Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Definition and Application of Hydrology

Definitions
What is hydrology?
Hydro means water and logy means science/study.
Hydrology is the science of water concerned with the origin, circulation, distribution, and properties
of the waters of the earth . It concerns on the transportation of water through air, on land surface,
on subsurface of the earth and treats on the various phase of hydrologic cycle.
Water is studied through unending cycle of precipitation, consequent runoff, stream flow,
infiltration and storage, eventual evaporation and precipitation.

Earth is the only solar system where water appears in solid, liquid and vapour states
In a global sense,
 Occurrence,
 Distribution in space and time,
 Movement and circulation,
 Physical and chemical properties, and
 Relation and effect to people of water in the natural environment can be visualized
through a cyclic process known as the hydrologic cycle.

1.1 Hydrologic Cycle

Water Cycle or Hydrologic Cycle:. series of movements of water above, on, and below the
surface of the earth. The water cycle consists of different distinct stages: storage, evaporation,
precipitation, and runoff, infiltration... Water on this planet can be stored in any one of the
following reservoirs: atmosphere, oceans, lakes, rivers, soils, glaciers, snowfields, and groundwater.
It evaporates from the earth’s surface, condenses in clouds, falls back to the earth as
precipitation (rain or snow), and eventually either runs into the seas or re-evaporates into the
atmosphere or infiltrated to ground. Almost all the water on the earth has passed through the
water cycle countless times. Water in oceans, lakes, and rivers evaporates, or turns into a gas
and rises into the air. The water vapor eventually turns back into a liquid and falls as rain. The
water cycle keeps the total amount of water on Earth the same (very little water has been
created or lost over the past billion years).

Naturally; water can exist in three forms (solid, gas & liquid) and circulated mainly by solar and
planetary forces. A conceptual model that describes the storage and movement of water between
the biosphere(place b/n earth surface & atmosphere), atmosphere (gas surrounding the earth),
lithosphere(layer of rocks including ocean), and the hydrosphere(over surface only) is known
as hydrological cycle (see Figure 1.1).

And the hydrologic cycle can be represented in different ways

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 Figure 1.1: Hydrologic Cycle.
Water moves from one reservoir to another by way of processes like evaporation, condensation,
precipitation, deposition/storage, runoff, infiltration, sublimation, transpiration, melting, and
groundwater flow. The oceans supply most of the evaporated water found in the atmosphere. Of this
evaporated water, only 91% of it is returned to the ocean basins by way of precipitation. The
remaining 9% is transported to areas over landmasses where climatologically factors induce the
formation of precipitation. The resulting imbalance between rates of evaporation and precipitation
over land and ocean is corrected by runoff and groundwater flow to the oceans.
Some terms
Storage
The water cycle has various stages: storage, evaporation, precipitation, and runoff…. Most of the
water on Earth is in the first stage, storage. Water on Earth gets stored in oceans, lakes, rivers, ice,
and even underground. The oceans store the majority of this water.

Evaporation: In to the air

Water goes from storage into the atmosphere (the air that surrounds Earth) by a process called
evaporation. When water evaporates, it changes from a liquid into an invisible gas. The gas is called
water vapor. Most of the water that gets into the air evaporates from the surface of the oceans.
Water also evaporates from rivers and lakes. Water can also go from ice caps and icebergs into the
air, called sublimation.
Precipitation: Back to earth
Water returns to Earth as precipitation—rain, snow, or other moisture. Water vapor can change
into tiny ice crystals or drops of water when the air gets cold enough. When the ice crystals or drops
of water in a cloud get heavy enough, they fall to Earth as precipitation in the form of rain, snow,
sleet, and hail.
Runoff: moving around on land
Water that falls on land always flows from high places to lower ones. This flow is called runoff.
Precipitation that falls on land runs downhill. The water cuts channels as it flows.
Some water seeps into the ground. It fills cracks between rocks. Underground water also flows from
places that are full to places that have less water. Water from land flows into streams, streams flow
down mountains. Streams join together to make rivers and eventually the water flows into storage
in the ocean. Then the water cycle starts all over again. I.e. no beginning or ending.

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The planetary water supply is dominated by the oceans (see Table 1.1). Approximately 97% of all the
water on the Earth is in the oceans. The other 3% is held as freshwater in glaciers and icecaps,
groundwater, lakes, soil, the atmosphere, and within life.
Under several influences, of which heat is predominant, water is evaporated from both water and
land surfaces and is transpired from living cells. This vapor circulates through the atmosphere and
is precipitated in the form of rain or snow.
The total quantity of water in the hydrologic cycle cannot be diminished as it changes from water
vapour to liquid or solid and back again.
The process of stream flow, ground water flow and evaporation ensure the never ending transfer of
water between land ocean and atmosphere, followed by precipitation to the earth’s surface
.

Evaporate Precipitate

Over flow

Hydrologic cycle no ending no beginning, it is a vicious cycle

Global Water Budget

The well being and development of our society is dependent on the availability of water. This most
precious resource is some times scarce, sometimes abundant and always a very unevenly
distributed, both in space and time. Table 1.1 indicates the approximate distribution of world’s
water resources.
Table 1.1: Inventory of water at the Earth's surface

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 Reservoir Volume (cubic km x 1,000,000) Percent of Total
Oceans 1370 97.25
Ice Caps and Glaciers 29 2.05
Groundwater 9.5 0.68
Lakes 0.125 0.01
Soil Moisture 0.065 0.005
Atmosphere 0.013 0.001
Streams and Rivers 0.0017 0.0001
Biosphere 0.0006 0.00004

Average Retention/ Residence Time

This is the average time a water particle will spend in a given reservoir. This is important because it
determines the time available for various biochemical processes.
Although the water content of the surface and atmospheric systems is relatively small at any one
time, a large quantity annually passes through these systems.
Residence Time = Volume/Flow rate = Storage/Q
This gives us an indication of the cycling time and the temporal variability of the hydrologic cycle.
No wonder it is difficult to forecast when and where!
Table 1.2 describes the typical residence times of water in the major reservoirs. Water in the
atmosphere is completely replaced once every 8 days. Slower rates of replacement occur in large
lakes, glaciers, ocean bodies and groundwater. Replacement in these reservoirs can take from
hundreds to thousands of years. Some of these resources (especially groundwater) are being used
by humans at rates that far exceed their renewal times. This type of resource use is making this
type of water effectively nonrenewable.
Table 1.2: Typical residence times of water found in various reservoirs

 Reservoir Average Residence Time

 Glaciers  20 to 100 years
 Seasonal Snow Cover  2 to 6 months
 Soil Moisture  1 to 2 months
 Groundwater: Shallow  100 to 200 years
 Groundwater: Deep  10,000 years
 Lakes  50 to 100 years
 Rivers  2 to 6 months
Why study hydrology?
Water problems
Uses of water  Flooding
 Drinking  Droughts
 Washing, cleaning  Bad quality
 Irrigation in agriculture  Harmful for constructions etc.
 Industrial purposes (process industries)
 Hydropower
 Navigation, etc.

Function of water
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1 Biological function
a. A necessity of water life: life cannot exist without water; It began in water and depends on
water for survival, growth and development. Water is the primary constituent of protoplasm, a
substance that performs basic life functions. Without water, a plant cannot absorb required
nutrients,cannot perform photosynthesis.in animals water removes impurities and the byproduct
of metabolism, transports oxygen and carbondioxide, enhance digestion and regulate body
temperature .water represents 60 to 90% of human body weight
b. A habitat of life:water is not only the substance of life;it also provides a living environment for
about90% of earth’s organism.
2. chemical functions
a. A solvent of substance
b. A medium in chemical reactions
3. Physical function

a. A moderator of climate: Atmospheric water vapour absorbs and reflects part of the
incoming solar radiation during day time and provides heat energy to earth in the form of
long wave radiation at night. Moreover water is a good medium for heat storage when air
temperature is high,and the stored heat is released when the air temperature is low.
b. An agent of destruction: moving water over the land surface is responsible for soil
erosion,nutrient loss, land slide and stream sedimentation
c. A potential form of energy: energy will be released when the water is condensed from a
vapour state in to a liquid state. The condensation of water vapour is the major source of
energy to generate violent storms.
d. A scientific standard for properties: because of its abundance and distribution on the
earth along with its unique physical and chemical properties water is used as a scientific
standard for mass, specific gravity, heat specific heat, temperature and viscosity of other
substance
Eg specific gravity is the ratio between the weight of a given volume of substance and the
weight of an equal volume of water.
e. A medium of transport

4. Socio economic function

a. A source of comfort .eg sport and aesthetic appreciation
b. An inspiration of creativity
Disciplines in hydrology

Water can be found in solid, liquid, and gaseous states at common earth temperatures. The
presence of water, changes in water from one state to another, and water translocation and storage
serve environmental, biological, and sociological functions. Hydrology embraces such a large and
diversified field that no one can study it all. The broad science of hydrology, more properly called
hydro-science, is further broken down into disciplines and specifications that can be grouped in to
the body of waters; land-surface conditions, and inter disciplines of water and land

The body of waters land-Use conditions Interdisciplines

Potamology Rangeland Hydrology Geomorphology
Limnology Agriculture Hydrology Paleohydrology
Cryology forest Hydrology Engineering Hydrology

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Oceanography Urban Hydrology Watershed Management
Glaciology Wetland Hydrology Hydrobiology
Hydrometeorology Desert Hydrology
Hydrogeology
A. On the body of water
Potamology. The study of surface streams may emphasize stream dynamics and morphology, the
fluvial processes, hydraulic characteristic, transport capacity, or physical habitat, management and
classification

Limnology. The study of life and phenomena of lakes and ponds – of the functional relationships
and productivity of freshwater communities as related to their physical, chemical, and biotic
environment – is called limnology

Cryology. Also called snow hydrology, it is the study of snow and ice. Studies may include
occurrence and distribution of snow: measurements, physics, and properties of snow cover,
snowmelt, and runoff: snow and ice on lakes: avalanches: snow on buildings, highways, and
airports;snowpack management: and recreation.

