Imperial Cnty Hydrology Manual 10-9-18

Imperial County
Hydrology Manual
OCTOBER 2018
Image source: California Environmental Protection Agency

Air Resources Board
<Page Intentionally Blank>
Imperial County
Hydrology Manual
October 2018
Prepared for:
Imperial County
Department of Public Works
155 South 11th Street
El Centro, CA 92243
Prepared by:
WEST Consultants, Inc.

11440 W. Bernardo Court, Suite 360
San Diego, CA 92127
Table of Contents
Table of Contents i
List of Tables ii
List of Figures ii
1 Introduction 1-1
1.1 About This Manual .......................................................................................... 1-1
1.2 Manual Organization ....................................................................................... 1-1
1.3 Hydrologic Procedure Guidance ...................................................................... 1-2
1.4 Acknowledgments ........................................................................................... 1-2
2 Precipitation Analysis 2-1

2.1 General Description ......................................................................................... 2-1
2.2 Rainfall Depth and Intensity ............................................................................ 2-2
2.3 Depth-Area Reduction Factors ........................................................................ 2-2
2.4 Temporal Distribution ..................................................................................... 2-5
2.5 Worked Example ............................................................................................. 2-8
3 Small Area Hydrologic Procedure – Rational Method 3-1

3.1.1 Rational Method Formula ............................................................................... 3-1
3.1.2 Runoff Coefficient ........................................................................................... 3-3
3.1.3 Rainfall Intensity .............................................................................................. 3-7
3.1.4 Time of Concentration..................................................................................... 3-7
3.2 Input Data Development for the Rational Method ....................................... 3-13
3.3 Performing Rational Method Calculations .................................................... 3-14
3.4 Modified Rational Method (for Junction Analysis)........................................ 3-17
3.4.1 Procedure for Combining Independent Drainage Systems at a Junction ..... 3-18
3.5 Example of Rational Method ......................................................................... 3-19
3.6 Example - Modified Rational Method ........................................................... 3-24
4 Large Area Hydrologic Procedure – NRCS Hydrologic Method 4-1

4.2 NRCS Precipitation Losses and Runoff ............................................................ 4-2
4.2.1 Watershed Delineation ................................................................................... 4-3
4.2.2 Curve Number Determination ......................................................................... 4-3
4.2.3 Rainfall and the Antecedent Runoff Condition (ARC) ................................... 4-10
4.2.4 Antecedent Runoff Condition adjustment values ......................................... 4-11
4.2.5 Preparation of incremental rainfall distribution ........................................... 4-12
4.2.6 Determination of excess rainfall amounts .................................................... 4-14
4.3 S-graph selection ........................................................................................... 4-14
4.4 Hydrograph calculation ................................................................................. 4-16
4.5 Transition from Rational Method to NRCS Hydrologic Method.................... 4-28
5 Bibliography 5-1
Appendix A-1
Imperial County Hydrology Manual i

List of Tables
Table 2-1. Depth-Area Reduction Factors for Imperial County .................................... 2-4
Table 2-2. Hyetograph Example Average Precipitation ................................................ 2-8
Table 2-3. Summarized Values Hyetograph Example ................................................... 2-9
Table 3-1. ‘C’ Modification Value Based on Return Period .......................................... 3-4
Table 3-2. Runoff Coefficient Values ............................................................................ 3-5
Table 3-3. Runoff Coefficients for Urban Areas ............................................................ 3-6
Table 3-4. Maximum Overland Sheet Flow Length (LM) in feet .................................... 3-9
Table 3-5. Shallow Concentrated Flow Intercept Coefficients (k) (FHWA, 2013) ....... 3-12
Table 3-6. Typical Manning’s Coefficient (n) Ranges for Channels and Pipes ............ 3-12
Table 3-7. Rational Method Example Node Descriptions ........................................... 3-20
Table 3-8. Rational Method Example – Key Data ....................................................... 3-20
Table 3-9. Modified Rational Method Example – Node Descriptions ........................ 3-25
Table 3-10. Modified Rational Method Example – key data ...................................... 3-26
Table 3-11. Modified Rational Method Example – Summary of discharges .............. 3-26
Table 4-1. Runoff Curve Numbers for Urban Areas1..................................................... 4-4
Table 4-2. Runoff Curve Numbers for Arid and Semiarid Rangelands1 ........................ 4-7
Table 4-3. Runoff Curve Numbers for Agricultural Lands1............................................ 4-8
Table 4-4. Antecedent Runoff Condition (ARC) CN Values ......................................... 4-11
Table A-1. Foothill S-graph values ................................................................................ A-2
Table A-2. Desert S-graph values .................................................................................. A-6
List of Figures
Figure 2-1. Depth-Area Reduction Factor Curves for Imperial County ......................... 2-3
Figure 2-2. Depth-Area Reduction Factor Curves for Imperial County (5 to 50 ........... 2-4
Figure 2-3. Nested Storm Pattern with 2/3, 1/3 Distribution ....................................... 2-6
Figure 2-4. Design Storm Hyetograph Construction ..................................................... 2-7
Figure 2-5. Completed Design Storm Hyetograph Example ....................................... 2-10
Figure 3-1. Most Hydraulically Remote Point ............................................................... 3-2
Figure 3-2. Street Gutter Geometry............................................................................ 3-10
Figure 3-3. Street Gutter Flow Velocity (San Diego County, 2003) ............................ 3-11
Figure 3-4. Rational Method Calculation Subareas .................................................... 3-15
Figure 3-5. Rational Method Example Site ................................................................. 3-20
Figure 3-6. Modified Rational Method Example Site .................................................. 3-25
Figure 4-1. Composite CN with Connected Impervious Area (USDA, 2010) ................. 4-6
Figure 4-2. Composite CN: Unconnected Impervious Areas, Total Impervious .......... 4-7
Figure 4-3. Imperial County S-graphs ......................................................................... 4-15
Figure 4-4. HEC-HMS paired data creation ................................................................. 4-16
Figure 4-5. HEC-HMS S-graph data entry .................................................................... 4-17
Figure 4-6. HEC-HMS basin default settings ............................................................... 4-18
Figure 4-7. HMS subbasin creation tool...................................................................... 4-18
Figure 4-8. HMS subbasin area settings...................................................................... 4-19
Figure 4-9. HMS S-graph loss settings......................................................................... 4-19
Figure 4-10. HMS S-graph transform settings ............................................................ 4-19
Figure 4-11. HMS Meteorologic Model creation ........................................................ 4-20
Figure 4-12. HMS Meteorologic Model settings ......................................................... 4-20
ii Imperial County Hydrology Manual

Figure 4-13. HMS Meteorologic Model subbasins...................................................... 4-20
Figure 4-14. HMS 1/3, 2/3 balanced storm setup ...................................................... 4-22
Figure 4-15. HMS Control Specifications creation ...................................................... 4-23
Figure 4-16. Control Specifications settings ............................................................... 4-24
Figure 4-17. HMS hydrograph calculation .................................................................. 4-25
Figure 4-18. Viewing hydrograph results .................................................................... 4-25
Figure 4-19. Hydrograph summary results ................................................................. 4-26
Figure 4-20. Hydrograph detailed output ................................................................... 4-27
Imperial County Hydrology Manual iii

Abbreviations
A .......................................................................................................... drainage area
ac ................................................................................................................... acre(s)
ARC ............................................................................. antecedent runoff condition
C .................................................................................................... runoff coefficient
CN ........................................................................................... runoff curve number
CNC ......................................................................... composite runoff curve number
CNP ............................................................................ pervious runoff curve number
Cp.................................................................................... pervious runoff coefficient
cfs........................................................................................... cubic feet per second
D......................................................................... period (duration) of excess rainfall
DARF ............................................................................ depth-area-reduction factor
DEM ..................................................................................... digital elevation model
DU/A .................................................................................... dwelling units per acre
FAA......................................................................... Federal Aviation Administration
FHWA .................................................................... Federal Highway Administration
ft ................................................................................................................ foot, feet
GIS ........................................................................... geographic information system
HEC .......................................................................... Hydrologic Engineering Center
HMS ............................................................................ Hydrologic Modeling System
hr....................................................................................................................hour(s)
I ....................................................................................................... rainfall intensity
IDF ................................................................................... intensity-depth-frequency
IID.................................................................................... Imperial Irrigation District
in .................................................................................................................. inch(es)
k ............................................................................................... intercept coefficient
L .............................................................................................................. flow length
LC .................................... length along watercourse to location nearest to centroid
LM .................................................................. maximum overland sheet flow length
m .............................................................................................. empirical coefficient
mi ................................................................................................................... mile(s)
MRM .............................................................................. Modified Rational Method
n ............................................................................ Manning’s roughness coefficient
n̄ ........................................................ mean basin Manning’s roughness coefficient
NEH ........................................................................ National Engineering Handbook
NOAA ....................................... National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NRCS ......................................................... Natural Resources Conservation Service
P ............................................................................................................ total rainfall
Pimp ..................................................................................... percent imperviousness
PFDS ................................................................ Precipitation Frequency Data Server
Q ................................................................................................................ discharge
Qp ...................................................................................................... peak discharge
RM ................................................................................................. Rational Method
R ...................................................................................................... hydraulic radius
R ................................................................... ratio of unconnected impervious area
RnD ................................... depth-area adjusted rainfall amount for duration (n x D)
S ........................................................................................................................slope
sec .............................................................................................................. second(s)
Tc ............................................................................................ time of concentration
iv Imperial County Hydrology Manual

Ti................................................................................... initial time of concentration
Tl......................................................................................................... Corps lag time
TN ........................................................................................................ NRCS lag time
Tp ........................................................................................................... time to peak
Tt ..............................................................................................................travel time
USACE ......................................................... United States Army Corps of Engineers
USDA ........................................................ United States Department of Agriculture
V .................................................................................................................... velocity
Imperial County Hydrology Manual v

1 Introduction
1.1 About This Manual
The goal of Imperial County, California, is to provide flood protection for all habitable structures and other
non-floodproofed structures, consistent with Imperial County ordinances and design criteria. This manual
is intended to provide guidance and recommendations on computational techniques and criteria for the
estimation of runoff, discharges, and volumes for use in hydrology study submittals to the County. It is
not a substitute for sound engineering judgment. This document is not intended to provide guidelines for
the design of drainage structures, but rather the estimated flows to be used in the design of such
structures. For guidance with sizing and designing hydraulic structures (e.g., detention basins, storm
drains, curb and gutter), consult Imperial County Department of Public Works for the latest design criteria.
The County’s Engineering Design Guidelines Manual provides specific recommendations for
retention/detention basin sizing including the minimum precipitation depth to consider for the 100-year
storm and requirements for drain time. If any proposed development drains to an Imperial Irrigation
District (IID) facility, the design will need to meet IID standards and is subject to IID review/approval.
It is not the intent nor purpose of this manual to inhibit sound innovative design or the use of new
techniques. Therefore, where special conditions or needs exist, other methods and procedures may be
used with prior approval.
1.2 Manual Organization
In general, each main section is laid out following a similar format:
• General Description: This segment provides a brief overview of the topics covered in the section.
• Subsection(s): Each section contains sub-sections of main concepts relevant to the larger section.
The sub-sections explain the techniques or concepts necessary to perform the desired task or use
a certain hydrologic method.
• Instructions: When applicable, procedures to perform detailed calculations are provided.
Imperial County Hydrology Manual

Introduction 1-1
• Online Resources: Online data resources have website links. In addition, a description including
the website owner and data type is provided in case the web page should be moved by the owner.
• Tables and Figures: Related tables and figures are generally located immediately adjacent to the
text to which the Table or Figure refers.
• Examples: Example problems demonstrating the use of methods described in a section are
located at the end of the section.
• Equations: Equations utilized in a section are numbered according to the section number and
order of appearance of the equation in the section.
• Related Equations: Previously defined equations related to a topic of discussion are referenced
by the equation number.
1.3 Hydrologic Procedure Guidance
The choice of hydrologic method should be dictated by the intended use of the result. The Rational
Method was originally developed to estimate runoff from small areas and assumes a uniform distribution
of precipitation over the study area. This is a major reason the Rational Method is applicable only when
areas are less than or equal to 640 acres (1.0 square mile). The Rational Method should not be used in
circumstances where there is a junction of independent drainage systems. In these instances, the
Modified Rational Method should be used to analyze the junction(s) of the independent drainage systems.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Hydrologic Method should be used for watersheds
greater than approximately 640 acres (1.0 square mile) in size.
1.4 Acknowledgments
This hydrology manual was prepared by WEST Consultants, Inc. (WEST) on behalf of the Imperial County
Department of Public Works. As part of the WEST team, Hromadka and Associates, Inc. provided quality
control reviews and content recommendations. Review comments were incorporated based on input
from the Imperial County Department of Public Works and the local engineering community.

1-2 Introduction
2 Precipitation Analysis
2.1 General Description
Imperial County is within the Sonoran and Colorado Desert region with high temperatures and an average
annual rainfall of 3 inches (U.S. Climate Data, 2016). Storms in Imperial County can be classified as general
storms and local storms (Caltrans, 2007).
General storms are usually frontal or convergence storms that typically move in from the Pacific Ocean
and produce light rain over relatively large areas. These storms normally occur between October and
May, with most occurring in January and February. Although not as common, general storms that occur
in the summer are often tropical storms. Typically, the mountain areas receive more precipitation than
the lower desert areas.
While general storms bring a large volume of water over time, local storms are small and intense,
producing higher peak rainfall amounts. Local thunderstorms can occur in Imperial County at any time of
the year but are most common and most intense during the summer months (June to September). They
develop as warm, moist tropical air drifts northward and northwestward from Mexico and the Gulf of
California, and are sometimes enhanced by moisture and atmospheric circulation drifting northward from
tropical storms off the west coast of Baja California. These local thunderstorms can produce very heavy
rain for short periods of time over small areas, causing very rapid runoff from small drainages. The result
may be flash floods, which can lead to loss of life and substantial property damage. A significant
percentage of the largest runoff is likely caused by summer thunderstorms over small basins with drainage
areas generally less than 20 square miles.
Because both general storms and local thunderstorms may cause significant runoff in Imperial County,
both the 6-hour design storm and the 24-hour design storm should be analyzed when applying the NRCS
method (Chapter 4). The design storm that produces the largest peak discharge (or volume, when
appropriate) should be selected for use in the runoff calculation.
When applying the Rational Method, the storm duration for the rainfall intensity parameter will be equal
to the time of concentration (Tc) (Chapter 3).

