NCE3204

HYDROLOGY
MODULE 5: LOSSES FROM PRECIPITATION

I. INTRODUCTION IV. THEORIES AND CONCEPTS

When precipitation falls down on earth, various Onc rainfall fell into the ground, certain processes of
processes that “removes” rainfall from a patch of land. the hydrologic cycle will occur plus other local
Some of these processes takes a few amount of water phenomenon
but other processes takes a significant amount.
Consider a patch of land shown below
But regardless of the amount of water taken from
precipitation, determining the amount of precipitation
abstraction can be difficult. In fact when direct
measurement seems to be impossible, empirical
formulas are derived in order to quantify the amount of
abstraction.

II. DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT

Since this topic is new, there will be no diagnostic Interception
assessment to be performed.

III. INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES Depression

At the end of this module the student will be able to loss
quantify the amount precipitation losses. Specifically,
the students will be able to:
A. Quantify empirically the amount of Interception and
detention losses based on secondary data such as
type of roof or canopy cover
B. Compute the amount of evaporation using direct
measurement method (Pan Evaporation) and
possess the understanding on how important pan Once rainfall fell into the ground, there will be several
calibration is processes that can occur. These processes “removes”
C. Compute the amount of evaporation empirically water in the patch of land
using various equation as well as apply some
concepts of hydraulics particularly that of the 7 th The first abstraction process that will occur is called
power velocity profile equations interteception. This is the process in which rainfall is
D. Compute the amount of infiltration empirically as intercepted by leaves and even man made
well as developing the necessary infiltration components such as roof tops.
equations for a particular study area
E. To apply the principle of evapotranspiration in Interception is very difficult to to quantify buy
computing the amount of crop water requirement assumptions were made depending on the type of
for irrigation purposes. surface
• Metal Roof Surface - 1mm
• Trees – 0.5mm
• Rough Deck Surfaces – 1.5mm

EXAMPLE 1:

Determine the volume of rainfall intercepted by a

65sqm GI roof given a rainfall of 7mm

SOLUTIONS:
Since the depth of interception by a GI roof is given to
be 1mm, the volume of interception is given as follows:

mm 2 3
1 ∗65m =0.065m
1000

Compare that to the total rainfall of [65*(7/1000)] =

0.455m3.
EXAMPLE 2: EXAMPLE 3:
Determine the volume of rainfall intercepted by a 7ha. Determine the loss due to depression storage at the
Mini forest if the rainfall is 5mm. UE Field (A = 2.1ha) if the soil there is clayey.

SOLUTIONS: SOLUTIONS:
Since the depth of interception by tree canopy is given The depression loss for clayey soil is 2.5mm
to be 0.5mm, the volume of interception is given as
follows: The volume of the depression storage is given to be:
2
0.5 mm 10000m mm 3
∗7 ha∗ =35m 3 2.5 ∗2.1 ha∗10000=52.5m
1000 1 ha 1000

Compare that to the volume of rainfall, we have the The depression loss are affected by the following:
following: • Rainfall Intensity
• Type Soil
5 mm 10000m
2 • Antecedent Moisture Condition
∗7 ha∗ =350m 3
1000 1 ha
One major process of rainfall abstraction is
The amount of 35m3 that were intercepted comprises Evaporation. This is the conversion of liquid into vapor.
the water intercepted by the leaves of the trees alone.
Once the rest of the water came down of the canopy, Evaporation can be quantified as follows:
other abstractions or losses will occur such as • Direct Measurement
infiltration and evapotranspiration. • Indirect or Empirical Measurement

The next form of precipitation losses is Depression Direct measurement of evaporation usually involves
storage. Depressions storage occurs when the surface the use of pans. The following types of pan are given
is low and water will congregate to the low areas of the below:
surface where it ponds. The ponding of water occurs • USWB Class A pan – evaporation from dry lands
because it moves in at a much faster rate than what • Colorado sunken pan – evaporation for dry lands
the soil can absorb but the surface is low enough to • USGS floating pan – evaporation on lakes and
prevent runoff. streams