Oceanography. The study of oceans and their phenomena is called oceanography. About 97% of the
total waters of the earth are confined in the oceans, which in turn cover about 71% of the earth’s
surface area.

Glaciology. A glacier is a body of ice originating on land by the recrystalization of snow or other solid
precipitation and presents a slow transfer of mass by creeping from region to region. The study of
ice and glaciers in all aspects is termed as glaciology.

Hydrometeorology. Meteorology deals with the movement of water in the atmosphere: while
hydrology is concerned with the distribution and occurrence of water on and under the earth’s
surface. The hydrologic cycle is a concern common to both sciences. Thus, the application of
meteorology to hydrological problems such as developing water resources and flood control is called
hydrometeorology (or hyetology, precipitation hydrology).

Hydrogeology. More than 22% of all freshwaters on Earth are confined under the ground, while
surface water in lakes and rivers makes up only about 0.36%. currently, about 80% of water
withdrawals in the United states come from streams and lakes. Ground water is then logically seen
as a major resource for easing water-shortage problems. In fact, groundwater is even more desirable
than surface water due to: (1) no pathogenic organisms in general, (2) constancy of temperature and
chemical composition, (3) absence of turbidity and color, (4) no effects of short droughts on
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supplies, and (5) difficulty of radiochemical and biological contamination. However groundwater
development may be difficult in some areas due to its costs, low permeability, land subsidence
problems, and great content in dissolved solids. The science that studies ground water occurrence,
distribution, and movement is called hydrogeology or ground water hydrology. The exploration of
ground water, the effects of geological environment on groundwater chemistry and mode of
migration, and groundwater contamination are also interesting subjects to many hydro geologists.

Hydrometry. The science of water measurements is called hydrometry.

B. On land- surface conditions.

Range land Hydrology. Land on Earth may be classified into five categories: nonproductive
land (about 15%), forestland (30%), rangeland (40%), cropland (10%), and urban-industrial and
(5%). Rangelands are natural grasslands, savannas, shrublands, most deserts, tundra, alpine
communities, coastal marshes, and wet meadows. Rangelands are often intermingled with other
types of land and are distributed from sea level to above timberline. These lands are more
suitable for management by ecological principles than for management by economic principles.
Rangeland vegetation is predominantly short, consisting of broad- leafed plants such as
grasses, forbs, and shrubs. It provides a variety of natural resources including forage, livestock,
fish and wildlife, minerals, recreation, and water beneficial to man in both tangible and
intangible aspects. The study of hydrologic principles as applied to rangeland ecosystems is
called rangeland hydrology. Topics associated with rangeland hydrology may include vegetation
management in relation to water loss and conservation: grazing impact on surface runoff, soil
erosion, stream sedimentation, and water quality: snowpack management, and water
harvesting.

Agricultural Hydrology: The study of application of hydrologic principles to agricultural

development, production, and management is called agro hydrology. Land drainage, irrigation,
water harvesting, water conservation, soil erosion and sedimentation, water quantity, and quality of
surface and groundwater are some major topics and concerns in agricultural hydrology.

Forest Hydrology. Forest hydrology is a study of hydrology in forestland. It is concerned with

forest, land forest activity in relation to all phases of water – an interdisciplinary science that brings
forest and hydrology together. Thus, all the influences of forest cover along with forest management
and activity on precipitation, stream flow, evapotranspiration, soil water, floods, drought, soil
erosion, stream sediment, nutrient losses, and water quality are within the scope of forest
hydrology.

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Urban hydrology. The physical environment of urban and industrial areas is completely different
from that of forests, agricultural lands, and rangeland. Many observations and studies have shown
greater precipitation in and around major urban areas than in the surrounding country side due to
the enormous number of condensation nuclei produced by human activities and atmospheric
instability associated with the heat island generated by the city. The impervious surfaces created by
urban development may cause an increase in flooding, soil erosion, stream sedimentation, and
pollution of land and water bodies. The study of hydrology in urban areas and the hydrologic
problems associated with urbanization fall within the scope of urban hydrology.

Wetland Hydrology. Wetlands are areas where the water table is at or near the surface of the land
for at least a consecutive period of time, or is covered by shallow water up to 2 m (6ft) deep .The
abundant water in the soils makes the soil properties significantly different from those in the
uplands and the soil is suitable for growth of certain plant species. Five major wetland systems
have been recognized: marine, estuaries, lacustrine, riverine, and palustrine. Marine and estuaries
systems are coastal wetlands. Such as tidal marshes and mangrove swamps. Lacustrine and
riverine wetlands are associated with lakes and rivers, respectively. The last system includes
marshes, swamps, and bogs. Thus, wetlands are transitional zones between aquatic and terrestrial
ecosystems, all rich in plants and animals.

Water is the primary factor that controls the environment, plants, animals, and soils. Wetlands are
no longer wastelands as they were thought to be in the past. They are not only habitats of a variety
of plant and animal species, but also important natural flood control mechanisms, nature’s water-
purification plants, nutrient and food suppliers to aquatic organisms, a major contributor to
groundwater recharge, and a buffer zone for shoreline erosion.

Desert Hydrology. Desert hydrology studies the characteristics and processes of the hydrology
cycle in arid and semiarid areas, springs, and groundwater resources. It also examines water
conservation and harvesting, the adaptation of plants to the environment, hydro-climate changes
desertification, and water quality.

C. On interdisciplinary studies.

Geomorphology. Geomorphology is concerned with landforms and drainage characteristics created

by running water and other physical processes.

Paleohydrology. Paleohydrology is the study of hydrologic conditions in ancient times. The study
may be useful in understanding the changes in precipitation, temperature, stream levels, and water

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balance from the past to modern times, defining the physical laws that govern the fluctuations of
hydrologic conditions and studying environmental change on continents.

Engineering Hydrology. Hydrological information is essential in the design, operation, and

management of flood-control works, irrigation systems, water- supply projects, storm runoff
drainage, erosion controls, highway culverts, and many other hydraulic structures. Engineering
hydrology is the study of hydrologic characteristics of a watershed or a drainage system required to
solve these engineering problems.

Watershed management. Watershed, also called a catchment or drainage basin, is the unit of land
area that the hydrologist and watershed manager consider for study or management. It is analogous
to the silviculturist’s stand, or the forest manager’s compartment. However, stand and
compartment may be a more or less artificial unity, while watersheds have natural boundaries.

Watersheds have been employed as social and economic units for community development and
conservation of natural resources including water, soils, forests, wildlife, and others. Because of the
steadily increasing demands for water in our modern society and the fact that much of the water for
agriculture, industry, recreation, and domestic use has its source in forested land, watershed
management has become increasingly important to foresters thus watershed management is
management of all natural resources including forests, land, wildlife, recreation, and minerals
within a watershed for the protection and production of water resources while maintaining
environmental stability.

