Chapter Seven: FLOOD ROUTING

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Introduction
Basic equations
Reservoir routing
Modified Pul’s Method
Channel routing
Muskingum Equation
Muskingum Method of Routing
 FLOOD ROUTING
• Flood Routing is the process of determining / is a technique used to
predict / the hydrograph at a location downstream of a reservoir or
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a channel section from the knowledge of the upper stream inflow.

• Flow routing is a mathematical procedure for predicting the
changing magnitude, speed, and shape of a flood wave as a
function of time at one or more points along a watercourse
(waterway or channel).
• The routed hydrograph is delayed by time lag (translation) and attenuated.
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 FLOOD ROUTING
• Flood Routing is broadly classified into two groups
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A) Reservoir Routing / Hydrological Routing

• In reservoir routing the effect of flood wave entering
the reservoir is studied.
• Flow is a function of time.
• Continuity equation and storage relationship are used.
• Knowing the volume elevation characteristics of the
reservoir and the out flow – elevation relationship for
the spillway and other out let structures in the
reservoir, the effect of the flood wave entering the
reservoir is studied to predict the variations of
reservoir elevation and outflow discharge with time.
• This method is essential for:
• In the design of the capacity of spillways
• In the location and sizing of the capacity of
reservoir to meet specific requirements.
 BASIC EQUATION
• The passing of floods in reservoir and channel is an unsteady flow
phenomenon
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• All hydrological routings follow the principles of continuity equation

ds
I Q 
dt
where I = inflow rate , Q = outflow rate and S= storage
• for a small change of time (Δt) the difference in the total inflow and
outflow is the change in storage
I t  Qt  S
• Use the average inflow and outflow of that reach and written as

 I 1  I 2    Q 1  Q 2  
   t     t  S 2  S 1 
 2   2 
• The time interval should be sufficiently short so that the inflow and
outflow hydrograph assumed to be straight lines in that time interval
• Change in time must be shorter than time of transit of the flood wave
through the reach
 RESERVOIR ROUTING : Modified pul’s Method
• For a flood going through a reservoir, the water level in the reservoir
is assumed as horizontal and the storage routing is called Level Pool
Routing.
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• the procedure here is calculating the outflow hydrograph from a

reservoir with its inflow hydrograph and storage outflow
characteristics.

• The basic equation is rearranged as

 I1  I 2   Q1t   Q2 t 
 t   S1     S2  
 2   2   2 
• At the starting of flood routing, the initial storage and outflow
discharge are known. All the terms in LHS are known at the
beginning of a time interval ∆t. Hence the value of the function in
RHS at the end of the time step is calculate using above formula.
• Since the relation S = f(h) and Q = f(h) are known, (S + Q ∆t/2)2 will
enable one to determine the reservoir elevation and hence the
discharge at the end of the time step. The procedure continues …
 RESERVOIR ROUTING : Modified pul’s Method
• Procedure
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– Decide the time step Δt of routing . This should be chosen such that
the peak of inflow hydrograph is not missed
 Qt 
– prepare a curve of  S   vs elevation from the known storage-
 2 
elevation and discharge-elevation data
– On the same plot prepare a curve of outflow discharge vs elevation
– Compute the values of  S 2  Q 2  t  , all other values are known at the
 2 
first stage
 Q2t 
– the water-surface elevation corresponding to  S 2  2 
 from the plot

prepared and read the value of elevation and discharge (Q2) at the
end of the time step Δt
 Q2t   Qt 
– Subtracting Q2 Δt from  S 2  2 
 gives  S   for the
  2 1
beginning of the next time step
– The procedure is repeated till the entire inflow hydrograph is routed
 RESERVOIR…….
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• Data Requirement for reservoir routing

– Storage volume vs elevation for the reservoir
– Water-surface elevation Vs outflow and hence storage Vs
outflow discharge

– Inflow hydrograph I= I(t)

– Initial values of S, I, and Q at time t = 0

• The inflow hydrograph can result from design rainfall,

reservoir release (spillway, gate, and turbine release and /
or dam failures), and landslide into reservoirs.
 EXAMPLE 7.1
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A reservoir has elevation, discharge and storage relationship

below in table. When the reservoir water level was 100.5m, the
flood hydrograph presented in table 2 entered the reservoir.
Route the flood and obtain
• Outflow hydrograph
• Reservoir elevation Vs time curve during the passage of the flood wave

