COVENANT UNIVERSITY

Department of Civil Engineering

CVE 419
Surface & Groundwater Hydrology
Semester: Alpha

Instructor:
Dr. Chukwueloka Okeke
 Lecture Content
a. Basic Terminologies
b. The hydrologic cycle
i. Precipitation
ii. Infiltration
iii. Evaporation
iv. Surface runoff
v. Floods
vi. Drought
c. Application of hydrology to engineering problems and water
resources

Goal:
1. To understand the dominant components of the hydrologic cycle that
influence the generation of floods to rivers.
 Definition of Terms
1. Hydrology involves the study of the occurrence, distribution,
movement, and properties of both the surface and
groundwaters of the Earth. It involves the interaction of water
with the physical and biological environment.
2. Hydrology has been defined as the study of the occurrence,
circulation and distribution of water over and below the
Earth’s surface.
3. Hydrology is practically applied in many areas, including the
design and operation of hydraulic structures, water supply,
waste water treatment and disposal, irrigation, drainage,
hydropower generation, flood control, navigation, erosion and
sediment control, salinity control, pollution control,
recreational use of water, and wildlife protection.
 Definition of Terms Cont’d
1. Engineering Hydrology is concerned with the quantitative
relationship between rainfall and the resulting outflow in both
natural river channels and artificial drainage systems, and, in
particular, the magnitude and time variation of outflow. This is
because all water schemes require such estimates to be
made before design of the relevant structures may proceed.

Engineering
Hydrology

Surface water Groundwater

Hydrology Hydrology

Rural Urban Groundwater

Hydrology Hydrology Dynamics
 Definition of Terms
1. Hydrologic system is defined as a system of interrelated
components, including the processes of precipitation,
evaporation, transpiration, infiltration, groundwater flow,
streamflow, e.t.c., in addition to those structures and devices
that are used to manage the system. Hydrologic system is
subject to different kinds of weather patterns and spatial
complexity, and is dynamic and random in nature.
 Definition of Terms Cont’d
1. Catchment (or watershed) is an area of the earth’s surface
which drains into a particular river or underground storage.
The terminology suggests that the area is analogous to a
. basin where all water moves toward a central point. A river
catchment may range in size from a matter of hectares to
millions of square kilometers.
The Hydrologic Cycle
 The Hydrologic Cycle
1. The hydrologic cycle is the focus of hydrology. The components
of the hydrologic cycle include:

• Precipitation • Evaporation

• Infiltration • Surface runoff

• Overland flow • Subsurface flow

• Recharge
 Table 1: Estimated world water quantities

1. Of the earth’s fresh water, about two-thirds is polar ice.

2. Only 0.006 percent of fresh water is contained in rivers.
3. Biological water, fixed in tissues of plants and animals, makes up 0.003 percent of all
fresh water, equivalent to half the volume contained in rivers.
Table 2: Global annual water balance
 Residence Time
• The residence time (Tr) is the average duration for a water
molecule to pass through a subsystem of a hydrologic cycle. It is
calculated by dividing the volume of water S in storage by the
flow rate Q.

S
Tr  Q
• For example, it is possible to estimate the residence time of
global atmospheric moisture since its volume is (Table 1) 12,900
km3, while the flow rate of moisture from the atmosphere is (Table
2) 458,000 + 119,000 = 577,000 km3/yr. Therefore, the average
residence time is

12,900
Tr  577,00
 0.22 yr  8.2days
 The Hydrologic System
• The hydrologic system is defined as a structure or volume in
space, surrounded by a boundary, that accepts water and other
inputs, operates on them internally, and produces them as output.
• The structure (for surface or subsurface flow) or volume in space
(for atmospheric moisture flow) is the totality of the flow paths
through which the water may pass as throughput from the point it
enters the system to the point it leaves.
Subsystems of the Hydrologic System
 1. Atmospheric water system

Precipitation Evaporation Interception Transpiration

2. Surface water system

Subsurface & Runoff to streams

groundwater runoff and the ocean
Overland flow Surface runoff

3. Subsurface water system

Infiltration Groundwater Subsurface Groundwater

recharge flow flow
 Watershed
• A watershed is the area of land draining into a stream at a given
location. The watershed divide is a line dividing land whose
drainage flows toward the given stream from land whose drainage
flows away from that stream.
• The system boundary is drawn around the watershed by projecting
the watershed divide vertically upwards to horizontal planes at the
top and bottom.
 Watershed
• The system boundary considers rainfall as the input, distributed in
space over the upper plane; streamflow as the output,
concentrated in space at the watershed outlet. Evaporation and
subsurface flow could be considered as outputs, but they are small
compared with streamflow during a storm.
 The Hydrologic System Model
• Remember that we defined the hydrologic system as a structure or
volume in space, surrounded by a boundary, that accepts water
and other inputs, operates on them internally, and produces them
as output.

