Chapter 5: Runoff

Definition: Runoff is defined as the portion of precipitation that makes its way towards rivers, or
seas, or oceans, etc as surface and sub-surface flow.
The runoff generally consists of
a) Surface runoff
b) Ground runoff
c) Direct precipitation over the streams
Runoff Process
The rain falling in the catchment/ basin is disposed off in the following ways.
i) Absorbed by plant leaves /intercepted;
ii) Evaporated and passed back to atmosphere;
iii) Runoff either surface or penetrating into the soil and changing the ground water level and then
appearing in the streams lower down in the same catchment. Surface runoff is important for the
maximum flow of the river, while ground runoff is important for the minimum (base) flow of
the river;
iv) Absorbed by the ground /or collected on the ground - detention/ making it damp or wet and
ultimately evaporated again into the atmosphere;
The difference between rainfall and runoff is termed as rainfall loss and rainfall minus losses is
rainfall producing runoff.
Factors Affecting Runoff
i) Characteristics of precipitation
ii) Characteristics of drainage basin

i) Characteristics of Precipitation
a) Type of precipitation
If the precipitation occurs in the form of rain, it will immediately produce a runoff (peak
flow of short duration), while if the precipitation is in the form of snow, it will produce
runoff at a slow and steady rate.
b) Rain Intensity
If the intensity of rainfall increases runoff increases rapidly.
c) Duration of rainfall
If the infiltration is less, the surface runoff will be more thus in some cases, a longer
duration rain may produce considerable runoff even when its intensity is mild.
d) Rainfall Distribution
 For small drainage basins peak flows are generally the result of intense rain falling over
small areas. On the other hand, for larger drainage basins, the peak flows are the result of
storm of lesser intensity but covering larger area.

e) Soil Moisture deficiency

The runoff depends upon the soil moisture present at the time of rainfall. If a rain occurs
after a long dry spell of time, the soil is dry and it can absorb huge amounts of water, and
thus, even intense rain may fail to produce an appreciable runoff. But on the other hand, if
the rain occurs after a long rainy season, the soil will be already wet and there may be very
less infiltration, and even smaller rains may cause peak flow and considerable stream rises,
sometimes disastrous floods.
f) Direction of the prevailing storm
If the direction of the storm is the same as the direction of the movement of the water in the
drainage basin, water will remain in the basin for lesser periods; hence more runoff will be
produced as compared to when the storm is moving in the direction opposite to the water
movement.
g) Other climatic Factors
Various other climatic factors such as wind, temperature, humidity, etc. affect the losses
from the drainage basin and therefore, affect the runoff. If the losses are more, runoff will be
less and vice versa.
ii) Characteristics of drainage basin
a) Shape and size of the basin
If the area of the basin is large, the total flood flow will take more time to pass the outlet;
thereby, the base of the hydrograph of the flood flow will widen out and consequently
reducing the peak flow. The shape of the drainage governs the rate at which water enters the
stream. The shape of the drainage is generally expressed by form factor and compactness
coefficient, as defined below:
Average width of the basin B
Form Factor = =
Axial length of the basin L
The axial length (L) is the distance from the outlet to the most remote point on the basin; the
average width (B) is obtained by dividing the area (A) by the axial length.
Form factor = B/L = (A/L)/L = A/L2.
Compactness coefficient is defined as:

Circumference of a circle whose area is equal to the ¿

Compactness coefficient=Perimeter of the basin¿ ¿
area of the basin ¿
 r
2

If A is the area of the basin and re is the radius of the equivalent circle: A= π e

Circumference = 2π r e = 2π √ A /π=2 √ πA
Compactness coefficient = P/(2 √ πA ) , P = perimeter of the basin
There are two types of catchment in general.
i) Fan shaped catchment
ii) Fern leaf shaped catchment

Main stream

Watershed
line

Tributaries

Fern shaped
Fan shaped

Figure 20: Types of catchment

Fan shaped catchment gives quicker runoff because tributaries are nearly of the same size and
therefore time of flow is the same and is smaller, whereas in fern leaf shaped catchment, the time
of concentration is more since the discharge is distributed over a long period.

