ECV 307 Hydrology I

TUTORIALS

Introduction and water balance

1. Using an illustration, define the components of the hydrologic cycle.
2. What are the three sub-systems of the hydrologic cycle? What are the hydrologic
components in each sub system
3. State and discuss the water balance equation (s) used in hydrological studies
4. The average annual discharge at the outlet of a catchment is 0.5 m3/s. The catchment is situated
in a desert area (no vegetation) and the size is 800 km2. The average annual precipitation is 200
mm/year.
a. Compute the average annual evaporation from the catchment in mm/year.

In the catchment area an irrigation project covering 10 km2 is developed. After some years
the average discharge at the outlet of the catchment appears to be 0.175 m3/s.

b. Compute the evapotranspiration from the irrigated area in mm/year, assuming no change in
the evaporation from the rest of the catchment.
5. A catchment has a size of 100km2. In its original condition, the average annual total runoff
from the catchment is 1.1 m3/s. the average annual rainfall is 800 mm/year. In an average
year, 50% of the rainfall infiltrates and 12.5% of the rainfall reaches the groundwater. Tests
have turned out that the average annual evapotranspiration from the unsaturated zone
amounts to 340 mm/year. Evapotranspiration in this case is the sum of transpiration and the
bare soil evaporation. Assume that storage effects are small and therefore can be neglected.
i. Using a well-illustrated diagram show all the water balance components for this
catchment
ii. How much water, in mm/year, reaches the root zone through capillary rise in an average
year?
iii. How much water, in mm/year, seeps out from the groundwater to the surface water in
an average year?
iv. How much water, in mm/year, evaporates directly from interception in an average year?
v. How much, in mm/year, is the total evapotranspiration in the catchment in an average
year?
6. For the same catchment in Question 1(a), there is a plan to install a well field that will
withdraw 0.16 m3/s from the catchment for drinking water consumption elsewhere. As a
result, the groundwater level is expected to go down and capillary rise into the root zone will
no longer be possible. The percolation is expected to remain the same.

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 ECV 307 Hydrology I

i. With a well-illustrated diagram, list and explain the components of the hydrologic cycle
that will be affected by this groundwater withdrawal.
ii. What will be the effect of this withdrawal on the components in Question1b (i) above?
Quantify in mm/year
7. Consider a reservoir with one inlet stream, one outlet with one inlet stream, one outlet at a
dam and a surface area of 2.5 km2. There hasn’t been any rain for weeks, and the reservoir
level is falling at a rate of 3.0 mm/day. The average evaporation rate from the reservoir
surface is 1.2 mm/day, the inlet discharge is 10,000m3/day, and the outlet discharge is
16,000m3/day. Assuming that the only other important fluxes are the groundwater
discharges in and out of the reservoir. What is the total net rate of groundwater discharge
into the reservoir?
8. List and describe, sequentially the steps commonly followed when undertaking hydrological
measurements.
9. Using Rainfall as an example, describe the hydrological measurement procedure
10. List 5 examples of hydrological data
11. List 5 sources of hydrological data
12. Select three major water agencies in your area that have hydrologic responsibilities and
explain what those responsibilities are.
13. For a watershed with a size of 120 km2, the following data on precipitation P, evaporation E
and runoff Q are given in mm.
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
P 250 205 165 50 5 0 0 5 10 55 65 190
E 5 25 30 50 80 100 150 70 60 20 10 5
Q 150 110 80 5 0 0 0 0 0 10 15 120
a. At the end of which month is the amount of water stored in the basin largest and when is
the smallest amount of water present in the catchment? What is the difference (m 3) in
the amount of water stored in the basin between these two extremes?
b. In what climate (arid, humid temperate, or humid tropical) do you expect this catchment
to be located?
14. The water level in a polder is well above the land surface of the polder, which is also
surrounded by a canal. The size of the polder is 10 km2 and 20% of this area is open water. The
average annual open water evaporation is 600 mm/a. The land use in the polder is grass. The
open water level in the polder is kept high all year round, consequently the evapotranspiration
of the crop equals its potential value. Potential evapotranspiration of grass in area may be
estimated as 75% of the open water evaporation. The average annual precipitation is 800 mm/a,