E(m) 100.0 100.5 101.1 101.5 102.0 102.5 102.75 103.0

S (106 m3) 3.350 3.470 3.880 4.383 4.882 5.370 5.5527 5.856
Q (m3/s) 0 10 26 46 72 100 116 130

Time 0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54 60 66 72
(hr)
I (m3/s) 10 20 55 80 73 58 46 36 55 20 15 13 11
 FLOOD ROUTING
B) Channel Routing / Hydraulic Routing
• In a channel routing the change in the shape of a
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hydrograph as it travels down a channel is

studied.
• Flow is a function of space and time.
• Continuity and moment equations are used.

• By considering a channel reach and an input

hydrograph at the upstream end, this form of routing
aims to predict the flood hydrograph at the various
sections of the reach. Information on the flood peak
attenuation and the duration of high water levels
obtained by channel routing is of utmost importance in
flood‐ forecasting operation and flood – protection
works.
 CHANNEL ROUTING
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• River routing uses mathematical relations to calculate

outflow from a river channel for a given inflow, lateral
contributions, and channel characteristics.

• Channel reach refers to a specific length of river channel

possessing certain translation and storage properties.

– Hydraulic river routing is based on the principles of

continuity and momentum conservation

– Commonly used hydraulic river routing method is The

Muskingum method.
 CHANNEL ROUTING: Muskingum method
• The Muskingum method of flood routing was developed in the
1930s in connection with the design of flood protection schemes in
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the Muskingum River Basin, Ohio, USA.

• It is the most widely used method of hydraulic river routing, with

numerous applications throughout the world.
 CHANNEL ROUTING: Muskingum-Cung method
• Prism Storage : it is the volume that exist if uniform flow occurred at
the downstream depth , i.e. the volume formed by an imaginary
plane parallel to the channel bottom drawn at the outflow section
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water surfaces.
• Wedge storage : it is the wedge like volume formed between the
actual water surfaces profile and the top surface of the prism storage.
• The continuity equation holds at any given time: dS/dt = I(t) ‐ Q(t)
where the total storage S is the sum of prism storage f1(Q) and wedge
storage f2(I‐Q). The total storage may be represented by: S = f1(Q) + f2
(I ‐ Q)
• Assuming that in the above equation f1(Q) and f2 (I ‐ Q) could be both
a linear functions, i.e. f1(Q) = KQ and f2 (I ‐ Q) = b (I ‐ Q),
we have S = bI + (K‐b)Q = K [(b/K) I + (1 ‐b/k)Q] and writing X =
b/K,
we get

S = K [XI + ( 1 - X) Q]

called Muskingum Equation

 CHANNEL ROUTING: Muskingum method
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It has been found that for best results

the routing interval ∆t should be so
chosen that K > ∆t > 2KX. If ∆t < 2kx,
the coefficient C1 will be negative.

The condition is that C1 + C2 + C3 =

1, and often the range for Δt is K/3 ≤
Δt ≤. K.
 CHANNEL ROUTING: Muskingum-Cung method
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• Routing Procedure
– Choose two sites A and B along the channel such that there is no loss
or gain of water between the two reaches due to tributaries
– Collect the data of a complete flood (inflow) hydrograph at site A,
represent the inflow and for site B the outflow (O) - hydrograph is to be
computed when the flood from A reaches B
– Compute K and X
– Select the time interval or routing Δt, with relation K > Δt > 2Kx
– Calculate c0, C1, C2 and check the condition equation
– For initial time t = 0, I1, I2, and O1 are known and by using the above
Q - I relation compute Q2
– Repeat the procedure to cover the entire inflow hydrograph
 Example 7.2
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• Route the following hydrograph through the river

reach for which K = 12 hr and x = 0.20. At the start of
the inflow flood, the outflow discharge is 10 m3/s.
Time, hr 0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54
Inflow, m3/s 10 20 50 60 55 45 35 27 20 15