b) Elevation of the watershed

The elevation of the drainage basin governs the rainfall, its amount and its type and hence
produces enough effects on the runoff. The elevation of a watershed is a variable factor from
point to point. In order to determine the average elevation (z) of the drainage basin, a
contour map of the basin is taken, and the area lying between successive contours are
measured (a). Then z is calculated as
a 1 z 1 +a 2 z 2 +.. .+a n z n ∑ az
z= =
A A
A = area of the basin
zi = values of mean elevation between 2 successive contours
ai = areas between 2 successive contours
c) Other factors
The arrangement of the stream channels formed by nature within the basin, the type of the
soil, the type of the vegetation cover, etc are the various factors that influence the runoff.
Certain important definitions
Time of concentration (TOC) Tc - of a drainage basin is the time required by the water to reach
the outlet from the most remote part of the drainage basin called the critical point.
Time of overland flow (TOF) TL - The excess rainfall finds its way over land to the river stream
and appears as surface runoff, but only after some delay. In other words, there exists a lag between
the time excess rainfall occurs and the time when it appears as runoff at the outlet of drainage
basin. This lag is the time for which water has flown through the basin and is known as TOF. This
delay varies throughout the basin and throughout the storm period. Thus TOF is a variable factor
depending upon: - the slope, the type of the surface of the ground, the length of the flow path, and
various other complicating factors.
Hydrograph -is a plot of discharge versus time at any section of river.
Period of Surface Run off (SRO) -it is the time taken by the surface run off (SRO) to pass the
given section after the surface run off makes its first appearance.

Computation of Runoff
The total precipitation (P) on a basin can be represented by the equation
P = L +G + Q or
Q = P - L- G
Runoff= Precipitation - Basin recharge - Ground water accretion /accumulation/.
This is the fundamental equation that is used to compute runoff.

Methods Used to Estimate Runoff

1) Use of runoff coefficient
2) Use of infiltration capacity curve/infiltration indices.
3) By unit hydrograph theory
4) US SCS (Soil Conservation Services) method
1) Use of Runoff coefficient
This involves drawing the hydrograph- that is a plot of discharge Vs time at any section of a river.
 Q

Time

Figure 21: A sketch to illustrate a hydrograph

Using Rational Formula for Determination of Peak Flow

The basis for this formula is small impervious area, in which we may assume that if rain persists at
uniform rate for a period of at least as long as TOC; Tc, the peak runoff will be equal to the rate of
rainfall. Q p = CIA

Qp = peak flow [m3/s]

C = runoff coefficient
I = intensity of rainfall, mm/hr
A = drainage area, ha.
The C values are dependent on the topography, vegetation cover and soil characteristics of the
region. I, rainfall intensity, can be found from the intensity duration curve of the region and
frequency desired as shown below.

Inten
sity,
mm/
hr

Duration

Figure 22: A sketch to illustrate intensity - duration relations

Estimation of Time Concentration
For plots having no channels or overland flow time /inlet time/
1/3
111b [ Lo ]
To =
[ KI ] 1/3 Minutes
Lo = length of over land flow in meters,
I = rainfall intensity, cm/hr,
K = runoff coefficient,
b = a coefficient, whose value is given by
0 . 000275 I + Cr
b=
[ So ] 1/3
So = slope of the surface
Cr = retard-ness coefficient

Values of Cr
Type of surface Value of Cr
1 smooth asphaltic surface 0.007
2 Concrete pavement 0.012
3 Tar and gravel pavement 0.017
4 Closely clipped soil 0.046
5 Dense blue grass turf 0.060
Note: The above equation is applicable only when ILo < 387.
For design of hydraulic structures, the following simple formula can be used for evaluating the inlet
time or overland flow time:

[ ]
0 . 385
L3
To = 0.885
H [Hrs]
L = the distance from the furthest [critical point] to the outlet at the hydraulic structure, such as
culvert, etc, m
H = Total fall in level from critical point to the outlet, such as culverts, m.
Time of Concentration
For a small drainage basin having flow channels in it, the time of concentration would be equal to
the largest combination of overland flow time called inlet time (To) and channel flow time, (T f),
which exists anywhere in the basin. Channel flow time, T f, is generally taken as the length of
longest channel divided by the average flow velocity in the channel at about bank full stage.

