Republic of the Philippines

CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY

Don Severino delas Alas Campus
Indang, Cavite

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering

ABEN 55 - HYDROMETEOROLOGY

Name: Mark Andrew Ferrera Student Number: 202102552

Course, Year and Section: BSES 2-1 Date:

Laboratory Exercise No. 5

Measurement of Streamflow Discharge

Introduction

Runoff refers to the processes and pathways through which excess water becomes
streamflow. Excess water is that portion of the precipitation that runs off the land surface and
that which drains from the soil and 1s not consumed in evapotranspiration. The shape and
relative magnitude of a hydrograph, a graphical representation of discharge in relation to
time, are determined by the collective pathways through which excess water flows on and
through a watershed.

Streamflow data are important in planning for flood control, estimating the
dependability of water supplies, or designing reservoir storage.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the exercise, the learner should be able to:

1. measure the flow velocity of a stream;

2. determine the cross-sectional area of flow;
3. compute the streamflow discharge; and
4. compare the methods of streamflow measurement.

Methodology

Students visited the Saluysoy River to measure streamflow discharge. They were
divided into three groups to calculate the streamflow discharge using the float method, current
meter method, and empirical method, and one group to measure the spring discharge using the
volumetric container method.

For the float method, students are assigned to bring a floating object like a ping pong
ball, a meter stick or rolling meter to measure the distance, a rope to determine the boundaries
of your control section, and a timer. Put your floating object to the surface of your control section
starting line and time it until it reaches the finish line. Do it five times. Divide the length by time
for each trial and average it to get the surface velocity. To determine the average flow velocity,
multiply your surface velocity by 0.80. For your cross-sectional area, use the data measured by
the group in current meter method. To determine the stream flow discharge, use the formula
Q= A x V ave,
3
where Q= flow discharge, m /s,
Vave= average flow velocity, m/s,
A= cross-sectional area of flow, m2.

For the current meter method, the group needs to bring a meter stick and a rolling
meter, a timer, and the Price Current Meter provided by the instructor. Measure the width of the
river and divide it by .3 m for the vertical sections. Measure each section's depth with a meter
stick. Measures will be taken at 60% of the total depth if the section has a depth of less than .5
m. Position your price current meter and record the number of revolutions for 2 minutes. Do it
three times per section. Average the data you get in three trials and get the velocity using the
formula

𝑉 = 𝑎 + 𝑏𝑁
where a, b= constant,
N= number of revolutions

For getting the cross-sectional area, illustrate the river using the measurement you get. Use the
appropriate formula depending on the shape of each section. To get the stream flow discharge,
multiply the velocity and area per section and total it. Use the formula
𝑛

𝑄 = ∑(𝑉𝑖𝐴𝑖)
𝑖

where i = number of sections

V= velocity
A = Area
For the empirical method, bring a tape measure to measure the wetted perimeter.
Determine the type of channel you are measuring and obtain its Manning
roughness/resistance coefficient from the literature. To get the velocity use the formula
1 2 1
𝑉= 𝑅3𝑆 2
𝑛
where n = Manning roughness coefficient
R = hydraulic radius = cross-sectional area/wetted
perimeter, m
S = slope of the water surface, m/m

Use the cross-sectional area that the current meter group get and to determine the
wetted perimeter, just run your measuring tape across the river bed. To get the streamflow
discharge use this formula
𝑄 = 𝑉𝐴
where Q = streamflow discharge
V= Velocity
 A= Area

For the spring box discharge, the group need to bring two identical plastic bottles and
a timer. At the same time, fill the plastic bottles with water from the source and time it until it’s
full. Do this three times and average the time you get. To get the discharge use the formula
𝑉
𝑄=
𝑇

where Q= flowrate/ discharge in liters per second

V= volume of the container in liters
T= time to fully fill the container in seconds

Results and Discussion

Float method

Cross section
- Width = 2 meters
- Length = 13. 4 meters
Time 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
V surface = 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

Trial 1 22.92 seconds 0.584642233 m/s

Trial 2 22.23 seconds 0.602789023 m/s
Trial 3 24. 90 seconds 0.53815261 m/s
Trial 4 26.15 seconds 0.512428298 m/s
Trial 5 24.11 seconds 0.55578598 m/s
Total 2.7936128828 m/s

2.7936128828 m/s
V surface, ave =
5
= 0.5587 m/s

Vave = (0.5587 m/s) (.80)

= 0. 447 m/s

Q = AVave
= (0.153 m2) (0.447 m/s)
Q = 0.06839 m3/s

Current Meter Method

Section Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average Velocity Width Depth Area Flow
A 41 40 42 41 29.411m/s .3 m 0m 0 m2 0 m3/s
B 62 67 69 66 47.336 .3 m .15 m 0.045 m2 2.13012 m3/s
m/s
C 75 73 69 72.33 51.877 .3 m .14 m 0.042 m2 2.178834 m3/s
 m/s
D 58 63 71 64 45.902 .3 m .12 m 0.036 m2 1.652472 m3/s
m/s
E 59 72 68 66.33 47.575 .3 m .1 m 0.03 m2 1.42725 m3/s
m/s
F 35 41 40 38.66 27.738 .3 m 0m 0 m2 0 m3/s
m/s
Total 0.153 m2 7.388676 m3/s

Formula Used:
𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 1+ 𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 2+ 𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 3
Average = 3
Velocity (𝑽) = 𝑎 + 𝑏𝑁
𝑉 = 0.014 + 0.717(𝑁)
N= number of revolutions

Area (A)= Area of and Area of

Flow (Q)= A x V

Illustration
Empirical Method

Spring Box Discharge

Trial Opening 1 Opening 2

(seconds) (seconds)
1 18.63 37.01
2 18.48 36.97
3 19.1 37.08
Average 18.736 37.02

0.01 𝑚3 𝑚3
Q1= = .00053
18.746 𝑠 𝑠

0.01 𝑚3 𝑚3
Q2= = .00027
37.02 𝑠 𝑠

= 0.0008 𝑚3

Conclusion
Monitoring a streamflow will help us in our water management and risk management.
We have three methods in measuring streamflow discharge. The float method, current meter
method, and empirical method. A cross section is an area where we identify the area of the river
by sectioning int vertical pieces. In float method we, we use a floating object to determine the
surface velocity. In Current meter, we use a price current meter to determine the velocity and in
empirical we only use an equation. To determine the spring discharge, we use the volumetric
method. Selecting the most appropriate method also give us the most accurate data.
Appendices
References

FFOLLIOTT, P.F. 1990. Manual on Watershed Instrumentation and Measurements. ASEAN-

USWatershed Project, College, Laguna.

LINSLEY, R.K. and J.B. FRANZINI. 1979. Water-Resources Engineering. McGraw- Hill
Kogakusha, Ltd.

LINSLEY, R.K., M.A. KOHLER, and J.L.H. PAULHUS. 1988. Hydrology for Engineers.
McGraw-Hill Book Co.

MCGHEE, T.J. 1991. Water Supply and Sewerage. McGraw-Hill, Inc.

SCHWAB, G.O., D.D. FANGMEIER, W.J. ELLIOT AND R.K. FREVERT. 1993. Soil and
Water
Conservation Engineering. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.