Unlike lakes and streams as seen above, depression

storage will revert to dry land after prolonged absence
of rainfall. Just like interception, depression storage or
depression loss is also difficult to quantify. However a
relationship with the type of soil can be made. USWB class A pan
• Clayey Soil – 2.5mm
• Loamy Soil – 3.8mm The pan works by placing 8 inches (0.2m) of water at
• Sandy Soil – 3.0mm the pan. If the water surface reaches 7 inch or less
deep during the day, measure the depth and refill up to
8inch.
The evaporation rate from the pan are affected by the E = 37.50mm (0.78) = 29.25mm
following:
• The color of the pan E = 29.25mm
• The depth of exposure (that is why refilling is
needed) For lakewater and reservoirs (both natural and man
• Weather made) the amount of evaporation are determined
• Heat storage (since the pan is metal, it absorbs empirically in the absence of floating pan. The
heat) following empirical equations for measuring
• Height of the rim. evaporation are given as follows:

The pan evaporation is computed by the formula USBR Equation

E=0.833 ( 4.37 T m+ 43.3 )
E=P e C E is in mm/month
Where: TM = is the average daily temp (C 0) for the month being
E – pan evaporation (mm/day) analyzed.
Pe – Measured loss (mm)
C – Pan constant (to be determined by the weather Meyer’s Equation:

( )
bureau) u9
E= 1+ C (e s −e )
16
EXAMPLE 4:
E is in mm/day
U9 = wind speed measured at 9m above the surfaces
A USWB Class A pan was placed in the middle of a
in km/hr
farm. (C = 0.78) and at 7AM, the pan was filled to the
es - saturation vapor pressure in mmHg (see module
required depth. The following measurements were
2)
made for the rest of the day.
e – vapor pressure in mmHg (see module 2)
C – Meyer’s coefficient
Time Depth Depth If water depth is more than 6m; C = 0.36
Note:
(in) (mm) If water depth is less than 6m; C = 0.50
If the water level
0700 8” 200.00 reaches below 7”,
the pan must be Penman’s Equation:
1030 7.5” 187.50 E=0.89 ( 1+0.015 U 2 )(e s −e )
refilled back to 8”
1430 6.75” 168.75 E is in mm/day
1700 7.75 193.75 U2 = wind speed measured at 2m above the surfaces
in km/hr
es - saturation vapor pressure in mmHg (see module
SOLUTIONS: 2)
e – vapor pressure in mmHg (see module 2)
The amount of evaporation is tallied as follows:
The wind speed is obtained using the 7th power rule. It
200mm – 168.75mm = 31.25mm is recalled in hydraulics that the velocity particle within
a conduit is given to be:
This was taken from the measured pan water depth
from 7:00AM to 2:30PM. Since at 2:30PM the water
( )
1
U0 ro n
elevation is less than 7inches, it has to be refilled back =
to 8inches as soon as possible (after recording). Ur rr
Therefore at the next recording (5:00PM) the following
measurements are taken: since it is generally assumed that the atmosphere is
like a conduit and the friction of air will yield a value of
200mm – 193.75mm = 6.25mm n to be 7, hence the 7th power rule.

The total evaporation loss from the pan is then taken to To determine the wind speed at 2m from the surface
be

( 2hm )
1
U 2=U h 7
(for use in penman equation)
31.25mm + 6.25mm = 37.50mm

Since the pan tends to absorb a lot of heat, the actual To determine the wind speed at 9m from the surface
pan loss must be multiplied to a coefficient which is the equation is then transformed to:
unique to each pan and therefore:

