F Unit Hydrograph

Unit Hydrograph
- K. Srinivasan
Introduction
• The unit hydrograph, a method for estimating storm runoff,
was first proposed by L.K. Sherman in 1932
• The unit hydrograph is a linear response function of the
watershed that can be used to derive the hydrograph
resulting from any amount of rainfall excess.

Contd… Introduction
• Linearity implies
– additivity and
– proportionality of the solutions.
• Unit Hydrograph is defined as the direct runoff hydrograph

resulting from unit depth of excess rainfall, uniformly
distributed over the entire watershed at a constant rate for
an effective duration.
• The shape of the unit hydrograph is a function of land, soil

and watershed characteristics that are assumed to be
repeated for similar duration storms.
• The base of the unit hydrograph is a function of the

rainfall duration.
– If the duration changes the base and the shape of the
hydrograph change but the area under the curve
represents unit volume.
• The usefulness of the unit hydrograph

– produce hydrographs for any rainfall excess and
duration.
• The determination of unit hydrographs (UH) for given

basins can be carried out either using
– the theoretical developments of linear system theory;
– empirical techniques.
For either case simultaneous observations of both
precipitation and streamflow must be available.
Unit Hydrograph Theory
Unit hydrograph theory contains a number of basic

assumptions that can limit its use. They are (Chow et al.,
1988):
1. The effective rainfall has a constant intensity within the
effective duration.
 The storms selected for analysis should be of short

duration because they are most likely to produce rainfall
of uniform intensity, yielding a well-defined single-peaked
hydrograph.
Contd… Unit Hydrograph Theory  Assumptions
2. The effective rainfall is uniformly distributed throughout the
whole drainage area.
 This assumption may pose problem in applying the unit
hydrograph theory to watersheds where the drainage
area is too large to be covered by a nearly uniform
distribution of rainfall.
3. For a given watershed, the base time of the direct runoff
hydrograph (DRH) resulting from effective rainfall of
given duration is constant.
 This implies that the unit hydrograph model cannot
account for differences in the watershed response to
different rainfall intensities.

4. Proportionality and Superposition
 The principle of proportionality states that the ordinates of all
direct runoff hydrographs with the same base time are proportional
to the total amount of direct runoff represented by each
hydrograph.
 The idea of superposition suggests computing the direct runoff
hydrograph ordinates for a complex storm event as the sum of the
ordinates of the incremental direct runoff hydrographs that are
developed for each period of effective rainfall.

5. Time invariance
 The hydrograph resulting from a given effective rainfall is

considered unique for a given watershed and invariable with
respect to time.
 This assumption holds as long as the channel conditions

remain unchanged and watersheds do not have appreciable
storage.
 The unit hydrograph model cannot reflect variations in the

watershed response due to changes in the season, land use
or channel characteristics.
• Watershed Linearity
 One of the most significant limitations of the unit hydrograph
theory is the assumption of linearity.
 In fact, the watershed is a highly nonlinear system
 Due to the assumption of linearity, the unit hydrograph
method is not applicable for watersheds that have
appreciable storage effects

 In addition, the unit hydrograph theory may not be
applicable to small watersheds because they tend to
exhibit a nonlinear response more than larger areas
 In practice, the linearity assumption is useful because the
equations are relatively simple and the results are
acceptable for most engineering purposes

Hydrograph Time Characteristics
• Time to Peak
– Time from beginning of rising limb to peak discharge.
– The time to peak is largely determined by drainage basin
characteristics such as drainage density, slope, channel
roughness, and soil infiltration characteristics.
– Rainfall distribution in space also affects the time to peak.

Contd… Hydrograph Time Characteristics
• Time of Concentration
– Time required for water to travel from the hydraulically

remotest point in the basin to the basin outlet.
– The time of concentration is determined by the drainage

basin characteristics of length and slope, as well as the
hydraulic characteristics of the flow paths.
• Lag Time
– Time from center of mass of effective rainfall and center of

mass of direct runoff hydrograph.
Contd… Hydrograph Time Characteristics
• Time Base
– Duration of direct runoff hydrograph.
• The basin lag is an important concept in linear modeling of

basin response.
• The lag time is a parameter that appears often in

theoretical, conceptual models of basin behavior.
– it is sometimes difficult to measure in real world situations.

Elements of Hydrograph
• Rising Limb
– Rising portion of the hydrograph (mostly surface runoff)
• Crest
– Zone of hydrograph around peak discharge.
• Recession Limb
– Portion of the hydrograph after the peak discharge. It
corresponds to water released from storage in the basin.
– The recession limb of the hydrograph corresponds to water
released from storage.
– The lower part of this recession corresponds to groundwater
flow contributions.
Contd… Elements of Hydrograph
The main factors affecting hydrograph characteristics

(shape) are:
1. Drainage characteristics
 Drainage characteristics include basin area, basin

shape, basin slope, drainage density, and drainage
network topology.
2. Rainfall characteristics
 Rainfall distribution in space is important in defining the
hydrograph shape.
 Another important rainfall characteristic affecting hydrograph

shapes is storm movement.
 storms moving in the downstream direction will tend to

produce larger peak flows than storms moving upstream.
 In addition, rainfall intensity, duration, and temporal

distribution affect the hydrograph shape.
3. Soil type and Land use.
 Most changes in land use tend to increase the amount of
runoff for a given storm.