Accordingly, watershed management is water oriented: it is primarily concerned with water

resources and related problems. Since soil erosion may greatly affect water quality, flood damage,
land deterioration, environmental aesthetics, and many other factors, the soil stabilization and
prevention of soil erosion is also one of the most important challenges in protecting water resources,
an area that is generally covered under the discipline of soil conservation. Soil conservation is soil
oriented, and ignorance of water movement causes severe soil erosion and environmental problems.
Thus watershed management and soil conservation share the same concerns in some areas. In
reality, watershed management involves much more complex problems and broader tasks than soil
conservation. It deals with water as well as soil problems, along with land planning and resource
management activities in upstream forested land, while soil conservation deals with soil problems
relating to land productivity in downstream agricultural regions. In a sense, watershed management
is integrated resources management for the production and protection of watershed water resources
and should properly be called “integrated watershed management”

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Interception
When precipitation falls on to a vegetated surface, only a part may actually reach the ground. Depending up on
the nature and density of vegetation cover a portion of the rain may be intercepted by the leaves and stems of
the vegetation canopy and temporarily stored on its surface. Some or all of this water may be evaporated back in
to the atmosphere, and take no part in the land- bound portion of the hydrological cycle. This is termed as
interception loss.
The remaining water which reaches the ground constitutes the net rainfall. Net rainfall is made up of through
fall and stem fall. Through fall consisting of precipitation that passes through the spaces in vegetation canopy or
as drip from vegetation .It comprises the bulk of net rainfall. Stem flow is water that flows down the stem to the
ground surface.
Effective rainfall = Total rainfall –interception loss
Interception loss (I) is defined as the difference between gross precipitation and net rainfall. I= Pg-Pn
Components of interception changes in a growing forest from seedling stage to mature forest. Through fall
diminishes over time as the canopy cover increases; stem flow increases over time but always a small quantity.
Measuring interception
The most common method of measuring interception loss(I) in the field is to compute the difference between
precipitation above the vegetation layer(P) and the net precipitation below the vegetation canopy comprising
the through fall(T) and Stem flow(S).Thus
I= P-(T+S). P-T-S
Due to the difficulties of installing equipment underneath a vegetation canopy this method has been used more
for forest vegetation than lower order covers.
Through fall may be measured using funnel gauges placed beneath the forest canopy and stem flow may be
collected by a small gutters sealed around the circumference of the trunk leading in to a collecting container. On
the other hand, gross precipitation is measured in open areas.
Interception studies are much more difficult for grass and other lower vegetation
Factors controlling interception
a. Vegetation characteristics

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 i. Growth form- coniferous trees intercept 25-35%/annum and deciduous forests intercept 15-
25% /annum
ii. Plant density
b. Metrological factors
i. Precipitation intensity. A large proportion of low intensity precipitation will be intercepted
ii. Precipitation duration. Absolute interception storage increases with increasing storm duration. A
large proportion of short duration precipitation is intercepted than is the water from a long storm.
iii. Wind speed increases interception loss by evaporation

3. EVAPORATION AND EVAPOTRANSPIRATION PROCESSES AND MEASUREMENT

Evaporation is the primary process of water transfer in the hydrogical cycle. Evaporation is the process by which water
changes from a liquid to a gas or vapor. Studies have shown that the oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers provide nearly 90
percent of the moisture in the atmosphere via evaporation, with the remaining 10 percent being contributed by plant
transpiration. A very small amount of water vapor enters the atmosphere through sublimation, the process by which water
changes from a solid (ice or snow) to a gas, bypassing the liquid phase. The process by which water passes from liquid to
vapour state through plant metabolism is termed transpiration. The process by which water is evaporated from wet
surfaces and transpired by plants together is called the evapotranspiration. The evaporation plus transpiration from a
vegetated surface with unlimited water supply is known as potential evapotranspiration (PE) and it constitutes the
maximum possible rate due to the prevailing meteorological conditions. Thus PE is the maximum value of the actual
evaporation (Et):
PE = Et when water supply is unlimited.  
Actual evaporation is the amount of water which is evaporated a normal day which means that if for instance the soil
runs out of water, the actual evaporation is the amount of water which has been evaporated, and not the amount of water
which could have been evaporated if the soil had had an infinite amount of water to evaporate.
Why evaporation occurs
For evaporation to occur it is necessary to have supply of water, source of heat and vapour pressure deficit, that is
difference between the saturated vapour pressure of water e s corresponding to water temperature and the actual vapour
pressure of air above the free surface e a. Evaporation is proportional to vapour pressure deficit .
Heat (energy) is necessary for evaporation to occur. Energy is used to break the bonds that hold water molecules together,
which is why water easily evaporates at the boiling point (212° F, 100° C) but evaporates much more slowly at the
freezing point. Net evaporation occurs when the rate of evaporation exceeds the rate of condensation. Condensation, the
opposite of evaporation, occurs when saturated air is cooled below the dew point (the temperature to which air must be
cooled at a constant pressure for it to become fully saturated with water), such as on the outside of a glass of ice water. In
fact, the process of evaporation removes heat from the environment, which is why water evaporating from your skin cools
you.
Evaporation returns to the atmosphere the same amount of water as the precipitation that reaches the earth’s surface.
Evaporation is expressed as the depth of mm escaped from a unit area in a given time. This may be expressed as mm/hr,
mm/day, mm/month etc.

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3.1. Factors affecting evaporation
A number of factors, both meteorological and physical, affect the rate of evapotranspiration from a water body, although it
is difficult to assess qualitatively the relative importance of each of them.
Meteorological factors: Radiation, temperature, humidity, wind, and atmospheric pressure.
Physical factors: water quality, size of evaporating surface, nature of evaporating surfaces.

 Solar energy -evaporation requires continuous supply of energy which is mainly derived from solar radiation. In
the regions near the equator where the annual solar radiation is large annual radiation is also large.
 Water and air temperature are largely dependent on solar radiation.
 Wind velocity will influence evaporation rate only when wind movement is turbulent since vapour removal is
affected by turbulent diffusion and spreading. It is wind velocity at the ground level that influences moisture
removal. Higher wind velocities may cause higher evaporation. But when wind velocity is great enough to
remove all the vapour as it is formed, a further increase in velocity will not increase evaporation appreciably. The
effect of wind evaporation may be more pronounced over large bodies of water than over small areas.
 Atmospheric pressure-the decrease in atmospheric pressure would increase the rate of evaporation because the
vapour pressure of air also decreases with atmospheric pressure and thus increase the vapour pressure deficit. It
may be difficult to investigate the effect of atmospheric pressure alone while the other conditions (for example,
temperature) remain the same.
 Water quality - the vapor pressure of water depends on water quality. The presence of solute in water reduces the
evaporation.
 The depth of evaporation from larger surface areas is less compared to evaporation from smaller surface areas,
although of course the total volume of water evaporated will be more in the former. The reason for this
phenomenon is that the air moving across a large lake or reservoir will gradually increase its water content and
thus loses its water holding capacity.
 Nature of evaporating surface .All surfaces exposed to precipitation is potentially evaporating surfaces. They
may be broadly classified into three groups: land surfaces, snow surfaces and water bodies. The rate of
evaporation is limited by the availability of water, or evaporation opportunity, vegetation cover, snow cover, etc.
For the same opportunity, the evaporation rate decreases in the following order: bare ground, grass and crop
lands, light forests and dense forests. For a given difference between surface and air temperatures evaporation
from a snow surface is relatively small compared to that from a water surface.

3.3 Estimation of evaporation

Despite the crucial importance of evaporation in hydrological cycle, it is inherently difficult to measure and quantify.
Unlike some other hydrological variables, such as run off or rainfall, Which can be measured directly evaporation is
generally estimated indirectly.
The estimation of evaporation from a water surface is frequently required in planning and design of many water resource
projects.in providing a reservoir to the needs of irrigation ,water supply or any other purpose its capacity should be
determined by giving due consideration to the evaporation losses from it.
The methods of estimating evaporation may be divided into five categories. Empirical equations, water balance method,
energy balance method, mass transfer method, and combined energy balance and mass transfer method.
i. Empirical equation
Example: Fitzgerald’s equation E= (0.4+ 0.124V) (es-ea)
Where E = evaporation in mm/day, e s = the saturation vapour pressure at the temperature of the water surface in mm of
mercury, ea=is the actual vapour pressure of air in mm of mercury, V=Mean wind speed at the surface in km/hr.
ii. Water Balance Method
The ideal way of estimating evaporation from any water body such as lake or reservoir would be to measure the various
components of inflow, outflow and storage and to apply the balance equation. The general water balance equation for any
time interval such as a day or a week may be written as
S1+P + Vsi+Vgi- Vso-Vgo-E-TR=S2
E= ( S1- S2)+P+ (Vsi - Vso)+ (Vgi-Vgo) -TR
S1= the storage at the beginning of time interval, P= the precipitation falling into the water body, V si= the volume of
surface flow enter in to the water body, V gi= the volume of groundwater entering the water body, V so= the volume of the
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surface outflow leaving the water body, V go= the volume of groundwater outflow leaving the water body, E= Evaporation
from the water body, TR= Transpiration losses from the water body, if any, S 2= the storage at the end of the time
Practically, however,it is difficult to adopt this approach involved in measuring various terms especially the quantities
Vgi,Vgo and TR
3.4.Reducing evaporation from water surfaces
The methods of reducing evaporation from water surfaces may be classified into three groups
A. Reducing Surface-Area
i. Constructing reservoirs with minimum ratio of area to storage
ii. Storing water below ground
iii. Storing water in one large reservoir instead of several small reservoirs
iv. Selecting proper reservoir sites
v. Straightening stream channels and thus reducing meandering of surface areas of water
B. Mechanical covers: roofs, floating rafts and wind breaks, floating wax blocks, floating light weight concrete,
blocks. Removal of aquatic plant life near the water surface may also save the loss of water through transpiration.
C. Suppression of evaporation by surface films
Certain chemicals known as polar compounds can act as evaporation suppressers. These substances possess
molecules which have great affinity for water at one end and other end repels water. When these substances are in
contact with water each molecule tends to align itself with one end in water and the other end projecting from the
surface of the water.
4.Transpiration
Transpiration is the process by which water vapour escapes from the living plants, principally through the leaves
and enters the atmosphere. This process constitutes an important phase of hydrologic cycle since it is the principal
mechanism by which the precipitation falling on land areas is returned to the atmosphere.
The ratio of water transpired to that used in forming plant matter is very large
4.1 Factors affecting Transpiration
The amount of water that plants transpire varies greatly geographically and over time. The factors affecting
transpiration may be considered under three groupings: the plant factors, the soil factors and the climate factors.
 The plant factors that affect transpiration are the extent and efficiency of the root systems in moisture absorption,
the leaf area, the leaf arrangements and structure and stomata behavior. Some plants which grow in arid regions,
such as cacti and succulents, conserve precious water by transpiring less water than other plants.
 The soil factors include those governing the water supply to the roots: field capacity (the water content of the soil
after the saturated soil has drained under gravity to equilibrium), wilting point (moisture content at which
permanent wilting of plants occurs), and available water (the moisture in the soil between field capacity and
wilting point).
 Climatic factors include solar radiation, light intensity, atmospheric pressure, temperature and wind etc. Since
photosynthesis is highly dependent on the radiation received, about 95% of daily transpiration occurs during daily
light hours.
 Differences in transpiration rates among individual plants and plat communities can be attributed largely to
differences in rooting characterstic , stomatal response and albedo of plant surface