Precipitation Analysis 2-1
This chapter provides guidance for estimating the rainfall intensity for use with the Rational Method when
the watershed is less than 640 acres (1.0 square mile) and the NRCS Method when the watershed is larger
than 640 acres (1.0 square mile).
2.2 Rainfall Depth and Intensity
Rainfall depth and intensity at a point can be obtained using the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) online Precipitation Frequency Data Server (PFDS):
http://hdsc.nws.noaa.gov/hdsc/pfds/. NOAA Atlas 14, Volume 6, encompasses Imperial County and was
updated in 2011. The NOAA Atlas 14 online tool uses an interactive map or user provided
latitude/longitude, once the state has been selected. The required return interval will be dictated by the
project.
An assumption of the Rational Method is equal intensity rainfall over the entire drainage basin. For this
reason, when using NOAA Atlas 14 for the Rational Method, multiple points within the watershed should
be evaluated and the highest value used.
The NRCS Method, for larger areas, requires an average rainfall over the entire watershed. The
recommended method to obtain the average precipitation over the watershed is to use GIS software. The
PFDS (link above) provides gridded rainfall estimates under the “Supplementary information” tab. Once
the recurrence interval and duration are selected, the gridded data can be downloaded. The data will
cover the Southwestern United States, which includes Imperial County. Average rainfall can be
determined using a georeferenced shapefile of the watershed.
2.3 Depth-Area Reduction Factors
Convective storms are not uniformly distributed in space, typically having a higher rainfall intensity at the
storm center and decreasing intensity toward the storm edge. Similarly, general storms tend to have
rainfall depths that vary through the spatial extent of the storm.
Rainfall values are selected from point depth duration frequency curves in standard resources like NOAA
Atlas 14 as described in Section 2.2. This is the expected rainfall depth at one location in a watershed for
the specified duration and frequency. Because storms are not uniformly distributed in space, point rainfall
is typically higher than aerially-averaged rainfall depths. Depth Area Reduction Factors (DARFs) are used

2-2 Precipitation Analysis
to convert point precipitation values of a given recurrence interval to an area average precipitation value
of the same recurrence.
DARFs are represented by a set of curves relating the DARF to watershed area and return interval. The
DARF curves for Imperial County are presented in Figure 2-1 and Figure 2-2 (NOAA, 1973). DARF values
range from 0 to 1.0 (shown as 0 to 100 percent on the figures) and reduce the point value to an average
areal estimate. After watershed rainfall depth has been determined for the appropriate return interval,
the rainfall depth should be reduced using the DARF value from Figure 2-1, Figure 2-2 or Table 2-1
corresponding to the watershed size and rainfall duration. If the watershed size is not represented in
Table 2-1, select the next size smaller watershed, interpolate or use Figure 2-1 or Figure 2-2. For
watersheds smaller than 5 square miles, use a DARF equal to 1.0. If the watershed is larger than 400
square miles, use the value for 400 square miles. In the case of durations less than 30 minutes, use the
30-minute DARF value. For durations greater than 24 hours, use a DARF equal to 1.0.
100
See Figure 2-2
95
24-hour
90
85
6-hour
80
3-hour
% of Point Precipitation
75
70
1-hour
65
30-minute
60
55
50
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Drainage Area (square miles)
Figure 2-1. Depth-Area Reduction Factor Curves for Imperial County

100
99
98
97
24-hour
96
% of Point Precipitation
95 6-hour
94
3-hour
93
92
1-hour
91
30-minute
90
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Drainage Area (square miles)
Figure 2-2. Depth-Area Reduction Factor Curves for Imperial County (5 to 50 square miles)
Table 2-1. Depth-Area Reduction Factors for Imperial County

Watershed
Duration
Area
(mi2) 30-min 1-hr 3-hr 6-hr 24-hr
0 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000
5 0.942 0.970 0.980 0.985 0.990
10 0.900 0.947 0.970 0.980 0.985
20 0.834 0.900 0.952 0.963 0.975
30 0.768 0.858 0.932 0.950 0.964
40 0.730 0.830 0.915 0.940 0.958
50 0.692 0.800 0.900 0.928 0.952
60 0.663 0.778 0.883 0.920 0.948
70 0.645 0.760 0.872 0.912 0.945
80 0.630 0.746 0.862 0.904 0.942
90 0.620 0.735 0.853 0.896 0.938
100 0.610 0.722 0.845 0.890 0.935
125 0.588 0.700 0.830 0.878 0.930
150 0.572 0.685 0.818 0.865 0.925

Watershed
Duration
Area
(mi2) 30-min 1-hr 3-hr 6-hr 24-hr
175 0.572 0.672 0.808 0.858 0.922
200 0.572 0.666 0.798 0.851 0.918
225 0.572 0.660 0.790 0.845 0.915
250 0.572 0.655 0.787 0.842 0.914
300 0.572 0.652 0.782 0.838 0.912
350 0.572 0.652 0.780 0.830 0.910
400 0.572 0.652 0.780 0.828 0.908
2.4 Temporal Distribution
When the Rational Method is used, equal distribution of rainfall is assumed and only the peak discharge
resulting from the rainfall is estimated. When the NRCS Method is used, there is no assumption of evenly
distributed rainfall and the method may be used to estimate a runoff hydrograph (discharge varies with
time). Because rainfall may vary over the runoff time period, the temporal distribution of the rainfall
event becomes important. The temporal distribution of the rainfall is when the rainfall occurs throughout
the storm event. The time distribution of rainfall during a storm can be represented graphically as a
hyetograph, a chart showing increments of average rainfall during successive units of time during a storm.
The rainfall distribution adopted for this manual is a nested storm pattern, based on the United States
Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) Training Document Number 15
(HEC TD-15), Hydrologic Analysis of Ungaged Watersheds Using HEC-1 (USACE, 1982). A 24-hour nested
storm shall be used for flood flow computations. The peak of the nested storm will occur at hour 16 of
the 24- hour storm. The nested storm will be distributed about hour 16 of the 24-hour storm using a (2/3,
1/3) distribution. The nested storm pattern with 2/3, 1/3 distribution is presented in Figure 2-3.

Storm Time (hours)
Peak 24-Hours
Storm Time (hours)

Peak 6-hours
Storm Rainfall
Peak
3-hours
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Storm Time
(hours)
Figure 2-3. Nested Storm Pattern with 2/3, 1/3 Distribution
Creation of the 24-hour nested storm rainfall distribution requires rainfall depths for increments of storm
duration from the selected computation interval through 24 hours (e.g., to create the nested storm using
a 15-minute computation interval, rainfall depths are required for durations equal to 15 minutes, 30
minutes, 45 minutes, 1 hour, 1.25 hours, and so on through 24 hours). The computation interval is the
period of excess rainfall (D) and should be less than or equal to twenty percent of the time to peak (0.2Tp).
Excess rainfall is the volume of precipitation that falls at any intensity exceeding that which can infiltrate
and Tp is the time to peak runoff in the watershed, which is discussed in Section 4.2.5.
Total rainfall amounts for the appropriate 6-hour design duration and/or 24-hour design duration shall be
obtained from the NOAA Atlas 14 PFDS as described in Section 2.2. For durations not available from the
NOAA Atlas 14 PFDS, log-log interpolation with the nearest duration values may be used to estimate the
rainfall for the duration. If the watershed area is greater than 10 square miles, the rainfall depth for each
duration must be adjusted using the appropriate depth-area adjustment values based on the watershed
area from Table 2-1. For durations less than 30 minutes, the 30-minute depth area adjustment value is
used. For durations greater than 30 minutes and not equal to durations with data available in Table 2-1,
depth area adjustment is interpolated by linear interpolation between the surrounding data points.

Ordinates of the design storm hyetograph are created using the depth-area adjusted rainfall amounts.
The first ordinate RD is the depth-area adjusted total rainfall amount for the first time increment. The
second ordinate R2D - RD is the depth-area adjusted total rainfall amount for the second time increment
minus the depth-area adjusted total rainfall amount for the first time increment. The third ordinate R3D -
R2D is the depth-area adjusted total rainfall amount for the third time increment minus depth-area
adjusted total rainfall amount for the second time increment, and so on. Note: the sum of the ordinates
of the hyetograph should be equal to the depth-area adjusted total rainfall amount for the design duration
(6 hours or 24 hours). A worked example of this procedure is presented in the following section of this
manual. This procedure is also available within the Hydrologic Engineering Center Hydrologic Modeling
System (HEC-HMS) software (the frequency storm hyetograph option with 67 percent weighting).
To obtain the 2/3, 1/3 temporal distribution, sort the ordinates of the hyetograph into the 2/3, 1/3 order
of distribution. The first ordinate is the peak rainfall ordinate. This peak rainfall ordinate occurs at hour
16.0 of the 24-hour storm. The second rainfall ordinate occurs at 16.0 hours - 1D, the third rainfall
ordinate occurs at 16.0 hours - 2D, and the fourth rainfall ordinate occurs at 16.0 hours + 1D. The
sequence continues alternating two ordinates to the left and one ordinate to the right as presented in
Figure 2-4. Creation of such a design storm is required for use of the NRCS Method to determine runoff
from watersheds larger than 640 acres (1.0 square mile.) A method using HEC-HMS to perform the
calculations is described in Section 4.4.
Peak Rainfall Ordinate:

D
RD
| |
Second Rainfall Ordinate: 1

R2D – RD
Third Rainfall Ordinate:
R3D – R2D 2 Fourth Rainfall Ordinate:
3 R4D – R3D
5 4
6
2D 7
8
9 3D
10
11 4D
0.0 hours 24.0 hours

16.0 hours
16.0 hours – 2D 16.0 hours – 1D (960 minutes) 16.0 hours + 1D
Time
Figure 2-4. Design Storm Hyetograph Construction

2.5 Worked Example
Create a 100-year, 24-hour storm hyetograph. Assume the watershed area is 7,400 acres and the Tp is 5
hours. The center of the watershed is located at approximately 33.1130°N, 115.8755°W.
Because Tp is 5 hours, the duration D is 1 hour (D = 0.2Tp). The gridded point precipitation data for the
100-year, 24-hour storm are downloaded from NOAA Atlas 14 as described in Section 2.2. The duration,
D, is 1 hour, so required point precipitation frequency estimates are all durations from 1 hour to 24 hours.
Available durations are: 60 minute, 2 hour, 3 hour, 6 hour, 12 hour and 24 hour.
Using GIS software, the watershed boundary is delineated and an average point precipitation in the
watershed is estimated for each duration using the gridded point precipitation data. Average point
precipitation for this example is presented in Table 2-2.
Table 2-2. Hyetograph Example Average Precipitation
Duration 60 min 2 hr 3 hr 6 hr 12 hr 24 hr
Average Watershed
1.58 1.98 2.23 2.67 3.13 4.00
Precipitation (in)
To create the hyetograph, rainfall depths for each multiple of the Duration D not provided by NOAA
Atlas 14 are estimated using log interpolation. This is accomplished as follows:
Precipitation values for hours 1, 2 and 3 were obtained directly from NOAA Atlas
14. The 4th and 5th hour precipitation amounts must be estimated using log
interpolation between hour 3 and 6, however. This is accomplished using the
formula
a a
� � �1 - � (2-1)
x = x2a+b x1 a+b
having variables defined as,

x1 x=? x2
a b
The 4th hour precipitation is then estimated as
x1 = 2.23 x2 = 2.67
a = (4-3) = 1 b = (6-4) = 2

1 1
� � �1 - �
x = 2.67 1+2 2.23 1+2
So, 4th hour precipitation, x = 2.37 inches
Similarly, the 5th hour precipitation is then estimated as
x1 = 2.23 x2 = 2.67
a = (5-3) = 2 b = (6-5) = 1
2 2
� � �1 - �
x = 2.67 1+2 2.23 1+2
So, 5th hour precipitation, x = 2.51 inches
This is repeated until point precipitation values for all hours not available from NOAA Atlas 14 have been
estimated. The watershed area is greater than 10 square miles (7,400 acres = 11.6 square miles), so a
depth-area reduction will be applied by multiplying the DARF value and the point precipitation for that
time period yielding the depth area adjusted precipitation for that time period. The hyetograph ordinate
for each time period may then be determined as the difference between the hourly depth-area adjusted
precipitation values. Results are summarized in Table 2-3.
Table 2-3. Summarized Values Hyetograph Example

Point
Depth-Area Adjusted
Precipitation Hyetograph Ordinate (RnD)
Duration (hr) DARF Precipitation
for Duration (in)
(in)
(in)*
1 1.58 0.94 1.48 1.48
2 1.98 0.95 1.89 0.40
3 2.23 0.97 2.16 0.27
4 2.37 0.97 2.30 0.14
5 2.51 0.97 2.45 0.15
6 2.67 0.98 2.61 0.16
7 2.74 0.98 2.68 0.07
8 2.82 0.98 2.75 0.07
9 2.89 0.98 2.83 0.07
10 2.97 0.98 2.91 0.08
11 3.05 0.98 2.98 0.08
12 3.13 0.98 3.07 0.08
13 3.19 0.98 3.13 0.06
14 3.26 0.98 3.20 0.07
15 3.33 0.98 3.26 0.07

Point
Depth-Area Adjusted
Precipitation Hyetograph Ordinate (RnD)
Duration (hr) DARF Precipitation
for Duration (in)
(in)
(in)*
16 3.40 0.98 3.33 0.07
17 3.47 0.98 3.40 0.07
18 3.54 0.98 3.47 0.07
19 3.61 0.98 3.55 0.07
20 3.69 0.98 3.62 0.07
21 3.76 0.98 3.70 0.08
22 3.84 0.98 3.77 0.08
23 3.92 0.98 3.85 0.08
24 4.00 0.98 3.93 0.08
Σ = 3.93
*Bold values are directly from data, others are interpolated
Duration rainfall amounts are the hyetograph ordinates in Table 2-3 arranged in descending order in a
2/3, 1/3 fashion centered on hour 16, i.e., hour 16 = 1.48 inches, hour 15 = 0.41 inches, hour 14 = 0.27
inches, hour 17 = 0.14 inches, hour 13 = 0.15 inches, etc. The resulting, completed hyetograph is
presented in Figure 2-5.
1.50
1.25
Duration Rainfall (inch)
1.00
0.75
0.50
0.25
0.00
0 6 12 18 24
Hour
Figure 2-5. Completed Design Storm Hyetograph Example

3 Small Area Hydrologic Procedure – Rational Method
The Rational Method (RM) is a mathematical formula used to determine the maximum runoff rate from
a given rainfall. It has particular application in urban storm drainage, where it is used to estimate peak
runoff rates from small urban and rural watersheds for the design of storm drains and small drainage
structures. The RM is recommended for analyzing the runoff response from drainage areas up to
approximately 640 acres (1.0 square mile) in size. When independent drainage systems are present within
the watershed being analyzed using the RM, the Modified Rational Method (MRM) should be used in
order to combine the flows of the independent systems at junctions (see Section 3.4). When the
watershed size exceeds 640 acres the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Hydrologic Method
should be used (see Section 4).
The RM can be applied using any design storm return interval (e.g., 100-year, 50-year, 10-year, etc.).
Precipitation estimates are based on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Atlas 14.
Precipitation frequency estimates for the required storm frequency and duration can be attained via the
NOAA Atlas 14 online Precipitation Frequency Data Server (PFDS) as described in Section 2.2.
3.1.1 Rational Method Formula
The RM formula estimates the peak rate of runoff at any location in a watershed as a function of the
drainage area (A), runoff coefficient (C), and rainfall intensity (I). The intensity is a function of the rainfall
duration and is determined for a duration set equal to the time of concentration (Tc), which is the time
required for water to flow from the most hydraulically remote point of the basin to the location being
analyzed. The RM formula is expressed as follows:
Qp =C·I·A (3-1)
Where: Qp = peak discharge, in cubic feet per second (cfs)
C = runoff coefficient, proportion of the rainfall that runs off the surface (no units)

Small Area Hydrologic Procedure – Rational Method 3-1
I = average rainfall intensity for a duration equal to the Tc for the area, in inches per hour
(Note: If the computed Tc is less than 5 minutes, use 5 minutes for computing the peak
discharge, Qp)
A = drainage area contributing to the design location, in acres
Combining the units for the expression CIA yields:
acres·inches 43,560 square feet 1 foot 1 hour

� �� =1.008 cfs (3-2)
hour acres 12 inches 3,600 seconds
For practical purposes the unit conversion coefficient difference of 0.8% can be ignored.
The RM formula is based on the assumption that for constant rainfall intensity, the peak discharge rate at
a point will occur when the raindrop that falls at the most hydraulically remote point in the tributary
drainage basin arrives at the point of interest. The most hydraulically remote point is the location from
which drainage will take the longest to arrive at the point of interest. Figure 3-1 demonstrates this
concept.
157 156
155 154 153 152
151
150
149
148
147
Path A 146
Length = 1,800 ft 145
Time to Reach Point of Interest = 0.45 hr
Point of Interest
Path B
Length = 1,200 ft
Time to Reach Point of Interest = 1.10 hr
(most hydraulically remote point)
Figure 3-1. Most Hydraulically Remote Point
Unlike the Modified Rational Method (MRM) (discussed in Section 3.4) or the NRCS hydrologic method
(discussed in Section 4), the RM does not create hydrographs and therefore does not add separate
subarea hydrographs at collection points.