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the average annual amount of water pumped out is 5x106 m3/a while 0.7x106 m3/a is let into the
polder in order to maintain a high water level in the summer period.
a. Compute the average annual groundwater seepage into the polder in mm/a.
b. Do you estimate the error of the computed amount of seepage to be less than 1, between
1 and 10 or greater than 10 mm/a?
c. The Water Board of the region decides to lower the open water level in the polder from
the original high level to a much lower level. As a result of this, the annual amount of
seepage as well as the evapotranspiration change by 10%. The water intake remains the
same (0.7 km3/a). Compute for the new situation the average amount that is pumped out
in mm/a.

Precipitation
15. Define the following (i) adiabatic lapse rate (ii) hyetograph (iii) mass curve (iv) isohyets (v)
average annual rainfall (a.a.r) (vi) index of wetness (vii)
16. Desribe sequenially, the conditions that must be met for precipitation to take place
17. One of the most efficient cooling mechanisms in precipitation formation is by lifting the water
vapor rich air. Descibe the various lifting mechanisms. What form of rainfaill is formed for
each lifting mechanism?
18. Describe the varous types of precipitation
19. Distinguish between recording and non-recording rain gauges
20. What are the factors to consider when installing a rain gauge
21. The hyetograph in the figure above (right) gives the rainfall intensity in (mm/h) with time (h)
which is recorded with a rain gauge at a height of 120 cm above soil surface.

a. Compute and plot the mass curve (cumulative rainfall depth with time).
b. Sketch roughly in the same figure what would have been the mass curve for the situation that
the position of the rain gauge is changed in such a way that the rim of the collector is at
ground level.

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22. A tropical cyclone produces 240 mm of rainfall during a period of 5 days. The figure below gives
the percentage mass curve of this rainfall event. Plot the hyetograph using daily time intervals.

23. For the rainfall gauging stations A, B and C, which are all situated in the same climatic region, the
annual precipitation data (cm) for ten successive years are given below. The data of one station
are not reliable. Determine this station with the double-mass curve analysis.
A B C
1971 90 100 100
1972 60 100 80
1973 7 80 70
1974 80 120 100
1975 50 50 50
1976 50 50 50
1977 100 100 100
1978 50 100 80
1979 120 200 170
1980 60 100 100

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24. The following data was obtained from independent rainfall records from raingage stations
located within locations that are climatologically the same. The rainfall for the month of
June/2021 for raingage D is missing.
Raingage Average annual precipitation, a.a.r. Precipitation for May 2021
(mm) (mm)
A 410 24
B 370 23
C 460 31
D 400 ?
Estimate the missing rainfall data using the normal ratio method(also called the simple
proportion method)
25. Describe the methods that can be used to determine areal average rainfall
26. Point rainfalls due to a storm at several rain-gauge stations in a basin are shown in the
following figure and table. Determine the mean areal depth of rainfall over the basin by the
(i) Arithmetic average method
(ii) Theisen polygon method
(iii) Isohyetal method.

Station A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O
Rainfall (cm) 8.8 7.6 10.8 9.2 13.8 10.4 8.5 10.5 11.2 9.5 7.8 5.2 5.6 6.8 7.4

27. The area shown in the figure below is composed of a square plus an equilateral triangular
plot of side 10 km. The annual precipitations at the rain-gauge stations located at the four
corners and centre of the square plot and apex of the traingular plot are indicated in figure.

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 ECV 307 Hydrology I

Find the mean precipitation over the area by Thiessen polygon method, and compare with
the arithmetic mean.

28. he annual rainfall at station X and the average annual rainfall at 18 surrounding stations are
given below. Check the consistency of the record at station X and determine the year in which
a change in regime has occurred. State how you are going to adjust the records for the change
in regime. Determine the a.a.r. for the period 1952-1970 for the changed regime.