Annual transpiration is affected by the length of a plants growing season. Grasses,other herbaceous vegetation and
agricultural crops generally have shorter growing seasons, and hence shorter active transpiration seasons than
forest vegetation, likewise ,deciduous forest normally transpire over a shorter period than do coniferous
4.2Measurement of transpiration
It is not possible to measure transpiration loss from an appreciable area under natural condition. Therefore, the
measurements are generally restricted to small samples under laboratory conditions.
Most commonly, transpiration is measured using a phytometer. It is a large vessel filled with soil in which one or
more plants are rooted

5.Evapotranspiration
Evapotranspiration (ET) is the sum of the water used by plants in a given area in transpiration and the water evaporated
from the adjacent soil in the area in any specified time. Potential Evapotranspiration (PET) is the amount of

13
evapotranspiration which would occur if there was always an adequate water supply available to a fully vegetated surface.
PET is an indication of optimum crop water requirements.It is the upper limit of ET for a crop in a given climate
Consumptive use(CU) it is the evapotranspiration from an area plus the water used directly in the metabolic process of
building plant tissue.
The amount of water used in the actual metabolic process is insignificant compared to evapotranspiration . Therefore, the
term consumptive use generally taken as equivalent to evapotranspiration.
In area covered with vegetation it is difficult and also unnecessary from practical point of view to separately evaluate
evaporation and transpiration . it is more convenient to estimate the evapotranspiration directly
Only over those areas of the earth’s surface where no vegetation is present , forexample, ice and snow field ,bare rock
slopes, some desert areas, and water surfaces will purely evaporation occur
Evapotranspiration represents the most important aspects of water loss in the hydrological cycle
5.1Factors affecting evapotanspiration
The factors that govern the evaporation and transpiration also govern evapotraspiration process. However a distinction
between PET and AET is important. PET is controlled essentially by meteorological factors, whereas the AET is also
considerably affected by plant and soil factors (density of vegetation cover, soil moisture content). In general PET tends to
increase as the temperature, sunshine, and wind speed increase and as the humidity decreases.
PET is also influenced by
 the type of plant (color, though the variation is insignificant between most plants)
 Orientation of row crops, interception of solar energy is a function of interception
 The presence or absence of crops in the surrounding land may also influence evapotranspiration
 Air masses passing over a cropped area and irrigated area to the field are cooler and more humid than those
coming from a bare ground. The evapotranspiration is less in the former case than the later

5.2.Measurement of evapotarnspiration
There are mainly four methods of direct measurement of evapotranspiration. They are
 Water budget method
 Field experimental plots
 Soil moisture depletion studies
 Lysimeter
Water budget method this method is also known as inflow outflow method, which is suitable for evaluating
evapotranspiration of large area such as water shed over relatively long period of time. The normal annual
evapotranspiration can be readily computed as the difference between long term average precipitation and stream flow
since the change in storage of items over a long period of years is insignificant.
Field experimental plots in this method a field plot is chosen and the amounts of water added to irrigation plot under
observation by precipitation and irrigation are measured along with run off. The moisture content in various layers of the
soil with in the root zone depth are measured at the beginning and end of crop season. Then evapotranspiration is
computed as ET=I-Q-∆S
Where I is the total inflow in mm including precipitation and irrigation water
Q is the total surface runoff in mm
∆s is the increase in soil moisture storage
Soil moisture depletion studies these studies involve measurement of soil moisture from various depths at frequent
intervals of time as possible throughout the growth period of a crop
The method gives satisfactory results for irrigated field crops grown on fairly uniform soils and where the soil moisture
variations within the root zone are not influenced by ground water

Lysimeter (evapotranspirometer) consists of a circular tank about 60-90cm in diameter and 180 cm deep. Sometimes up
to3m with 3m depth are also used. The lysimeter is filled with soil and indivisual crops or natural vegetation.
Potential evaporation, the evaporation plus transpiration from a vegetated surface when water supply is unlimited, can be
measured using irrigated lysimeters.The soil contained in the apparatus being kept at field capacity by sprinkling a known
quantity of water on the tank when rainfall is deficient. Field capacity is assured by maintaining continuous percolation
from the bottom of the tank. Thus the vegetation cover is allowed to transpire freely, and the total evaporation loss is
dependent entirely on the ability of the air to absorb the water vapour. Then: 
14
 PE = Rainfall + Irrigation - Percolation 
The limitation of the lysimeter method is that differences may exist between the lysimeter and natural conditions of soil
profiles, soil moisture regime, plant rooting characterstics,methods of water application, water table ,temperature and the
net energy exchange

5.3.Estimation of Potential Evapotranspiration from Meteorological Data

The following are the most commonly used empirical equations to estimate ET using climatic data.
Blaney-Criddle formula: In this formula ET is closely correlated with the mean monthly temperatures and day light
hours.
Thornthwaite's formula: This formula is based mainly on mean monthly temperature with an adjustment being made for
the number of daylight hours and sunshine hours.
Penman’s formula: The Penman estimate takes into consideration other meteorological factors in addition to temperature
and sunshine hours.

5.4.Evapotranspiration control
Evapotranspiration may possibly be reduced from region through the following measures.
i. By destroying unwanted plants that transpire efficiently
ii. By breeding plant varieties that transpire less.
iii. By reducing air movement by wind breaks of interplanted rows of taller plants
iv. By applying chemical antitranspirants
v. By placing moisture tight barriers or water retardant mulches on the soil surface
vi. By appropriate land use changes in the catchment which increase stream flows after thorough study of possible
side effect such as high rate of erosion and increased peak flow.
Infiltration processes and measurement
Infiltration is the process by which water enters the soil from the ground surface. Once water has infiltrated the soil it
remains in the soil (first replenishes the soil moisture deficiency, if any), and thereafter the excess water moves vertically
downwards to reach the groundwater table, or becomes part of the subsurface runoff process. This vertical movement is
called percolation. Infiltration rate is a measure of the rate at which soil is able to absorb rainfall or irrigation. It is
measured in inches per hour or millimeters per hour using infiltrometers. The rate decreases as the soil becomes saturated.
If the precipitation rate exceeds the infiltration rate, runoff will usually occur unless there is some physical barrier.
Infiltration is governed by two forces, gravity, and capillary action. While smaller pores offer greater resistance to gravity,
very small pores pull water through capillary action in addition tom,// and even against the force of gravity. The process
of infiltration can continue only if there is room available for additional water at the soil surface. The available volume for
additional water in the soil depends on the porosity of the soil and the rate at which previously infiltrated water can move
away from the surface through the soil.
A soil under given condition has an upper limit on its absorbing capacity. The infiltration capacity of soil under given
conditions is defined as the maximum rate at which it is capable of absorbing water and is denoted by f or it is the
maximum rate that water can enter a soil in a given condition. The actual infiltration observed in a given soil, fa, will be
equal to or less than its infiltration capacity f depending on whether or not the rate of source supply is more or less than
the infiltration capacity. Specifically if i denotes the rate of rainfall, then
Fa = f, if i > f and fa=i,
If the arrival of the water at the soil surface is less than the infiltration capacity, all of the water will infiltrate. If rainfall
intensity at the soil surface occurs at a rate that exceeds the infiltration capacity, ponding begins and is followed by runoff
over the ground surface, once depression storage is filled.
Knowledge of infiltration rate is of paramount importance in hydrology because:
 The supply or recharge to ground water reservoir also depends upon infiltration
 Infiltration is responsible for subsurface and groundwater flow
 The infiltration rate is used for the computation of the water loss due to infiltration for the determination of the
surface runoff
 Infiltration rate is required in soil moisture budgeting and in irrigation.
4.1. Factors affecting infiltration capacity
The rate of infiltration is affected by soil characteristics including ease of entry, storage capacity, and transmission
rate through the soil. The soil texture and structure, vegetation types and cover, water content of the soil (dry or
15
wet), depth of surface detention and saturation layer), compaction, soil temperature, and rainfall intensity and Others:
the intraped air in the pores, freezing, the quality of water (turbidity in terms of clay and colloids, salts, fertilizers it
contain), etc. all play a role in controlling infiltration rate and capacity. The effect of temperature on infiltration is
explained through viscosity. The flow through soil pores is by and large laminar for which the resistance is directly
proportional to viscosity. At high temperatures since the viscosity of water temperature is low, high infiltration capacities
are expected.
4.2. Measurement of infiltration
Infiltrometer is a device used to measure the rate of water infiltration into soil or other porous media. Infiltrometers
are of two types. Flooding type infiltrometers (tube/simple infiltrometer and double ring infiltometrs) and rainfall
simulators (sprinkler infiltrometer). Commonly used infiltrometers are single ring or double ring infiltrometer. In flooding
type of infiltrometers water is applied in the form of sheet usually with a constant depth of flooding. In the rainfall
simulator water is applied by sprinkling at a uniform rate that is in excess of infiltration capacity.

