IJSTE - International Journal of Science Technology & Engineering | Volume 2 | Issue 10 | April 2016

ISSN (online): 2349-784X

Comparison of Run-off Computed by Stranges

Abstract
Run-off calculations are essential for designing any storage structure. Rrun-off can be calculated based on the rainfall data of rain
gauge stations influencing the catchment area. In general, empirical methods are being used to compute the runoff. One of the
methods of computing run-off is by Stranges table. The Stranges table provides the run-off in terms of percentage of the monsoon
rainfall for Good, Average and Bad catchments. One more method is Dry Damp Wet method to compute the run-off. In this
method, the condition of the catchment can be considered as Dry, Damp or Wet based on the occurrence of daily rainfall. In the
present study, an attempt has been made to compare the runoff obtained by these two methods. The influencing zone of Anantapur
rain gauge station, determined by Theissen polygon method has been selected for the present study. Rainfall data of Anantapur
rain gauge station for the period from 1982 to 2013 has been used to compute the run-off. Monsoon rainfall of corresponding year
has been considered for computation of run-off using Stranges table and daily rainfall data has been used to compute the run-off
as per Dry Damp Wet method. Run-off values obtained by Stranges table and by Dry Damp Wet method have been compared
and found that the values are varying. The variation is due to occurrence of rainfall at varied frequencies. As the frequency of
rainfall is also taken in to account in addition to the magnitude of rainfall in Dry Damp Wet method, the values obtained by this
method can be considered more precise.
Keywords: Dry Damp Wet method, Monsoon Rainfall, Rain gauge station, Run-off, Stranges table and Theissen polygon
Abbreviations: mm - Milli meters; S. No - Serial number
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I.

INTRODUCTION

The 'run-off' of a catchment area in a particular year (or other specified season) is the volume of water discharged by the stream
draining the area. The run-off is stated in terms of the equivalent depth of water over the catchment area. Computation of runoff is
the most essential requirement in hydrological aspect of any project. For computing runoff, monsoon rainfall data is the basic
requirement which is measured at rain gauge stations in terms of depth. Monsoon rainfall is the rainfall received during monsoon
period (considered from May to December). General practice to compute the runoff is using Stranges table. Another method to
compute the runoff is Dry Damp Wet method. In Stranges table the runoff is given in terms of depth for different catchments like
good, average and bad. In Dry Damp Wet method, the catchment is considered as dry, damp and wet based on the occurrence and
magnitude of daily rainfall. In the present study, the runoff obtained by these two methods has been compared for a particular
rain gauge station.
II. STUDY AREA
Anantapur district is one of the drought affected area in Andhra Pradesh, India which is having an average annual rainfall of
540 mm. There are 63 rain gauge stations in the district located in mandal headquarters. Among these rain gauge stations,
Anantapur rain gauge station has been considered. Study area is the influencing zone of Anantapur rain gauge station which is
determined by Theissen polygon method. An Index map showing the study area i.e. influencing zone of Anantapur rain gauge
station is given in figure 1.
III. DATA
Following data has been collected for the present study
1) Daily rain fall data for a period of 32 years from 1982 to 2013 from the Chief Planning Office (CPO) of Anantapur district.
2) Stranges run-off table for good, average and bad catchments and also run-off table for Dry Damp Wet method have been
extracted from Irrigation manual by W.M. Ellis for estimation of run-off.

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Comparison of Run-off Computed by Stranges Table and Dry Damp Wet Method
(IJSTE/ Volume 2 / Issue 11 / 197)

Fig. 1: Index Map showing the influencing zone of Anantapur rain gauge station

IV. METHODOLOGY
A catchment is a basin shaped area of land from which surface and sub-surface water flows into streams and rivers. In general,
the catchment can be considered as Good, when it is in hilly terrain with steep slopes and thick vegetative cover. Similarly, the
catchment can be considered as Average, if it is in undulated terrain with moderate slopes and little vegetative cover. Where the
catchment area consists of flat terrain with no vegetative cover, it can be considered as Bad. Accordingly study area has been
considered as average catchment for the purpose of run-off calculations. In general, the run-off will be estimated based on
Stranges table for planning storage reservoirs. The details of estimated run-off for the monsoon rainfall considering the catchment
as average has been presented in table 1.
S.
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Table 1
Strange's Table of total monsoon rainfall and estimated runoff for average catchment area.
Total monsoon
Percentage run- Depth of run-off in
S.
Total monsoon
Percentage runrain fall in mm
off to rain fall
mm due to rain fall
No.
rain fall in mm
off to rain fall
25.4
0.10
0.025
21
533.4
12.00
50.8
0.15
0.076
22
558.8
12.90
76.2
0.30
0.229
23
584.2
13.80
101.6
0.50
0.508
24
609.6
14.60
127.0
0.70
0.889
25
635.0
15.40
152.4
1.10
1.676
26
660.4
16.30
177.8
1.50
2.667
27
685.8
17.10
203.2
2.10
4.267
28
711.2
18.00
228.6
2.60
5.944
29
736.6
18.80
254.0
3.20
8.128
30
762.0
19.70
279.4
3.90
10.897
31
787.4
20.50
304.8
4.60
14.021
32
812.8
21.30
330.2
5.40
17.831
33
838.2
22.20
355.6
6.20
22.047
34
863.6
23.10
381.0
7.00
26.670
35
889.0
23.90
406.4
7.80
31.699
36
914.4
24.70
431.8
8.70
37.567
37
939.8
25.50
457.2
9.60
43.891
38
965.2
26.40
482.6
10.40
50.190
39
990.6
27.30
508.0
11.25
57.150
40
1016.0
28.10