3-2 Small Area Hydrologic Procedure – Rational Method
As discussed above, the characteristics of the RM are summarized as follows:
1) Peak flow occurs when the entire watershed is contributing to the flow.
2) Rainfall intensity is the same over the entire drainage area.
3) Rainfall intensity is uniform over a time duration equal to Tc.
4) The storm frequency of peak discharges is the same as that of I for the given Tc.
5) The fraction of rainfall that becomes runoff (or the runoff coefficient, C) is dependent
on the return period.
6) The peak rate of runoff is the only information produced by using the RM.
3.1.2 Runoff Coefficient
The runoff coefficient (C) corresponds to the percentage of rainfall that becomes runoff. An estimated
value for C may be determined from Table 3-2 or Table 3-3. Table 3-2 provides ranges of runoff coefficient
values based on land use. Table 3-3 provides urban runoff coefficients based on land use and soil type.
Soil type determination should be done using a method approved by the County prior to work being done.
If the County has no preferred method at the site, two possible methods are soil testing at the site or
using the USDA NRCS Web Soil Survey online tool available here:
http://websoilsurvey.sc.egov.usda.gov/App/WebSoilSurvey.aspx. An appropriate runoff coefficient (C)
for each type of land use in the subarea should be selected from Table 3-3 and multiplied by the
percentage of the total area (A) included in that class. The sum of the products for all land uses is the
weighted runoff coefficient ∑(C·A). Good engineering judgment should be used when applying the values
presented in Table 3-3, as adjustments to these values may be appropriate based on site-specific
characteristics.
Table 3-2 and Table 3-3 provide approximate runoff coefficient values for various development types. In
urban areas the runoff coefficient can also be estimated based on the percent of impervious area and the
percent of open space based on the following formula:
C = 0.90 x (% Impervious) + Cp x (1 - % Impervious) (3-3)

Where: Cp = Pervious Coefficient Runoff Value for the soil type (shown in Table 3-3 as Undisturbed
Natural Terrain/Permanent Open Space, 0% Impervious). Soil type can be determined as
previously described.
The values in Table 3-3 are typical for most urban areas. However, if the basin contains rural or agricultural
land use, parks, golf courses, or other types of nonurban land use that are expected to be permanent, the
appropriate value should be selected based upon the soil and cover and approved by the County.
The determined runoff coefficient (C) is for storm return periods up to 10 years. Less frequent, higher
intensity storms tend to generate more runoff requiring a modification to the runoff coefficient. For these
storms, the adjusted C value is obtained by multiplying C by the appropriate value in Table 3-1. The final
runoff coefficient may never exceed 1.0. (If the modified runoff coefficient exceeds 1.0, use the value 1.0.)
Table 3-1. ‘C’ Modification Value Based on Return Period

Return Period
‘C’ Modification Value
(years)
25 1.1
50 1.2
100 1.25
after Caltrans Highway Design Manual, July 1, 2015. pp. 810-18

Table 3-2. Runoff Coefficient Values
‘C’ ‘C’
Land Use Coefficient Soil Type Coefficient
Range Range
Business Lawns, slope
downtown areas 0.70 – 0.95 sandy soil, flat, 2% 0.05 – 0.10
neighborhood areas 0.50 – 0.70 sandy soil, avg., 2 – 7% 0.10 – 0.15
Residential sandy soil, steep, 7% 0.15 – 0.20
single family areas 0.30 – 0.50 heavy soil, flat, 2% 0.13 – 0.17
multi units, detached 0.40 – 0.60 heavy soil, avg., 2 – 7% 0.18 – 0.22
multi units, attached 0.60 – 0.75 heavy soil, steep, 7% 0.25 – 0.35
suburban 0.25 – 0.40 Agricultural land
Industrial bare packed soil
light areas 0.50 – 0.80 smooth 0.30 – 0.60
heavy areas 0.60 – 0.90 rough 0.20 – 0.50
Parks and Cemeteries 0.60 – 0.90 cultivated rows
Playgrounds 0.60 – 0.90 heavy soil, no crop 0.30 – 0.60
Railroad yard areas 0.60 – 0.90 heavy soil, with crop 0.20 – 0.50
sandy soil, no crop 0.20 – 0.40
sandy soil, with crop 0.10 – 0.25
pasture
heavy soil 0.15 – 0.45
sandy soil 0.05 – 0.25
woodlands 0.05 – 0.25

3-6
Table 3-3. Runoff Coefficients for Urban Areas
Land Use Runoff Coefficient “C”
Soil Type
%
NRCS Elements Structure(s) Utilization A B C D
IMPER
Undisturbed Natural Terrain (Natural) Permanent Open Space 0* 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35
Low Density Residential (LDR) Residential, 1.0 DU/A or less 10 0.27 0.32 0.36 0.41
Medium Density Residential (MDR) Residential, 4.3 DU/A or less 30 0.41 0.45 0.48 0.52
High Density Residential (HDR) Residential, 24.0 DU/A or less 65 0.66 0.67 0.69 0.71
High Density Residential (HDR) Residential, 43.0 DU/A or less 80 0.76 0.77 0.78 0.79
Commercial/Industrial (N. Com) Neighborhood Commercial 80 0.76 0.77 0.78 0.79

Commercial/Industrial (G. Com) General Commercial 85 0.80 0.8 0.81 0.82
Commercial/Industrial (O.P. Com) Office Professional/Commercial 90 0.83 0.84 0.84 0.85
Commercial/Industrial (Limited I.) Limited Industrial 90 0.83 0.84 0.84 0.85
Commercial/Industrial (General I.) General Industrial 95 0.87 0.87 0.87 0.87
*The values associated with 0% impervious may be used for direct calculation of the runoff coefficient as described in Section 3.1.2 (representing the
pervious runoff coefficient, Cp, for the soil type), or for areas that will remain undisturbed in perpetuity. Justification must be given that the area will
remain natural forever (e.g., the area is located in Cleveland National Forest).
DU/A = dwelling units per acre

Small Area Hydrologic Procedure – Rational Method
3.1.3 Rainfall Intensity
The rainfall intensity (I, inches/hour) is the rainfall rate for a duration equal to the time of concentration
(Tc ) for a selected storm frequency. Once a particular storm frequency has been selected for design and
a Tc calculated for the drainage area, the rainfall intensity can be determined from the NOAA Atlas 14
Point Precipitation Frequency Estimates as described in Section 2.2. Interpolation will likely be necessary
to obtain the rainfall intensity corresponding to Tc.
3.1.4 Time of Concentration
The time of concentration (Tc) is the time required for runoff to flow from the most hydraulically remote
part of the drainage area to the point of interest. The Tc is composed of two components: initial time of
concentration (Ti) and travel time (Tt). Methods of computation for Ti and Tt are discussed below. The Ti
is the time required for runoff to travel as sheet flow across the surface of the most remote subarea in
the study, or “initial subarea.” Guidelines for designating the initial subarea are provided within the
discussion of computation of Ti in the following section. The Tt is the time required for the runoff to flow
in a watercourse (e.g., swale, channel, gutter, and pipe) or series of watercourses from the initial subarea
to the point of interest. For the RM, the Tc at any point within the drainage area is given by:
Tc = Ti + Tt (3-4)
Methods of calculation differ for natural watersheds (non-urbanized) and for urban drainage systems,
however, if TC is estimated to be less than 5 minutes, use 5 minutes in natural or urban watersheds. When
analyzing storm drain systems, the designer must consider the possibility that an existing natural
watershed may become urbanized during the useful life of the storm drain system. Future land uses must
be used for Tc and runoff calculations, and can be determined by consulting with the County.
Initial Time of Concentration
The initial time of concentration (Ti) is typically based on sheet flow at the upstream end of a drainage
basin. Sheet flow is the shallow mass of runoff on a planar surface with a uniform depth across the sloping
surface. This usually occurs at the headwater of streams over relatively short distances, rarely more than
about 400 feet, and possibly less than 80 feet. Maximum overland sheet flow lengths based on land use
and slope are provided in Table 3-4. Suggested initial Ti values based on average C values are also provided
in the table. Alternatively, the initial time of concentration (Ti) may be estimated using Equation (3-5)

developed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (still observing maximum overland sheet flow
length).
1.8(1.1-C)√L
Ti = (3-5)
S1 ⁄ 3
Where: Ti = sheet flow travel time, minutes
C = runoff coefficient (use Table 3-3 or Equation (3-3) and modify using Table 3-1 according
to the return period )
L = flow length, feet (subject to Table 3-4)
S = surface slope, %
The sheet flow that is predicted by the FAA equation is limited to conditions that are similar to runway
topography. Some considerations that limit the extent to which the FAA equation applies are identified
below:
Urban Areas - This “runway type” runoff includes:
1) Flat roofs, sloping at 1%.
2) Parking lots at the extreme upstream drainage basin boundary (at the “ridge” of
a catchment area). Even a parking lot is limited in the amounts of sheet flow it can
produce. Parked or moving vehicles “break-up” the sheet flow, concentrating runoff into
streams that are not characteristic of sheet flow.
3) Driveways are constructed at the upstream end of catchment areas in some

developments. However, if flow from a roof is directed to a driveway through a
downspout or other conveyance mechanism, flow is concentrated.
4) Flat slopes are prone to meandering flow that tends to be disrupted by minor
irregularities and obstructions. Maximum Overland Flow lengths are shorter for flatter
slopes (see Table 3-4).
Rural or Natural Areas - The FAA equation is applicable to these conditions since (0.5% to 10%) slopes that
are uniform in width of flow (e.g. flow depth and velocity are not being greatly affected by widely varying

lateral boundaries) have slow velocities consistent with the equation. Irregularities in terrain limit the
length of application.
1) Most hills and ridge lines have a relatively flat area near the drainage divide.
However, with flat slopes of 0.5%, minor irregularities cause flow to concentrate into
streams.
2) Parks, lawns and other vegetated areas have slow velocities that are consistent
with the FAA Equation.
Table 3-4. Maximum Overland Sheet Flow Length (LM) in feet and Corresponding Ti Estimate in minutes
DU/ .5% 1% 2% 3% 5% 10%

Land Use*
acre LM Ti LM Ti LM Ti LM Ti LM Ti LM Ti
Natural 50 13.2 70 12.5 85 10.9 100 10.3 100 8.7 100 6.9
LDR 1 50 12.2 70 11.5 85 10.0 100 9.5 100 8.0 100 6.4
LDR 2 50 11.3 70 10.5 85 9.2 100 8.8 100 7.4 100 5.8
LDR 2.9 50 10.7 70 10.0 85 8.8 95 8.1 100 7.0 100 5.6
MDR 4.3 50 10.2 70 9.6 80 8.1 95 7.8 100 6.7 100 5.3
MDR 7.3 50 9.2 65 8.4 80 7.4 95 7.0 100 6.0 100 4.8
MDR 10.9 50 8.7 65 7.9 80 6.9 90 6.4 100 5.7 100 4.5
MDR 14.5 50 8.2 65 7.4 80 6.5 90 6.0 100 5.4 100 4.3
HDR 24 50 6.7 65 6.1 75 5.1 90 4.9 95 4.3 100 3.5
HDR 43 50 5.3 65 4.7 75 4.0 85 3.8 95 3.4 100 2.7
N. Com 50 5.3 60 4.5 75 4.0 85 3.8 95 3.4 100 2.7
G. Com 50 4.7 60 4.1 75 3.6 85 3.4 90 2.9 100 2.4
O.P. Com 50 4.2 60 3.7 70 3.1 80 2.9 90 2.6 100 2.2
Limited I. 50 4.2 60 3.7 70 3.1 80 2.9 90 2.6 100 2.2
General I. 50 3.7 60 3.2 70 2.7 80 2.6 90 2.3 100 1.9
*Source: Hill, 2002. See Table 3-3 for land use abbreviations.
Because the rainfall intensity, (I), depends on TC and TC is not initially known, the computation of TC is an
iterative process. An initial estimate of TC is assumed to be Ti, computed from Equation (3-5). The initial
estimate of TC is then used to obtain I from the Intensity-Depth-Frequency (IDF) curve for the locality. A
more complete TC is then computed from Equation (3-5) by incorporating travel time (Section 3.1.4.2).
The TC which incorporates Ti and Tt is then used to select a new rainfall intensity and TC is calculated again.
If the first and second calculated TC are not the same, a new rainfall intensity is determined and Equation
(3-5) is used to calculate TC again. The process is repeated until two successive TC estimates are the same.

Travel Time
Sheet flow is the first type of flow to occur when a rain drop falls on the most hydraulically remote point
of the basin. This is typically followed by shallow concentrated flow and eventually open channel or pipe
flow. The shallow concentrated flow time and open channel or pipe flow travel time together comprise
the total travel time (Tt). Both of these are determined by calculating the velocity of flow and dividing by
the travel length. Per Equation (3-4) when added to the initial sheet flow time, one obtains the time of
concentration Tc.
Because the velocity normally changes with change in flow rate or slope, such as at an inlet or grade break,
the total Tt must be computed as the sum of the Tt’s for each section of the flow path. Figure 3-2 is a
typical street gutter cross section and shows two possible flow depths: (1) all flow is contained in the
concrete section adjacent to the curb and (2) flow fills the concrete portion of the gutter and extends out
onto the asphalt. For street gutter geometries sufficiently similar to Figure 3-2, use Figure 3-3 to estimate
shallow concentrated flow velocity. To estimate shallow concentrated flow velocity for other land covers,
use Equation (3-6). To estimate average velocities in channels or pipes (or street gutter geometries not
sufficiently similar to Figure 3-2), use Equation (3-7) (Manning’s equation).
When flow is through a closed conduit where no additional flow can enter the system during travel, length,
velocity and Tt are determined using the peak flow in the conduit. In cases where the conduit is not closed
and additional flow from a contributing subarea is added to the total flow during travel (e.g., street flow
in a gutter), calculation of velocity and Tt is performed using an assumed average flow based on the total
area (including upstream subareas) contributing to the point of interest. The Manning equation is typically
used to determine velocity. A reasonable initial estimate of average discharge for small watersheds is 2
to 3 cfs per acre, dependent on land use, drainage area, slope, and rainfall intensity.
Figure 3-2. Street Gutter Geometry

20
18
16
14
12
10
9
8
7
6
5
Street Slope (%)
2
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 30 40 50
Discharge (cfs)
Example: Q = 5.5 cfs, Street Slope = 4%
Then, Flow Depth = 0.32 ft and V = 4.8 ft/s.
Figure 3-3. Street Gutter Flow Velocity (San Diego County, 2003)
Shallow concentrated flow begins when sheet flow ends, without a well-defined channel, and with flow
depths of 0.1 to 0.5 feet. Shallow concentrated flow continues until justification can be made for defining
it as an open channel or pipe flow. Engineering judgment may be called for in deciding where shallow
concentrated flow ends and open channel flow begins. Equation (3-6) can be used to estimate shallow
concentrated flow velocity (FHWA, 2013):
V = 3.28·k·√S (3-6)
Where: V = velocity, feet/second

k = intercept coefficient (see Table 3-5)

S = slope, %
Table 3-5. Shallow Concentrated Flow Intercept Coefficients (k) (FHWA, 2013)
Land Cover k
Forest with heavy ground litter; hay meadow 0.076

Trash fallow or minimum tillage cultivation; contour or strip cropped; woodland 0.152
Short grass pasture 0.213
Cultivated straight row 0.274
Nearly bare and untilled; alluvial fans in western mountain regions 0.305
Grassed waterway 0.457
Unpaved 0.491
Paved area; small upland gullies 0.619
1.49 2⁄3 1⁄2

V= ·R ·S (3-7)
n
Where: V = velocity, feet/second
n = roughness coefficient (see Table 3-6)
R = hydraulic radius (cross sectional flow area divided by wetted perimeter), feet
S = slope, foot/foot
Table 3-6. Typical Manning’s Coefficient (n) Ranges for Channels and Pipes (FHWA, 2013)
Material Manning’s n*
Closed Conduits
Concrete pipe 0.010 - 0.015
Corrugated Metal Pipe (CMP) 0.011 - 0.037
Plastic pipe (smooth) 0.009 - 0.015
Plastic pipe (corrugated) 0.018 - 0.025
Pavement/gutter sections 0.012 - 0.016
Small Open Channels
Concrete 0.011 - 0.015
Rubble or riprap 0.020 - 0.035