Single ring infiltrometer Double ring infiltrometer

The single ring involves driving a ring into the soil and supplying water in the ring either at constant head or falling head
condition. Constant head refers to condition where the amount of water in the ring is always held constant. Because
infiltration capacity is the maximum infiltration rate, and if infiltration rate exceeds the infiltration capacity, runoff will be
the consequence, therefore maintaining constant head means the rate of water supplied corresponds to the infiltration
capacity. The supplying of water is done with a Mariotte's bottle. Falling head refers to condition where water is
supplied in the ring, and the water is allowed to drop with time. The operator records how much water goes into the soil
for a given time period. The rate of which water goes into the soil is related to the soil's hydraulic conductivity.
Double ring infiltrometer requires two rings: an inner and outer ring. The purpose is to create a one dimensional flow of
water from the inner ring, as the analysis of data is simplified. If water is flowing in one-dimension at steady state
condition, and a unit gradient is present in the underlying soil, the infiltration rate is approximately equal to the saturated
hydraulic conductivity. An inner ring is driven into the ground, and a second bigger ring around that to help control the
flow of water through the first ring. Water is supplied either with a constant or falling head condition, and the operator
records how much water infiltrates from the inner ring into the soil over a given time period.
There are several challenges related to the use of ring infiltrometers: 1. The pounding of the infiltrometer into the ground
deforms the soil, compressing it or causing cracks which can affect the measured infiltration capacity. 2. With single ring
infiltrometers, water spreads laterally as well as vertically and the analysis is more difficult. 3. Ring infiltrometers cannot
reliably characterize infiltration of furrow irrigation, of sprinkler irrigation, or of rainfall.
Chapter 5

RUNOFF
5. Introduction

The portion of precipitation which appears in the surface streams of either perennial or intermittent nature is called the
runoff. This is the flow collected from the drainage basin and appearing at an outlet of the basin. Runoff is usually
expressed as volume per unit time, the common unit being m 3/s. Runoff may also be expressed as depth equivalent over a
basin that is mm/day, mm/month, or mm/year. This is particularly useful unit for comparing runoff rate or runoff volume
with precipitation since precipitation is almost invariably expressed in this way.

5.1. The runoff cycle

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According to the source from which the flow is derived, the total runoff is visualized to consist of surface runoff,
subsurface runoff, and ground water flow. Fig 10.1 shows the interrelation ship between various items involved in the
process of transforming the total precipitation into the total runoff.When rain falls, the first drops of water are intercepted
by the leaves and stems of the vegetation. This is usually referred to as interception storage. The precipitation reaching the
ground is called the through fall. It may fall either on land surface or directly on to the water surfaces of streams, lakes
and reservoirs. The precipitation falling on water surfaces is called channel precipitation and it immediately becomes the
stream flow. A very small fraction of the precipitation falling on the land surface may be absorbed in the storage like
small ponds, swamps, etc., before it becomes evaporation and infiltration. This is called depression storage. The rest of
precipitation after satisfying the infiltration demand is temporarily detained on the ground surface and when sufficient
depth is built-up it travels over the ground surface towards the stream channels. This is called the overland flow. The
overland flow ceases shortly after the rainfall stops. Surface run off may be defined as that part of the total rainfall which
travels over the ground surface to reach a stream channel and then through the channel to reach the basin outlet. It is the
combination of the overland flow and the channel precipitation.

Water which infiltrates the soil surface and then moves laterally through the upper soil horizons towards the stream
channels above the main groundwater table is known as the interflow. It is also known as subsurface runoff, subsurface
storm flow, storm seepage, secondary base flow. Interflow moves more slowly than surface runoff and there fore it may
take longer period to reach the stream. The infiltrated water which percolates deeply becomes groundwater and when
groundwater table rises and intersects the stream channels of the basin it discharges into streams as the groundwater
runoff. The groundwater flow is very slow and may lag behind the occurrence of precipitation by several days or weeks.
The groundwater flow also tends to be very regular and in general it represents the main long-term component of total
runoff and is particularly important during dry spells when the surface runoff is absent.

For the practical purpose of analysis total runoff in stream channels is generally classified as direct runoff and base flow.
The distinction between direct runoff and base flow is on the basis of time of arrival of the runoff in the stream rather than
on the path followed by the runoff. The direct runoff or the quick flow is that part of runoff which inters the stream
promptly and is equal to the sum of surface run off and rapid interflow. This represents the major contribution to most

17
floods. The base flow is defined as the sustained or fair weathered runoff and it is composed of groundwater runoff and

delayed interflow.

5.2. Factors Affecting Runoff

The runoff from the drainage basin is influenced by various factors which may be put under two groups, namely the
climatic factors and the physiographic factors.

The climatic factors include: type of precipitation, intensity of rainfall, duration of rainfall, areal distribution of rainfall,
direction of storm movement, antecedent precipitation and other climatic factors that affect the evaporation and
transpiration.

The physiographic factors are: Land use, type of soil, area of the basin, shape of the basin, elevation, slope, and
orientation, type of drainage network, indirect drainage and artificial drainage.

. Chapter six

Stream Flow Measurement

6. Introduction

The water which constitutes the flow in the surface stream is called stream flow. If the stream flow is unaffected by the
artificial diversions, storage or other works of man in or on the stream channels, then it is called as runoff. In other words
runoff means the virgin stream flow. Whenever the stream flow data is used in the scientific investigations establishing
the rainfall runoff relations, unit hydrograph studies, design flood estimation etc., it has to be adjusted for artificial
changes using suitable techniques till it resembles very nearly the virgin flow. The general practice in the stream flow
measurement is to record the river stage (the height of the water surface above some arbitrary datum) and to convert the
data on stage in to the discharge data. This is accomplished through the stage -discharge relationship which is first

18
established by the actual measurement of discharge in the river at different stages. Once the stable stage- discharge
relationship is established at gauging site, the discharge measurement is discontinued and only the stage is recorded
continuously.

6.1. Measurement of stage

The river stage has been defined as the height of the water surface in the river at a given section above any arbitrary
datum. It is usually expressed in meters. In many cases, the datum is taken as the mean sea level. Sometimes the datum
may be selected at or slightly below the lowest point on the river bed. Stage is important in determining stream discharge
for designing diversion structures, flood warning and protection structures.

Manual gauge

The river stage can be measured manually by using staff gauge and suspended weight gauge. The stage can be very
easily measured by installing a vertical or inclined staff gauge which is graduated scale such that a portion of it is always
in the water at all times. It can be conveniently attached to a bridge pier or any other existing structure. It is read manually
by noting the level of water surface in contact with it. When the flow in the stream is subjected to a large variations
resulting in correspondingly large fluctuations in the stage, several vertical staffs covering the entire range may be used to
record the entire rise or fall in the water surface. The graduations of all the gauges should be reduced to the same datum.
In such a case there should be a minimum overlap of 0.5 m between any two successive vertical staff gauges. Inclined
gauges may be constructed on one continuous slope or more slopes of the natural bank of the river channel. A flight steps
constructed along side the inclined gauge proves to be convenient and facilitates taking of observations easily.

The river stage can also be measured manually by using another type of device called the suspended weight gauge. In
this method a weight attached to a rope is lowered from a fixed reference point on a bridge or other vertical overhead
structure till it touches the water surface. By subtracting the length of the rope lowered from the reduced level of the fixed
reference point the stage is obtained.

Recording type gauge/automatic stage recorder

Recording type gauge used to measure the stage continuously with time. It usually consists of a float tied to one end of a
cable running over a pulley. To the other end of the cable a counter weight is attached. The float would be resting on the
water surface and the counter weight always keeps the cable in tension. Any change in water surface makes the float
either to rise or lower and this in turn makes the pulley rotate. The movement of the pulley would actuate a pen arm which
rests on a clock driven drum wrapped with a chart. The circumference of the drum represents the time axis while the
height of the drum represents the stage. So, either sufficient height of the drum or some scaling mechanism is provided to
cover the expected range of the stage. The clock and the drum may be so designed that the chart runs for a specified
period of time (like a day or a week or a month) unattended. A float type automatic stage recorder requires a shelter in the
form of a stilling well. The stilling well gives protection to the float and counter weight from the floating debris and with
proper design of intake pipes it suppresses the fluctuations resulting from surface waves in the river. It is customary to
install staff gauges inside and outside the well. These staff gauges serve to check the performance of the recorder and
these are read each time the station is visited.