Tc = To + Tf
 2) By Use of Infiltration Capacity Curve/ Infiltration Indices
Generally the runoff values for large catchments are computed using infiltration capacity curves
/infiltration indices.
Infiltration indices:
There are two types of indices in common use.
1) W-Index
2)  - Index
W-Index: - is the average infiltration rate or the infiltration capacity averaged over the whole storm
period and is given by
F P−Q
Windex = =
Tr Tr
Where: F = total infiltration including initial basin recharge
P = total precipitation, in mm or cm
Q = total runoff, in mm or cm
Tr = duration of rainfall, in hrs
 - Index: - is defined as the average rate of loss, such that the volume of rainfall in excess of that
rate will be equal to the volume of direct run off or the rate of rainfall above which the rainfall
volume equals the runoff volume.
Rainfall intensity, cm/hr

Runoff

Infiltration

- Index
A2
TR = Period of rainfall excess
A6 = Tr1 + Tr2 + Tr3
A3 A4
A1 A5 A7

Tr1 Tr2 Tr3

Tr

Figure 23:  - Index: Infiltration runoff illustration

Total inf iltration during period of ra inf all excess A 2 + A 4 +A 6

 - Index = Period of ra inf all excess (T )

R = TR
 Runoff
A 1 +A 2 + A 3 + A 4 + A 5 +A 6 + A 7 I
W - Index = Tr
Infiltration
W - Index ¿  - Index for non uniform rainfall.
Time
W - Index =  - Index for heavy uniform storms.

P−W index

Runoff coefficient, K = P , P is intensity of rainfall, cm/hr.

3) By Use of Hydrograph Analysis

A hydrograph is a plot of discharge Vs time at any section of a river. It thus represents the
characteristics of the river.
Types of Hydrographs
i) Natural hydrograph ii) Unit hydrograph
iii) Synthetic unit hydrograph iv) Dimensionless unit hydrograph

Unit Hydrograph Theory

If two identical rains fall on a drainage basin having identical conditions prior to the rains, the
hydrographs of the runoff from the two storms would be expected to be the same. This is the basis
for unit hydrograph theory.

A unit Hydrograph: is a hydrograph of runoff produced by a rainstorm of specified duration called

unit duration, resulting in a runoff depth [rainfall excess or effective rainfall] of 1 cm spread on the
entire basin. In other words, the volume of water obtained in the runoff hydrograph will be equal to
1 cm depth of water on the basin.

C
Q
Q

B
D

Time Time

A hydrograph for Seasonal River A hydrograph for Perennial River

Figure 24: A sketch to illustrate Hydrograph
The area BCD represents the volume of the runoff [m 3]. The specified duration is such that the
hydrograph of any other storms of the like duration are assumed to have the same shape but with
ordinates of flow in proportion to the runoff volume. This specific duration is called unit duration
and the storm of this specified duration is called unit storm.

Q
1
ni
i mP
2
nP
3
P

t Time, t

Figure 25: Hydrographs of different storms having the same unit duration
It has been stated by certain investigators that the unit duration should not be more/ longer/ than the
period of rise or time of concentration. But Linsely has found the best unit period for practical
applications which is ¼ of the base lag.

Various storms of varying intensity and having different volumes of runoff but a particular unit
duration will have the same shape of their runoff hydrograph.
Different unit hydrograph for different duration can be prepared. A particular hydrograph once
produced for particular unit duration can be utilized for evaluating the runoff hydrograph of other
storm of the like duration.

The number of unit hydrographs for a given basin is infinite, since there may be one for every
possible rainfall duration and for every distribution pattern in the basin. But practically, only a
certain limited number of hydrographs can be used for a given basin. However there are a few
assumptions in this case:
i) All the combined characteristics of the basin are represented in the hydrograph;
ii) Identical rainfall with the same characteristics produces identical hydrograph;
iii) The vertical (ordinates of the hydrograph) are proportional to the volume of runoff on
the catchment;
iv) It is generally impossible for a rainfall to be uniform over the entire catchment for the
entire period.
However it is assumed that the rain covers the whole catchment over the duration of time equal to
the concentration time. The assumption of uniform distribution of effective rainfall over the basin is
 reasonable for small drainage basins, but for large drainage basins this assumption is not valid,
because these variations are too great to be ignored. Some basins are so large that a storm covers
only a small portion of the basin, therefore, unit hydrograph cannot give precise results and should
not used for large areas larger than 8000 km2 or so unless an approximate answer is needed.
Unit Hydrograph of Various Durations
Changing a short duration hydrograph to longer duration unit hydrograph

