URBAN HUROLOGY

UNIT-2
By: Er. Amanpreet Singh
SYLLABUS

Hydraulic analysis and design of urban, highway,

and small rural watershed, urban drainage design
problems Hydrograph and the catchment’s
characteristics, Effect of rainfall intensity and
duration on hydrograph, Effect of spatial
distribution of rainfall on hydrograph, Direction of
storm movement, Rainfall intensity, Unit
Hydrographassumptions & limitations, Application
of the unit hydrograph, S – curve
WATERSHED CONCEPT
The watershed is the basic unit
used in most hydrologic
calculations relating to water
balance or computation of
rainfall-runoff
The watershed boundary
(Divide) defines a contiguous
area, such that the net rainfall
or runoff over that area will
contribute to the outlet
The rainfall that falls outside
the watershed boundary will
not contribute to runoff at the outlet
 CHARACTERISTICS OF WATERSHED

Size: It helps in computing parameters like rainfall

received, retained, amount of runoff etc.
Shape: Based on the morphological parameters such as
geological structure eg. peer or elongated
Slope: Reflects the rate of change of elevation with
distance along the main channel and controls the rainfall
distribution and movement
Drainage: Determines the flow characteristics and the
erosion behaviour
Soil type: Determines the infiltration rates that can occur
for the area
Land use and land cover: It can affect the overland
flow of the rainwater with the improve in urbanization
and increased pavements.
Main channel and tributary characteristics: It can
effect the stream flow response in various ways such as
slope, cross-sectional area, Manning’s roughness
coefficient, presence of obstructions and channel
condition
Physiography: Lands altitude and physical disposition
Socio-economics: Depends on the standard of living of
the people and it is important in managing water
 WATERSHED MANAGEMENT

A watershed management approach is one that

considers the watershed as a whole, rather than separate
parts of the watershed in isolation
Managing the water and other natural resources is an
effective and efficient way to sustain the local economy
and environmental health
Watershed management helps reduce flood damage,
decrease the loss of green space, reduce soil erosion and
improve water quality
Watershed planning brings together the people within the
watershed, regardless of political boundaries, to address
a wide array of resource management issues
DRAINAGE SYSTEM

When urban development takes place in a natural catchment,

the ordered system of natural drainage lines is replaced by a
system of roof & property drains, inlets, swales, pipes &
channels.
Although outwardly different from the natural catchment
drainage network, the formal path of the developed landscape
should display a structure which is similar to that of the
natural system they have replaced (Argue,1986).
Planning & design of an integrated urban stormwater
management/ drainage network for a new development
requires a data base on the following:
a.Catchment natural drainage direction,
b.Runoff outfall point,
 Runoff travel path and features of a natural catchment
c.Catchment boundary,
d.Internal nodal points: locations of interest where flows,
flood levels & possibly water quality need to be assessed.
These may be, for example at major road crossings or
landscape features
e.Drainage network: the layout of the surface channels which
convey runoff
originating in the catchment, and
f.Catchment sub-area
 GENERAL STRUCTURE OF URBAN CATCHMENTS

The difference between Urban catchment & rural

catchment arises primarily where man-made
components of the built environment interrupt the
movement of runoff.
A typical example is where roadways cross natural
drainage paths.
Stormwater strategy planning studies of large urban
areas therefore focus primarily on catchment quantity &
quality response, catchment storage characteristics & on
the effect of major structures within the overall (natural)
catchment boundary.

WHY DO WE DESIGN STORM DRAINAGE

SYSTEMS?

“The objective of highway storm drainage design is

to provide for safe passage of vehicles during the
design storm event. The drainage system is
designed to collect storm water runoff from the
roadway surface and right-of-way, and discharge it
to an adequate receiving body without causing
adverse on-or 0ff-site impacts.”
URBAN VS. RURAL
Land use changes affect watershed hydrology and also
impact the applicability of hydrologic methods used for
design.
Urbanization, channelization, and other land use changes
(e.g., logging) result in a decrease in infiltration and
depression storage, a decrease in travel time, and an increase
in runoff volume, resulting in an increase to the peak
discharge.
The engineer should be aware of past and proposed changes
in the watershed land use when selecting a hydrologic
method and performing the hydrologic calculations.
Urbanization can also have an adverse impact on
stream morphology.
There can be a temporary increase in sediment
supply due to construction-site erosion, and a long-
term reduction in sediment production.
Urbanization also typically increases the normal
base flow in stream channels. These changes can
result in channel stability problems, both lateral
and vertical, that may impact highway structures.