6.2. Discharge measurement

Several methods of discharge measurements are Area Velocity Method, Moving boat method, and other methods (slope
area method, hydraulic structures, floats, dilution / chemical method, electromagnetic induction, ultrasonic). Though there
are several methods of discharge measurements, perhaps the most accurate of all of them is the area velocity method.

6.2.1. Area Velocity Method

In this method the discharge is obtained as the product of the cross sectional area of flow in the river and the average
velocity of flow.

Q= A.V

19
T he procedure consists of dividing the flow area in to a number of strips by means of verticals selected along the width
of the river and measuring the depths at these verticals. The velocities are also measured at one or more points on the
verticals to obtain the mean velocity for any vertical. The velocity at any point in the river is measured by inserting
current meters at the point facing the flow. The meter essentially consists of a rotating element which rotates due to the
reaction of the stream current with angular velocity proportional to the stream velocity. The rotation speed varies linearly
with the stream velocity. The velocity measured by the meter is given by

6.3. Stage discharge relations

After a sufficient number of discharge measurements have been made at a gauging station along with simultaneous stage
observations, the results are plotted on an ordinary graph. A graph of Stage (H) Vs discharge (Q) is known as the stage –
discharge relation or the rating curve. Such a curve is approximately parabolic. Once a stable stage-discharge relation is
established, it is a matter of only recording the stage continuously which can be readily converted in to the discharge
through the following relationship.

6.4. Selection of stream gauging site

A site selected on a stream for the purpose of measuring discharge in the stream continuously is known as either a stream
gauging station or a hydrometric station. There are four criteria in selecting a site for establishing a stream gauging
station. They are accessibility, adequacy, stability, and permanency. The station should be accessible under all conditions,
particularly during floods. The station should be able to cover the full range of discharge which may occur. The stage-
discharge relation at the site should change with time as little as possible. This aspect is very important both from the
stand point of cost of operation and accuracy of stream flow computation. The station should never be located upstream a
junction with another stream near enough to be affected by back water from a stream. It should also not be located within
the influence of back water from any project. The station should be so suited that the installation is almost permanent and
is not likely to be disturbed. One of the most important features of stream flow record is its unbroken length. Also it
should be located above points of flow diversion.

Important points to be considered while selecting the hydrometric stations:

 Immediately below possible dam site, and other hydraulic structures

 At the inlet and outlet of natural lakes

 At the head of alluvial plains and above cities subject to flood damage

 At the limiting point just above the tidal influence and on the major tributary streams near their confluence
with the main river

6.5. Stage and discharge hydrograph

A graph showing the variation of any property of water in the stream such as stage, discharge, velocity, sediment load etc,
with time is known as hydrograph. Specifically if the stage is plotted against time it is called a stage hydrograph and like
wise if the discharge is plotted against time then it is called a discharge hydrograph etc. However the word hydrograph
refers to discharge hydrograph unless specified otherwise.

CHAPTER 8

GROUNDWATER
8.1. Groundwater occurrence

Ground water is sub-surface water held within the interconnected openings of saturated rock or soil. It is within
saturated zone that the term "ground water" is correctly applied. Ground water is held in aquifers much the same way
water is held in a sponge. Like any other natural resource, groundwater is also limited. It must be wisely managed and

20
protected against undue exploitation and contamination by pollutants or salt water. Understanding groundwater
processes and aquifers is crucial to the management and protection of this precious resource.

The formation below the earth’s surface is divided into two zones by an irregular surface called the water table. The zone
between the ground surface and the water table is called unsaturated zone or the vadose zone. In the vadose zone the soil
pores may contain either air or both water and water. Hence it is called the zone of aeration. Water in this zone is held to
the soil particles by capillary forces. Thus, while this water is able to move within the vadose zone, it cannot move out of
the zone in to wells or other places that are exposed to atmospheric pressure. The vadose zone has an important
environmental role in groundwater systems. As with water, surface pollutants must filter through the vadose zone before
entering the zone of saturation.
In the zone below water table all the soil pores are completely filled with water and is called the zone of saturation or the
phreatic zone. The upper boundary of the zone of saturation is called the water table. The capillary fringe is a layer of
variable thickness that directly overlies the water table. Water is drawn up into this layer by capillary action. The phreatic
zone may extend to considerable depth, but as depth increases the weight of overburden tends to close the pore space and
relatively little water is found at depths greater than 3 km. Since the water in the phreatic zone is under pressure more than
atmospheric, if a hole is dug in this zone water begins to flow in to the hole whereas it is not so in the vadose zone. It is
this water in the phreatic zone which moves freely under the force of gravity that is actually called the ground water.

8.2. Water Bearing Formations

Groundwater occurs at various locations below the earth’s surface depending on the physical properties of various
geological formations that exist. According to water storage and transmission properties, geological formations can be
classified into four hydrological units as aquifers, aquitards, aquicludes and aquifuges.
1.Aquifers: are formations which contain ground water and at the same time which are sufficiently permeable to transmit
and yield a usable quantities. The amount of water contained by the aquifer depends on the porosity of the aquifer
formation while the amount of water that it can yield depends on its permeability. Large amounts of water are stored
beneath the earth’s surface in aquifers. To be an aquifer, the stored water must be accessible at a usable rate. Aquifers may
get recharged directly from above through the process of precipitation and infiltration, or they may have recharge area
somewhere else on the earth’s surface. Aquifers consist of porous material such as sand, gravel, and fractured rock.
2. Aquitard፡ is a geological formation which has an ability of transmission but lack storage capacity. It may transmit
vertically appreciable quantities of water to or from adjacent aquifers. Sandy clay is examples of aquitards.
3.Aquiclude፡ is a geologic formation which is saturated and which may contain large amounts of water because of its high
porosity but cannot transmit water as it is relatively impermeable. A clay, silt and shale layers are examples of an
aquiclude. 4.Aquifuge: is a geological formation which neither absorbs nor transmits water. Solid granite and basalt rocks
are example of an aquifuge.

8.2.1. Aquifer Types

Aquifer can be classified according to: (1) prevailing subsurface geologic condition (aerial extent of geological layer, the
type of adjacent layers & the number of layers involved), (2) hydrological conditions- the recharge mechanism& (3)
groundwater pressure. Any aquifer classification must include all the three types of data. None of them is sufficiently
meaningful by itself. Aquifers can be confined or unconfined.

21
Unconfined aquifer
Geologically speaking, this type of aquifer is two layered and aerially extensive. The lower layer has aquifuge
characteristics, where as the upper layer is practically water bearing formation. From the hydrological point of view, the
unconfined aquifers are subjected to direct recharge from infiltration, i.e., they are directly connected with the
hydrological cycle. Groundwater pressure (hydrostatic pressure) equals atmospheric pressure. Hence, water table is
located within the aquifer forming the upper boundary of saturation zone. Water table varies in undulating form and in
slope depending on areas of recharges and discharges, pumpage from wells and permeability. Its chemical composition
and temperature also vary temporarily as well as spatially. Groundwater occurs at shallow depth and is therefore readily
susceptible to contamination. Sometimes a lens of non-porous material will be found in material that is more permeable.
Water percolating through the unsaturated zone will be intercepted by this layer and will accumulate on top of the lens.
This water is called a perched aquifer. Perched aquifer is a localized (limited aerial extent) unconfined aquifer formed
within unconfined aquifer.

Confined aquifers
Confined aquifers have non-porous layers above and below the aquifer zone. Confined aquifer has at least three layers of
which two are aquifuges with an aquifer between. As a resulting of this layering, direct recharge is not possible.
Recharging takes place in area where the confining bed rises to the surface. Water is under pressure due to atmospheric
and overlying aquifuge. Confined aquifer is also called artesian aquifer. Sufficient pressure results in free-flowing water,
either from a spring or from a well. If water gushes out of surface automatically for a reasonable height from a well
penetrating confined aquifer (or when piezometric level lies above the ground surface), the well is called flowing artesian
well. When the pressure surface (piezometric level) is below the ground surface, the well will be artesian but non-flowing
and will require a pump to bring water to the surface. Water flow in an artesian well rises above the height of the recharge
zone. Water is continually recycled through aquifer systems. Groundwater recharge is any water added to the aquifer
zone. Processes that contribute to groundwater recharge include precipitation, stream flow, leakage (reservoirs, lakes,
aqueducts), and artificial means (injection wells). Groundwater discharge is any process that removes water from an
aquifer system. Natural springs and artificial wells are examples of discharge processes.

Permeability
Permeability is the capability of a material to allow the passage of water or any other fluid through its interstices.
Permeability is dependent on the size of pore spaces and to what degree the pore spaces are connected. Grain shape, grain
packing, and cementation affect permeability.