Input
I(t)
 Output
Q(t)

• Then, the hydrologic system model is an approximation of the

actual system; its inputs and outputs are measurable hydrologic
variables and its structure is a set of equations linking the inputs
and outputs. Central to the model structure is the concept of a
system transformation.
 The Hydrologic System Model
Now let the input and output be expressed as functions of time, I(t) and
Q(t) respectively for t belonging to the time range T under
consideration. The system performs a transformation of the input into
the output as represented by

Q(t )  I (t )......... ......(1.2)

which is called the transformation equation of the system. The symbol
Ω is a transfer function between the input and the output. If the
relationship can be expressed by an algebraic equation, the Ω is an
algebraic operator. For example, if
Q(t )  CI (t )......... ......(1.3)
where C is a constant, then the transfer function is the operator
Q(t )
  C.......... .....(1.4)
I (t )
 The Hydrologic System Model
If the transformation is described by a differential equation, then the
transfer function serves as a differential operator. For example, a linear
reservoir has its storage S related to its outflow Q by

S  kQ.......... .....(1.5)
where k is a constant having the dimensions of time. By continuity, the
time rate of change of storage dS/dt is equal to the difference between
the input and the output

dS
 I (t )  Q (t )......... ......(1.6)
dt
Eliminating S between the two equations and rearranging,

dQ
k  Q (t )  I (t )......... ......(1.7)
dt
 The Hydrologic System Model

So
Q(t ) 1
  .......... .....(1.8)
I (t ) 1  kD
where D is the differential operator d/dt. If the transformation equation
has been determined and can be solved, it yields the output as a
function of the input. Equation (1.8) describes a linear system if k is a
constant. If k is a function of the input I or the output Q then (1.8)
describes a nonlinear system which is much more difficult to solve.
 Evaporation
 Evaporation is the transfer of liquid water into a gaseous state and
its diffusion into the atmosphere. In order for this to occur, there
must be liquid water present and available energy from the sun or
atmosphere.

 Open water evaporation (Eo) is the evaporation that occurs above

a body of water such as a lake, stream or the ocean. This is the
largest source of evaporation (on a global scale), in particular from
the ocean.

 Potential evaporation (PE) is that which occurs over the land’s

surface, or would occur if the water supply is unrestricted.

 Actual evaporation (Et) is that which actually occurs (i.e. if there is
not much water available it will be less than potential). When
conditions are very wet (e.g. during rainfall event) Et will equal PE,
otherwise it will be less than PE.
 Transpiration
 Transpiration is the continuous pumping of water from the ground
into the atmosphere by growing plants. The process of
transpiration accounts for most of the vapor losses from a land
dominated drainage basin. The amount of precipitation is a
function of the density and size of the vegetation.
 Transpiration is limited by soil water. When the soil-water content
becomes so low that the surface tension of the soil-water interface
exceeds the osmotic pressure of the roots, water will no longer
enter the roots. This is termed the wilting point of the soil.

• Phreatophytes
• Xerophytes
• Hydrophytes
 Evapotranspiration
Potential evapotranspiration (PE) is the amount of evaporation that
would occur if a sufficient water source were available. There is an
upper limit to the amount of water an ecosystem will lose by
evapotranspiration.

Actual evapotranspiration (PE)

is used to describe the amount
of evapotranspiration that
occurs under field conditions.

Coarse soil with limited soil moisture storage; warm

dry, summers; and cool, moist winters.
 Evapotranspiration
Potential evapotranspiration (PE) is the amount of evaporation that
would occur if a sufficient water source were available. There is an
upper limit to the amount of water an ecosystem will lose by
evapotranspiration.

Actual evapotranspiration (PE)

is used to describe the amount
of evapotranspiration that
occurs under field conditions.

Fine soil with ample soil moisture storage; warm summers,

cool winters, and little seasonal change in precipitation.
 Precipitation
 Precipitation is the release of water from the atmosphere towards
the earth’s surface. The term precipitation covers all forms of water
being released by the atmosphere, including snow, hail, sleet and
rainfall.

Formation of precipitation
 The following conditions control the formation of precipitation:
i. A humid air mass must be cooled to the dew-point
temperature.
ii. Condensation or freezing nuclei must be present,
iii. Droplets must coalesce to form raindrops, and
iv. The raindrops must be of sufficient size when they leave
the clouds to ensure that they will not totally evaporate
before they reach the ground.