Annual rainfall (cm) Annual rainfall (cm

18- 18-
Station Station
Year station Year station
X X
average average

1952 30.5 22.8 1962 28.2 33.3

1953 38.9 35.0 1963 17.3 23.4

1954 43.7 30.2 1964 22.3 36.0

1955 32.2 27.4 1965 28.4 31.2

1956 27.4 25.2 1966 24.1 23.1

1957 32.0 28.2 1967 26.9 23.4

1958 49.3 36.1 1968 20.6 23.1

1959 28.4 18.4 1969 29.5 33.2

1960 24.6 25.1 1970 28.4 26.4

1961 21.8 23.6

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 ECV 307 Hydrology I

29. In a rectangular area three rain gauges A, B and C are located as shown in the figure below. The
recorded rainfall for June is as follows: Station A: 75 mm, Station B: 40 mm and Station C: 30 mm.
Use the Thiessen method to compute the areal rainfall of the rectangle for the month of June.

30. An isohyet pattern of critical consecutive 4-day storm is shown in Fig. 2.18. Prepare the DAD
curve.

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Evapotranspiration
31. Define the following (i) Evaporation (ii) Transpiration (iii) Evapotranspiration (iii) Potential
evapotranspiration (iv) Actual evapotranspiration (v) reference evapotranspiration
32. Describe the four mechasims that enable evaporation to occur.
33. Diffusion of water vapour is one of the mechanisms that enable evepotranspiration. Describe
the diffusion proccesses
34. List the factors that affect open water evaporation
35. List the factros that affect evapotranspiration
36. What are the climatc factors affecting evapotraspiration. What role do they play in
evpaotranspiration?
37. Describe the various methods that can be used to measure open water evaporation
38. Describe the various methods that can be used to meaure evapotranspiration
39. .For a large catchment the following data on precipitation P, free water evaporation E0,
potential evapotranspiration Epot and actual evapotranspiration Eact are given in an arbitrarily
sequence in mm/year as follows: 40, 100, 2500 and 3000. a. Give the values for P, E0, Epot
and Eact. Explain your answer.
40. For a certain watershed the following monthly data on precipitation P and potential
evapotranspiration Epot are given in mm.
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
P 50 50 50 40 40 40 70 70 70 60 60 60
Epot 40 40 40 70 70 70 60 60 60 40 40 40

The annual actual evapotranspiration Eact equals 610 mm. Except for one month, the actual
evapotranspiration equals the potential evapotranspiration.
a. Indicate the month for which Eact < Epot.
b. Compute the actual evapotranspiration for this month.
c. Compute the annual river discharge from the watershed, assuming that the change in
storage can be neglected.
41. Measurements in Hodeidah (Yemen, 150 N, altitude 18 m) of the global radiation results in
the following data:
August 15, 1990: RS = 20.482 MJ/d/m2 August 16, 1990: RS= 16.758 MJ/d/ m2
n = 6.3 hours n = 4.2 hours

a. Compute the parameters a and b in the radiation equation Rs = (a + b n/N) RA

b. Compute the evaporation from a reservoir at Hodeidah for the month of June according to
Penman and Makkink, given the following data (24 hour mean values at 2 m height):
Sunshine duration : 10.4 hours

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Air temperature : 31.0 0C

Relative humidity : 38.4 %
Wind speed : 2.0 m/s

42. The meteorological information given below was obtained over a lake
Mean daily temperature
Mean daily temperature of air at 4 m
Mean daily relative humidity at 4 m
Psychometric constant
Mean daily net radiation
Latent heat of vaporization
Specific heat of water
i. Determine the Bowen ratio
ii. Calculate the evaporation from the lake in mm/day
43. The following data was obtained from a meteorological station.
Average net radiation = 185 W/m2
Air temperature = 28.50C
Relative humidity = 55 %
Wind speed = 2.7 m/s at 2 m and wind run of 90 km/day
Calculate the open water evaporation rate in mm/ day using

a. The energy balance method (assume H and G are zero)

b. The aerodynamic method
c. The combination method

44. The following data was obtained over a well-watered grass surface for the month of May:
Air temperature = 17 0C
Vapour pressure = 1. kPa
Net radiation = 169 W/m2
Wind run of 167 km/day
Determine the evaporation rate in mm/ day using

a. The energy balance method (assume H and G are zero)

b. The aerodynamic method
45. The following data was obtained from a weather station:
Net radiation: 185 W/m2
Air temperature: 28.5 ℃
Relative humidity: 55%
Wind speed: 2.7 m/s (at height 2m)