8.2.2. Springs
A spring is a concentrated discharge of groundwater appearing at the ground surface as a current of flowing water (or a
spring is a place where groundwater naturally seeps or gushes from the earth’s surface). Spring water typically moves
downhill through soils or through cracks and fissures in the bedrock until the ground's surface intersects the water table.
There are many different types of springs falling under two categories: gravity springs and artesian springs. Gravity
22
springs include depression springs, contact springs, and fracture or tubular springs. Depression springs occur when the
land's surface dips below the level of the water table. Yield from depression springs is highly variable, depending on the
level of the water table. In areas that experience a pronounced dry season, depression springs may not be a suitable source
of drinking water if the water table drops below the level of the depression, causing the spring to become seasonally dry.
Gravity contact springs occur when an impervious layer beneath the earth's surface restricts surface water infiltration.
Water is channeled along the impervious layer until it eventually comes in contact with the earth's surface. This type of
spring typically has a very high yield and makes a good source of drinking water. Fracture and tubular springs are formed
when water is forced upwards through cracks and fissures in rocks. The discharge is often concentrated at one point.

Artesian springs occur when water under pressure is trapped between two impervious layers. Because the water in these
springs is under pressure, flow is generally greater than that of gravity springs. Artesian fissure springs are similar to
fracture and tubular springs, in that water reaches the surface through cracks and fissures in rocks. These springs make
excellent community water sources because of their relatively high flow rates and single discharge points. Another type of
artesian spring that can be developed as a high quality water source is the artesian flow spring. These occur when water
confined between two impervious layers emerges at a lower elevation. Artesian flow springs often occur on hillsides.

CHAPTER 5,"FLOODS

What is flood?

5.3. Floods

An inundation or overflow of the floodplain of a river, which causes substantial loss of life,
personal property, public facilities, or agricultural productivity, is called a flood. Floods are
the number one killers among natural disasters.

Floods occur in various forms: flash floods, fiver floods, urban floods, and coastal floods.
Each type has features different from the others. Knowing the characteristics of these
floods can help us prepare for the threat and reduce the damage to a minimum level.

Forms and causes

A. Flash flood. Flash floods occur in mountain streams, upper tributaries, or canyons
with relatively small watershed areas.

Most- flash flooding is associated with slow-moving thunderstorms, intensive rains from
hurricanes, tropical storms, a sudden release of water from snow packs, or a collapse of
dams and levees. Generally, thunderstorm activities are of high intensity, short duration,
and small area. If the rate of an intense rain is greater than the storage rate of a watershed,
the excessive rain water will become overland flow and run to nearby stream channels.
When thunderstorms occur in upper tributaries, which have small watershed-storage
capacity, overland flow from every portion of the watershed can arrive in stream channels

23
in a short period of time. The enormous amount of water can easily exceed the channel
capacity, resulting in flooding of its floodplain areas.

b. River flood. Unlike flash floods, river floods occur along major rivers and in lower
tributaries of large watersheds since it takes more time for water to travel through large
watersheds, the crest of a river flood can arrive at a downstream location in a few days or
even weeks after storms. River flooding is associated with torrential rains in spring, heavy
thunderstorms, hurricanes, tropical storms, and snow thaws.

C. Urban flood. Urbanization destroys vegetation cover on the ground and paves the
ground with concrete, asphalt, and roofing materials. These conversions reduce the soil
moisture being depleted by plant transpiration and prevent absorption of rainwater in to
the soil profile.

d. Coastal flood. Costal floods are caused either by tidal surges from the ocean or large
lakes, or rainfall runoff from rivers. Waters in the ocean can be driven inland through wave
actions induced by winds in tropical storms and hurricanes, or created by earthquakes and
volcanic activity. When an earthquake or volcanic activity occurs in the ocean, the created
waves, called tsunamis, can travel in all directions for thousands of miles.

3. Flood damages

a. Flood damages increase with time. Property losses caused by flooding in the U.S.
increased from $1,484,000,000 in 1936-1945, to $2,721,000,000 in 1956-1965, to
$21,493,000,000 in 1976-1984. Between 1986 and 1995 the annual loss from flood
damage in the U.S. ranged from $24 million in 1986 to $16,370,000,000 in 1993 with an
average of $3,550,000,000 per year.

b. Losses per unit area decrease with increasing watershed size. Stream flow
phenomena and behavior are quite different between large watersheds and small
watersheds due to their environmental condition. A large watershed usually implies a
condition in which watershed slope, rainfall intensity, flow velocity per unit area, and the
chances of getting the entire watershed covered by storms are smaller, soil is deeper, and
watershed storage is greater, small watersheds are very sensitive to land-use conditions
and to storms of high intensity and short duration.

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c. Forested watersheds are less damaging. Forests are the most distinguished types of
vegetation on Earth. Their large and thick canopies, fluffy forest floor, and deep root
systems impose tremendous effects on water, soil, and nutrient movements within the
watershed. For example, forested watersheds transpire a great deal of water to the air, cut
down the amount of rainwater to reach mineral soils, increase soil water holding capacity,
and reduce overland flow velocity and soil-erosion losses.

d. inundation can be a blessing. A flood carries a tremendous amount of water, energy, soil
particles, nutrients, and other substances.

4. Flood control and management

We cannot prevent all floods, but we can control some of the lesser ones and reduce the
magnitude and destructiveness of others through flood-control measures and floodplain
management.

a. Flood- control measures. The four categories of flood-control measures are flood
control reservoirs, channel modification (dikes and levees), soil and vegetation
treatments, and land drainage. The main function of flood storage and retarding
reservoirs is to reduce peak discharge, but not flood volume. Some dams are built for
raising the level of the stream so that flows can be diverted into canals for irrigation of
lowlands or to spreading grounds for groundwater recharge. Most are built for multiple
purposes, such as hydroelectric power, recreation, water supply, irrigation, and flood
control. Despite the value of reservoirs in flood control and other uses, big dams have
drawn much criticism. Some charge that: (1) dams cost too much and take too long to
build, (2) prime agricultural land and scenic sites above the dam are lost due to
flooding, and wetlands and bottom lands, below the dam suffer flow reduction, (3) they
can result in saltwater intrusion to freshwater aquifers in coastal areas and alter
marine environments due to reduction of in stream flow to bay estuaries, (4) the
natural habitats or endangered species are destroyed, and the upstream migration of
adult salmon is blocked, (5) the reduction of periodic flooding below the dam can result
in soil-salinization problems in arid and semiarid regions, and (6) many existing
reservoirs have siltation problems that seriously deplete their storage capacity and over
time shorten their useful life.

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Soil and vegetation treatments are designed to increase infiltration rate, soil water holding
capacity, surface detention, depression storage,

Once storm water can no longer be held in the soil or stored in the reservoirs, the excess of
water will run in to a stream. Damage is minimized if the flow moves rapidly enough to
reduce depth and duration of flooding. This can be accomplished through channel
modifications such as (1) deepening or widening channels to increase flow capacity, (2)
removing vegetation, debris, and sand bars from the watercourse, lowering the water level
at the outlet, channel straightening, or setting levees and embankments to increase flow
velocity.

The main purposes of land drainage are (1) to prevent water logging in agricultural land, (2)
to minimize flood damage to agricultural crops and urban areas, (3) to confine the rivers in
their channels, (4) to dispose of surface water from urban areas, and (5) to prevent
seawater from penetrating into land areas

b. Flood forecasting: flood forecast are a modern technology for predicting the occurrence
of flood in advance so that flood damage can be mitigated to a minimum level

c. Flood insurance. The development of economically and aesthetically attractive

floodplains makes all properties in those areas subject to periodic flood damages. Flood
insurance is an overall community program of corrective measures for restoration of
such damages

Chpter 6 Water pollution

Due to its solubility and its role as a habitat for aquatic life, all water in nature contains
organic matter, inorganic matter, and dissolved gases derived from its environment, from
man’s activities, from the atmosphere, or from living organisms. The concentration of these
substances and the biological, physical, and chemical effects of these substances are the
basic criteria in the determination of water quality. In practice, water is considered polluted
if it is not suitable for intended uses such as drinking, recreation, irrigation, industry, or
aquatic life.

Water pollution is probably the most common hazard to people in much of the world.

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 A. Water pollutants

All substances that make water unsuitable for intended uses are water pollutants. They
can be classified into eight categories.

1. Sediments

Stream sediments are soil and mineral particles, usually inorganic, but in part organic
or composites of the two, released from the land by surface runoff, stream flow, wind,
melting glaciers, raindrop impact, animals, gravity, or avalanche.

Physically, the presence of sediment can affect water turbidity, light penetration, energy
exchange, taste, odor, temperature, and abrasiveness.

2. Heat

Excessive heat caused by the summer sun, the reduction of flow volume, the removal of
riparian plants, and the discharge of heated water from power plants and other
industries can be a serious pollution problem

3. Oxygen- demanding wastes

Oxygen-demanding wastes include domestic sewage, animal manure, and some

industrial wastes of largely carbonaceous organic material that can be decomposed by
microorganisms to carbon dioxide, water, some basic ions (such as), and energy. The
decomposition of organic material in water is carried out by bacteria at the expense of
dissolved oxygen.

