Stream Gauging

Estimation of Discharge in Streams

Estimation of Discharge in 
Streams
• In this method, the vertical in which the velocity
measurements are made (by one-point or two-points
method) is taken as the middle of the strip, and the water
depth (d) in the vertical (determined by sounding) is taken
as the mean depth of the strip.
• If b is the width of strip
p ((usuallyy same for all strips)
p ) then the
discharge in the elemental strip is given by
Estimation of Discharge in 
Streams
• In this method, the discharge in the two-
triangular bits near the ends are not included in
the discharge computation.
– Keep the current meter clean and properly oiled to
reduce
d th friction
the f i ti losses.
l

– The stream cross

cross-section
section should be sub
sub-divided
divided into
as small sub-sectors as possible and should not be
greater than 1/15 to 1/20 of the width of the river.

– Difference of the velocities in adjacent segments

should not be more than 20%
Estimation of Discharge in 
Streams
• The following data were collected for a stream at a gauging station.
station
Compute the discharge. Equation of current meter: v = 0.3 N + 0.05
Estimation of Discharge in 
Streams
• Width of each strip, b = 3 m, mean depth of strip = d, and
th total
the t t l discharge,
di h Q = Σ ∆Q
Estimation of Discharge in 
Streams
Estimation of Discharge in 
Streams
Compute the stream flow for the measurement
data given
gi en below
belo columns
col mns 1 to 5 of table 1 below.
belo
Take the meter rating from equation. V= a+bN
with a=0.03 and b=0.66

Solution
A V = a + bN
As
So V = 0.03 + 0.66 N

V is in m/s and N is in revolutions/s. Using this the

following
g calculations in columns 6 to 11 of Table
1 below are made. Find the discharge using Mid-
Section method.
Estimation of Discharge in 
Streams
Distance from bank Depth (m) Meter Depth Revolutions. Time

(m) (m) (m) (Sec)

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

0.60 0.30 0.18 10 50

1.20 1.05 0.84 22 55
0.21 35 52
1 80
1.80 1 56
1.56 1 26
1.26 28 53
0.3 40 58
2.70 1.89 1.5 32 58
0 39
0.39 45 60
3.30 1.32 1.15 28 45
0.27 33 46
3.90 0.66 0.39 22 50
4.50 0.24 0.15 12 49
5.10
Estimation of Discharge in 
Streams
Width of
Distance Depth Meter Revol- Velocity at Mean in
Time N sub- Area Discharge
from bank (m) Depth utions. point vertical
section
(m) (m) (m) (Sec) (Rev./s) (m/s) (m/s) (m) (m²) (m³/s)
(6)=(4)/( (10)=(2) (11)= (8) x
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (7)= a+bN (8) (9)
5) x(9) (10)
0 60
0.60 0 30
0.30 0 18
0.18 10 50 0 20
0.20 0 162
0.162 0 162
0.162 0 30
0.30 0 09
0.09 0 015
0.015
1.20 1.05 0.84 22 55 0.40 0.294 0.384 0.60 0.63 0.242
0.21 35 52 0.67 0.474
1.80 1.56 1.26 28 53 0.53 0.379 0.432 0.75 1.17 0.505
0.3 40 58 0.69 0.485
2.70 1.89 1.5 32 58 0.55 0.394 0.460 0.75 1.418 0.652
0.39 45 60 0.75 0.525
3 30
3.30 1 32
1.32 1 15
1.15 28 45 0 62
0.62 0 441
0.441 0 472
0.472 0 60
0.60 0 792
0.792 0 374
0.374
0.27 33 46 0.72 0.503
3.90 0.66 0.39 22 50 0.44 0.320 0.320 0.60 0.396 0.127
4.50 0.24 0.15 12 49 0.24 0.192 0.192 0.30 0.072 0.014
5.10
Total 4.568 1.929
Chemical Gauging Method (Dilution
Method

• Thi
This method
th d is
i particularly
ti l l usefulf l when
h plenty
l t off
turbulence exist in the flow and the measurement of
discharge by current
current-meter
meter is not feasible.

• In this method one section is selected upstream

p and
other at down stream end of the reach of channel.

• The upstream section is called the “dosing section”

and down-stream end is called “sampling section”
Chemical Gauging Method (Dilution
Method

• At the dosing section some soluble chemical salt

made upp to a known
kno n concentration is fed into the
stream at a measured rate.

• B
By the
th time
ti th flow
the fl reaches
h th sampling
the li section
ti
the salt solution is properly mixed with the whole
flow.

• Samples of water are drawn from the sampling

section from the down-stream section and are
analyzed for the quantity of salt.
salt

• There are two alternatives for injection;

– Sudden injection
– Injection at constant rate.
Sudden Injection

– In this method a known volume “V” of the dosing g

solution or tracer is added to the stream as rapidly as
possible.

– The concentration at the sampling point rises rapidly

to a peak and then slowly diminishes.