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Standard atmospheric pressure: 101.3 kPa

Z0: 0.03 cm
Calculate the open water evaporation in mm/day using (i) the energy balance method (ii) the
aerodynamic method (iii) the combination method (iv) the Priestley-Tailor method
46. Describe the three evapotranspiration concepts
47. Discuss the factors affecting evapotranspiration
48. Distinguish between evaporation and evapotranspiration
49. Describe the methods that are used to measure and/or estimate (1) open water evaporation
(2) evapotranspiration
50. Describe the equipment that are used in measurement of 1) open water evaporation (2)
evapotranspiration

Soil water, Infiltration and capillary water

51. Define the following terms: water table, vadose zone, unsaturated zone vadose water, soil
water, soil moisture, saturated zone, phreatic zone, capillary fringe, groundwater, aquifer,
aquitard, aquiclude, unconfined aquifer, confined aquifer, an artesian well, spring
52. What are the factors affecting infiltration?
53. Describe the methods used to estimate infiltration
54. Describe the methods used to estimate capillary water
55. An infiltrometer is used to determine the infiltration capacity of a clay soil. The experiment
lasted 120 minutes. During the experiment water was added to maintain a constant water
level in the ring. The total volume of water added is tabulated below. The area of the ring is
600 cm2.
a. Compute for each time interval the infiltration capacity in cm/hr.
b. Plot the infiltration capacity (cm/hr) versus time (minutes).
c. Estimate the ultimate value of the infiltration capacity
Time (minutes) 0 1 3 5 10 20 40 60 90 120
3
Volume added since the start (cm ) 0 60 162 252 427 657 837 957 1122 1272

56. The relation between infiltration capacity in mm/hour and the time (in hours) since the start
of the experiment as measured with an infiltrometer is depicted below. The relationship may
be described with the empirical formula of Horton where f, f c and f0 in mm/h, t in min. and k
in min-1.
a. Derive the parameter values fo, fc and k from the measured relationship.
b. Estimate from the graph below the total amount of water that will infiltrate into the soil
during a rainstorm with a duration 20 minutes and a constant intensity of 20 mm/h.
c. Answer the same question for a constant rainfall intensity of 12 mm/h.

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57. The capacity of the interception storage of a forest is 2 mm. After a dry period, a rainstorm on
this forest with an intensity of 40 mm/hr lasts one half hour. The infiltration capacity during the
first 1/4 hour is 40 mm/hr and during the second 1/4 hour is 32 mm/hr. Compute the amount of
water that infiltrates into the soil during the rainstorm.
58. A sprinkling test is carried out on a plot of 25 m2. The simulated rainfall intensity (i) equals 20
mm/h. After 4 hours the surface runoff from the plot becomes constant and equal to 0.05 l/s.
a. Compute the ultimate infiltration capacity in mm/h.
b. Sketch in a graph the infiltration capacity with time, given an initial infiltration rate at the start
of the sprinkling rest equal to 18 mm/h. Sketch in the same figure the infiltration capacity
with time for the situation the experiment is repeated a few hours later.
59. Explain why pore water pressures in the unsaturated zone are less than atmospheric
pressure.
60. A tensiometer is installed in the unsaturated zone at elevation 231.49 m. The pressure
measured there is −6, 800 N/m2. Right next to the tensiometer (in map view), there is an
observation well open at elevation 228.25 m. The water level in the well is at elevation 230.54
m.
a. What is the head at the tensiometer?
b. What is the vertical hydraulic gradient ∂h/∂z between the tensiometer and the well?
c. Is there an upward or downward component to flow here?
d. If the soil at the tensiometer were the fine sand illustrated in the characteristic curve what
would the water content be at the tensiometer?
61. Consider a profile of the silt loam soil shown in characteristic curves. The water content θ in
this soil varies linearly from 0.20 just below the topsoil (elevation 110.0 m) to 0.45 at
elevation 108.2 m. Make scaled plots that show water content vs. elevation, pore water
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pressure P vs. elevation, and head h vs. elevation. Is the flow upward or downward in this
section of soil?
62. The capacity of the interception storage of a forest is 2 mm. After a dry period, a rainstorm on
this forest with an intensity of 40 mm/hr lasts one half hour. The infiltration capacity during the
first 1/4 hour is 40 mm/hr and during the second 1/4 hour is 32 mm/hr. Compute the amount of
water that infiltrates into the soil during the rainstorm.
63. The following figure gives the characteristic curves for sand, fine sand and silt loam. The 0 cm
ordinate of the y-axis corresponds to the water table elevation.