HYDROGRAPH AND THE CATCHMENT’S

CHARACTERISTICS
The shape of the hydrograph depends on the
characteristics of the catchment. The major factors
are listed below.
 SHAPE OF THE CATCHMENT

A catchment that is shaped in the form of a

pear, with the narrow end towards the
upstream and the broader end nearer the
catchment outlet (Figure 1a) shall have a
hydrograph that is fast rising and has a rather
concentrated high peak (Figure 1b).

A catchment with the same area as in

Figure 1 but shaped with its narrow end
towards the outlet has a hydrograph that
is slow rising and with a somewhat
lower peak (Figure 2) for the same
amount of rainfall.
Though the volume of water that passes
through the outlets of both the
catchments is same (as areas and
effective rainfall have been assumed
same for both), the peak in case of the latter is attenuated.

SIZE OF THE CATCHMENT

Naturally, the volume of runoff expected for a given rainfall
input would be proportional to the size of the catchment.

But this apart, the response characteristics of large

catchment ( say, a large river basin) is found to be
significantly different from a small catchment (like
agricultural plot) due to the relative importance of the
different phases of runoff (overland flow, inter flow, base
flow, etc.) for these two catchments.
 Further, it can be shown from the mathematical
calculations of surface runoff on two impervious
catchments (like urban areas, where infiltration becomes
negligible), that the non-linearity between rainfall and
runoff becomes noticeable for smaller catchments.
SLOPE

Slope of the main stream cutting across the catchment and

that of the valley sides or general land slope affects the
shape of the hydrograph.

Larger slopes generate more velocity than smaller slopes

and hence can dispose off runoff faster. Hence, for smaller
slopes, the balance between rainfall input and the runoff rate
gets stored temporally over the area and is able to drain out
gradually over time.

Hence, for the same rainfall input to two catchments of the

same area but with different slopes, the one with a steeper
slope would generate a hydrograph with steeper rising and
falling limits.
DRAINAGE DENSITY

Drainage density is the total length of all the streams and rivers in a
drainage basin divided by the total area of the drainage basin. It is a
measure of how well or how poorly a watershed is drained by stream
channels.
A large
drainage
 density creates situation conducive for quick disposal of runoff down the
channel.
LAND USE

Vegetation and forests

increase the infiltration and
storage capacities of the soils.
Also, theycause
considerable retardance
to the overland flow.
Thus, the vegetal cover reduces the peak flow.
URBANISATION

Urbanisation of a rural watershed results in the following

significant changes in the characteristics of the watershed:
1. Urbanisation increases the amount of impervious surface area
such as roofing on the built up areas, concrete and asphalt road
surfaces, parking lots. This is a major factor that would inhibit
infiltration and surface retention.
2. Due to urbanisation the natural drainage of the catchment will be
removed or improved.
3. The new drainage in urbanised catchment would start with rapid
overland flow over the relative impervious surface of roads,
pavements and parking lots to the nearest drainage outlet.
4. This leads to cause the hydrograph to have higher peak at a
shorter time from the start and also rapid receding of the peak.
CLIMATIC FACTORS

Among climatic factors the intensity, duration and direction of

storm movement are the three important ones affecting the shape
of the flood hydrograph.
 If the storm moves from u/s of the catchment to the d/s end,
there will be a quicker concentration of flow at the basin
outlet. This results in a peaked hydrograph. Conversely, if
the storm movement is up the catchment, the resulting
hydrograph will have a lower peak and longer time base.

EFFECT OF RAINFALL INTENSITY AND

DURATION ON HYDROGRAPH
If the rainfall intensity is constant, then the rainfall
duration determines in part the peak flow and time
period of the surface runoff.
The concept of Isochrones might be helpful for
explaining the effective of the duration of a
uniform rainfall on the shape of hydrograph.
Isochrones are imaginary lines across the catchment (see Figure) from
where water particles traveling downward take the same time to reach the
catchment outlet.
Rainfall intensity affects the amount of runoff and the peak
flow rate. For a given rainfall duration, an increase in
intensity will increase the peak discharge and the runoff
volume, provided the infiltration rate of the soil is exceeded.

