragechannelvelocityduringthefloodhydrograph.AbetterestimateofVWisgivenbySeddons
lawappliedtoacrosssectionrepresentativeoftheroutingreach(USACE1994):
Equation468.
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Where:
B=topwithofthechannelwatersurface(ft)
Q=channeldischarge(cfs)asfunctionofelevationy
=slopeofthedischargeratingcurve(ft2/s)
Twohydrologicroutingmethodsandtheirapplicationarediscussedfurtherinthefollowingsections:themodifiedPulsmethodforreservoir
routing,andtheMuskingummethodforchannelrouting.
ModifiedPulsMethodReservoirRouting
BasicConceptsandEquations
Thebasicstorageroutingequationstatesthatmassisconservedandcanbeexpressedasfollows:Averageinflowaverageoutflow=Rateof
changeinstorage
Innumericalform,thisstatementofflowcontinuitycanbewrittenas:
Equation469.
Where:
It=inflowattimestepnumbert
It+1=inflowattimestepnumbert+1
Ot=outflowattimestepnumbert
Ot+1=outflowattimestepnumbert+1
St=storageinthereservoirattimestepnumbert
St+1=storageinthereservoirattimestepnumbert+1
=thetimeincrement
t=timestepnumber
InEquation464therearetwounknowns:Ot+1andSt+1.InordertosolveEquation464,eitherasecondequationwithOt+1andSt+1is
required,orarelationshipbetweenOt+1andSt+1isneeded.Thestorageindicationapproachisthelatterandispresentedhere.First,itis
convenienttorewritetheroutingequationas:
Equation470.
Inthisform,alltermsknownattimetareontherighthandsideoftheequationandunknownsareontheleft.Ifasinglevaluedstorageoutflow
curvecanbedeterminedfortheroutingreach,thenforanyvalueofOt+1,thecorrespondingvalueofSt+1willbeknown.Thisreducesthe
numberofunknownparametersinEquation465fromtwo(Ot+1andSt+1)toone(Ot+1).
Useofthestorageroutingmethodrequiresthedesignertodeterminetherelationshipbetweenstorageandoutflow.Thisissimplythevolumeof
waterheldbythereservoir,storagefacility,orpondasafunctionofthewatersurfaceelevationordepth.Forareservoirorstoragefacility,this
informationisoftenavailablefromthereservoirsponsororowner.
Forapondorlakeorwherethestagestoragerelationisnotavailable,arelationshipbetweenstorageandoutflowcanbederivedfrom
considerationsofphysicalpropertiesofchannelorpondandsimplehydraulicmodelsofoutletworksorrelationshipofflowandwatersurface
elevation.Thesephysicalpropertiesinclude:
Ratingsoftheprimaryand/oremergencyspillwayofareservoir.
Pumpflowcharacteristicsinapumpstation.
Hydraulicperformancecurveofaculvertorbridgeonahighway.
Hydraulicperformancecurveofaweirandorificeoutletofadetentionpond.
Withthestagestoragerelationestablished,astorageindicationcurvecorrespondingtotheleftsideofEquation468isdeveloped.The
relationshipisdescribedintheformofOversus(2S/T)+O.AnexampleofastorageindicationcurveisprovidedinFigure431.
Figure432.Samplestorageindicationrelation
TheformofEquation468shownaboveisusefulbecausethetermsontheleftsideoftheequationareknown.Withtherelationbetweenthe
outflowandstoragedetermined(Figure431),theordinatesontheoutflowhydrographcanbedetermineddirectly.
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StorageRoutingProcedure
Usethefollowingstepstorouteaninflowfloodrunoffhydrographthroughastoragesystemsuchasareservoirordetentionpond:
1.Acquireordevelopadesignfloodrunoffhydrographfortheprojectsitewatershed.
2.Acquireordevelopastagestoragerelation.
3.Acquireordevelopastageoutflowrelationship.
4.Developastorageoutflowrelationship.