Material Manning’s n*
Vegetation 0.020 - 0.150

Bare Soil 0.016 - 0.025
Rock Cut 0.025 - 0.045
Natural channels (minor streams, top width at flood stage < 30 m (100 ft))
Fairly regular section 0.025 - 0.050
Irregular section with pools 0.040 - 0.150
*Lower values are usually for well-constructed and maintained (smoother) pipes and channels
A common mistake in urbanized areas is to assume travel velocities that are too slow. Another common
error is to not check the runoff peak resulting from only part of the catchment. Sometimes a lower portion
of the catchment or a highly impervious area produces a larger peak than that computed for the whole
catchment. This error is most often encountered when the catchment is long or the upper portion
contains grassy open land and the lower portion is more developed.
3.2 Input Data Development for the Rational Method
This section describes the development of the necessary data to perform Rational Method (RM)
calculations. Section 3.3 describes the RM calculation process. Input data for calculating peak flows and
Tc’s with the RM should be developed as follows:
1) On a digital elevation map (DEM) or topographic base map create a drainage map of existing
conditions:
a) Delineate the drainage area boundary, and
b) Mark drains, including drains adjacent to the delineated drainage area and overland flow
paths. (Mark existing and proposed drains if evaluating existing and proposed conditions,
otherwise mark existing drains for an existing conditions study and proposed drains for a
proposed conditions study.)
2) Visit the site to verify the accuracy of the drainage map.
3) Divide the drainage area into subareas by locating significant points of interest. These divisions
should be based on topography, soil type, and land use. Ensure that an appropriate first subarea
is delineated. The first subarea is the area that is most hydraulically distant and whose runoff will

take the longest to reach the outlet. For natural areas, the first subarea flow path length should
be less than or equal to 4,000 feet plus the overland flow length (see Table 3-4 for maximum
allowable overland sheet flow lengths). For developed areas, the initial subarea flow path length
should be consistent with Table 3-4. The topography and slope within the initial subarea should
be generally uniform.
4) Working from upstream to downstream, label subareas and subarea drainage outlet locations.
5) Determine the areal coverage in acres (A) of each subarea in the drainage area.
6) Determine the length and effective slope(s) of the flow path in each subarea.
7) Identify the soil type for each subarea.
8) Determine the runoff coefficient (C) for each subarea based on Table 3-3 or Equation (3-3). If the
subarea contains more than one type of development classification, determine a weighted
average for C in the subarea. In determining C, use future land use taken from the applicable
community plan, Multiple Species Conservation Plan, National Forest land use plan, etc.
9) Calculate the (C·A) value for the subarea.
10) Calculate the (C·A) value(s) for the subareas upstream of the point(s) of interest. Determine C
for each subarea based on guidance in Section 3.1.2
3.3 Performing Rational Method Calculations
Using the developed input data, calculation of peak flows and Tc’s should be performed as follows:
1) Determine Ti for the first subarea. An example is presented as Subarea A1 in Figure 3-4. Use
Table 3-4 or Equation (3-5) as discussed in Section 3.1.4.1. Additional travel time (Tt) to the
downstream end of the first subarea should be added to Ti to obtain the Tc if the flow path in the
first subarea is longer than the maximum length for sheet flow. Refer to Section 3.1.4.2.
2) Determine I for the subarea using NOAA Atlas 14. If Ti is less than 5 minutes, use the 5 minute
time to determine intensity for calculating the flow.
3) Calculate the peak discharge flow rate for the subarea, where

Qp =(C1 ·A1 )I (3-8)
4) In case the downstream flow rate is less than the upstream flow rate, due to lower I resulting from
the long travel time that is not offset by the additional subarea runoff, use the upstream peak
flow for design purposes until downstream flows increase again.
5) Estimate the Tt to the next point of interest.
6) Add the Tt to the previous Tc to obtain a new Tc.
7) Continue with step 2, above, summing subareas and corresponding C values, until the final point
of interest is reached.
# of subareas
Qp = � (Cn ·An )I (3-9)

n=1
Note: The MRM should be used to calculate the peak discharge when there is a junction incorporating
flows from independent subareas into the drainage system.
Subarea A3 Subarea A1
Subarea A2
Subarea A4
Subarea A5
Figure 3-4. Rational Method Calculation Subareas

The flow path having the longest time of concentration to the point of interest in the storm drainage
system will usually define the duration used in selecting the intensity value in the Rational Method.
Exceptions to the general application of the Rational Equation exist. For example, a small relatively
impervious area within a larger drainage area may have an independent discharge higher than that of the
total area. This anomaly may occur because of the high runoff coefficient (C value) and high intensity
resulting from a short time of concentration. If an exception does exist, it can generally be classified as
one of two exception scenarios.
The first scenario occurs when a highly impervious section exists at the most downstream area of a
watershed and the total upstream area flows through the lower impervious area. When this situation
occurs, two separate calculations should be made.
1) Calculate the runoff from the total drainage area with its weighted C value and the intensity
associated with the longest time of concentration.
2) Calculate the runoff using only the smaller less pervious area. The typical procedure would be
followed using the C value for the small less pervious area and the intensity associated with the
shorter time of concentration.
The results of these two calculations should be compared and the largest value of discharge should be
used for design.
The second scenario exists when a smaller less pervious area is tributary to the larger primary watershed.
When this scenario occurs, two sets of calculations should also be made.
1) Calculate the runoff from the total drainage area with its weighted C value and the intensity
associated with the longest time of concentration.
2) Calculate the runoff to consider how much discharge from the larger primary area is contributing
at the same time the peak from the smaller less pervious tributary area is occurring. When the
small area is discharging, some discharge from the larger primary area is also contributing to the
total discharge. In this calculation, the intensity associated with the time of concentration from
the small less pervious area is used. The C coefficients for the larger and smaller areas should be
determined independently of each other; the larger primary area C coefficient should not include
the smaller, less pervious tributary area. The portion of the larger primary area to be considered
is determined by the following equation:

TC1
AC = A· � � (3-10)
TC2
Where: AC = most downstream part of the larger primary area that will contribute to the discharge
during the time of concentration associated with the smaller, less pervious area,
A = area of the larger primary area,
TC1 = time of concentration of the smaller, less pervious, tributary area,
TC2 = Time of concentration associated with the larger primary area as is used in the first
calculation
3.4 Modified Rational Method (for Junction Analysis)
The purpose of this section is to describe the steps necessary to develop an analysis for a small watershed
using the Modified Rational Method (MRM). It is necessary to use the MRM if the watershed contains
junctions of independent drainage systems. The general process description for using this method,
including an example of the application of this method, is described below. (Another option is to use
available software acceptable to the County that performs these calculations.)
The engineer should only use the MRM for total drainage areas up to approximately 640 acres (1.0 mi2)
in size. If the overall watershed will significantly exceed 640 acres, then the NRCS method described in
Section 4 should be used. The engineer may choose to use either the RM or the MRM for calculations for
up to an approximately 640 acres area and then transition the study to the NRCS method for additional
downstream areas that exceed approximately 640 acres. The transition process is described in Section 4.
The general process for the MRM differs from the RM only when a junction of independent drainage
systems is reached. The peak Q, Tc, and I for each of the independent drainage systems at the point of
the junction are calculated using the RM. The independent drainage systems are then combined using
the MRM procedure described below. The peak Q, Tc, and I for each of the independent drainage systems
at the point of the junction must be calculated using the RM prior to using the MRM procedure to combine
the independent drainage systems. After the independent drainage systems have been combined, RM
calculations are continued to the next point of interest.

3.4.1 Procedure for Combining Independent Drainage Systems at a Junction
Calculate the peak Q, Tc, and I for each of the independent drainage systems using the RM at the point of
the junction. These values will be used for the MRM calculations.
At the junction of two or more independent drainage systems, the respective peak flows are combined to
obtain the maximum flow out of the junction at Tc. Based on the approximation that total runoff increases
directly in proportion to time, a general equation may be written to determine the maximum Q and its
corresponding Tc using the peak Q, Tc, and I for each of the independent drainage systems at the junction.
The general equation requires that contributing Q’s be numbered in order of increasing Tc.
Let Q1, T1, and I1 correspond to the tributary area with the shortest Tc. Likewise, let Q2, T2, and I2
correspond to the tributary area with the next longer Tc. Continuing ranking Q’s, Tc’s, and I’s according to
increasing Tc, until all contributing drainage areas to the junction are ranked. If only two independent
drainage systems are combined, only Q1, T1, I1, Q2, T2, and I2 will be in the equation. Combine the
independent drainage systems using the Junction Equations (3-11):
T1 T1 T1
QT1 =Q1 + Q2 + Q3 +⋯+ Qn
T2 T3 Tn
I2 T2 T2
QT2 =Q2 + Q1 + Q3 + ⋯+ Qn
I1 T3 Tn
I3 I3 T3 (3-11)
QT3 =Q3 + Q1 + Q2 +⋯+ Qn
I1 I2 Tn
⋮
In In In
QTn =Qn + Q1 + Q2 +⋯+ Q
I1 I2 In-1 n-1
Calculate QT1, QT2, QT3, up to QTn. Select the largest Q and use the Tc associated with that Q for further
calculations (see Note #1 and Note #2 below for options). If the largest calculated Q’s are equal (e.g., QT1
= QT2 > QTn), use the shorter of the Tc’s associated with that Q.
This equation may be expanded for a junction of more independent drainage systems using the same
procedure. In general, when the Q from a selected subarea (e.g., Q2) is combined with Q from another
subarea with a shorter Tc (e.g., Q1), the Q from the subarea with the shorter Tc is reduced by the ratio of
the rainfall intensities (I2/I1); and when the Q from a selected subarea (e.g., Q2) is combined with the Q
from another subarea with a longer Tc (e.g., Q3), the Q from the subarea with the longer Tc is reduced by
the ratio of the Tc’s (T2/T3).

Note #1: At a junction of two independent drainage systems that have the same Tc, the tributary flows
may be added to obtain the Qp: Qp = Q1 + Q2; when T1 = T2; and Tc = T1 = T2. This can be verified by using
the junction equation above. Let Q3, T3, and I3 = 0. When T1 and T2 are the same, I1 and I2 are also the
same, and T1/T2 and I2/I1 = 1. T1/T2 and I2/I1 are cancelled from the equations. At this point, QT1 = QT2 =
Q1 + Q2.
Note #2: In the upstream part of a watershed, a conservative computation is acceptable. When the
times of concentration (Tc’s) are relatively close in magnitude (within 10%), use the shorter Tc for the
intensity and the equation Qp = ∑#n=1
of subareas(C
n ·An )I.
3.5 Example of Rational Method
A developer is sizing a storm inlet for a site that is to be developed. Plans are to develop the site with
single family residential homes on ½ acre lots. For this example, a 50-year return period will be used.
From topographic data and a field survey, the area of the drainage basin upstream of the culvert is found
to be 41.9 acres. In addition the following data were measured or determined from proposed plans:
Length of overland flow = 570 feet

Slope of overland flow = 3.5%
Length of gutter flow = 1,500 feet
Slope of gutter = 2.2%
Figure 3-5 is a sketch of the site with key Rational Method calculation points defined in Table 3-7.

Development
Area
Node A102 Node A101
Node A103
Node A104
(storm drain inlet)
Node A105
(culvert)
Figure 3-5. Rational Method Example Site
Table 3-7. Rational Method Example Node Descriptions
Location Description
Node A101 most remote hydraulic point location

Node A102 beginning of shallow overland flow
Node A103 beginning of gutter flow
Node A104 storm drain inlet
After a review of topography and site development plans, key data is summarized in Table 3-8.
Table 3-8. Rational Method Example – Key Data

Contributing
Length Slope Hydrologic
Watercourse Description Drainage Area Land Use
(ft) (%) Soil Group
(ac)
Node A101 to A102 sheet flow 100 3.5 0.4 natural B
shallow
Node A102 to A103 470 3.5 11.5 natural B
overland flow
Residential
Node A103 to A104 gutter flow 1,500 2.2 30.0 (low density, 2 DU/A)
B

To use the Rational Method, the initial time of concentration must first be determined. From
development plans, the most hydraulically remote point is “Natural” land use and the slope is 3.5%. From
Table 3-4 and a slope of 3.5%, it is determined the maximum length of sheet flow is 100 feet. The drainage
area for the initial sheet flow runoff is determined from the plans to be 0.4 acre. From Table 3-3 the
runoff coefficient is determined to be C = 0.25. Because the return period is 50 years, the runoff
coefficient is modified using Table 3-1 The sheet flow runoff coefficient is C = 0.25 x 1.2 = 0.30. To
estimate Ti, Equation (3-5) is used. Evaluating Equation (3-5):
1.8(1.1-0.30)√100
Ti = =9.5 minutes
3.51⁄3
The length of overland flow was determined to be 570 feet. The first 100 feet is sheet flow and the
remaining 470 feet is shallow overland flow. The travel time (Tt) for this portion is determined using
Equation (3-6). The natural area is nearly bare so an intercept coefficient (k) of 0.31 is assigned. The slope
is 3.5%.
V = (3.28)·(0.31)·√3.5=1.9 feet/second
The shallow overland flow travel time is,
Tt = 470 feet� feet = 247 sec = 4.1 minutes.

1.9
second
Rainfall intensity determination is an iterative process based on the total Tc. The sheet flow and shallow
overland flow travel time is 13.6 minutes (9.5 minutes + 4.1 minutes). Rainfall intensity is determined
using NOAA Atlas 14. Using the latitude and longitude of the site, NOAA Atlas 14, the 50-year rainfall
value for 10 minutes is 0.573 inches and 15 minutes is 0.693 inches. After interpolating to obtain an
intensity value for 13.6 minutes, I = 2.96 inches/hour.
Travel time in the gutter is a function of discharge and slope and can be determined using Figure 3-3.
Discharge in the gutter is from the area along the length of gutter flow in addition to the sheet flow and
shallow overland flow contributing areas. The area contributing to sheet flow was determined to be 0.4
acre. The area contributing to shallow overland flow is determined to be 11.5 acres. Since soil type and
land use are the same, the runoff coefficient for the shallow concentrated flow is determined to be the
same as for sheet flow. Use Equation (3-9) to estimate discharge at the upstream end of the gutter:

Qp =Σ(C·A)I = [(CAA101-A102 )+(CAA102-A103 )] I
Qp =Σ(C·A)I = [(0.3×0.4)+(0.3×11.5)] (2.96) =10.6 cfs
The area contributing flow directly to the 1,500 feet of gutter is determined to be 30 acres (denoted as
AA103-A104). The gutter is not a closed conduit and velocity in the gutter depends on discharge. For this
reason, travel time in the gutter must be determined in an iterative fashion. To find velocity, assume an
average Q over the gutter length (discharges for small watersheds typically range from 2 to 3 cfs per acre,
depending on land use, drainage area, slope, and rainfall intensity), and proceed as follows:
1) Assume the average discharge in the gutter is the upstream discharge plus the average inflow into
the gutter along the watercourse
(AA103-A104 )
QAVG = QA103 +(average Q per ac)
2
cfs (30 acre)

QAVG =10.57 cfs+ �2.5 � = 48.2 cfs
acre 2
2) Using the gutter discharge, slope (2.2%) and Figure 3-3)
feet
V = 5.6
second
3) Calculate travel time in the gutter, Tt-gutter
1,500 feet
Tt-gutter = = 267.9 seconds =4.5 minutes
feet
5.6
second
4) Calculate time of concentration, Tc from sheet flow, shallow concentrated flow and gutter flow
times
TC = 9.5 minutes + 4.1 minutes + 4.5 minutes = 18.1 minutes
5) Re-determine rainfall intensity using NOAA Atlas 14 and a time of 18.1 minutes. After
interpolation, I = 2.59 inches/hour.
6) Check the QAVG assumption of 48.2 cfs,
Qp =Σ(C·A)I → QA104 = (CAA101 +CAA102 +CAA103 ) I