( 9hm )
1

E=P e C U 9=U h 7
(for use in meyers equation)
EXAMPLE 5:
760 mmHg
4006.989 Pa∗ =30.062 mmHg
Determine the evaporation at Lake Palakpakin in San 101300Pa
Pablo, Laguna for the month of august given its depth
of 2.5m and the average daily temp for the month of Recall also that the relationship between the saturation
august to be 320C vapor pressure, vapor pressure and the relative
humidity is given to be
SOLUTIONS:
From the question it is determined that the required e
RH= ∗100
amount of evaporation is for the whole month of august es
and the applicable method for computing the
evaporation is the USBR method Given that the relative humidity is 80%, the vapor
pressure can be computed to be
E=0.833 ( 4.37 T m+ 43.3 )
e
80= ∗100 ; e = 24.0496mmHg
Given that the average monthly temperature for the 30.062 mmHg
month of august to be 320C, the monthly evaporation
can be computed as follows: The wind speed at 2m and 9m above the lake surface
is then computed using the 7th power rule.
E=0.833 [ 4.37(32 C)+43.3 ]
0

( )
1
2m
U 2=U h 7
E = 152.56mm/mo h

The daily evaporation assuming that the daily and

temperatures does not deviate much from the monthly
average is then assumed to be
( )
1
9m
U 9=U h 7
h
152.56 mm mm
=5.085
30days day The wind speeds at 2m and 9m above the ground is
then given to be:
EXAMPLE 6:

( ) ( ) =15.343 km
1 1
2m km 2 m
Laguna de Bay has an average depth of 2m. If the U 2=U 18 7
; U 2=21 7
18 hr 18 hr
average daily temperature is 290C and the wind speed
is recorded to be 21kph as measured 18m from the
( 918m ) ( )
1 1
surface of the lake. If the average daily humidity is 80% km 9 m km
U 9=U 18 7
; U 9=21 m 7 =19.02
determine the daily evaporation using hr 18 hr

A. Meyer’s Equation Once the meteorological parameters were obtained the

B. Penman’s Equation following can now be computed:

SOLUTIONS: Evaporation by Meyer’s Equation

Prior to the determination of the evaporation loss,

determine the various meteorological parameters that
will be needed to solve for the evaporation.
E= 1+ ( u9
16 )
C (e s −e )

Determine the saturation vapor pressure: (

E= 1+
19.02
16 )
C ( 30.06−24.05 ) =6.578
mm
day
recall that the saturation vapor pressure equation is
given to be: Evaporation by Penman’s Equations
17.27T

e s=611 e 237.3 +T
E=0.89 ( 1+0.015 U 2 )(e s −e )

subsequent computations will be given to be as mm

E=0.89 [ 1+0.015(15.343) ] (30.06−24.0496)=6.58
follows: day
17.27(29)
237.3 +( 29)
e s=611 e = 4006.989Pa

Which can be converted into mmHg

Another process for precipitation loss is The value of P in the monthly consumptive use factor F
Evapotranspiration. This process represents the is given as the following table.
amount of water taken by the plants and released into
the air as water vapor.

It should also be noted that 90% of the water taken in

by the plant is released as water vapor.

Evapotranspiration is measured directly and indirectly.

Direct measurement of evapotranspiration is done
using lysimeters.

Since evapotranspiration is determined primarily for the

purpose of determining the amount of crop water
requirement for common agricultural crops, the value
of K are given in the table below.