Summation of the two, 2 hours hydrograph

Q,
1 2 2 hours unit hydrograph
Run
off 2 hours unit hydrograph

4 hours unit hydrograph

Time, t
Figure 26: Changing a short period unit Hydrograph to longer period (if the longer is an even
multiple of shorter one)

Suppose a 2 hrs unit hydrograph is given and a 4 hours unit hydrograph is wanted, this can be
obtained by assuming a further 2 hrs period of next rain immediately following the first rain, which
will give rise to an identical unit hydrograph but shifted to the right in time by 2 hrs. If the 2 hrs unit
hydrographs are now added graphically the total hydrograph obtained represents the runoff from the
4 hrs rain at an intensity of ½ cm/hr. This must be so because the 2hr unit hydrographs contain 1 cm
rain.
This total hydrograph is therefore the result of rain at twice the intensity required and so the 4 hr
unit hydrograph is derived by dividing its ordinates by 2 which is shown by the dotted graph on the
figure above. It can be observed that it has a longer time base by 2 hrs than the 2 hrs unit
hydrograph. This is reasonable since the rain has fallen at a lower intensity for a longer time.

S- Curve hydrograph [Summation Curve Hydrograph]

When a unit hydrograph of a desired unit duration is [T] is neither available nor can be developed
by analysis of the rainfall runoff data, then we are left with no alternative but to somehow or the
other, derive this hydrograph from the known hydrograph of some other duration [t]. The problem
is simple, when the unknown hydrograph duration is an integral multiple of the known hydrograph
duration. The computations in such a case are relatively easy. For example, a known unit
hydrograph of say 3 hrs duration can be easily to compute the unit hydrograph of 6 hrs duration by
superimposing the known 3 hr hydrograph, over the 3 hr hydrograph plotted with time lag of 3 hr
and then each ordinate by 2.

The S-curve or S-hydrograph is essentially a hydrograph produced by a continuous effective rainfall

at a constant rate for an infinite period. Or it is defined as the response of the catchment to an
infinitely-long unit rate of effective rainfall, and can constructed by superimposing the responses to
as many blocks of effective rainfall as there are unit hydrograph ordinates. The S-curve is a
continuously rising curve, which ultimately attains a constant value, when equilibrium discharge is
reached. When once an S-hydrograph has been worked out or plotted it can be used to obtain the
unknown hydrograph of any given duration. Given the S-hydrograph, the unit hydrograph
corresponding to the new period [t] may be obtained by subtracting the concurrent ordinates of the
two S-curves displaced by the time interval [t]. The following steps may be used in this regard.
Assume that the S-curve has been produced by continuous effective rainfall of constant rate of
1cm/hr. Then, advance or offset the position of this S-curve for a period equal to the desired
duration of [t] hrs as shown in the next figure. This can be called an offsetted S-hydrograph. The
difference between the ordinates of the original S-hydrograph and the offsetted S-hydrograph,
divided by [t]), would result in the desired unit hydrograph. q Can be computed as the total effective
rainfall contained in the hydrograph of known duration [T] divided by [T] that will give the
constant rate.
 [t]
Continuous rainfall as a sequence of pulses

1/[t]

g (t) = [t](h(t)+h(t-[t])+h(t-2[t])+…)
S-hydrograph

h (t) h (t-[t])

[t]'
1
Single pulse of duration[t]
0
g (t)

g'(t) = g(t-[t])
Offsetted S-hydrograph

[t]'

1/ [t]'