QA104 = [(0.3×0.4)+(0.3×11.5)+(0.3×30)] (2.59) =32.6 cfs
32.6 ≠ 48.2 cfs
7) Since the assumption of average runoff of 2.5 cfs was incorrect, make a different assumption and
re-calculate.
8) Re-calculate Qp at the upstream end of the gutter,
Qp =Σ(C·A)I = [(0.3×0.4)+(0.3×11.5)] (2.59) =9.3 cfs
9) Assume a different average discharge per acre (1.55 cfs/acre, this time)
cfs (30 acre)

QAVG =9.3 cfs+ �1.55 � =32.3 cfs
acre 2
10) Using the new gutter discharge, slope and Figure 3-3
feet
V = 5.1
second
11) Re-calculate travel time in the gutter, Tt-gutter
1,500 feet
Tt-gutter = = 294.1 second =4.9 minutes
feet
5.1
second
12) Re-calculate time of concentration, Tc from sheet flow, shallow concentrated flow and gutter flow
times
TC = 9.5 minutes + 4.1 minutes + 4.9 minutes = 18.5 minutes
13) Re-determine rainfall intensity using NOAA Atlas 14 and a time of 18.5 minutes. After
interpolation, I = 2.57 inches/hour.
14) Check the QAVG assumption of 32.3 cfs,
QA104 = [(0.3×0.4)+(0.3×11.5)+(0.3×30)] (2.57) =32.3 cfs
32.3 = 32.3 cfs
15) Check that conditions relating to exceptions to applying the Rational Method do not exist:

a) There is not a highly impervious section at the most downstream area of the watershed
with the total upstream area flowing through a lower impervious area.
b) There is not a smaller, less pervious area tributary to the larger primary watershed.
Therefore, the estimated 50-year return period peak discharge at the inlet is 32.3 cfs.
3.6 Example - Modified Rational Method
A developer is sizing a storm inlet at the junction between a new site under development and two existing,
independent drainage systems. The site under development is the small urban watershed of the previous
example where the RM was applied. The small urban watershed is to be connected to an existing drainage
system comprised by two additional independent watersheds. The total peak flow at the junction
resulting from the contributions of the small urban watershed under development and the two
independent drainage watersheds will be computed using the MRM.
Figure 3-6 is a sketch of the watershed considered for the Modified Rational Method. The watershed is
composed of three independent drainage systems labelled A, B and C. System A is the small watershed
under development considered in the previous example. System B and C are the two additional
independent drainage systems. The three drainage systems have storm runoff that drains to the junction
node labelled D101. The description of the nodes is reported in Table 3-9 and the key data for each system
are defined in Table 3-10. Subareas have been defined based on land use, topography, and drainage
structures, and node numbers have been placed at points of interest. The procedure for calculating flow
at the junction using the MRM is described in the text below.

Figure 3-6. Modified Rational Method Example Site
Table 3-9. Modified Rational Method Example – Node Descriptions

Independent
Location Description
drainage system
Node A101 most remote hydraulic point location
A Node A102 beginning of shallow overland flow
Node A103 beginning of gutter flow
Node B101 most remote hydraulic point location
Node B102 beginning of shallow overland flow
B
Node B103 beginning of gutter flow
Node B104 storm drain inlet, beginning of pipe flow
Node C101 most remote hydraulic point location
C Node C102 beginning of shallow overland flow
Node C103 beginning of trap channel

Table 3-10. Modified Rational Method Example – key data
Length Slope Drainage Area Hydrologic
System Watercourse Description Land Use
(ft) (%) (ac) Soil Group
Node A101 to A102 sheet flow 100 3.5 0.4 natural B
shallow
Node A102 to A103 470 3.5 11.5 natural B
A overland flow
Residential
Node A103 to A104 gutter flow 1,500 2.2 30.0 (low density, 2 B
DU/A)
Node B101 to B102 sheet flow 85 2.0 0.6 natural B
shallow
Node B102 to B103 515 2.0 7.8 natural B
overland flow
B Residential
Node B103 to B104 gutter flow 1,000 1.8 25 (medium B
density, 4 DU/A)
office
Node B104 to D101 pipe flow 850 1.4 15 commercial
B
Node C101 to C102 sheet flow 70 2.5 1 natural D
shallow
Node C102 to C103 130 2.5 9 natural D
C overland flow
trapezoidal office
Node C103 to D101 2,500 1.2 35 D
channel commercial
The flow from System A was computed in the previous example and is equal to 32.3 cfs with a time of
concentration of 18.5 minutes, a rainfall intensity of 2.57 inches/hour and a drainage area of 41.9 acres.
The flow from System B was computed to be 41.7 cfs with a time of concentration of 22.0 minutes, a
rainfall intensity of 2.39 inches/hour and a drainage area of 48.4 acres. The flow from System C was
computed to be 89.9 cfs with a time of concentration of 18.0 minutes, a rainfall intensity of 2.60
inches/hour and a drainage area of 45.0 acres. The computation for each independent system can be
performed with the RM as shown in the previous example. Table 3-11 presents a summary of the results.
Table 3-11. Modified Rational Method Example – Summary of discharges

Rainfall
Time of concentration Drainage area Peak discharge
System intensity Symbols
(min) (ac) (cfs)
(in/hr)
A 18.5 2.57 41.9 32.3 TA, IA, QA
B 22.0 2.39 48.4 41.7 TB, IB, QB
C 18.0 2.60 45.0 88.3 TC, IC, QC

Once the Tc, I and peak Q are known for each independent drainage system, they need to be sorted based
on increasing time of concentration. This step is required in order to establish the time at which the flows
from each independent drainage system reach the junction point. Once the time of concentrations,
intensities and discharges are sorted, Equations (3-11) are applied to combine them and compute the
junction peak flow. The MRM procedure is as follows:
1) Sort the peak Q based on Tc
T1 < T2 < T3
TC < TA < TB
T1 = TC = 18.0 I1 = IC = 2.60 Q1 = QC = 88.3

� 2 = TA = 18.5
T � 2 = IA = 2.57
I � 2 = QA = 32.3
Q
T3 = TB = 22.0 I3 = IB = 2.39 Q3 = QB = 41.7
2) Apply equations (3-11) for each time of concentrations
T1 T1
QT1 =Q1 + Q2 + Q3
T2 T3
TC TC
QT1 =QC + QA + QB
TA TB
18.0 18.0
QT1 =88.3+ 32.3+ 41.7=153.8 cfs
18.5 22.0
I2 T2
QT2 =Q2 + Q1 + Q3
I1 T3
IA TA
QT2 =QA + QC + QB
IC TB
2.57 18.5
QT2 =32.3+ 88.3+ 41.7 = 154.6 cfs
2.60 22.0
I3 I3
QT3 =Q3 + Q1 + Q2
I1 I2
IB IB
QT3 =QB + QC + QA
IC IA
2.39 2.39
QT2 =41.7+ 88.3+ 32.3 = 152.9 cfs
2.60 2.57

3) Identify the largest Q and use the Tc associated with that Q and select it for the junction peak flow.
Note that if the largest calculated Q’s are equal (e.g., QT1 = QT2 > QT3), use the shorter of the Tc’s
associated with that Q.
QJUN = max(QT1 , QT2 , QT3 ) = QT2 = 154.6
TJUN = T2 = 18.5
Therefore, the estimated peak discharge and time of concentration at the junction are 154.6 cfs and 18.5
min, respectively. These estimates could be used to route the peak downstream to a new point of interest
using the RM.

4 Large Area Hydrologic Procedure – NRCS Hydrologic Method
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) hydrologic method requires basic data similar to the
RM: drainage area, a “runoff curve number” (CN) describing the proportion of rainfall that becomes
runoff, time to peak (Tp, the elapsed time from the beginning of unit effective rainfall to the peak flow at
the point of concentration), and total rainfall (P). The NRCS approach is more sophisticated than the RM
in that it considers the time distribution of rainfall, initial rainfall losses to interception and depression
storage, and an infiltration rate that decreases during the course of a storm. Rainfall losses and resulting
runoff should be estimated using the NRCS hydrologic method for study areas approximately 1 square
mile and greater in size. The NRCS hydrograph is calculated using the synthetic unit hydrograph S-graph
technique. Details of the methodology can be found in the NRCS National Engineering Handbook (NEH),
Part 630 Hydrology (NEH-630) (USDA, 2010).
The NRCS hydrologic method may be used for the entire study area, or the RM or MRM may be used for
approximately 1 square mile of the study area and then transitioned to the NRCS hydrologic method using
the procedure described in Section 4.5. The recommended approach for applying the NRCS hydrologic
method is to develop required input parameters for the method and use HEC-HMS software to perform
the calculations.
The NRCS hydrologic method differs from the Rational Method in two fundamental ways: (1) the NRCS
hydrologic method provides a method to estimate the amount of rainfall that is initially intercepted and
does not contribute to runoff (precipitation losses) and an infiltration rate that decreases during a storm
event while the Rational Method C factor determines what proportion of rainfall becomes runoff, and (2)
the NRCS hydrologic method considers the time distribution of rainfall thus enabling the creation of a
runoff hydrograph which estimates runoff discharge over a period of time whereas the Rational Method
estimates only the peak discharge.
The recommended approach to precipitation losses is the NRCS Curve Number approach. Because there
is little observed data for the rainfall-runoff hydrograph relationship in Imperial County, the
recommended hydrograph approach is the synthetic unit hydrograph S-graph technique using calibrated
s-graphs available from nearby, similar regions. A necessary component to utilizing the S-graph is

Large Area Hydrologic Procedure – NRCS Hydrologic Method 4-1
watershed lag which should be calculated using the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) method (1976).
The large area hydrologic method includes the following steps:
1) Determination of rainfall losses and runoff,
2) S-graph selection, and
3) Hydrograph calculation using HEC-HMS.
4.2 NRCS Precipitation Losses and Runoff
The storm runoff hydrograph from a drainage area is based in part on the physical characteristics of the
watershed. The principal physical watershed characteristics affecting the relationship between rainfall
and runoff are land use, land treatment, soil types, and land slope. The NRCS method uses a combination
of soil conditions, land uses (ground cover) and land treatment (generally agricultural practices) to assign
a runoff factor to an area. These runoff factors, called runoff curve numbers (CNs), indicate the runoff
potential of an area. The higher the CN, the higher the runoff potential. The CN does not account for land
slope. However, in the NRCS hydrologic method, land slope is accounted for in the determination of
watershed lag time (see Section 4.2.5). The steps for estimating rainfall runoff are:
1) Delineate the watershed on a map and determine watershed physical characteristics including
location of centroid, total length of longest watercourse, length along the watercourse to location
nearest the centroid, soil type, and land use/land treatment,
2) Determine a composite curve number (CN) for the watershed, which will represent the
combination of land use and soil type within the drainage area and describe the proportion of
rainfall that runs off,
3) Determine frequency of the design storm, total rainfall amount for the design storm and
Antecedent Runoff Condition (ARC) for the watershed location,
4) Adjust CN based on the Antecedent Runoff Condition (ARC),
5) Prepare the incremental rainfall distribution,

4-2 Large Area Hydrologic Procedure – NRCS Hydrologic Method
6) Determine the excess rainfall amounts using the composite CN for the watershed and the depth-
area adjusted incremental rainfall distribution.
7) Select an appropriate S-graph,
8) Use the HEC-HMS software to compute a runoff hydrograph.
The CN values in Table 4-1, Table 4-2 and Table 4-3 are suitable for preparing hydrographs in accordance
with the methods shown in Chapters 10 and 16 of NEH-630 and described in Section 4.2 of this manual.
The CN values are based on hydrologic soil group and land use/land treatment. When a drainage area has
more than one land use, hydrologic soil group or hydrologic condition, a composite CN should be
calculated and used in the analysis. It should be noted that when composite CNs are used, the analysis
does not take into account the location of the specific land uses but treats the drainage area as a uniform
land use represented by the composite CN.
4.2.1 Watershed Delineation
Once the accumulation point has been determined, watershed delineation may be accomplished by hand
or using GIS methods. Depending on the size and distribution of soil types, vegetative cover, land uses
and other factors affecting rainfall runoff, it may be necessary to subdivide the watershed into smaller
sub-basins. Ideally, sub-basins would have similar hydrologic characteristics. Each sub-basin will be
analyzed separately, creating runoff hydrographs for each which are subsequently combined creating the
runoff hydrograph for the entire watershed.
Required watershed (or sub-basin) attributes for the NRCS method are: basin area, basin centroid, length
(miles) of the longest watercourse from the accumulation point to the basin boundary, length (miles)
along the longest watercourse from the accumulation point to a point opposite the basin centroid,
average slope (feet per mile) of the longest watercourse, soil hydrologic classification (NEH-630, Chapter
7) and vegetative cover and condition.
4.2.2 Curve Number Determination
Once the watershed and sub-basins have been delineated, hydrologic soil types determined, and
vegetative cover and condition estimated, the Curve Number (CN) can be estimated. The combination of

soil type and vegetative cover and condition is the hydrologic soil-cover complex. If a sub-basin contains
more than one complex, a composite CN for the sub-basin must be determined using a weighted area
approach. A more detailed description of hydrologic soil-cover complexes and Curve Number is available
in NEH-630, Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 (USDA, 2004).
Table 4-1 through Table 4-3 are from NEH-630 (USDA, 2004) and provide guidance in selecting CN based
on hydrologic complex. The CNs in the table assume the initial abstraction (Ia) is equal to 20% of the total
runoff retention capacity of the watershed (Ia = 0.2S), which is the standard assumption put forth in NEH-
630 (USDA, 2004). Any assumption other than Ia = 0.2S would require determination of different CNs for
the hydrologic soil complexes. When impervious areas are part of the basin, it must be determined if they
are connected or unconnected to the drainage system and treated accordingly. Treatment of connected
and unconnected impervious areas is discussed following Table 4-1. Also note that the CN for some urban
cover types assumes a certain percent imperviousness and these areas should not be double-counted.
Table 4-1. Runoff Curve Numbers for Urban Areas1

Curve Number
Cover Description by Hydrologic
Soil Group
Average %
Cover Type Hydrologic Condition Impervious A B C D
Area2
Fully developed urban areas
(vegetation established):
Poor (grass cover < 50%) 68 79 86 89
Open space (lawns, parks, golf courses,
Fair (grass cover 50 to 75%) 49 69 79 84
cemeteries, etc.)3
Good (grass cover > 75%) 39 61 74 80
Impervious areas:
Paved parking lots, roofs, driveways, etc.
98 98 98 98
(excluding un-improved right-of-way)
Streets and roads:
Paved; curbs and storm sewers (excluding
98 98 98 98
un-improved right-of-way)
Paved; open ditches
83 89 92 93
(including right-of-way)
Gravel (including right-of-way) 76 85 89 91
Dirt (including right-of-way) 72 82 87 89
Western desert urban areas:

Natural desert landscaping
63 77 85 88
(pervious areas only)4
Artificial desert landscaping (impervious
96 96 96 96
weed barrier, desert shrub with 1- to 2-

Curve Number
Cover Description by Hydrologic
Soil Group
Average %
Cover Type Hydrologic Condition Impervious A B C D
Area2
inch sand or gravel mulch and basin
borders)
Urban districts:
Commercial and business 85 89 92 94 95
Industrial 72 81 88 91 93
Residential districts by average lot size:

1/8 acre or less (town houses) 65 77 85 90 92
1/4 acre 38 61 75 83 87
1/3 acre 30 57 72 81 86
1/2 acre 25 54 70 80 85
1 acre 20 51 68 79 84
2 acres 12 46 65 77 82
Developing urban areas:

Newly graded areas
77 86 91 94
(pervious areas only, no vegetation)
1 Average runoff condition and Ia = 0.2S.
2 The average percent impervious area shown was used to develop composite CNs. Other assumptions are as follows:
impervious areas are directly connected to the drainage system, impervious areas have a CN of 98, and pervious areas
are considered equivalent to open space in good hydrologic condition.
3 CNs shown are equivalent to those of pasture. Composite CNs may be computed for other combinations of open space
type.
4 Composite CNs for natural desert landscaping should be computed using Figure 4-1 or Figure 4-2 based on the
impervious area percentage (CN = 98) and the pervious area CN. The pervious area CNs are assumed equivalent to
desert shrub in poor hydrologic condition.
Impervious areas can be connected or unconnected to the drainage system and the distinction can affect
the composite CN. From USDA (2010), an impervious area is considered connected if runoff from it flows
directly into the drainage system. It is also considered connected if runoff from it occurs as shallow
concentrated flow running over a pervious area and into a drainage system. If all impervious area is
directly connected to the drainage system, but the impervious area percentages in Table 4-1 or the
pervious land use assumptions are not applicable, use Equation (4-1) or Figure 4-1 to compute a composite
CN.
Pimp
CNC = CNP + � � (98 - CNP ) (4-1)
100
Where: CNC = composite runoff curve number,

CNP = pervious runoff curve number,
Pimp = percent imperviousness.
Figure 4-1. Composite CN with Connected Impervious Area (USDA, 2010)
If runoff from impervious areas flows over a pervious area as sheet flow prior to entering the drainage
system, the impervious area is unconnected. To determine CN when all or part of the impervious area is
not directly connected to the drainage system, use Equation (4-2) or Figure 4-2 (USDA, 2010) if the total
impervious area is less than 30 percent of the total area or use Equation (4-1) or Figure 4-1 if the total
impervious area is equal to or greater than 30 percent of the total area (as the absorptive capacity of the
remaining pervious areas will not significantly affect runoff).
Pimp
CNC = CNP + � � (98 - CNP )(1 -0.05R) (4-2)
100
Where: R = ratio of unconnected impervious area,

and other variables are as defined in Equation (4-1).