This device works by pouring a known amount of water

in saturated soil with plants then the outflow is EXAMPLE 7:
measured in a water gauge underneath. Also, knowing
the amount of water that the soil can hold will also be Determine the crop water requirement for each month
required. of the rice cropping season given the following
meteorological data. The latitude of the farmland is at
Evapotranspiration results can vary from one type of N150
plants to the other and as a result, the measurement
as a whole can be very tedious. Note:
Month Ave Temp
In actual field work, the
One method of computing evapotranspiration loss is July 300 average monthly rainfall as
via the Blaney-Criddle method. This method is already well as other meteorological
Aug 310
more than 60 years old but its simplicity of use as long parameters must be
as the required information are present makes it Sep 320 determined from PAGASA
popular among engineers.
Oct 310
Mathematically, Blaney-Criddle method is given to be
SOLUTIONS:
PET = ∑ KF The monthly crop water requirement is determined
Where:
from the equation
K – crop constant
PET =KF
F - Monthly consumptive use factor in cm
F = (0.0457Tm + 0.8128)P
and it will be determined for each month of the crop
Tm = Average monthly Temperature
growing months.
The monthly daytime percentage hours from the table From the equation above one thing that would bother
above gives the monthly value of P to be as follows: the reader will be the conversion of day to hours is
given in the ratio (1/12) while it known for the fact that
Month P a day is 24hrs.
July 9.05 Plants require sunlight to function and it will
Aug 8.83 function even when when the amount of luminosity
is low hence even though the mean monthly
Sep 8.28 sunlight for the month of august is 9.05, it will still
Oct 8.26 be conservatively set to 12hrs for simplicity in
analysis.
The value of K for this problem is 1.1 since the crop
considered in this problem is rice. Therefore, in terms of flow rate, the amount of water
that will be required by plants during sunlight is
The monthly consumptive use factor F is then 0.00167m3/s during daytime.
determined for each month using the equation given
below: The next abstraction process is Infiltration. This
F = (0.0457Tm + 0.8128)P process is defined as the movement of water under the
ground
For the month of July, given the temperature to be 30 0
and the value of the mean daytime temp to be 9.05 the
value of F will now be:

FJULY = [0.0457(300) + 0.8128](9.05)

FJULY = 19.763 cm

For the rest of the cropping months, the value of the

monthly use consumptive factors are given to be

Month F (cm)
July 19.763
Aug 19.687
Sep 18.839
Oct 18.416

The crop water requirement for the month of July is While infiltration is considered a loss in surface
taken to be hydrology, it is considered as input in groundwater
hydrology. Infiltration is measured directly and by
PETJULY = 19.763cm*1.1 = 21.739cm empirical models.

For the rest of the months, the following are obtained. Direct measurement of Infiltration is done using
infiltrometers. There are two kinds of infiltrometers
PETAUG = 19.687cm*1.1 = 21.656cm available for use:
1. Single tube Infiltrometer
PETSEP = 18.839cm*1.1 = 20.723cm 2. Double Ring Infiltrometer

PETOCT = 18.416cm*1.1 = 20.258cm SINGLE TUBE INFILTROMETER

In order for the numbers computed above to make 10cm GROUNDLINE

sense, this will be transformed into flow and assuming 5cm
that the plant water requirement will be uniform during
sunlight and likewise assuming that the area to be
irrigated is 1 hectare (10,000 sqm)
2 3
50cm
0.21656 m∗10000 m 1 day 1hr m
∗ ∗ =0.00167 30cm
30days 12 hrs 3600 s s
In single tube infiltrometer, water is filled to 5cm deep that when conducting a field infiltrometer test, the
inside the tube. Using a graduated cylinder, the volume process will usually take 2-3hrs.
as well as the time of pouring is recorded. The goal
here is to maintain the water level to 5cm. EXAMPLE 8:
Infiltration capacity data were obtained using a double
Over time, it will be noticed that the volume added to ring infiltrometer were tabulated as follows:
maintain the depth to 5cm will decrease over time. This
will denote the saturation of the soil for as the water is Time (min) 0 2 5 10 20
saturated, it will absorb water very slowly. It should be
remembered that when conducting a field infiltrometer Cumulative
0 130 280 510 680
test, the process will usually take 2-3hrs. Vol (cm3)

One disadvantage of the single tube infiltrometer is that Time (min) 30 50 80 120 150
it allows for the rapid movement of water at the bottom
specially during dry season and also for sandy soil. Cumulative
900 1040 1190 1280 1343
This gives a higher infiltration rate during the early part Vol (cm3)
of the experiment.
Plot the infiltration capacity curve and determine the
Another disadvantage with respect to single tube constant rate of infiltration
infiltrometer is its length makes it difficult to be installed
in soils without disturbing the surrounding layer (50cm SOLUTIONS:
penetration is not easy to do specially in loamy,
gravelly and clayey soil. taking the area of infiltrometer to be:
Area= π (30cm) =706.86 cm2
3