Rainfall duration affects the amount of runoff, the peak flow

rate and the duration of surface runoff. For a rain of given
intensity, the rainfall duration determines, in part, the peak
flow. If a storm lasts long enough, eventually almost all the
precipitation will become runoff (the time after which this
occurs is called the time of concentration); consequently the
peak flow will approach a rate equal to the product i*A, where
i is the rainfall intensity and A is the area of the basin. This
situation is never reached in large basins, but may occur in
small watersheds and is frequently used as the criterion for
design of storm sewers, airport drainage or small culverts.
 EFFECT OF SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF
RAINFALL ON
HYDROGRAPH
The areal distribution of rainfall can
cause variations in hydrograph shape.
If an area of high rainfall is near to the
basin outlet, a rapid rise, sharp peak and
rapid recession of the hydrograph usually
result.
If a larger amount of rainfall occurs in the
upper reaches of a basin, the hydrograph
exhibits a lower and broader peak.

EXPLANATION
 The effect of spatial distribution of rainfall, that is, the distribution in space,
may be explained with the catchment image showing the isochrones as in
Figure . Assume that the regions between the isochrones receive different
amounts of rainfall (shown by the different shades of blue in the figure).
 If it is assumed now that only area A 1receives rainfall but the other areas do
not, then since this region is nearest to the catchment outlet, the resulting
hydrograph immediately rises. If the rainfall continues for a time more than
‘Δt’, then the hydrograph would reach a saturation equal to r e.A1, where re is
the intensity of the effective rainfall.

 Assume now that a rainfall of constant intensity is falling only within area A 4,
which is farthest from the catchment outlet. Since the lower boundary of A 4is
the Isochrone III, there would be no resulting hydrograph till time ‘3Δt’.
 If the rain continues beyond a time ‘4Δt’, then the hydrograph would reach a
saturation level equal to reA4where reis the effective rainfall intensity.
 DIRECTION OF STORM MOVEMENT

 The direction of the storm movement with respect to the orientation

of the catchments drainage network affects both the magnitude of
peak flow and the duration of the hydrograph.
The storm direction has the greatest effect on elongated catchments,
where storms moving upstream tend to produce lower peaks and
broader time base of surface runoff than storms that move
downstream towards the catchment outlet.
This is due to the fact that for an upstream moving storm, by the time
the contribution from the upper catchment reaches the outlet, there is
almost no contribution from the lower watershed.
RAINFALL INTENSITY

Increase in rainfall intensity increases the peak discharge and volume

of runoff for a given infiltration rate. In the initial phases of the
storm, when the soil is dry, a rainfall intensity less than infiltration
rate produces no surface runoff. Gradually, as the rain progresses, the
soil saturates and the infiltration rate reduces to a steady rate.
The relation between rainfall intensity and the discharge, strictly
speaking, is not linear, which means that doubling the rainfall
intensity does not produce a doubling of the hydrograph peak value.
However, this phenomenon is more pronounced for small
watersheds, such as an urban area. However in the catchment scale,
due to the uncertainty of all the hydrological parameters, it might be
assumed that the rainfall runoff relation follows a linear relationship.
This assumption is made use of in the unit hydrograph concept.

UNIT HYDROGRAPH
The Unit Hydrograph (abbreviated as UH) of a drainage basin is
defined as a hydrograph of direct runoff resulting from one unit of
effective rainfall which is uniformly distributed over the basin at a
 uniform rate during the specified period of time known as unit time or
unit duration.
T he unit quantity of effective rainfall is generally taken as 1mm or
1cm and the outflow hydrograph is expressed by the discharge
ordinates.
The unit duration may be 1 hour, 2 hour, 3 hours or so depending upon
the size of the catchment and storm characteristics.
However, the unit duration cannot be more than the time of
concentration, which is the time that is taken by the water from the
furthest point of the catchment to reach the outlet.