Unconnected impervious area
Total impervious area
Figure 4-2. Composite CN: Unconnected Impervious Areas, Total
Impervious Area < 30%
When impervious area is less than 30%, obtain the composite CN by entering the right half of Figure 4-2
with the percentage of total impervious area and the ratio of total unconnected impervious area to total
impervious area. Then move horizontally to the left to the appropriate pervious CN and read down to
find the composite CN.
Table 4-2. Runoff Curve Numbers for Arid and Semiarid Rangelands1
Cover Description Curve Number by Hydrologic Soil Group
Hydrologic
Cover Type A3 B C D
Condition2
Herbaceous – mixture of grass, weeds and Poor 80 87 93
low-growing brush, with brush the minor Fair 71 81 89
element Good 62 74 85
Oak-aspen – mountain brush mixture of oak Poor 66 74 79

brush, aspen, mountain mahogany, bitter Fair 48 57 63
brush, maple, and other brush Good 30 41 48
Poor 75 85 89
Pinyon-juniper – pinyon, juniper, or both:
grass understory Fair 58 73 80
Good 41 61 71
Poor 67 80 85
Sage-grass – sage with an understory of grass
Fair 51 63 70

Hydrologic
Cover Type A3 B C D
Condition2
Good 35 47 55
Desert shrub – major plans include saltbush, Poor 63 77 85 88

greasewood, creosotebush, blackbrush, Fair 55 72 81 86
bursage, paloverde, mesquite, and cactus Good 49 68 79 84
1 Average runoff condition and Ia = 0.2S. For range in humid regions, use Table 4-3.
2 Poor: < 30% ground cover (litter, grass, and brush overstory).
Fair: 30 to 70% ground cover.
Good: > 70% ground cover.
3 CNs shown are equivalent to those of pasture. Composite CNs may be computed for other combinations of open space
type.
Table 4-3. Runoff Curve Numbers for Agricultural Lands1
Hydrologic
Cover Type Treatment2 A B C D
Condition3
Bare soil --- 77 86 91 94
Poor 76 85 90 93
Fallow Crop residue cover
(CR) Good 74 83 88 90
Poor 72 81 88 91
Straight row (SR)
Good 67 78 85 89
Poor 71 80 87 90
SR + CR
Good 64 75 82 85
Poor 70 79 84 88
Contoured (C)
Good 65 75 82 86
Row crops
Poor 69 78 83 87
C + CR
Good 64 74 81 85
Contoured and Poor 66 74 80 82
terraced (C & T) Good 62 71 78 81
Poor 65 73 79 81
C & T + CR
Good 61 70 77 80
Poor 65 76 84 88
SR
Good 63 75 83 87
Small grain
Poor 64 75 83 86
SR + CR
Good 60 72 80 84
C Poor 63 74 82 85

Hydrologic
Condition3
Good 61 73 81 84
Poor 62 73 81 84
C + CR
Good 60 72 80 83
Poor 61 72 79 82
Small grain C&T
Good 59 70 78 81
Poor 60 71 78 81
C & T + CR
Good 58 69 77 80
Poor 66 77 85 89
SR
Good 58 72 81 85
Close-seeded or Poor 64 75 83 85
broadcast legumes or C
rotation meadow Good 55 69 78 83
Poor 63 73 80 83
C&T
Good 51 67 76 80
Pasture, grassland, or Poor 68 79 86 89

range-continuous Fair 49 69 79 84
forage for grazing4 Good 39 61 74 80
Meadow-continuous
grass, protected from
Good 30 58 71 78
grazing and generally
mowed for hay
Brush-brush-forbs- Poor 48 67 77 83
grass mixture with
Fair 35 56 70 77
brush the major
element5 Good 306 48 65 73
Poor 57 73 82 86
Woods-grass
combination (orchard Fair 43 65 76 82
or tree farm)7
Good 32 58 72 79
Poor 45 66 77 83
Woods8 Fair 36 60 73 79
Good 30 55 70 77
Farmstead – buildings,
lanes, driveways, and --- 59 74 82 86
surrounding lots

Hydrologic
Condition3
Roads (including right-
of-way):
Dirt --- 72 82 87 89
Gravel --- 76 85 89 91
1 Average runoff condition and Ia = 0.2S.
2 Crop residue cover applies only if residue is on at least 5% of the surface throughout the year.
3 Hydrologic condition is based on combinations of factors that affect infiltration and runoff, including (a) density and canopy
of vegetative areas, (b) amount of year-round cover, (c) amount of grass or close-seeded legumes, (d) percent of residue
cover on the land surface (good > 20%), and (e) degree of surface toughness.
Poor: Factors impair infiltration and tend to increase runoff.
Good: Factors average and better than average infiltration and tend to decrease runoff.30 to 70% ground cover.
For conservation tillage poor hydrologic condition, 5 to 20% of the surface is covered with residue (< 750 pounds per acre
for row crops or 300 pounds per acre for small grain.)
For conservation tillage good hydrologic condition, more than 20% of the surface is covered with residue (> 750 pounds per
acre for row crops or 300 pounds per acre for small grain.)
4 Poor: < 50% ground cover or heavily grazed with no mulch.
Fair: 50 to 75% ground cover and not heavily grazed.
Good: > 75% ground cover and lightly or only occasionally grazed.
5 Poor: < 50% ground cover.
Fair: 50 to 75% ground cover.
Good: > 75% ground cover.
6 If actual CN is less than 30, use CN = 30 for runoff computation.
7 CNs shown were computed for areas with 50% woods and 50% grass (pasture) cover. Other combinations of conditions may
be computed from the CNs for woods and pastures.
8 Poor: Forest litter, small trees, and brush are destroyed by heavy grazing or regular burning.
Fair: Woods are grazed, but not burned, and some forest litter covers the soil.
Good: Woods are protected from grazing, and litter and brush adequately cover the soil.
4.2.3 Rainfall and the Antecedent Runoff Condition (ARC)
Determination of design storm frequency is based on County and project requirements. Once the design
storm frequency has been determined, rainfall amounts can be obtained by following the procedure in
Section 2.2.
Basin conditions at the onset and during a storm can affect the quantity of runoff. Factors including
rainfall intensity and duration, total rainfall, soil moisture conditions, cover density, stage of growth and
temperature can all contribute to variability in the amount of rainfall that becomes runoff. Collectively
these factors are called the Antecedent Runoff Condition (ARC). ARC is divided into three classes: II for
average conditions, I for dryer than normal conditions, and III for wetter than normal conditions. Provided
adequate justification can be made and acceptable conservatism demonstrated, an ARC adjustment to
CNs may be valid. In general a design ARC Class II should be used.

4.2.4 Antecedent Runoff Condition adjustment values
CN values presented in Table 4-1 through Table 4-3 assume an ARC II condition. ARC II CN values and the
corresponding ARC I and ARC III values are presented in Table 4-4.
Table 4-4. Antecedent Runoff Condition (ARC) CN Values
Curve Number by ARC
ARC II ARC I ARC III ARC II ARC I ARC III ARC II ARC I ARC III
100 100 100 74 55 88 48 29 68

99 97 100 73 54 87 47 28 67
98 94 99 72 53 86 46 27 66
97 91 99 71 52 86 45 26 65
96 89 99 70 51 85 44 25 64
95 87 98 69 50 84 43 25 63
94 85 98 68 48 84 42 24 62
93 83 98 67 47 83 41 23 61
92 81 97 66 46 82 40 22 60
91 80 97 65 45 82 39 21 59
90 78 96 64 44 81 38 21 58
89 76 96 63 43 80 37 20 57
88 75 95 62 42 79 36 19 56
87 73 95 61 41 78 35 18 55
86 72 94 60 40 78 34 18 54
85 70 94 59 39 77 33 17 53
84 68 93 58 38 76 32 16 52
83 67 93 57 37 75 31 16 51
82 66 92 56 36 75 30 15 50
81 64 92 55 35 74 25 12 43
80 63 91 54 34 73 20 9 37
79 62 91 53 33 72 15 6 30
78 60 90 52 32 71 10 4 22
77 59 89 51 31 70 5 2 13
76 58 89 50 31 70 0 0 0
75 57 88 49 30 69
Once basin CN estimates have been finalized, a storm hyetograph is prepared.

4.2.5 Preparation of incremental rainfall distribution
The variation in rainfall intensity that occurs from the beginning of the storm through the storm peak and
to the end of the storm is represented in the time distribution of rainfall. The time distribution of rainfall
during a storm should be tabulated and can be represented graphically as a hyetograph, a chart showing
increments of average rainfall during successive units of time during a storm. As discussed in Section 2.4,
the rainfall distribution pattern adopted by Imperial County is a nested storm pattern with 2/3, 1/3
distribution. The time to peak (Tp) necessary for determining duration D of the hyetograph should be
determined using the Corps lag method (USACE, 1976). Corps lag (Tl) in hours is expressed by the empirical
formula,
LLC m
Tl = 24 n� � � (4-3)
√S
and time to peak, Tp, is
Tp = 0.862 Tl (4-4)
Where: n̄ = the visually estimated mean of all Manning’s n values for watercourses in the basin,
L = length of the longest watercourse in miles,
LC = length along the longest watercourse measured from the outlet to a point opposite the
basin centroid, in miles,
m = 0.38 (empirically determined coefficient estimated for Southern California),
S = slope of the longest watercourse between the outlet and the headwaters in feet per mile,
Descriptive aids for estimating the basin n̄ factor, based on Plate 21 from USACE (1976) are:
n̄ = 0.015, drainage area has fairly uniform, gentle slopes with most watercourses either improved or
along paved streets. Ground cover consists of some grasses with appreciable areas developed to the
extent that a large percentage of the area is impervious. Main watercourse is improved channel or
conduit.
n̄ = 0.020, drainage area has some graded and non-uniform, gentle slopes with over half of area
watercourses either improved or along paved streets. Ground cover consists of equal amount grasses
and impervious area. Main watercourse is partly improved channel or conduit and partly greenbelt
(unimproved).

n̄ = 0.025, drainage area is generally rolling with gentle slopes and some drainage improvements in the
area such as streets and canals. Ground cover consists mostly of scattered brush and grass with a low %
impervious area. Main watercourse is straight channel with turf or stony bed and weeds on earthen bank.
n̄ = 0.030, drainage area is generally rolling, with rounded ridges and moderate side slopes and no
drainage improvements in the area. Ground cover includes scattered brush and grasses. Watercourses
meander in fairly straight, unimproved channels with some boulders and lodged debris.
n̄ = 0.040, drainage area is steep upper canyons with moderate slopes in lower canyons and no drainage
improvements in the area. Ground cover is mixed brush and trees with grasses in lower canyons.
Watercourses have moderate bends and are moderately impeded by boulders and debris with
meandering courses.
n̄ = 0.050, drainage area is quite rugged, with sharp ridges and narrow, steep canyons and no drainage
improvements in the area. The ground cover, excluding small areas of rock outcrops, includes many trees
and considerable underbrush. Watercourses meander around sharp bends, over large boulders and
considerable debris obstruction.
n̄ = 0.100, the drainage area has extensive vegetation, including grass, or is farmed with contoured
plowing, and streams that contain a large amount of brush, grass or other vegetation that slows water
velocity.
n̄ = 0.200, the drainage area has comparatively uniform slopes with no drainage improvements.
Groundcover consists of cultivated crops or substantial growths of grass and fairly dense small shrubs,
cacti or similar vegetation. Surface characteristics are such that channelization dies not occur
In addition, the Guide for Selecting Manning’s Roughness Coefficients for Natural Channels and
Floodplains (USGS Water Supply paper 2339) and Open Channel Hydraulics by Ven Te Chow may provide
supplementary guidance.
Once Corps basin lag time is determined, NRCS lag time (TN) may be determined using (San Diego County,
2003):
D
TN = 0.862 Tl - (4-5)
2
A hyetograph creation example is provided in Section 2.5. As discussed in Section 2.4, if warranted, the
depth-area rainfall reduction should be applied prior to arranging the incremental rainfall amounts in the
2/3, 1/3 distribution. Tabulated and/or graphical hyetograph representations should be converted to
units of inches per hour if not already determined as such.

4.2.6 Determination of excess rainfall amounts
Excess rainfall is the precipitation that becomes runoff. To estimate excess rainfall, obtain the partial
duration rainfall values as described in Section 2.2, apply a depth-area reduction factor as described in
Section 2.4 (if appropriate) and use HEC-HMS software, along with CN, percent impervious, NRCS lag (TN)
and the appropriate S-graph to determine the excess rainfall runoff hydrograph. The process is described
in detail in Section 4.4.
4.3 S-graph selection
As previously discussed, long term rainfall and streamgage data is sparse in the County. For this reason,
the S-graph method has been chosen as the preferred hydrograph calculation approach. From Caltrans
(2007), because no two drainage areas have identical hydrologic characteristics, the runoff patterns from
these areas are generally dissimilar and the time distribution of runoff may differ considerably. Therefore,
direct transposition of the characteristic time distribution of runoff from drainage areas for which rainfall-
runoff data are available to nearby areas for which data are not available is usually not advisable. The S-
graph method uses a basic time-runoff relationship for a watershed type in a form suitable for application
to ungaged basins.
The Desert and Foothill S-graphs of other, local Southern California regions best approximate the
watershed response most likely to be present in Imperial County. The Desert and Foothill S-graphs are
presented in Error! Reference source not found. and tabulated in Appendix A. The Foothill S-graph is for
watersheds characterized by natural channels incised in canyon bottoms with overbank flows confined
near the main channel. The Desert S-graph is for use in undeveloped desert areas. The recommended
approach for hydrograph calculation with the S-graphs is using HEC-HMS (HMS) (USACE, 2016) software.
The process is described in Section 4.4.

Figure 4-3. Imperial County S-graphs

4.4 Hydrograph calculation
Once an HMS project is opened, a basin hydrograph may be estimated using the following steps:
Step 1. HMS paired data creation. Use the “Components” → “Paired Data Manager” to create a
“Data Type: Percentage Curves” named after the S-graph being used, as presented in Figure
4-4.
Figure 4-4. HEC-HMS paired data creation
Step 2. S-graph data entry. Select the newly created paired data type, select the “Table” data entry
method and copy the proper S-graph values from Appendix A of this manual ensuring values
are copied in ascending order, as presented in Figure 4-5.

Figure 4-5. HEC-HMS S-graph data entry
Step 3. Use the “Components” → “Basin Model Manager” to create and name a basin model for the
area where the hydrograph is desired. The default basin model settings as presented in
Figure 4-6 are acceptable for basic hydrograph calculation.