DOUBLE RING INFILTROMETER 4

60cm In a double ring infiltrometer, the effective area is taken

from the interior tube only

10cm GROUNDLINE from the given, the volume added into the infiltrometer
5cm as well as the depth of water can be taken as follows:
Time Time Cum. Depth of Increment
(min) increment Volume water Depth
15cm (min) added added (cm)
(cm3 or ml) (cm)
[(3)/Area]
30cm (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
Double ring infiltrometers were developed for the 0 0 0 0 0
purpose of 2 2 130 0.1839 0.1839
1. Easing the installation process in soils (0.15m
penetrations vs 0.5m penetration) 5 3 280 0.3961 0.2122
2. The presence of surrounding water around the 10 5 510 0.7215 0.3254
inner tube allows for the saturation of the
surrounding soil and thus ensuring that the water in 20 10 680 0.9620 0.2405
the inner tube will go down along vertically only 30 10 900 1.2732 0.3112
which ensures that the recorded infiltration rate is
coming from the actual vertical movement of water 50 20 1040 1.4713 0.1981
along the soil. 80 30 1190 1.6835 0.2122
Just like the single tube infiltrometer, the double tube or 120 40 1280 1.8108 0.1273
double ring infiltrometer also requires that water to be 150 30 1343 1.9000 0.0891
maintained at the 5cm level. The time from the first
refill to the subsequent refill must be recorded along
The increment depth (5) will then be divided with the
with the volume of refilling.
time increment (2) in order to get the infiltration rate in
cm/min and subsequently converting it to mm/hr
Similarly, just like in single tube infiltrometer, it will be
noticed that the volume added to maintain the depth to
5cm will decrease over time. This will denote the
saturation of the soil for as the water is saturated, it will
absorb water very slowly. It should be remembered
 Time Increment Infiltration rate Infiltration rate In 1933, Horton expressed the decay of the infiltration
increment Depth (cm) (cm/min) (mm/hr) capacity to be
−K t
(min) [(5)/(2)] [(6)*10*60] f p =f c + (f 0 −f c ) e
h

(2) (5) (6) (7) where:

fp – infiltration capacity at any time t from the start of
0 0 0 0 the rainfall.
2 0.1839 0.0920 55.1736 f0 – initial infiltration rate at t = 0
fc – final infiltration rate at time t = tc
3 0.2122 0.0707 42.4412 Kh – Horton’s decay coefficient which depends on the
5 0.3254 0.0651 39.0459 soil type and the vegetation present

10 0.2405 0.0241 14.4300 The Horton’s equation relies on the data of the
10 0.3112 0.0311 18.6741 infiltration graph in order to develop the equation