– Samples are then taken at regular intervals of time

and chemical concentration is determined in
laboratory
 Sudden Injection

Q = VC1 / t1t2∫ (C2- C0) dt

• V = Volume of injected
solution
Sudden Injection of Volume  • C1 = Concentration of
V1 at section 1 Conc. At  chemical in dozing solution.
C1 Section 2
• Co = Conc.
Conc of chemical
already existing in stream
ntration

water
• C2 = Conc.
C off chemical
h i l iin
Concen

water at sampling point

C0 C2

t1 t2
Time
 Constant rate of Injection

• IIn this
thi method
th d the
th dosing
d i off the
th chemical
h i l or any other
th tracer
t
has to be continued at a constant, pre-determined rate say
‘q’
q until the concentration of the chemical is constant at the
sampling point down stream where mixing is adequate
Constant rate of Injection

The discharge is given as

Q = q(C1–C2)/(C2–Co) 
Where Co = Concentration of
chemical already existing in
flowing fluid of stream
Section 1 q = Constant rate of injection of chemical
C1 C2 = Concentration of chemical in water
at sampling point
on
Concentratio

Background 
k d
Concentration Section 2

C2
C

C0
0
Time
• One gram in 1000 ml is 1000 ppm and one
thousandth of a gram (0.001g) in 1000 ml is one
ppm.

• 1ppm=0.001g/litre
pp g
• 1ppm=1mg/litre
• pp = 1000
1ppm 000 pa
parts
ts pe
per b
billion
o
• 1ppb = 1/1000 ppm
• A 30 g/l solution of a chemical was discharged into a
stream at a constant rate of 10x10-6 m3/sec./sec The
same chemical was not found in stream water at all.
The concentration of chemical at sampling section
was found to be 5 parts per billion.
billion Estimate the
stream discharge

Solution
From Equation 10, we have
Q = q(C1 – C2 )/ (C2 – Co )
q = 10x10-6 m3/sec.
/sec
C1 = 30g/l=0.030 g/ml
C2 = 5000 parts per million = 0.005x10-6 g/ml
Co = 0
Q = [10x10-6 x (0.03-5x10-9)]÷( 5x10-9 )= 60 m3/sec.
Stage ~ Discharge relationship
Stage ~ Discharge relationship

• The graphical curve between stage and

di h
discharge i called
is ll d the
th stage-discharge
t di h curve or
Rating curve.

• The rating curve is nothing but the graph giving

the relation between stage
g and discharge.
g

• Stage
g is pplotted along
g yy-axis and discharge
g is
plotted along x-axis.

• The shape of rating curve looks like parabola

Stage
g ~ Discharge
g relationship
p
Stage ~ Discharge relationship
Stage
g ~ Discharge
g relationship
p

• If ‘a’ is the gauge reading corresponding to zero-

discharge and ‘g’ is the gauge reading when the
discharge is Q, the gauge height is (g-a) for this
discharge Q. The relation between stream discharge
andd gauge height
h i ht can be
b expressed
d as

Q = C (g
(g-a)
a) n
log Q = log C + n log (g-a)
y c m x

Q = C when (g-a) = 1
Stage
g ~ Discharge
g relationship
p

– Zero gauge height “a” a is determined by assuming the

various values of ‘a’ until log ‘Q’ when plotted against
log (g-a), forms a straight line.

– This straight line can then be extended to extrapolate

discharge corresponding to the measured gauge
height.
 Extension of Rating Curve

Stage ‘g’ A = Cross-Sectional D = Mean Discharge

(m) Area (m²) Depth (m) 'Q' (m³/s)
• Example 6 0.52 24.43 0.46 29

• Given in Table 4 0.76 62.62 0.55 76

1 06
1.06 111 5
111.5 0 64
0.64 139
below is data for a 1.23 145.86 0.85 187
station rating curve. 1.3 166.3 0.98 218
Find the flow at 4.42 1.55 199.74 1.19 268

m stage, by 1.71 221.11 1.4 303

logarithmic method. 1.82 270.35 1.49 371

2.04 304.72 1.58 428
2.08 317.73 1.65 456
2.38 367.9 1.74 538
2.67 447.79 1.83 682
2.81 464.52 1.86 708
3.02 487.74 1.98 773
Table 4: Stage vs Discharge Data 4.42 761.81 2.74
Extension of Rating Curve

Solution:
• Logarithmic Method:
– The method involves choosing trial values of ‘a’, a,
finding logarithm of (g-a) and Q. Then plotting Log Q
against Log (g-a) as shown in Fig 7. The best fit line is
drawn through points for most suitable ‘a’
a value.
value This
line is extended to read required discharge.

Continued….
Extension of Rating Curve
Extension of Rating Curve by Logarithmic Method

3.5

3.0

2.5

2.0
log Q

1.5

10
1.0

0.5

00
0.0
-2.0 -1.5 -1.0 -0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0
log (g-a)

a =0.3 a = 0.4 a = 0.5

Fig 7: Rating Curve

Continued….
Extension of Rating Curve

– The calculations are shown in Table 5 and g graph

p is
shown in Figure 7.
– The value of ‘a’ for which we obtain a straight line is
0.4.
– The discharge required is corresponding to log (4.42-
0.4) = 0.60.
– The
Th value l off log
l Q against
i t stage
t off 4.42
4 42 m is i
therefore 3.1 which corresponds to a discharge of =
1260 m³/s.
– i.e. taking antilog
– Log Q = 3.1
– Q = 1010^33.1
1 = 1258.92
1258 92

Continued….
Extension of Rating Curve

– The value of discharge found by logarithmic method

is approximated one because it depends upon
plotting accuracy and judgment of drawing best fit
line.
– Suppose
pp for example
p if value of logg Q would have
been read as 3.15, the discharge value would have
been 1412 m³/s which is 12 % more than previous
computed value of 1260 mm³/s
/s.