TYPICAL UNIT HYDROGRAPH

 UNIT HYDROGRAPH ASSUMPTIONS

The following assumptions are made while using the unit hydrograph
principle:
1) Effective rainfall should be uniformly distributed over the basin, that is, if
there are ‘N’ rain gauges spread uniformly over the basin, then all the gauges should
record almost same amount of rainfall during the specified time.
2) Effective rainfall is constant over the catchment during the unit time.
3) The direct runoff hydrograph for a given effective rainfall for a catchment is always
the same irrespective of when it occurs. Hence, any previous rainfall event is not
considered. This antecedent precipitation is otherwise important because of its effect
on soil-infiltration rate, depressional and detention storage, and hence, on the
resultant hydrograph.
4) The ordinates of the unit hydrograph are directly proportional (linear) to the effective
rainfall hyetograph ordinate. Hence, if a 6-h unit hydrograph due to 1 cm rainfall is
given, then a 6-h hydrograph due to 2 cm rainfall would just mean doubling the unit
hydrograph ordinates. Hence, the base of the resulting hydrograph (from the start or
rise up to the time when discharge becomes zero) also remains the same.
UNIT HYDROGRAPH LIMITATION

Under the natural conditions of rainfall over drainage basins, the assumptions
of the unit hydrograph cannot be satisfied perfectly. However, when the
hydrologic data used in the unit hydrograph analysis are carefully selected so
that they meet the assumptions closely, the results obtained by the unit
hydrograph theory have been found acceptable for all practical purposes.
In theory, the principle of unit hydrograph is applicable to a basin of any size.
However, in practice, to meet the basic assumption in the derivation of the
unit hydrograph as closely as possible, it is essential to use storms which are
uniformly distributed over the basin and producing rainfall excess at uniform
rate. Such storms rarely occur over large areas. The size of the catchment is,
therefore, limited although detention, valley storage, and infiltration all tend
to minimize the effect of rainfall variability. The limit is generally considered
to be about 5000 sq. km. beyond which the reliability of the unit hydrograph
method diminishes. When the basin area exceeds this limit, it has to be
divided into sub-basins and the unit hydrograph is developed for each sub-
basin.
 USES OF UNIT HYDROGRAPH

 Development of flood hydrographs for extreme rainfall events that

can be used to design hydraulic structures such as bridges, culverts etc.
 Flood forecasting and warning
 To extend flood flow records based on rainfall
APPLICATION OF UNIT HYDROGRAPH

Calculations of direct runoff hydrograph in catchment due to

a given rainfall event (with recorded rainfall values), is easy if
a unit hydrograph is readily available. Remember that a unit
hydrograph is constructed for a unit rainfall falling for a
certain T-hours, where T may be any conveniently chosen
time duration. The effective rainfall hyetograph, for which the
runoff is to be calculated using the unit hydrograph, is
obtained by deducting initial and infiltration losses from the
recorded rainfall. This effective rainfall hyetograph is divided
into blocks of T-hour duration. The runoff generated by the
effective rainfall for each T-hour duration is then obtained
and summed up to produce the runoff due to the total
duration.

DIRECT RUNOFF CALCULATION USING

UNIT HYDROGRAPH
Assume that a 6-hour unit hydrograph (UH) of a catchment has been derived,
whose ordinates are given in the following table and a corresponding graphical
representation is shown in Figure
Assume further that the effective rainfall hyetograph (ERH) for a
given storm on the region has been given as in the following table:

This means that in the first 6 hours, 2cm excess rainfall has been
recorded, 4cm in the next 6 hours, and 3cm in the next.
The direct runoff hydrograph can then be calculated by the three
separate hyetographs for the three excess rainfalls by multiplying
the ordinates of the hydrograph by the corresponding rainfall
amounts. Since the rainfalls of 2cm, 4cm and 3cm occur in
successive 6-hour intervals, the derived DRH corresponding to
each rainfall is delayed by 6 hours appropriately.
 The final hydrograph is found out by adding the three individual
hydrographs, as shown in Figure

The last column in the above table gives the ordinates of the DRH produced
by the ERH. If the base flow is known or estimated (Lesson 2.2), then this
 should be added to the DRH to obtain the 6-houly ordinates of the flood
hydrograph.

THE S – CURVE
The S-curve, also known as Shydrograph is a hydrograph produced by a
continuous effective rainfall at a constant rate for an infinite period.