4. Plant nutrients

Frequently, plant nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus are added to reservoirs by
dissolving in runoff water or attaching to eroding soil particles. Nutrients may come from
(1) soil and water erosion, (2) agricultural fertilizers, (3) domestic sewage, (4) livestock
wastes, (5) decomposition of plant residuals, and (6) phosphate detergents.

5. Disease-causing agents

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Waste discharges from cities, slaughtering plants, animal feedlots, or ships can carry
bacteria viruses, or other microorganisms capable of producing disease in man and
animals. These microorganisms are responsible for such diseases as cholera, typhoid fever,
dysentery, polio, and infectious hepatitis.

6. Inorganic chemicals and minerals

Many acids, salts, heavy metals, and toxic pollutants from industrial and municipal
discharges affect water quality adversely.

7. Synthetic organic chemicals

Detergents, plastics, oil, pesticides, septic-tank cleaners, phenols, DDT, and many other
organic compounds are products of modern industrial technology,

8. Radioactive substances

Radioactive substances can come from radioactive rocks and soils, from uranium mining
and processing, from nuclear power plants, from nuclear weapon tests, or from leakage of
radioactive instruments and laboratories.

CHPTER 7 Water augmentation and conservation methods

When water demand is greater than supply, water shortage occurs. If the shortage extends
over a significant period of time it is a drought. However, water shortage can apply to
agriculture, to water level in the rivers and reservoirs, or to human comfort as a result of
lack of rainfall, high temperature, and low humidity. Thus, drought has been defined
through meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, or even socioeconomic points of view. It
means different things to different people and varies from region to region. In equatorial
areas, a week without rain is a drought, while such a period can extend to 2 years in Libya.

Unlike floods, drought occurs slowly, grows gradually, and acts silently, there are no
exciting violent occurrences or immediate disruptions of life and social order associated
with drought. The damages of drought are chronic but once it becomes noticeable, it may
have already caused tremendous losses in agriculture, reductions in economic growth,
increases in food prices, and problems of infestation associated with insects, fungi,

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bacteria, and viruses, which in turn may shift farming practices and life-styles. Drought is
not just a natural phenomenon affecting only crops or water supplies. The effects of
drought cover all aspects of life and are much more profound and widespread than those of
floods.

No panacea can be used with economic feasibility to fight effectively against drought.
Although elimination of drought is unattainable, numerous measures have been developed
to cope with shortages of water and reduce drought damage. These measures either
augment water supply or conserve water use and work better when applied in concert. They
include:

Water Augmentation Water conservation

Rainmaking Household conservation

Water translocation evaporation reduction

Desalination Irrigation efficient

Water reclamation vegetation control

Rain harvesting (water storage) Genetic engineering

Iceberg harvesting Drought forecast

Price control

1. Rainmaking

Artificially induced rain or snow would be an ideal solution to droughts especially if

precipitation timing, location, and amounts could be controlled. Rainmaking is done by
cloud seeding with crystals of dry ice, silver iodide, salts, or even clay particles when rain
clouds are present in the sky.

1. Water translocation.

The distribution of freshwater supplies in nature is very uneven geographically. Cities are
expanding becoming so large that water supplies are not sufficient for their demands;
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agricultural irrigation is always needed in arid areas but water is in limited supply. A
conventional solution to the water shortage is to transport water from an area of surplus to
an area in need through pipelines, channels, canals, trucks, etc., depending on distance
and quantity.

2. Desalination

With seawater accounting for more than 97% of the world’s total water budget, converting
the saline water into usable water seems to be a logical alterative for augmentation of water
supply. Technologically, the techniques are not yet in widespread use because of energy
requirements, costs, and environmental constraints such as waste disposal problems, heat,
and other air pollutants.

3. Water reclamation

Although many people are concerned about aesthetic effects and about the possible
transmission of viruses and other contaminating organisms, waste effluents in fact can be
treated to yield a quality suitable for many uses, including body contact. Such processed
sewage water has already been used for a variety of functions, including irrigation, steel
cooling, groundwater recharging, aquaculture, creation of constructed wetlands, stream
flow augmentation to enhance salmon runs and to improve water quality, recreational
lakes, and domestic and industrial supplies.

4. Rain harvesting

In rain harvesting, rainwater is captured to increase water availability for crop production,
gardening, household, livestock, or other uses. Methods include trapping more runoff
through land-surface treatments, collecting rainwater from roofs, increasing snow
accumulation through snow fences, terrain modification and forest management practices.

5. Iceberg harvesting

More than 77% of the world’s fresh water is locked up in ice ,mostly in Antaractica and in
the Arctic. If the ice could be melted and drained in to reservoirs, there would be enough
water to supply our needs for more than 7000 years at present with drawal rates. Icebergs
in Antarctica are broad and flat; resembling giant float tables or ice islands, it may be

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economically feasible to tow Antarctic icebergs to southern California, south America,
Saudi Arabia, Australia, or other coastal places with oceangoing tugs aided by the favorable
Humboldt currents. These icebergs would then be melted and piped inland for domestic,
industrial, or agricultural purposes. The idea received considerable attention when the first
international conference and workshop on Iceberg Utilization was held at lowa state
University in Ames, lowa, in 1978. However, there are some problems regarding the
utilization of icebergs: (1) the ownership of icebergs, (2) the environmental effects on coastal
water temperature, fish reproduction, and migration as well as on climatic patterns, and (3)
the hazards that might be created if chunks of icebergs were broken off in international
shipping lanes. It is unlikely that the intriguing idea will be implemented in the near future.
But as water shortages continue to grow and the operational technology is further
developed, icebergs provide a new water resource that will meet our water demands for a
long time.

6. Household conservation

About 30 to 50% of the water used in the U.S. is wasted unnecessarily. Water conservation
means using water wisely, increasing the efficiency and reducing waste. Thus, household
conservation involves the use of technologies, practices, policies, and education to reduce
per capita use of water by people in drinking, cooking, bathing, toilet flushing, lawn
watering, fire protection, swimming pools, car washing, laundering, and washing dishes
much of the water around individual homes is wasted due to poor habits, lack of concern,
or inefficient plumbing fixtures.

8. Evaporation reduction

Reservoir evaporation can be reduced by reducing the evaporation surface, by application

of mechanical covers to its surface, or by spreading the surface with thin films of
chemicals. The surface-film method is the simplest and the most economical for
evaporation reduction.

9. Irrigation efficiency

Water loss due to inefficient agricultural irrigation is another important item in water
conservation .As much as 50% of the irrigated water is not used for crops due to

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evaporation loss or seepage. Improving the efficiency of existing irrigation practices can
increase crop yields, reduce weed growth, and cut irrigation water by 50to 60%. The
methods include:(1) better scheduling of water application, (2) use of closed conduits in
water –conveyance systems, (3) using trickle or drip irrigation systems to apply water
directly in to the roots of plants rather than flooding the entire areas, (4) reducing irrigation
water by using contour cultivation and terracing, and storing runoff water for use in farm
ponds or small lakes, and (5) covering the soil with mulches

10. Vegetation control

Forests transpire more water than other types of vegetation. Water yield can thus be
increased by manipulation of forests without increasing surface runoff and soil erosion. The
method is to reduce transpiration by (1) converting vegetation from species that use much
water to species that require less water, (2) clear cutting or partial cutting of the forest, (3)
reducing forest densities, and (4) using anti-transparent. Many management methods,
including conversions of chaparral to grass, tree to grass, tree to shrub, and hardwood to
conifer, or forest clear cutting, patch cutting, understory cutting, and thinning, have been
tested in small watersheds for their effects of stream flows. The results show a
precipitation, vegetation, management, and physiographic factors.

11. Genetic engineering

Through research and experiments in genetics, it may be possible to breed plants that
require considerably less water or grow well in saline soils.

12. Drought forecast

Information on the probability of occurrence of droughts with various severity and duration
during a single year or during any specific period of years can be statistically analyzed
using historical records of precipitation and stream flow. The severity of droughts can be
measured by parameters such as deficiencies in rainfall and stream flow, declines in soil
moisture and groundwater level, persistence of rainless days, various drought indexes and
the storage required to meet prescribed withdrawals. Analysis of past records indicates that
the sequence of dry years is not random, and a prolonged drought in the western U.S
occurs about every 22 years. Large- scale studies on the distribution, occurrence, severity,

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and duration of droughts may provide clearer insight and more reliable information to help
us to prepare for problems in the future, including addressing them with conservation
programs and water storage.

13. Price control

Water has been priced at reproduction costs in the past. However, most systems charge a
minimum price for a given quantity of water with a decreasing price for additional use,
while others charge a minimum price with an increasing rate for additional use. Other
water systems charge a uniform rate that is independent of use. Innovative increasing block
rates have been adopted on many municipalities to encourage conservation. When water-
supply savings are added to sewer and energy costs, consumer savings can be substantial.

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