20 0.1981 0.0099 5.9418 Another equation for determining the decay of soil
30 0.2122 0.0071 4.2441 infiltration capacity is by the Green and Ampt method.
While this equation was developed earlier (1911) it was
40 0.1273 0.0032 1.9099 largely superseded by the Horton’s equation from the
30 0.0891 0.0030 1.7825 1930’s. The form of the Green and Ampt equation is
given to be
n
The graph of the infiltration rate (mm/hr) vs cumulative f p =m+
time is given to be as follows: Fp
Where:
m and n are green and ampt constant
60.0000
Fp is the cumulative infiltration depth
50.0000
EXAMPLE 9:
40.0000 From the data given in example 8, develop the
parameters of the Horton’s equation and the green and
30.0000 ampt equation
20.0000
Time (min) 0 2 5 10 20
10.0000
Cumulative
0 130 280 510 680
0.0000 Vol (cm3)
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Time (min) 30 50 80 120 150
From the infiltration curve shown about it can be seen
that the longer the experiment, the smaller the Cumulative
900 1040 1190 1280 1343
infiltration rate since the soil becomes more saturated Vol (cm3)
as more water is added.
SOLUTIONS
From the infiltration curve shown above, the saturated Obtain the infiltration rate with respect to time using the
infiltration capacity is at 1.7825mm/hr since the last two procedures in example 8.
points of the graph are so close with each other Time Cumulative Depth of Infiltration rate
(min) water added Fp (cm) fp (mm/hr)
Unlike in evaporation and evapotranspiration, there are 0 0 0
no direct empirical equation for quantifying infiltration
but instead the equation that will be develop must rely 2 0.1839 55.1736
on actual soil investigation which will yield an equation 5 0.3961 42.4412
that is reliable on the local area where the initial
10 0.7215 39.0459
investigation has been made.
20 0.9620 14.4300
There are two empirical equations that shows the 30 1.2732 18.6741
infiltration capacity of soil and these are used to derive
50 1.4713 5.9418
the working equation for the infiltration rate. These are
given as follows: 80 1.6835 4.2441
1. Horton’s infiltration equation 120 1.8108 1.9099
2. Green and Ampt equation
150 1.9000 1.7825
 Taking the value of fc to be 1.7825 mm/hr the difference
between fp and fc as well as its logarithm are solved as reliably express the data points in that graph.
follows
Taking
Time Infiltration rate (fp - fc) ln(fp - fc) f(x) to be ln(fp-fc);
(min) fp (mm/hr) -0.05x to be -Kh t
3.99 to be ln(fo – fc)
0 0 0
2 55.1736 53.3911 3.97764 It should be noted that the reason why kh is negative in
5 42.4412 40.6587 3.70521 the beginning is because the usual plot of the graph of
infiltration capacity will always have a negative slope
10 39.0459 37.2634 3.61801
which was actually seen in this example to be -0.05
20 14.4300 12.6475 2.53746
30 18.6741 16.8916 2.82682 Since fc = 1.7825 mm/hr and ln(fo – fc) = 3.99, the value
of f0 can be obtained as follows:
50 5.9418 4.1593 1.42535
80 4.2441 2.4616 0.90081 3.99 = ln(f0 – 1.7825)
120 1.9099 0.1274 -2.06042
Taking e at both sides will yield
150 1.7825 0 -
e3.99 = eln(fo – 1.7825)
By Horton’s equation:
The original form of Horton’s equation are given to be 54.0549 = f0 -1.7825
as follows:
(f p −f c )=( f 0 −f c ) e
−K t h f0 = 55.8374

Taking the natural logarithm of both sides of the The horton’s equation will now be rewritten as
equation will yield: −0.05 t
f p =1.7825 +(f 0 −1.7828 ) e
ln ( f p −f c )=ln [ (f 0−f c ) e ]
−K t h

This equation is the Horton’s equation model for the

ln ( f p −f c )=ln (f 0 −f c )−K h t data given in this example

this makes it similar in form to y = mx + b which is an For the Green and Ampt equation plot the values of f p
equation of a straight line. Plotting ln(fp-fc) vs time will against the inverse of Fp
result in a graph shown below:
Fp 1/Fp fp
5.00000
f(x) = − 0.05 x + 3.99 0 0 0
4.00000
R² = 0.96 0.1839 5.4374 55.1736
3.00000
0.3961 2.5245 42.4412
2.00000
0.7215 1.3860 39.0459
1.00000
0.9620 1.0395 14.4300
0.00000
1.2732 0.7854 18.6741
-1.00000 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
1.4713 0.6797 5.9418
-2.00000
1.6835 0.5940 4.2441
-3.00000
1.8108 0.5522 1.9099
Note that the equation of the line as well as the 1.9000 0.5263 1.7825
trendline were inserted using the insert trendline
function in spreadsheets and that function is present by
default in many spreadsheet tools such as excel,
libreoffice and WPS

It should be noted that the coefficient of correlation r 2 is

quite high (0.96) which indicates that the equation

f ( x )=−0.05 x +3.99
 60
50
40
30
20
10 f(x) = 10.83 x + 4.12
R² = 0.75
0
0.0000 1.0000 2.0000 3.0000 4.0000 5.0000 6.0000

From the equation of the trendline above, it shows that

it is similar the Green and Ampt equations

n
f p =m+
Fp

where we can take:

x = 1/Fp
10.83 = n
m = 4.12

The Green and Ampt Equation of the given data are as

follows:
10.83
f p = 4.12+
Fp

V. REFERENCES