CE141 HYDROLOGY

MAPUA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

COURSE DESCRIPTION
A course designed to provide conceptual understanding of the
hydrologic cycle and the different hydrological processes such
as precipitation, infiltration, evaporation, transpiration and
runoff. The course also introduces streamflow, groundwater
flow, measurement and analysis of hydrologic data, Philippine
weather and climate.
Course Objectives

• To gain basic knowledge of the scientific principles governing the

processes present in the hydrological cycle that leads students to
provide solutions to hydrology related problems of humid countries.
• To learn the principal methodologies and techniques of engineering
hydrology that are required in the planning, design and operation of
water resource systems and projects for the control and use of
water.
• To provide an overview of the current state of hydrology to serve as
guide for advanced studies in hydrology and water resources
engineering.
COURSE OUTCOMES
• Knowledgeably discuss the processes in hydrologic cycle
and probability concepts of hydrology as well as
consciousness of computer programs that would aid in
providing solutions to hydrology related problems.
• Show ability to provide computational solution to
engineering problems related to hydrology
• Knowledgeably conceptualize and design using
hydrological techniques in order to keep abreast with
current and contemporary issues.
HYDROLOGY
HYDROLOGY
• is the study of the waters of the earth on and below the surface of
the planet.
• Also involves the study of the various properties of water and its
relationship with the living and non-living environment.
• A knowledge of hydrology is fundamental to decision making
processes where water is a component of the system of concern.
 The total amount of water on the earth and in its
atmosphere does not change but the earth’s water is
always in movement.
• Oceans, rivers, clouds and rain, all of which contain water, are in a
frequent state of change and the motion of rain and flowing rivers
transfers water in a never-ending cycle.
HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE
• This circulation and conservation of earth’s water as it circulates from
the land to the sky and back again.
Egypt (Nile)
• Longest river in the world: 6,853 km long
Rome (Tiber)
• Third longest river in Italy, 406 kilometers; The river has achieved
lasting fame as the main watercourse of the city of Rome.
Mesopotamia – Between
Turkey/Iran/Iraq/Syria (Tigris & Euphrates)
form a major river system in Western Asia. From sources in the Taurus Mountains of
eastern Turkey they flow by through Syria through Iraq into the Persian Gulf.
China (Huang Ho & Yangtze)
• Huang Ho – Yellow River; third longest river in Asia/ 6th longest
river in the world with an estimated length of 5,464km.
• Yangtze – longest river in Asia/3rd longest river in the world with an
estimated length of 6,300km.
Pakistan (Indus)
is a major south-flowing river in South Asia. The total length of the river is 3,180 km
India (Ganges)
The Ganges is the most sacred river to Hindus; with an estimated length of 2,525km.
Canal
• Are man made channels for water.
Panama Canal
is a man-made 48-mile (77 km) waterway in Panaman that connects the Atlantic Ocean with
the Pacific Ocean
Dam
• is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams.
• Provide water for such activities:
• Irrigation
• Human consumption
• Industrial use
• Aquaculture
• navigability
Hoover Dam
is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the
U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It control floods, provide irrigation water and
produce hydroelectric power.
Levee
• an embankment built to prevent the overflow of a river.
Arkansas River with large Levee
Water aqueduct/conduit
• an artificial (man-made) channel that is constructed to convey water
from one location to another. This can be made of canals, pipelines,
inverted siphons, reservoirs and tunnels
Segovia Aqueduct Spain
is a Roman Aqueduct and one of the most significant and best-preserved ancient monuments left on the
Iberian Peninsula. Total length: 813m
Wells
• is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving,
boring, or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers.
BASIC HYDROLOGIC CYCLE
DETAILED HYDROLOGIC CYCLE
Hydrologic Process
Water evaporates from many surfaces located throughout a watershed.
Precipitation that is caught by plant surfaces and evaporates back to the
atmosphere is called interception. This part of precipitation does not reach
the soil surface. Evaporation also occurs from water bodies located in a
watershed and from soil surfaces. Water that is extracted from the soil by
plant roots and that evaporates from within plant leaves is transpiration.
The total amount of water that evaporates from a watershed is
evapotranspiration, which is the sum of interception, transpiration, and
evaporation from soils and water bodies. This evaporated water is
temporarily lost from the watershed to the atmosphere but eventually
returns to the earth’s surface as precipitation at some other location and
the cycle continues
Hydrologic Process
Precipitation falling on a watershed that is not returned to the
atmosphere via evapotranspiration can either flow over the soil
surface, reaching stream channels as overland flow, or surface runoff,
or it infiltrates into the soil. The fate of infiltrated water depends on:
• The moisture status of the soil
• The water-holding capacity of the soil
• The network and size of pores within the soil matrix
Infiltrated water that is in excess of the soil water holding capacity can
flow downward under the influence of gravity until reaching
groundwater.
Surface Runoff is water, from rain, snowmelt, or other sources, that
flows over the land surface, and is a major component of the water
cycle
Fundamental Concept of hydrologic cycle
Water is neither lost nor gained from earth over time. However, the quantities of
water in the atmosphere, soils, groundwater, surface water, glaciers, and other
components are constantly changing because of the dynamic nature of the
hydrologic cycle. A few facts to remember about the hydrologic cycle are as follows:
• Solar energy provides the energy that drives and sustains the cycling of water on earth.
• There is no beginning or end to the cycle.
• The supply of water on earth is constant, but the allocation of water in storage or in
circulation can vary with time.
Aquifer
• is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock, rock
fractures or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, and silt) from
which groundwater can be extracted using a water well.
• The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of
aquifers is called hydrogeology.
Confined Aquifer
• is an aquifer below the land surface that is saturated with water.
Layers of impermeable material are both above and below
the aquifer, causing it to be under pressure so that when
the aquifer is penetrated by a well, the water will rise above the top
of the aquifer.
Unconfined Aquifer
• A groundwater aquifer is said to be unconfined when its upper
surface (water table) is open to the atmosphere through permeable
material. As opposed to a confinedaquifer, the water table in
an unconfined aquifer system has no overlying impervious rock layer
to separate it from the atmosphere.
Hydraulic Conductivity
• is a property of vascular plants, soils and rocks, that describes the
ease with which a fluid (usually water) can move through pore spaces
or fractures.
HYDROLOGY IN ENGINEERING
• Hydrology is used in engineering mainly in connection with the design
and operation of hydraulic structures.
• What flood flows can be expected over a spillway, at a highway culvert, or in an
urban storm drainage system?
• What reservoir capacity is required to assure adequate water for irrigation or
municipal water supply during droughts?
• What effect will reservoirs, levees, and other control works exert on flood flows in
a stream?
• What are reasonable boundaries for the floodplain?
• It is probable that civil engineers deal with a larger number of projects
and a greater financial budget than the specialists do. In any event, it
seems that knowledge of the fundamentals of hydrology is an essential
part of the civil engineer’s training.