What is the capillary fringe of (i) sand (ii) fine sand (iii) silt loam

Groundwater
64. Consider a reservoir with one inlet stream, one outlet at a dam and a surface area of 2.5 km 2.
There hasn’t seen any rain for weeks, and the reservoir level is falling at a rate of 3.0 mm /day.
The average evaporation rate from the reservoir surface is 1.2 mm /day, the inlet discharge is
10,000 m3/day, and the outlet discharge is 16,000 m3/day. Assuming that the only other
important fluxes are the groundwater discharges in and out of the reservoir, what is the total
net rate of groundwater discharge into the reservoir?
65. Every summer you visit the same lake in Maine, and every summer the neighbor goes on and
on about how the lake is “spring-fed” (groundwater discharges up into the lake bottom). You

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got to wondering if that was true, so you collected all the information you could from the
local geological survey office about the lake hydrology for the month of June:
• The surface area of the lake is 285 acres.
• There is one inlet stream. For the month of June, the total discharge measured at a stream
gage at the lake inlet was 2.77 x 107 ft3.
• There is one outlet stream. For the month of June, the total discharge measured
• at a stream gage at the lake outlet was 3.12 × 107 ft3.
• During the month of June, the total precipitation measured in a rain gage at
• the lakeshore was 1.63 inches.
• Direct evaporation off the lake surface totaled 3.47 inches during the month
• of June.
• The lake level dropped 4.30 inches during the month of June.
a) List the items that contribute flow into the lake, and items that contribute flow out of the
lake (there may be unknown items I have not listed above). Write a hydrologic equation
for the water balance of the lake in June.
b) Quantify each of the terms in the hydrologic equation in units of ft 3 for the month of June,
and solve for unknowns in the equation.
c) What, if anything, can you conclude about the notion that the lake is “springfed”?
d) What measurements would you make to prove whether or not groundwater is
discharging up into the lake bottom? (Assume someone is willing to pay for it.)
66. Explain why the capillary fringe in a silt is thicker than the capillary fringe in a gravel.
67. Refer to the following figure and table:
Well Elevation, TOC (m) Elevation, BOC (m) Depth to water (m)
A 476.93 470.92 2.18
B 477.67 455.16 3.44
C 477.04 472.74 0.35
D 472.22 458.03 0.05
E 472.41 466.84 0.71
TOC:
BOC:
Depth to water measured down from TOC

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Fig. Vertical profile through an area with a wetland, dug well, stream, and five piezometers.

Calculate the hydraulic head at piezometers A and B, and the water pressure at the bottom of
these two piezometers. Does groundwater flow in the vicinity of these two piezometers have an
upward or a downward component?