Depth of run-off in
mm due to rain fall
64.008
72.085
80.620
89.002
97.790
107.645
117.272
128.016
138.481
150.114
161.417
173.126
186.080
199.492
212.471
225.857
239.649
254.813
270.434
285.496

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Comparison of Run-off Computed by Stranges Table and Dry Damp Wet Method
(IJSTE/ Volume 2 / Issue 11 / 197)

The Stranges table has been presented from 25.40 mm to 1016 mm with regular increment of 25.40 mm to cover 1005 mm
which is the maximum monsoon rainfall during the study period. Where ever records of daily rainfall covering the entire catchment
area are available and the accuracy is important, the daily rainfall can be considered for estimation of run-off using Dry Damp Wet
method. The details of run-off estimated from the daily rainfall considering the catchment as average have been presented in table
2.
Table - 2
Estimated run-off from daily rainfall for average catchment as per Dry Damp Wet method
Dry
Damp
Wet
Rain fall in mm
Percentage Run-off in mm Percentage Run-off in mm Percentage Run-off in mm
0
6.35
12.70
19.05
25.40
31.75
38.10
44.45
50.80
63.50
76.20
101.60

0
0
0
0
3
5
6
8
10
15
20
30

0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.76
1.59
2.29
3.56
5.08
9.53
15.24
30.48

0
0
6
8
11
14
16
19
22
29
37
50

0.00
0.00
0.76
1.52
2.79
4.45
6.10
8.45
11.18
18.42
28.19
50.80

0
8
12
16
18
22
25
30
34
43
55
70

0.00
0.51
1.52
3.05
4.57
6.99
9.53
13.34
17.27
27.31
41.91
71.12

The criteria considered for classifying the catchment area as dry, damp and wet is given in table 3.
Table - 3
Criteria considered for classifying the catchment as dry, damp and wet
Conditions required for transition from' dry' to 'damp'
Conditions required for transition from' Wet' to 'damp'
Rain fall
Rain fall
In Inches In mm
In Inches In mm
0.25
6.35
In the previous day
1 Day Damp
0.17
4.32
In the previous day
1 Day Wet and then Damp
0.50
12.7
In the previous day
3 Days Damp
0.25
6.35
In the previous day
2 Days Wet and then Damp
1.00
25.4
In the previous day
7 Days Damp
0.50
12.7
In the previous day
4 Days Wet and then Damp
1.50
38.1
In the previous day 10 Days Damp
0.75
19.05
In the previous day
5 Days Wet and then Damp
Conditions required for transition from 'damp' to 'Wet'
Conditions required for transition from 'damp' to 'Dry'
Rain fall
Rain fall
In Inches In mm
In Inches In mm
0.33
8.38
In the previous day
1 Day Wet
0.13
3.3
In the previous day
1 Day Damp and then Dry
0.50
12.7
In the previous day
2 Days Wet
0.25
6.35
In the previous day
3 Days Damp and then Dry
1.00
25.4
In the previous day
3 Days Wet
0.50
12.7
In the previous day
7 Days Damp and then Dry
1.50
38.1
In the previous day
5 Days Wet
0.75
19.05
In the previous day 10 Days Damp and then Dry
If more than 2.50 Inches (63.50 mm) is occurred, upto 2.50
Inches (63.50 mm) is to be considered as dry and remaining
as Wet on the same day

Based on the above criteria classification of the catchment (like dry, damp and wet) has been noted against the rainfall occurred
in each day as per daily rainfall data. The runoff has been calculated for the rainfall occurred on the day and with respect to the
classification of the catchment on the same day as per tables 2 and 3. Sample calculations showing the classification of catchment
and runoff for the respective rainfall for the month of August, 2009 is shown in table 4.