0 Unit hydrograph of [t] duration

h'(t) = 1/[t]'*{g (t) -g (t-[t]}

Synthetic-Unit Hydrograph
To develop unit hydrograph to a catchment, detailed information about the rain fall and the
resulting flood hydrograph are needed. However, such information would be available only at a few
locations; the data would normally be very scanty. In order to construct unit hydrographs for such
areas, empirical equations of region validity which relates the salient hydrographs characteristics to
the basin characteristics are available. Unit hydrographs derived from such relationships are known
as synthetic unit hydrographs.
Snyder's Method
Snyder (1938), based on a study of a large number of catchments in the Eastern United States
developed a set of empirical equations for synthetic unit hydrographs in those areas. These
equations are in use in the USA, and with some modifications in many other countries.
The first of the Snyder's equation relates the basin lag t p, defined as the time interval from the
midpoint of the unit rainfall excess to the peak of the unit hydrographs
tp = Ct (LLca)0.3
Where tp in hours
L = basin length measured along the water course from basin divide to the gauging station
in km.
Lca = distance along the main water course from the gauging station to a point opposite
the watershed centroid in km.
Ct = a regional constant representing watershed slope and storage.

Figure 2.8: Basin characteristics

Fig. Elements of synthetic unit hydrographs

 LLca
Linsley et al. found that the basin lag tp is better correlated with the catchment parameter √ s
where S = basin slope and the above equation was modified as

( )
n
LLca
t p =CtL
√s
Where, CtL and n are basin constants.
Snyder adopted a standard duration tr hours of effective rainfall given by
tp
t r=
5.5
The peak discharge Qps (m3/s) of a unit hydrograph of standard duration tr hours is given by Snyder
as
2 .78 C p A
Q ps =
tp
Where, A= Catchment area in Km2 and Cp= regional constant
If a non-standard rainfall duration tR hour is adopted, instead of the standard value tr to derive a unit
hydrograph the value of the basin lag is affected. The modified basin lag is given by
t R −t r
t 'p =t p +
4

21 t
t p+ R
=22 4
Where, t'p=basin lag in hours for an effective duration of tR hours.
Thus the peak discharge for a non standard ER of duration tR in m3/s is
2. 78 C p A
Q p=
t 'p
Note that when tR=tr, Qp=Qps
The time base of a unit hydrograph is given by Snyder as
t 'p
t b =3+ days=(72+3 t 'p )hours
8 This equation gives reasonable
estimates of tb = time base for large catchments, it may give excessively large value of the time base
for small catchments. Taylor and Schwartz recommend
tR
t b =5( t 'p + ) hours
2
Where tb(given in hours) taken as the next larger integer value divisible by tR.
To assist in the sketching of unit hydrographs, the width of unit hydrographs at 50 and 75% of the
peak have been found for US catchments by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
5 . 87 W
W 50= 1. 08 W 75= 50
q and 1 .75
Where W50 = width of unit hydrograph in hour at 50% peak discharge.
W75 = width of unit hydrograph in hour at 75% peak discharge.
q = Qp/A = peak discharge per unit catchment area in m3/s/km2.
Since the coefficients Ct and Cp vary from region to region, in practical applications it is advisable
that the value of these coefficients are determined from known unit hydrographs of a
meteorologically homogenous catchment and then used in the basin under study.

Dimensionless-Unit Hydrograph
Dimensionless-Unit hydrographs based on study of large number of unit hydrographs are
recommended by various agencies to facilitate construction of synthetic unit hydrographs. A typical
dimensionless unit hydrograph developed by US Soil conservation service (SCS) is shown in the
fig. In this the ordinate is the discharge expressed as ratios to the peak discharge (Q/Q p) and the
abscissas is the time expressed as the ratios of time to time to peak (t/tpk).

Fig. Dimensionless SCS Unit hydrographs

By definition Q/Qp=1 when t/tpk=1. The coordinates of the SCS dimensionless unit hydrographs are
given in the table below.
Table: Coordinates of SCS dimensionless unit hydrograph
t/tpk Q/Qp t/tpk Q/Qp t/tpk Q/Qp
0 0 1.0 1.00 2.4 0.180
0.1 0.015 1.1 0.98 2.6 0.130
0.2 0.075 1.2 0.92 2.8 0.098
0.3 0.16 1.3 0.84 3.0 0.075
0.4 0.28 1.4 0.75 3.5 0.036
0.5 0.43 1.5 0.66 4.0 0.018
0.6 0.60 1.6 0.56 4.5 0.009
0.7 0.77 1.8 0.42 5.0 0.004
o.8 0.89 2.0 0.32
0.9 0.97 2.2 0.24