Figure 4-6. HEC-HMS basin default settings
Step 4. Using the “Subbasin Creation Tool”, create and name a subbasin, enter the subbasin area,
select “Loss Method” as SCS Curve Number, “Transform Method” as User-Specified S-Graph
and “Baseflow Method” as –None-- as presented in Figure 4-7 and Figure 4-8.
Figure 4-7. HMS subbasin creation tool

Figure 4-8. HMS subbasin area settings
Step 5. Set subbasin loss and transform parameters. As presented in Figure 4-9, select the “Loss”
tab and enter a Curve Number and Impervious % as determined using the methods described
in Section 4.2.2. Do not enter an Initial Abstraction (IN) value. As presented in Figure 4-10,
select the “Transform” tab, select the S-graph created in Step 1 and Step 2 and enter the
NRCS Lag Time determined using the Corps lag method described in Section 4.2.5.
Figure 4-9. HMS S-graph loss settings Figure 4-10. HMS S-graph transform settings
Step 6. Meteorologic Model creation. Use the “Components” → “Meteorologic Model Manager” to
create and name a meteorologic model for the area where the hydrograph is desired as
presented in Figure 4-11. Settings should be as presented in Figure 4-12. On the “Basins”
tab, set “Include Subbasins” to “Yes” as presented in Figure 4-13.

Figure 4-11. HMS Meteorologic Model creation
Figure 4-12. HMS Meteorologic Model settings Figure 4-13. HMS Meteorologic Model subbasins

Step 7. Create the 1/3, 2/3 balanced hyetograph for the storm. Select “Frequency Storm” under the
“Meteorologic Model” created in Step 6. Set “Storm Duration” to the design storm duration
(24 hours in this example), “Intensity Position” to 67 Percent and “Storm Area (MI2)” to 1
(regardless of the watershed area.) It is important to set “Storm Area (MI2)” to 1, otherwise
the HEC-HMS default depth-area-reduction factor will be applied in addition to the area
reduction already applied using the methodology in Section 2.3. Under “Partial-Duration
Depth (IN)”, enter the appropriate rainfall depths for the site as determined using the
methods in Section 2.2 and Section 2.3 – these values should include any appropriate depth-
area-reduction. Settings should be as presented in Figure 4-14, with the exception of the
Partial-Duration Depth values, which will be site and storm duration specific.

Figure 4-14. HMS 1/3, 2/3 balanced storm setup

Step 8. Control specification creation. Use the “Components” → “Control Specification Manager”
to create a simulation time window for the hydrograph creation as presented in Figure 4-15.
Figure 4-15. HMS Control Specifications creation
Step 9. Control Specifications settings. The start and end dates and times should be selected to
provide enough time to capture the entire hydrograph. The “Time Interval” setting of the
Control Specifications should be set no greater than the “Intensity-Duration” in Step 7
(5 minutes in this example.). In the example shown, a time interval of 5 minutes is selected.
When peak discharge is of primary importance, a short time interval should be utilized.
Settings should be as presented in Figure 4-16. .

Figure 4-16. Control Specifications settings
Step 10. Create a Simulation Run. Use the “Compute” → “Create Compute” → “Simulation Run …” to
prepare a model run. Follow the prompts to name the model run, select the basin model
created in Step 3, Meteorologic Model created in Step 6 and the Control Specifications
created in Step 9.
Step 11. Calculate the hydrograph. Select the “Compute” tab, select Simulation Runs and right click
the simulation run created in Step 10. Click compute as presented in Figure 4-17.

Figure 4-17. HMS hydrograph calculation
Step 12. View the results. The resulting hydrograph may be viewed by selecting the “Results” tab,
clicking “Simulation Runs”, clicking the simulation run created in Step 10, clicking the
subbasin created in Step 4 and selecting “Graph” as presented in Figure 4-18.
Figure 4-18. Viewing hydrograph results

By visual inspection, it may be concluded the time window chosen for simulation is sufficient
to capture the rising and falling hydrograph limbs. (In fact, the time could be shortened by
returning to Step 9, changing the end time and re-running the model.) Results such as peak
discharge, time of peak discharge, runoff volume, etc. are available by clicking “Summary
Table” below the “Graph” icon previously selected. An example Summary Results window is
presented as Figure 4-19. Detailed output for each time step is also available by selecting
“Time-Series Table” below “Summary Table” in the hierarchical list. An example of more
detailed output is presented in Figure 4-20.
Figure 4-19. Hydrograph summary results

Figure 4-20. Hydrograph detailed output
Of course, the simulation results from the example are for the 1 square mile watershed used to apply the
proper depth-area-reduction. Final results are obtained by multiplying simulation results by the actual
square mile area of the watershed. The abscissa and ordinate values of the hydrograph are available in
the detailed output. The procedure described for determining a runoff hydrograph is applicable to a single
basin. Analysis of more complicated watersheds requiring subbasins should follow a similar overall
approach and may require the use of junctions, routing reaches, reservoirs, etc. Refer to the HEC-HMS
User’s Manual for further information regarding the use of multiple subbasins.

4.5 Transition from Rational Method to NRCS Hydrologic Method
As discussed in Section 3.1, the engineer should only use the RM or MRM for drainage areas up to
approximately 1 square mile. The NRCS hydrologic method should be used for study areas approximately
1 square mile and greater in size. For study areas greater than approximately 1 square mile, the NRCS
hydrologic method may be used for the entire study area, or the RM or MRM may be used for
approximately 1 square mile of the study area with results then transitioned to the NRCS hydrologic
method solutions using the procedure described below:
1) Stop RM calculations at approximately 1 square mile;
2) Freeze RM peak discharge, Qp, at approximately 1 square mile;
3) Begin NRCS hydrograph calculations at the next point of interest. Estimate the travel time, Tt,
from the MRM calculations along the reach to the point of interest, and increase the Tc from the
MRM calculations by Tt. Determine Tp based on Tc using McCuen (1982):
TP = 0.67 TC (4-6)
Perform NRCS calculations as described in Section 4.4 and the total watershed area to the point
of interest.
If QMRM > QNRCS then use QMRM.
If QMRM < QNRCS then use QNRCS.

5 Bibliography
Asquith, W.H., and J.S. Famiglietti. 2000. Precipitation areal-reduction factor estimation using an
annual-maxima centered approach, Journal of Hydrology 230 (1-2): 55-69
Brown, S.S., J.D. Schall, J.L. Morris, C.L. Doherty, S.M. Stein and J.C. Warner. 2009. HEC-22 Urban
Drainage Design Manual, 3rd Ed. United States Department of Transportation, Federal Highway
Administration, Washington, D.C.
Caltrans. 2007. Improved Highway Design Methods for Desert Storms. CA07-0592. Division of
Research and Innovation, California Department of Transportation, August, 2007.
Caltrans. 2015. Highway Design Manual. Division of Design, California Department of Transportation,
July 1, 2015.
Chow, V.T. 1959. Open Channel Hydraulics. McGraw Hill, New York.
Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 1970. Airport Drainage Advisory
Circular No. 150/5320-5B.
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). 2013. Urban Drainage Design Manual. FHWA-NHI-10-009
(Revised 2013). Federal Highway Administration, Washington, D.C.
Hill, J. 2002. Initial Time of Concentration, Analysis of Parameters. County of San Diego. San Diego, CA.
McCuen, Richard H. 1982. A Guide to Hydrologic Analyses Using SCS Methods. Prentice Hall Inc.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Natural Environmental Research Council. 1975. Flood studies report, Vol. 2, Institute of Hydrology,
Wallingford.
Olivera, F., D. Kim, J. Choi and M. Li. 2005. Calculation of Areal Reduction Factors Using Nexrad
Precipitation Estimates. Texas Transportation Institute. Performed in cooperation with the Texas
Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.
San Diego County. 2003. Hydrology Manual. County of San Diego Department of Public Works, Flood
Control Section.
United States Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
1973. NOAA Atlas 2. Precipitation-Frequency Atlas of the Western United States, Volume IX,
California.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC). 1982. Hydrologic Analysis
of Ungaged Watersheds Using HEC-1. Training Document No. 15.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC). 2016. Hydrologic Modeling
System, HEC-HMS: User’s Manual.
http://www.hec.usace.army.mil/software/hec-hms/documentation/HEC-HMS_Users_Manual_4.2.
pdf Online resource accessed August 29, 2016.

Bibliography 5-1
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District (USACE). 1976. Antelope Valley Streams Los Angeles
County, California, Draft Survey Report, Hydrology Part I.
U.S. Climate Data. 2016.

http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/imperial/california/united-states/usca0508. Online
resource accessed June 13, 2016.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). 2010. National
Engineering Handbook: Part 630 Hydrology. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/
national/water/manage/hydrology/?cid=stelprdb1043063. Online resource accessed August 2,
2016.
USGS. 1989. Guide for Selecting Manning’s Roughness Coefficients for Natural Channels and
Floodplains. U.S. Geological Survey, Water-Supply Paper 2339, Denver, Colorado.
U.S. Weather Bureau. 1957. Rainfall intensity-frequency regime – Part 1: The Ohio Valley, Technical
Paper No. 29 (TP-29), Washington, D.C.

5-2 Bibliography
Appendix
Imperial County S-graph Coordinates

Appendix A-1
Table A-1. Foothill S-graph values
% % Peak
% Lag % Peak q % Peak q % Lag % Lag % Peak q
Lag q
0 0.00 40 7.74 80 25.92 120 62.26
1 0.03 41 8.00 81 26.63 121 62.65
2 0.16 42 8.32 82 27.41 122 63.03
3 0.22 43 8.58 83 28.25 123 63.42
4 0.42 44 8.90 84 29.15 124 63.81
5 0.61 45 9.16 85 30.12 125 64.16
6 0.80 46 9.48 86 31.09 126 64.45
7 0.86 47 9.87 87 32.12 127 64.84
8 0.93 48 10.13 88 33.09 128 65.35
9 1.06 49 10.45 89 34.57 129 65.74
10 1.31 50 10.83 90 35.99 130 66.06
11 1.38 51 10.96 91 37.28 131 66.38
12 1.57 52 11.35 92 39.48 132 66.77
13 1.70 53 11.73 93 42.13 133 67.09
14 1.83 54 12.19 94 44.39 134 67.54
15 1.95 55 12.51 95 45.87 135 67.87
16 2.13 56 12.83 96 46.97 136 68.12
17 2.34 57 13.22 97 47.92 137 68.38
18 2.53 58 13.67 98 48.91 138 68.57
19 2.60 59 14.18 99 49.64 139 68.89
20 2.89 60 14.51 100 50.00 140 69.22
21 3.11 61 15.02 101 50.69 141 69.47
22 3.24 62 15.54 102 51.74 142 69.86
23 3.50 63 15.92 103 52.87 143 70.05
24 3.82 64 16.38 104 53.88 144 70.31
25 4.01 65 16.96 105 54.71 145 70.76
26 4.08 66 17.47 106 55.36 146 71.08
27 4.20 67 17.99 107 55.94 147 71.28
28 4.40 68 18.44 108 56.52 148 71.53
29 4.65 69 19.08 109 57.17 149 71.79
30 4.91 70 19.73 110 57.75 150 72.05
31 5.23 71 20.18 111 58.26 151 72.24
32 5.56 72 20.70 112 58.71 152 72.56
33 5.81 73 21.28 113 59.04 153 72.89
34 6.13 74 22.12 114 59.42 154 73.01
35 6.39 75 22.57 115 59.98 155 73.30
36 6.65 76 22.95 116 60.33 156 73.59
37 6.97 77 23.60 117 60.84 157 73.85
38 7.10 78 24.24 118 61.29 158 74.04
39 7.42 79 25.08 119 61.87 159 74.30

A-2 Appendix
% % Peak
Lag q
160 74.69 201 82.59 242 88.01 283 91.99
161 74.94 202 82.65 243 88.12 284 92.07
162 75.14 203 82.85 244 88.23 285 92.15
163 75.33 204 82.91 245 88.34 286 92.23
164 75.52 205 83.08 246 88.44 287 92.31
165 75.85 206 83.30 247 88.55 288 92.39
166 75.97 207 83.36 248 88.66 289 92.47
167 76.17 208 83.55 249 88.76 290 92.55
168 76.42 209 83.68 250 88.87 291 92.63
169 76.62 210 83.81 251 88.97 292 92.71
170 76.87 211 84.00 252 89.08 293 92.79
171 77.13 212 84.07 253 89.18 294 92.87
172 77.32 213 84.19 254 89.28 295 92.94
173 77.52 214 84.39 255 89.39 296 93.02
174 77.71 215 84.58 256 89.49 297 93.09
175 77.94 216 84.71 257 89.59 298 93.17
176 78.03 217 84.84 258 89.69 299 93.24
177 78.22 218 85.03 259 89.79 300 93.31
178 78.42 219 85.09 260 89.89 301 93.38
179 78.67 220 85.22 261 89.99 302 93.46
180 78.93 221 85.35 262 90.08 303 93.53
181 79.06 222 85.48 263 90.18 304 93.60
182 79.32 223 85.60 264 90.28 305 93.67
183 79.51 224 85.73 265 90.37 306 93.74
184 79.70 225 85.79 266 90.47 307 93.80
185 79.92 226 85.99 267 90.56 308 93.87
186 79.96 227 86.18 268 90.66 309 93.94
187 80.13 228 86.24 269 90.75 310 94.00
188 80.41 229 86.44 270 90.84 311 94.07
189 80.54 230 86.63 271 90.93 312 94.14
190 80.79 231 86.69 272 91.03 313 94.20
191 80.86 232 86.89 273 91.12 314 94.26
192 81.05 233 86.95 274 91.21 315 94.33
193 81.24 234 87.11 275 91.30 316 94.39
194 81.37 235 87.23 276 91.38 317 94.45
195 81.50 236 87.34 277 91.47 318 94.51
196 81.76 237 87.45 278 91.56 319 94.57
197 82.01 238 87.57 279 91.65 320 94.64
198 82.08 239 87.68 280 91.73 321 94.69
199 82.14 240 87.79 281 91.82 322 94.75
200 82.27 241 87.90 282 91.90 323 94.81

Appendix A-3
% % Peak
Lag q
324 94.87 365 96.76 406 97.88 447 98.49
325 94.93 366 96.80 407 97.90 448 98.50
326 94.98 367 96.83 408 97.92 449 98.51
327 95.04 368 96.87 409 97.94 450 98.52
328 95.10 369 96.90 410 97.96 451 98.53
329 95.15 370 96.94 411 97.98 452 98.54
330 95.20 371 96.97 412 98.00 453 98.55
331 95.26 372 97.00 413 98.01 454 98.56
332 95.31 373 97.03 414 98.03 455 98.57
333 95.36 374 97.07 415 98.05 456 98.58
334 95.42 375 97.10 416 98.07 457 98.59
335 95.47 376 97.13 417 98.08 458 98.60
336 95.52 377 97.16 418 98.10 460 98.61
337 95.57 378 97.19 419 98.12 461 98.62
338 95.62 379 97.22 420 98.13 462 98.63
339 95.67 380 97.25 421 98.15 463 98.64
340 95.72 381 97.28 422 98.16 464 98.65
341 95.76 382 97.31 423 98.18 465 98.66
342 95.81 383 97.33 424 98.20 467 98.67
343 95.86 384 97.36 425 98.21 468 98.68
344 95.91 385 97.39 426 98.23 469 98.69
345 95.95 386 97.42 427 98.24 470 98.70
346 96.00 387 97.44 428 98.25 472 98.71
347 96.04 388 97.47 429 98.27 473 98.72
348 96.09 389 97.50 430 98.28 474 98.73
349 96.13 390 97.52 431 98.30 476 98.74
350 96.17 391 97.55 432 98.31 477 98.75
351 96.22 392 97.57 433 98.32 478 98.76
352 96.26 393 97.60 434 98.34 480 98.77
353 96.30 394 97.62 435 98.35 481 98.78
354 96.34 395 97.64 436 98.36 482 98.79
355 96.38 396 97.67 437 98.37 484 98.80
356 96.42 397 97.69 438 98.39 485 98.81
357 96.46 398 97.71 439 98.40 487 98.82
358 96.50 399 97.73 440 98.41 488 98.83
359 96.54 400 97.76 441 98.42 490 98.84
360 96.58 401 97.78 442 98.43 491 98.85
361 96.62 402 97.80 443 98.44 493 98.86
362 96.65 403 97.82 444 98.46 494 98.87
363 96.69 404 97.84 445 98.47 496 98.88
364 96.73 405 97.86 446 98.48 498 98.89