Baseflow Separation
• Subjective Methods
1. The simplest one consists in arbitrarily selecting the beginning
of the rising limb as the value of the baseflow and connecting
this point with a horizontal line to a point in the recession limb
of the hydrograph.
2. This method consists in arbitrarily selecting the beginning of
the groundwater recession on the hydrograph and connecting
this point with a straight line to the beginning of the rising limb.
3. This method consists in extending a line from the beginning of
the recession to a point directly beneath the peak discharge
and then connecting this point to the beginning of the rising
limb.
Contd… Elements of Hydrograph  Baseflow Seperation
 The area method of baseflow separation consists in

determining the beginning of the baseflow with an empirical
equation relating time in days from the peak discharge, N, to
the basin area, A.
 When A is in square miles, b equals 1. If A is in square

kilometers b equals 0.8.
 This equation is unsuitable for smaller watersheds and should

be checked for a number of hydrographs before using.
Contd… Elements of Hydrograph  Baseflow Seperation
• The three component method involves separating surface

runoff, interflow, and groundwater flow.
– This method is based on a linear reservoir model of unforced

basin response ( that is, response from storage).
– It involves the determination of several recession constants.
– Application of this method involves considerable smoothing of

the runoff hydrograph.
– The method can become extremely cumbersome.

Construction of UH from Flood Hydrograph
Ф
Flood Hydrograph
Variations under different conditions
Condition 2: Nature of the Catchment Area

Condition 4: River Management

Conversion of One Duration UH to Another
S-Curve Hydrograph Method
• A unit hydrograph for a particular watershed is developed

for a specific duration of effective rainfall.
• When dealing with a rainfall of different duration a new unit

hydrograph must be derived for the new duration.
• The linearity property implicit in the UH analysis can be

used to generate UH’s of larger or smaller duration.
• This procedure, which is explained using linear systems

theory in the following slides, is sometimes referred to as
the S-curve Hydrograph method.
Conversion of One Duration UH to Another
• S-Curve Hydrograph Method

 Determine the runoff hydrograph for a continuous effective
rainfall of intensity 1/D. This hydrograph is known as the S-
curve hydrograph
 Determine the runoff hydrograph of an effective rainfall event

of intensity 1/D and of duration D'
 Normalize the resulting hydrograph by multiplying its

ordinates by D/D'.
 The resulting hydrograph is a Unit Hydrograph associated

with an effective rainfall of duration D'.
Contd…S-Curve Hydrograph Method
• Assume that a UH of duration D is known and that a UH for
the same basin and of duration D’ is desired.
• The first step is to determine the S-curve hydrograph by
adding a series of UH’s of duration D, each lagged by D.
• The resulting superposition represents the runoff resulting
from a continuous rainfall excess of intensity 1/D.

Contd…S-Curve Hydrograph Method
• By shifting the S-curve in time by an amount D’ and

subtracting ordinates between the two lagged S-curves, the
resulting hydrograph must correspond to a rainfall event of
intensity 1/D and of duration D’.
• Thus, to convert this hydrograph into a unit hydrograph of
duration D’, its ordinates must be normalized by multiplying
them by D/D’.
• The resulting ordinates represent a unit hydrograph
associated with an effective rainfall of duration D’.

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Unit Hydrograph

• The unit hydrograph, a method for estimating storm runoff,

was first proposed by L.K. Sherman in 1932

• The unit hydrograph is a linear response function of the

watershed that can be used to derive the hydrograph

resulting from any amount of rainfall excess.

– proportionality of the solutions.

• Unit Hydrograph is defined as the direct runoff hydrograph

• The shape of the unit hydrograph is a function of land, soil

• The base of the unit hydrograph is a function of the

• The usefulness of the unit hydrograph

• The determination of unit hydrographs (UH) for given

Unit hydrograph theory contains a number of basic

1. The effective rainfall has a constant intensity within the

 The storms selected for analysis should be of short

2. The effective rainfall is uniformly distributed throughout the

whole drainage area.

 This assumption may pose problem in applying the unit

hydrograph theory to watersheds where the drainage

area is too large to be covered by a nearly uniform

3. For a given watershed, the base time of the direct runoff

hydrograph (DRH) resulting from effective rainfall of

given duration is constant.

 This implies that the unit hydrograph model cannot

account for differences in the watershed response to

different rainfall intensities.

4. Proportionality and Superposition

 The principle of proportionality states that the ordinates of all

to the total amount of direct runoff represented by each

 The idea of superposition suggests computing the direct runoff

hydrograph ordinates for a complex storm event as the sum of the

ordinates of the incremental direct runoff hydrographs that are

developed for each period of effective rainfall.

 The hydrograph resulting from a given effective rainfall is

 This assumption holds as long as the channel conditions

 The unit hydrograph model cannot reflect variations in the

 One of the most significant limitations of the unit hydrograph

theory is the assumption of linearity.

 In fact, the watershed is a highly nonlinear system

 Due to the assumption of linearity, the unit hydrograph

method is not applicable for watersheds that have

appreciable storage effects

 In addition, the unit hydrograph theory may not be

applicable to small watersheds because they tend to

exhibit a nonlinear response more than larger areas

 In practice, the linearity assumption is useful because the

equations are relatively simple and the results are

acceptable for most engineering purposes

– Time from beginning of rising limb to peak discharge.

– The time to peak is largely determined by drainage basin

characteristics such as drainage density, slope, channel

roughness, and soil infiltration characteristics.

– Rainfall distribution in space also affects the time to peak.

– Time required for water to travel from the hydraulically

– The time of concentration is determined by the drainage

– Time from center of mass of effective rainfall and center of

– Duration of direct runoff hydrograph.

• The basin lag is an important concept in linear modeling of