68. Calculate the pressure at the bottom of a non-pumping well that has a 215 ft water column.
69. A well point is installed with the point (where water can move in and out of the well from the
aquifer) at elevation 245.0 m above datum. The water level in the well is at elevation 267.4
m.
i. What is the hydraulic head at the point?
ii. What is the pressure head at the point?
iii. What is the pressure in the aquifer adjacent to the point?
70. A well pumps at a steady rate of 600 m3/day in a confined aquifer. It is installed with a gravel
pack in a hole that is 30 cm in diameter. The head in the pumping well is 427.9 m. The head
in an observation well located 8 m away is 430.2 m. Calculate the transmissivity of the aquifer,
assuming steady, radial flow.
71. A well is pumping at an unknown, steady rate in a confined aquifer. Near the pumping well
are two observation wells; observation well A is located 8 m from the pumping well and B is
located 24 m from the pumping well. The heads in these wells are: hA = 134.20, hB = 134.28
m. You know from prior pumping tests of the well that the well and the observation wells are
screened in a confined aquifer with transmissivity T = 1200 m2/day. Assuming that without
the well pumping there would be no hydraulic gradient at all, what is the pumping rate of the
well?
72. Stating the necessary assumptions, show that hydraulic head, h, of groundwater can be
calculated using the following formula:

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𝑃
ℎ= +𝑧
𝜌𝑤 𝑔
Where h is water head (m); P is water pressure (N/m2); ρw is water density (kg/m3); g is acceleration
due to gravity (m/s2); and z is the water elevation (m).
73. Consider the figure below.

There is a well that pumps water at a steady rate of Q = 500 m3/day. Nearby are two observation
wells A and B at radial distances of 10 m and 25 m, respectively. The heads in these wells are hA
= 80.0 m, and hB = 82.0 m. Estimate the hydraulic conductivity, K for the aquifer and predict the
head at the outer wall of the well screen, which has radius rw = 0.5 m.
74. Explain why pore water pressures in the unsaturated zone are less than atmospheric
pressure.

Surface water
75. Define the following terms as applied in hydrologic analysis (i) travel time (ii) bifurcation
ration (iii) drainage density (iv) excess rainfall (v) Surface water (vi) Abstractions (vii) Rating
curve (Viii) Phi-index (ix) Curve number
76. Describe the surface runoff generation processes
77. Consider a catchment of 33.3 km2 situated in an arid region. The outlet of the catchment is a
dry river that carries water only after heavy rainfall. A rainstorm with a depth of 100 mm falls
uniformly over the catchment during a period of three hours. The rainfall depth in the first,
second and third hour are respectively 45, 35 and 20 mm. The discharge at the outlet due to this
rainstorm is presented as hydrograph A (solid line) in the chart below.
a. Compute the runoff coefficient for this rainfall event.
b. Compute the constant loss rate (the φ-index)
c. In the same chart the hydrograph observed at a point B, 20 km downstream in the same
river is plotted. The average width of the river section between A and B is 50 m. Estimate
the average infiltration rate into the river bed between A and B in mm/hr during the
passage of the flood wave.

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78. For a certain catchment the depletion curve of the hydrograph at the outlet may be described
with the normal baseflow curve equation. The flood hydrograph Q (mm/d) at the outlet, as given
below, was produced by a rainstorm of 50 mm.
Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Q 1.72 1.50 1.31 1.14 1.00 6.00 16 6 4.00 3.00 2.62 2.29 2 1.75
(mm/day)

a. Plot the hydrograph and separate direct runoff from base flow by a straight line..
b. Estimate the direct runoff in mm. c Estimate the total base flow contribution from this
rainstorm. 25 Consider a rainstorm with a constant intensity falling uniformly over a
catchment
79. A rainfall event falls on a field of 1.0 km 2, half of which has good agricultural soil, which has
been left bare, and the other half is bare sand. The infiltration capacity for the soil are
20mm/hr for the good agricultural soil and 50 mm/hr for sand. Estimate the volume of
surface runoff in each case if the rainfall was:
Time (Mins) 0 2 4 6 8