5.AssumeaninitialvalueforOtasequaltoIt.Attimestepone(t=1),assumeaninitialvalueforOtasequaltoIt.Usually,attimestep
one,inflowequalszero,sooutflowwillbezeroand2S1/TO1equalszero.Notethattostart,t+1inthenextstepis2.
6.Compute2St+1/T+Ot+1usingEquation468.
7.Interpolatetofindthevalueofoutflow.Fromthestorageoutflowrelation,interpolatetofindthevalueofoutflow(Ot+1)at
(2St+1)/(T)+Ot+1fromstep6.
8.Determinethevalueof(2St+1)/(T)Ot+1.Usetherelation(2St+1)/(T)Ot+1=(2St+1)/(T)+Ot+12Ot+1.
9.Assignthenexttimesteptothevalueoft,e.g.,forthefirstrunthroughsett=2.
10.Repeatsteps6through9untiltheoutflowvalue(Ot+1)approacheszero.
11.Plottheinflowandoutflowhydrographs.Thepeakoutflowvalueshouldalwayscoincidewithapointontherecedinglimbofthe
inflowhydrograph.
12.Checkconservationofmasstohelpverifysuccessoftheprocess.UseEquation469tocomparetheinflowvolumetothesumof
retainedandoutflowvolumes:
Equation471.
Where:
Sr=differenceinstartingandendingstorage(ft3orm3)
It=sumofinflowhydrographordinates(cfsorm3/s)
Ot=sumofoutflowhydrographordinates(cfsorm3/s)
MuskingumMethodChannelRouting
Routingoffloodhydrographsbymeansofchannelroutingproceduresisusefulininstanceswherecomputedhydrographsareatpointsother
thanthepointsofinterest.Thisisalsotrueinthoseinstanceswherethechannelprofileorplanischangedinsuchawayastoalterthenatural
velocityorchannelstoragecharacteristics.Routingestimatestheeffectofachannelreachonaninflowhydrograph.Thissectiondescribesthe
Muskingummethodequations,alumpedflowroutingtechniquethatapproximatesstorageeffectsintheformofaprismandwedgecomponent
(Chow1988).
TheMuskingummethodalsosolvestheequationofcontinuity.WiththeMuskingummethod,thestorageinthechannelisconsideredthesum
oftwocomponents:prismstorageandwedgestorage(Figure432).
Figure433.Muskingumprismandwedgestorage
TheconstantsKandXareusedtorelatetheprismcomponent,KO,andwedgecomponent,KX(IO),totheinflowandoutflowofthereach:
Equation472.
Where:
S=totalstorage(ft3orm3)
K=aproportionalityconstantrepresentingthetimeoftravelofafloodwavetotraversethereach(s).Often,thisissettotheaverage
traveltimethroughthereach.
X=aweightingfactordescribingthebackwaterstorageeffectsapproximatedasawedge
I=inflow(cfsorm3/s)
O=outflow(cfsorm3/s)
ThevalueofXdependsontheamountofwedgestoragewhenX=0,thereisnobackwater(reservoirtypestorage),andwhenX=0.5,the
storageisdescribedasafullwedge.Theweightingfactor,X,rangesfrom0to0.3innaturalstreams.Avalueof0.2istypical.
Equation468representsthetimerateofchangeofstorageasthefollowing:
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Equation473.
Where:
T=timeintervalusuallyrangingfrom0.3KtoK
t=timestepnumber
CombiningEquation470withEquation471yieldstheMuskingumflowroutingequation:
Equation474.
Where:
Equation475.
Equation476.
Equation477.
Bydefinition,thesumofC1,C2,andC3is1.Ifmeasuredinflowandoutflowhydrographsareavailable,KandXcanbeestimatedusing
Equation471.CalculateXbyplottingthenumeratorontheverticalaxisandthedenominatoronthehorizontalaxis,andadjustingXuntilthe
loopcollapsesintoasingleline.TheslopeofthelineequalsK:
Equation478.
ThedesignermayalsoestimateKandXusingtheMuskingumCungemethoddescribedinChow1988orFread1993.
34/34

Hydraulic Design Manual - Hydrograph Method

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