A-4 Appendix
% % Peak
Lag q
499 98.90 544 99.18 595 99.54 624 99.74
501 98.91 546 99.19 597 99.55 625 99.75
502 98.92 547 99.20 598 99.56 627 99.76
504 98.93 549 99.21 599 99.57 628 99.77
506 98.94 550 99.22 601 99.58 630 99.78
507 98.95 552 99.23 602 99.59 632 99.79
509 98.96 553 99.24 603 99.60 633 99.80
511 98.97 555 99.25 605 99.61 635 99.81
512 98.98 556 99.26 606 99.62 637 99.82
514 98.99 558 99.27 608 99.63 638 99.83
515 99.00 559 99.28 609 99.64 640 99.84
517 99.01 561 99.29 610 99.65 642 99.85
519 99.02 562 99.30 612 99.66 644 99.86
520 99.03 575 99.39 613 99.67 646 99.87
522 99.04 576 99.40 615 99.68 648 99.88
524 99.05 577 99.41 616 99.69 651 99.89
525 99.06 579 99.42 618 99.70 653 99.90
527 99.07 580 99.43 619 99.71 655 99.91
528 99.08 582 99.44 563 99.31 658 99.92
530 99.09 583 99.45 565 99.32 661 99.93
532 99.10 584 99.46 566 99.33 667 99.94
533 99.11 586 99.47 568 99.34 674 99.95
535 99.12 587 99.48 569 99.35 683 99.96
536 99.13 588 99.49 570 99.36 687 99.97
538 99.14 590 99.50 572 99.37 692 99.98
540 99.15 591 99.51 573 99.38 697 99.99
541 99.16 592 99.52 621 99.72 700 100.00
543 99.17 594 99.53 622 99.73

Appendix A-5
Table A-2. Desert S-graph values
% Lag % Peak q % Lag % Peak q % Lag % Peak q % Lag % Peak q
0 0.00 40 6.66 80 36.20 120 59.83

1 0.06 41 7.02 81 37.17 121 60.25
2 0.19 42 7.31 82 37.81 122 60.63
3 0.22 43 7.69 83 38.72 123 60.95
4 0.25 44 8.01 84 39.56 124 61.28
5 0.32 45 8.34 85 40.33 125 61.60
6 0.44 46 8.79 86 41.17 126 61.92
7 0.57 47 9.24 87 41.94 127 62.18
8 0.70 48 9.75 88 42.59 128 62.50
9 0.76 49 10.14 89 43.17 129 62.88
10 0.96 50 10.72 90 44.01 130 63.21
11 1.02 51 11.23 91 44.78 131 63.46
12 1.08 52 11.49 92 45.30 132 63.78
13 1.21 53 11.88 93 46.07 133 64.11
14 1.34 54 12.33 94 46.78 134 64.36
15 1.46 55 12.84 95 47.62 135 64.81
16 1.59 56 13.60 96 48.13 136 65.07
17 1.79 57 14.26 97 48.58 137 65.33
18 1.98 58 14.91 98 49.22 138 65.58
19 2.11 59 15.49 99 49.64 139 65.91
20 2.23 60 16.18 100 50.00 140 66.23
21 2.49 61 16.97 101 50.59 141 66.42
22 2.68 62 17.75 102 51.31 142 66.68
23 2.75 63 18.52 103 52.13 143 66.93
24 2.94 64 19.29 104 52.65 144 67.19
25 3.20 65 20.20 105 53.23 145 67.45
26 3.39 66 21.40 106 53.87 146 67.71
27 3.52 67 22.65 107 54.26 147 67.96
28 3.77 68 23.68 108 54.64 148 68.22
29 3.90 69 24.65 109 55.09 149 68.48
30 4.07 70 26.20 110 55.67 150 68.86
31 4.41 71 27.36 111 56.19 151 69.16
32 4.67 72 28.20 112 56.58 152 69.31
33 4.99 73 29.36 113 56.96 153 69.51
34 5.19 74 30.46 114 57.35 154 69.76
35 5.51 75 31.49 115 57.80 155 69.89
36 5.70 76 32.33 116 58.25 156 70.15
37 5.96 77 33.10 117 58.57 157 70.40
38 6.21 78 34.07 118 58.89 158 70.60
39 6.41 79 35.04 119 59.28 159 70.85

A-6 Appendix
160 71.11 201 78.35 242 83.51 283 87.25

161 71.30 202 78.48 243 83.62 284 87.33
162 71.50 203 78.67 244 83.72 285 87.40
163 71.69 204 78.87 245 83.83 286 87.48
164 71.88 205 78.93 246 83.93 287 87.56
165 72.14 206 79.12 247 84.03 288 87.63
166 72.33 207 79.25 248 84.14 289 87.71
167 72.52 208 79.44 249 84.24 290 87.78
168 72.71 209 79.51 250 84.34 291 87.85
169 72.89 210 79.70 251 84.44 292 87.93
170 73.16 211 79.76 252 84.54 293 88.00
171 73.29 212 79.89 253 84.63 294 88.07
172 73.48 213 79.97 254 84.73 295 88.15
173 73.68 214 80.11 255 84.83 296 88.22
174 73.93 215 80.24 256 84.92 297 88.29
175 74.19 216 80.38 257 85.02 298 88.36
176 74.25 217 80.51 258 85.11 299 88.43
177 74.45 218 80.65 259 85.21 300 88.50
178 74.64 219 80.78 260 85.30 301 88.57
179 74.83 220 80.91 261 85.39 302 88.64
180 75.02 221 81.04 262 85.48 303 88.71
181 75.09 222 81.17 263 85.57 304 88.77
182 75.34 223 81.30 264 85.66 305 88.84
183 75.54 224 81.42 265 85.75 306 88.91
184 75.71 225 81.55 266 85.84 307 88.97
185 75.92 226 81.67 267 85.93 308 89.04
186 76.05 227 81.79 268 86.02 309 89.11
187 76.11 228 81.91 269 86.10 310 89.17
188 76.37 229 82.04 270 86.19 311 89.24
189 76.56 230 82.15 271 86.27 312 89.30
190 76.63 231 82.27 272 86.36 313 89.37
191 76.82 232 82.39 273 86.44 314 89.43
192 77.01 233 82.51 274 86.52 315 89.49
193 77.14 234 82.62 275 86.61 316 89.56
194 77.33 235 82.74 276 86.69 317 89.62
195 77.52 236 82.85 277 86.77 318 89.68
196 77.71 237 82.96 278 86.85 319 89.74
197 77.78 238 83.07 279 86.93 320 89.81
198 77.97 239 83.18 280 87.01 321 89.87
199 78.03 240 83.29 281 87.09 322 89.93
200 78.16 241 83.40 282 87.17 323 89.99

Appendix A-7
324 90.05 365 92.25 406 94.02 447 95.44

325 90.11 366 92.30 407 94.06 448 95.47
326 90.17 367 92.35 408 94.10 449 95.50
327 90.23 368 92.39 409 94.14 450 95.53
328 90.29 369 92.44 410 94.18 451 95.56
329 90.34 370 92.49 411 94.22 452 95.59
330 90.40 371 92.54 412 94.25 453 95.62
331 90.46 372 92.58 413 94.29 454 95.65
332 90.52 373 92.63 414 94.33 455 95.67
333 90.58 374 92.67 415 94.36 456 95.70
334 90.63 375 92.72 416 94.40 457 95.73
335 90.69 376 92.77 417 94.44 458 95.76
336 90.74 377 92.81 418 94.47 459 95.79
337 90.80 378 92.86 419 94.51 460 95.82
338 90.86 379 92.90 420 94.55 461 95.84
339 90.91 380 92.95 421 94.58 462 95.87
340 90.97 381 92.99 422 94.62 463 95.90
341 91.02 382 93.03 423 94.65 464 95.93
342 91.08 383 93.08 424 94.69 465 95.95
343 91.13 384 93.12 425 94.72 466 95.98
344 91.18 385 93.16 426 94.76 467 96.01
345 91.24 386 93.21 427 94.79 468 96.03
346 91.29 387 93.25 428 94.83 469 96.06
347 91.34 388 93.29 429 94.86 470 96.09
348 91.40 389 93.34 430 94.89 471 96.11
349 91.45 390 93.38 431 94.93 472 96.14
350 91.50 391 93.42 432 94.96 473 96.16
351 91.55 392 93.46 433 94.99 474 96.19
352 91.60 393 93.50 434 95.03 475 96.22
353 91.66 394 93.55 435 95.06 476 96.24
354 91.71 395 93.59 436 95.09 477 96.27
355 91.76 396 93.63 437 95.12 478 96.29
356 91.81 397 93.67 438 95.16 479 96.31
357 91.86 398 93.71 439 95.19 480 96.34
358 91.91 399 93.75 440 95.22 481 96.36
359 91.96 400 93.79 441 95.25 482 96.39
360 92.01 401 93.83 442 95.28 483 96.41
361 92.06 402 93.87 443 95.31 484 96.44
362 92.11 403 93.91 444 95.35 485 96.46
363 92.15 404 93.95 445 95.38 486 96.48
364 92.20 405 93.99 446 95.41 487 96.51

A-8 Appendix
488 96.53 529 97.34 570 97.94 611 98.43

489 96.55 530 97.36 571 97.96 612 98.44
490 96.57 531 97.37 572 97.97 613 98.45
491 96.60 532 97.39 573 97.98 614 98.46
492 96.62 533 97.41 574 97.99 615 98.47
493 96.64 534 97.42 575 98.01 616 98.48
494 96.66 535 97.44 576 98.02 617 98.49
495 96.69 536 97.46 577 98.03 618 98.50
496 96.71 537 97.47 578 98.04 619 98.52
497 96.73 538 97.49 579 98.06 620 98.53
498 96.75 539 97.50 580 98.07 621 98.54
499 96.77 540 97.52 581 98.08 622 98.55
500 96.79 541 97.53 582 98.09 623 98.56
501 96.81 542 97.55 583 98.10 624 98.57
502 96.83 543 97.57 584 98.12 625 98.58
503 96.85 544 97.58 585 98.13 626 98.59
504 96.88 545 97.60 586 98.14 627 98.60
505 96.90 546 97.61 587 98.15 628 98.61
506 96.92 547 97.63 588 98.16 629 98.63
507 96.94 548 97.64 589 98.18 630 98.64
508 96.96 549 97.66 590 98.19 631 98.65
509 96.98 550 97.67 591 98.20 632 98.66
510 96.99 551 97.68 592 98.21 633 98.67
511 97.01 552 97.70 593 98.22 634 98.68
512 97.03 553 97.71 594 98.23 635 98.69
513 97.05 554 97.73 595 98.25 636 98.70
514 97.07 555 97.74 596 98.26 637 98.71
515 97.09 556 97.76 597 98.27 638 98.72
516 97.11 557 97.77 598 98.28 639 98.74
517 97.13 558 97.78 599 98.29 640 98.75
518 97.15 559 97.80 600 98.30 641 98.76
519 97.16 560 97.81 601 98.31 642 98.77
520 97.18 561 97.82 602 98.33 643 98.78
521 97.20 562 97.84 603 98.34 644 98.79
522 97.22 563 97.85 604 98.35 645 98.80
523 97.24 564 97.86 605 98.36 646 98.81
524 97.25 565 97.88 606 98.37 647 98.82
525 97.27 566 97.89 607 98.38 648 98.83
526 97.29 567 97.90 608 98.39 649 98.85
527 97.31 568 97.92 609 98.40 650 98.86
528 97.32 569 97.93 610 98.42 651 98.87

Appendix A-9
652 98.88 679 99.18 706 99.48 733 99.76

653 98.89 680 99.19 707 99.49 734 99.77
654 98.90 681 99.20 708 99.50 735 99.78
655 98.91 682 99.22 709 99.51 736 99.79
656 98.92 683 99.23 710 99.52 737 99.80
657 98.94 684 99.24 711 99.53 738 99.81
658 98.95 685 99.25 712 99.54 739 99.82
659 98.96 686 99.26 713 99.55 740 99.83
660 98.97 687 99.27 714 99.56 741 99.84
661 98.98 688 99.28 715 99.57 742 99.85
662 98.99 689 99.29 716 99.59 743 99.86
663 99.00 690 99.30 717 99.60 744 99.87
664 99.01 691 99.32 718 99.61 745 99.88
665 99.02 692 99.33 719 99.62 746 99.89
666 99.04 693 99.34 720 99.63 747 99.90
667 99.05 694 99.35 721 99.64 748 99.91
668 99.06 695 99.36 722 99.65 749 99.92
669 99.07 696 99.37 723 99.66 750 99.93
670 99.08 697 99.38 724 99.67 751 99.94
671 99.09 698 99.39 725 99.68 755 99.95
672 99.10 699 99.40 726 99.69 760 99.96
673 99.11 700 99.41 727 99.70 765 99.97
674 99.13 701 99.42 728 99.71 770 99.98
675 99.14 702 99.43 729 99.72 775 99.99
676 99.15 703 99.45 730 99.73 780 100.00
677 99.16 704 99.46 731 99.74
678 99.17 705 99.47 732 99.75

A-10 Appendix

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Imperial County

Image source: California Environmental Protection Agency

WEST Consultants, Inc.

2 Precipitation Analysis 2-1

3 Small Area Hydrologic Procedure – Rational Method 3-1

4 Large Area Hydrologic Procedure – NRCS Hydrologic Method 4-1

Imperial County Hydrology Manual i

ii Imperial County Hydrology Manual

Imperial County Hydrology Manual iii

iv Imperial County Hydrology Manual

Imperial County Hydrology Manual v

1.1 About This Manual

1.2 Manual Organization

In general, each main section is laid out following a similar format:

• Instructions: When applicable, procedures to perform detailed calculations are provided.

Imperial County Hydrology Manual

1.3 Hydrologic Procedure Guidance

Imperial County Hydrology Manual

2.1 General Description

Imperial County Hydrology Manual

2.2 Rainfall Depth and Intensity

2.3 Depth-Area Reduction Factors

Imperial County Hydrology Manual

Figure 2-1. Depth-Area Reduction Factor Curves for Imperial County

Imperial County Hydrology Manual

Table 2-1. Depth-Area Reduction Factors for Imperial County

Imperial County Hydrology Manual

2.4 Temporal Distribution

Imperial County Hydrology Manual

Storm Time (hours)

Figure 2-3. Nested Storm Pattern with 2/3, 1/3 Distribution

Imperial County Hydrology Manual

Peak Rainfall Ordinate:

Second Rainfall Ordinate: 1

0.0 hours 24.0 hours

Imperial County Hydrology Manual

Table 2-2. Hyetograph Example Average Precipitation

having variables defined as,

The 4th hour precipitation is then estimated as

Imperial County Hydrology Manual

So, 4th hour precipitation, x = 2.37 inches

Similarly, the 5th hour precipitation is then estimated as

So, 5th hour precipitation, x = 2.51 inches

Table 2-3. Summarized Values Hyetograph Example

Imperial County Hydrology Manual

Figure 2-5. Completed Design Storm Hyetograph Example

Imperial County Hydrology Manual

3.1 General Description

3.1.1 Rational Method Formula

Where: Qp = peak discharge, in cubic feet per second (cfs)

Imperial County Hydrology Manual

A = drainage area contributing to the design location, in acres

Combining the units for the expression CIA yields:

acres·inches 43,560 square feet 1 foot 1 hour

Figure 3-1. Most Hydraulically Remote Point

Imperial County Hydrology Manual

2) Rainfall intensity is the same over the entire drainage area.

3) Rainfall intensity is uniform over a time duration equal to Tc.

3.1.2 Runoff Coefficient

C = 0.90 x (% Impervious) + Cp x (1 - % Impervious) (3-3)