Rainfall (mm) 0 10 12 10 0

80. Identify the major sources of stream flow

81. Develop an equation of the recession limb of runoff hydrograph during the dry season in in
the perennial rivers

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82. Baseflow on a river is 0.5 m3/s on May 8th and 0.2 m3/s on May 20th. Previous study of
baseflow recession on the river has shown that it follows the linear reservoir model. If there
is no rain in May, estimate the flow rate on the May 31st.
83. The table below gives the cumulative rainfall hyetograph for a 150 Km2 watershed. Using
Horton’s equation with f0 = 40 mm/h, fc = 10 mm/h, and k = h-1, determine the following:

Time (h) 1 2 3 4 5 6
Cumulative rainfall (mm) 25 70 115 140 160 180

(i) The abstractions and excess rainfall hyetograph

(ii) The depth and volume of excess rainfall
(iii) The duration of excess rainfall
(iv) Estimate the percentage of total rainfall disposed as initial abstraction, continuing
abstraction and excess rainfall
(v) Sketch the respective graphs showing ponding time
84. At known distances from an initial point on the stream bank, the measured depth and velocity
of a stream are as shown below. Calculate the corresponding discharge of this section.
Measurement 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
No i
Distance 0 3.66 9.75 15.85 21.95 28.04 34.14 40.23 46.33 50.90 55.47
from initial
point (m)
Depth d (m) 0 0.94 1.34 1.40 1.74 1.37 1.34 1.65 1.86 1.77 1.74
Mean 0 0.11 0.27 0.33 0.41 0.22 0.27 0.43 0.62 0.68 0.77
velocity v
(m/s)

Measurement 12 13
No i
Distance 60.04 64.62
from initial
point (m)
Depth d (m) 1.55 0
Mean 0.93 0
velocity v
(m/s)

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85. For a given watershed of area 18km2 the observed rainfall and stream flow data is given
below
Time (hr) 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
Incremental 4.57 10.67 12.20 12.33 5.33 4.06
precipitation (mm)
Stream flow (m3/s) 0.71 0.76 1.08 3.08 8.77 18.54 26.86 30 29.57

Time (hr) 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0 7.5 8.0
Incremental
precipitation (mm)
Stream flow (m3/s) 29.15 23.38 18.54 13.19 9.08 6.42 4.95 4.53

Determine (i) the direct runoff hydrograph (ii) the excess rainfall hydrographs (iii) The Phi – index
(iv) Compare the results when different methods of baseflow separation are used

86. The following data is for a stream of order 4:

Number of streams of order 1 = 21
Number of streams of order 2 = 15
Number of streams of 0rder 3 = 4
Number of streams of order 4 = 1
Calculate the bifurcation ratio numerically and graphically
87. Describe the factors that affect the shape of a hydrograph
88. Describe the various geomorphological characteristic of a river basin
89. The following data were collected for a stream at a gauging station. Compute the channel
discharge by (i) the mean – section method (ii) The mid-section method

Distance from one end Depth of water Velocity (m/sec)

of water surface (m) (m) at 0.6 d at 0.2 d at 0.8 d
0 0 - - -
1.2 0.7 0.4 - -
2.4 1.7 0.7 0.5
3.6 2.5 0.9 0.6
4.8 1.8 0.6 0.4
6.0 0.5 0.85
7.2 0 - - -

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 ECV 307 Hydrology I

Combined concepts
91. Consider the water balance of a reservoir during the last 6 weeks of a long dry season. The
reservoir is receiving water from one river only. The river discharge into the reservoir at the
start and at the end of the 6 week period is 10 and 1.8 m3/s, respectively. The surface area of
the reservoir is 20 km2. The following precipitation (P) and evaporation (E) data (mm/week)
apply for the 6-week period.
Week 1 2 3 4 5 6
P 0 0 0 0 0 23
E 40 40 40 45 45 45
At the dam site, water us released with a constant rate of 5m3/s. There are no other
significant flows that should be considered for the water balance of the reservoir. Calculate
the water level in the reservoir at the end of each week gicecn a water level of 1645 m asl at
the start of the six week period

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