Question

4. A 25 km2 watershed has a time of concentration of 1.6 hr. Calculate the NRCS triangular UH for a 10-minute rainfall event and plot it. Determine the runoff hydrograph for a 30-minute storm where there is 4 cm of runoff in the first 10 min, 2.5 cm of runoff in the second 10 min, and 2 cm of runoff in the third 10 min. Plot the runoff hydrograph for each 10-minute rainfall excess along with the aggregated (total) runoff hydrograph on the same axes. Also report the peak flow of the aggregated runoff hydrograph. Also report the total volume of runoff. You do not need to report any tables of data.

Answer 1

Answer:

The NRCS triangular UH for a 10-minute rainfall is Qp = 49.84 m³/s

Peak flow of the aggregated runoff hydrograph is 420.58 m³/s

The total volume of runoff is 2125000 m³/s

Explanation:

We have

A = 25 km²

tr = 10 min = 1/6 hr

tc = 1.6 hr

lag time = 0.6 tc = 0.96 hr

Tp = tr/2 + 0.6 tc = 1/12 + 0.96 = 1.043 hr

Qp = 2.08×25/1.043 = 49.84 m³/s

Tb = 8/3×Tp = 8/3×1.043 = 2.782 hr

 

Since the area is  

Time (min)           Runoff (cm)       Volume of runoff m³

0                   0                                     0

10                  4                                     1000000 m³

20                 2.5                                  625000 m³

30                 2                                      500000 m³

Total volume of runoff = 1000000 + 625000 + 500000 =  2125000 m³/s

For the 1st  10 minutes, we have

A = 25 km²

tr = 30 min = 1/2 hr

tc = 1.6 hr

lag time = 0.6 tc = 0.96 hr

Tp = tr/2 + 0.6 tc = 1/4 + 0.96 = 1.21 hr

Qp = 2.08×25×4/1.043 = 197.92 m³/s

Tb = 8/3×Tp = 8/3×1.21 = 3.227  hr

 

For the 2nd 10 minutes, we have

A = 25 km²

tr = 30 min = 1/2 hr

tc = 1.6 hr

lag time = 0.6 tc = 0.96 hr

Tp = tr/2 + 0.6 tc = 1/4 + 0.96 = 1.21 hr

Qp = 2.08×25×2.5/1.043 = 123.7 m³/s

Tb = 8/3×Tp = 8/3×1.21 = 3.227  hr

For the 3rd 10 minutes, we have

A = 25 km²

tr = 30 min = 1/2 hr

tc = 1.6 hr

lag time = 0.6 tc = 0.96 hr

Tp = tr/2 + 0.6 tc = 1/4 + 0.96 = 1.21 hr

Qp = 2.08×25×2.5/1.043 = 98.96 m³/s

Tb = 8/3×Tp = 8/3×1.21 = 3.227  hr

 

Peak flow of aggregate runoff is given by

Qp (total) = 98.96 + 123.7 +197.92 = 420.58 m³/s

Total volume of runoff is given by

Total volume of runoff = 1000000 + 625000 + 500000 =  2125000 m³/s