2) Chapter 1
2) Chapter 1
2) Chapter 1
Introduction
Water is present in almost all parts of the Earth. It is a catalyst as to why life
exists and continues to exist. But some events, either purely natural or triggered by the
acts of man, which we cannot really predict or anticipate, or if we can, we cannot really
alter, happen, that suppress the amount and supply of water. These scenarios, if not
1991 - It was the eruptions of Mt. Pinatubo that made the once ordinary daylight
not visible from the induced ashes falling on the ground. Major part of Central Luzon was
Works and Highways (DPWH) Regional Office III were largely on irrigation and flood
control systems. It buried the two national irrigation systems of Tarlac. These are the
Tarlac River Irrigation System (TARRIS) and the San Miguel-O’Donnell River Irrigation
System (SMORIS) to which the source of surface water are the Tarlac and O’Donnell
rivers respectively. Heavy rains that came after the eruptions caused ash deposits from
the mountain slopes to wash down to low-lying areas in the form of lahars. These lahars
made the irrigation channels silted. The absence of water turned the once irrigated
At present, after an almost twenty three years since the volcanic activity of Mt.
Pinatubo, the effects of the eruptions are still felt today. These effects are aggravated by
the travel, deposition and accumulation of lahar on the river channels of Tarlac. With no
means of dredging all the alluvial deposits away towards the Manila and Lingayen Bays,
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the over-all condition still persists. Concurrently, this problem still suppresses the
In this research, addressing the need to rehabilitate one of the irrigation systems of
Tarlac, i.e SMORIS, the proponents attempt to provide the needed hydrologic
characteristics of O’Donnell River that can be used as a basis for planning, designing and
operating water resources structures in the area. It can also be used as a guide for
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Objectives
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Significance and Importance of the Study
certain site conditions are applicable. Such structures could help exploit the flowing
water e.g. integration of surface water with groundwater resources to improve irrigation
rainfall are commonly hampered due to lack of continuous data. The consistency and
completeness of rainfall data leads to more accurate results from hydrological models and
will eventually give a good basis for future design of engineering structures. To address
the problem of missing data, studies were conducted and different methods in estimating
missing rainfall data were introduced. One of the methods introduced by different
study will use the said method to fill the gaps in the data which will be gathered.
Theoretical distributions will be used in this study to fit a probability model to the
sample of annual flood peaks. Reliable flood frequency estimates are vital for floodplain
management; to protect the public, minimize flood related costs to government and
private enterprises, for designing and locating hydraulic structures and assessing hazards
related to the development of flood plains. Estimating extreme events must be determined
using appropriate fitting distributions in order to accurately design and manage flood
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control structures. Water resources structures can make use of the data generated by this
study as a basis for the design. Risk of flash floods and potential to provoke a vast
distribution that best fits to a set of data achieved and developed by some random
process. It is indispensable for every study to select and apply the best and appropriate
fitting distribution for the data analysis. However, the use of inappropriate distribution,
which doesn’t fit the data well, the subsequent calculations will be incorrect and will
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Definition of Terms
Alluvium – Deposits, as of mud or sand, transported and laid down by flowing water in
river beds, flood-plains, lakes and estuaries.
Axis – An imaginary line through the center of a drawing or sculpture for purposes of
measurement or reference.
Basin – A depression in the earth’s surface, as a valley, or the region drained by water.
Catalyst - A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself
undergoing any permanent chemical change.
Cumulative Frequency - Sum of all the frequencies up to and including that value.
Degrees of Freedom – Any of the statistically independent values of a sample that are
used to determine a property of the sample.
Dredge – Clean out the bed of (a harbor, river, or other area of water) by scooping out
mud, weeds, and rubbish with a dredge.
Estimate - Roughly calculate or judge the value, number, quantity, or extent of.
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Frequency – A ratio expressing the number of times a given case, value or score occurs
in a total of relevant classified data.
Hydrology – The branch of physical geography that treats waters of the earth, their
distribution, characteristics, and effects.
Mapping - The act or operation of making a map or maps
Parameter – Any given constant or element whose values characterize one or more of
the variables entering into a system of functions.
Perpendicular Bisectors - A line which cuts a line segment into two equal parts at 90°
Phenomena - A fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, esp. one whose
cause or explanation is in question.
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Polygon – A closed, ussualy plane, figure bounded by straight lines or ars, especially
more than four.
Probability – Ratio of the chances favoring an event to the total number of the chances
favoring an against it.
Rainfall – The amount of water precipitated in a given region over a stated time, as rain,
hail, snow or the like.
Runoff – That part of the rainfall in a particular area which is not absorbed directly by
soil but is drained off in rills or streams.
Stream Flow - The water that flows in a specific stream site, especially its volume and
rate of flow.
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Theoretical – Relating to knowledge or pure science without reference to its application.
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Scope and Delimitations
characteristics of O’ Donnell River catchment area. These characteristics can be used for
design of irrigation and flood mitigating structures within its vicinity. It does not consider
other catchment area or any river adjacent to O’ Donnell. The computed values and
conclusions are generated from methods used in this study. Other available methods
applicable to any procedures presented in this study were used as guides but are not
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