Urban development has several impacts on surface hydrology compared to rural areas. After major urbanization, there is a higher proportion of rainfall appearing as surface runoff. The catchment response is accelerated, resulting in increased flood peak magnitudes and decreased low flows. Water quality is also degraded in streams draining urban areas. These modifications are often due to structural changes made to drainage channels during development. Hydrologists are involved in planning and designing stormwater drainage systems to evaluate runoff and size pipes and channels appropriately to carry surface water away.
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Chapter Six: Urban Hydrology
Urban development has several impacts on surface hydrology compared to rural areas. After major urbanization, there is a higher proportion of rainfall appearing as surface runoff. The catchment response is accelerated, resulting in increased flood peak magnitudes and decreased low flows. Water quality is also degraded in streams draining urban areas. These modifications are often due to structural changes made to drainage channels during development. Hydrologists are involved in planning and designing stormwater drainage systems to evaluate runoff and size pipes and channels appropriately to carry surface water away.
The changes made to a rural area by the construction of a
concentration of building have a direct effect on its surface hydrology. After major urban development in a catchment, the following differences in the river flow from that of an equivalent rural catchment can be identified. There is a higher proportion of rainfall appearing as surface runoff, For a specific rainfall event, the response of the catchment is accelerated, Flood peak magnitudes are increased, In times of low flows, discharges are decreased Water quality in streams and rivers draining urban area is degraded Many of these modifications are promoted by structural changes made to drainage channels. The various hydrograph parameters such as peak discharge, Qp, time to peak, tp and lag time are usually related to catchment character. 6.2 Urban development planning In the development of new urban centers, hydrological knowledge of the areas is required at two stages. The first is planning stage The second stage of hydrological involvement occurs at the detailing stage, the designing of storm water drainage channels and pipes to carry the surface water in to the rivers. 6.3 Drainage design The engineering hydrologist is fully concerned with evaluating the runoff from sub areas to be drained in order to design the necessary storm water sewers. The peak runoff from the selected design storm The size sewer pipe At the head of the catchment sub area, the required pipe size may be quite small, 6.3.1 Impervious areas These comprises the roof areas and large expanses of paved surfaces of city centers and industrial sites, in which there is very little or even no part of the ground surface into which rainfall could infiltrate. Qp =CIA/360 When A is area (ha),I is intensity(mm/hr),C runoff coifficent