Date
1-8-2009
2-8-2009
3-8-2009
4-8-2009
5-8-2009
6-8-2009
7-8-2009
8-8-2009
9-8-2009
10-8-2009
11-8-2009
12-8-2009

Rain fall in
mm
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1.6
0
0

Table 4
Sample calculations of runoff for the month of August, 2009
Classification of
Run-off in
Rain fall in
Date
Catchment
mm
mm
Dry
0
17-8-2009
6.0
Dry
0
18-8-2009
0.8
Dry
0
19-8-2009
0
Dry
0
20-8-2009
0
Dry
0
21-8-2009
0
Dry
0
22-8-2009
21.6
Dry
0
23-8-2009
21.1
Dry
0
24-8-2009
20.3
Dry
0
25-8-2009
15.2
Dry
0
26-8-2009
0
Dry
0
27-8-2009
0
28-8-2009
0
Dry
0

Classification of
Catchment
Wet
Damp
Dry
Dry
Dry
Dry
Damp
Wet
Wet
Wet
Wet
Wet

Run-off in
mm
0.482
0
0
0
0
0.305
1.93
3.349
2.122
0
0
0

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Comparison of Run-off Computed by Stranges Table and Dry Damp Wet Method
(IJSTE/ Volume 2 / Issue 11 / 197)

13-8-2009
14-8-2009
15-8-2009
16-8-2009

0
0
6.5
11.1

Dry
Dry
Dry
Damp

0
0
0
0.569

29-8-2009
30-8-2009
31-8-2009
Total :

0
0
27.5
131.7

Wet
Damp
Dry

0
0
1.011
9.768

Similarly, the run-off has been calculated for a period of 32 years i.e. from 1982 to 2013. The runoff has also been calculated
as per Stranges table using monsoon rainfall for the respective years.
V. RESULTS
Run-off values obtained from Dry Damp Wet method and as per Stranges table have been presented in table 5.

S.
No.

Year

Rain fall
in mm

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997

552.70
530.60
339.40
280.00
388.40
475.30
746.20
602.60
558.80
472.00
400.90
509.90
274.70
794.30
1005.00
594.60

Table 5
Run-off values obtained from Dry Damp Wet method and as per Stranges table
As per Dry Damp
As per Strange's
As per Dry Damp
Rain
Wet method
table
Wet method
S.
Year
fall in
No.
Run-off
Run-off
Run-off in
mm
%
%
%
in mm
in mm
mm
79.177
14.33
70.145
12.69
17
1998
710.60
79.916
11.25
40.421
7.62
63.252
11.92
18
1999
598.00
87.372
14.61
47.811
14.09
17.831
5.25
19
2000
634.00
81.864
12.91
23.725
8.47
10.897
3.89
20
2001
659.80
105.416
15.98
39.432
10.15
28.135
7.24
21
2002
317.60
28.849
9.08
62.798
13.21
43.891
9.23
22
2003
233.40
19.830
8.50
126.252
16.92
142.878
19.15
23
2004
558.80
67.257
12.04
185.896
30.85
86.692
14.39
24
2005
616.00
77.421
12.57
52.014
9.31
72.085
12.90
25
2006
378.40
21.271
5.62
91.231
19.33
43.891
9.30
26
2007
871.80
210.758
24.18
21.449
5.35
30.61
7.64
27
2008
605.60
58.629
9.68
44.174
8.66
57.663
11.31
28
2009
540.90
55.347
10.23
8.204
2.99
10.385
3.78
29
2010
618.20
52.528
8.50
195.233
24.58
164.598
20.72
30
2011
602.60
72.128
11.97
227.732
22.66
278.973
27.76
31
2012
588.80
112.962
19.19
93.133
15.66
84.052
14.14
32
2013
490.20
69.792
14.24

As per Strange's
table
Run-off
%
in mm
117.272
16.50
85.174
14.24
97.444
15.37
107.412
16.28
15.941
5.02
6.357
2.72
72.085
12.90
91.216
14.81
26.197
6.92
203.682
23.36
87.682
14.48
66.393
12.27
91.977
14.88
86.692
14.39
82.138
13.95
52.273
10.66

A graph showing the above run-off values in ascending order is presented in figure 2.

Fig. 2: Graph showing run-off values obtained from Dry Damp Wet method and as per Stranges table

The variation in run-off calculated as per the above two methods is due to occurrence of rainfall at varied frequencies. The
runoff values obtained by Dry Damp Wet method can be considered as more accurate compared to values obtained from Stranges
table since, the frequency of rainfall is taken in to consideration in addition to the magnitude of rainfall in Dry Damp Wet method.

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Comparison of Run-off Computed by Stranges Table and Dry Damp Wet Method
(IJSTE/ Volume 2 / Issue 11 / 197)

The results obtained by the said methods are applicable for the proposals of any storage structure located within the influencing
zone of respective rain gauge station.
REFERENCES
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]

COL. W. M. Ellis, College of Engineering,Run-off in Manual for Iirrigation printed by the Superintendent Government Press, Madras 1950.
FAO CORPORATE DOCUMENT REPOSITORY, Rainfall runoff analysis in Water harvesting produced by Natural resources management and
Environment Department.
K. Subramanya, Engineering Hydrology, 3rd edition, The McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Ltd, New Delhi, India.
P. Jaya Rami Reddy, A textbook of Hydrology, 2nd edition, Laxmi publications (P) LTD, New Delhi.
R. Bhavani, Construction of Theissen Polygons for Rain Gauge Stations in Anantapuram District, International Journal of Computational Engineering

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