Continued….
Extension of Rating Curve
Discharge 'Q' Log10(g-a)
Stage 'g' (m) Log10Q
(m³/s) a = 0.3 a = 0.4 a = 0.5
0 52
0.52 29 1 46
1.46 -0.649
0 649 -0.906
0 906 -1.615
1 615
0.76 76 1.88 -0.335 -0.441 -0.582
1.06 139 2.14 -0.121 -0.182 -0.254
1.23 187 2.27 -0.034
0.034 -0.083
0.083 -0.139
0.139
1.30 218 2.34 -0.001 -0.047 -0.098
1.55 268 2.43 0.096 0.060 0.021
1.71 303 2.48 0.149 0.117 0.083
1.82 371 2.57 0.183 0.153 0.121
2.04 428 2.63 0.241 0.215 0.188
2.08 456 2.66 0.251 0.226 0.199
2 38
2.38 538 2 73
2.73 0 318
0.318 0 296
0.296 0 274
0.274
2.67 682 2.83 0.374 0.355 0.336
2.81 708 2.85 0.399 0.382 0.363
3.02 773 2.89 0.434 0.418 0.401
4.42 0.615 0.604 0.593

Table 5: Extension of Rating Curve

 Extension of Rating Curve

• The stream discharges for various

ario s stages at a
particular section were observed to be as follows.
Obtain an equation for the stage stage-discharge
discharge
relationship and determine the discharge for a stage
of 4.9 m and 12 m.
Extension of Rating Curve
• The relation between the stage (g) and discharge (Q) of the
stream can be assumed of the form

Q = C (g-a) n

• Plot Q vs. (g–a) on a log paper assuming a value for the

constant a=0.6m (say); the curve obtained may be concave
downwards. Now assume a value a = 1.2 m (say) and the
curve obtained
b i d may be b concave upward. d Now
N try an
intermediate value a = 0.9 m, which plots a straight line and
represents the stage discharge relationship.

• The slope of this straight line gives the value of the exponent
n=2.2, and from the graph for g–a=1, Q=1.2=K. Now the
constants are determined and the equationq for the stage-
g
discharge relationship is
Extension of Rating Curve

Q = 1.2(g–0.9)
1 2(g 0 9)2.2

• Q can be directlyy read from the g

graph
p and the
stage discharge curve can be extended.

g = 4.9 m, Q = 25.3 cumecs

g = 12.0 m,, Q = 240 cumecs

And the same can also be obtained from equation

 Extension of Rating Curve

• Correction has to be
applied for the discharge
obtained from the rating
curve duringg a risingg or
falling stage i.e., during
a flood. For this purpose,
an auxiliary gauge is
established some
distance upstream or
downstream from the
main gauge
• If Q0 is the discharge when ∆h0 is the difference of gauge
readings between the main and auxiliary gauges during normal
flow, and Qa is the discharge when ∆ha is the difference of the
two gauges during a rising or falling stage then
• The following data were obtained by stream gauging
of a river:

Main Gauge (m) 12.0 12.0

Auxiliary Gauge (m) 11.65

Auxiliary Gauge (m) 11 65 11 02
11.02

Discharge (cumecs) 9.50 15.20

• what should be the discharge

g when the main g gauge
g
reads 12 m and the auxiliary gauge reads 11.37 m?
A√D Method

– This method is based on the Chezy

Chezy’s
s formula
Q = AC√RS
where
C = Roughness coefficient (Chezy’s Constant)
S = Bed Slope
A = Cross sectional area
R = Hydraulic radius
A√D Method
• If the stream is assumed to be a large rectangular
channel
h l ((wide
id channel),
h l) with
ith B >>y,

Rh = A/P = By/(B
By/(B+2y)
2y) (where P = Wetted perimeter)

If B>>y then ignoring 2y,

Rh = A/P = By/B=y=D (Hydraulic Depth)

If C√S is assumed to be constant for the station and “D” the

hydraulic depth is substituted for “R”, only when the
section is wide
ide
A√D Method

Q = K A √D
Q α A√D

• Knowing the values of Q and A we can plot a graph

and get a straight line, which may be extended.

• Values of A for stages above the existing rating can

be obtained by field measurements and used with
the extended curve for estimates of Q.
Slope Area Method

– This method of estimatingg high

g flows is byy application
pp
of hydraulic principles. Sufficient high water marks
must be located along a reach of channel to
determine water surface slope at the time of peak.
peak

– Cross sections of the channel may be determined by

leveling or sounding, and the area as well the
hydraulic radius is calculated.
Slope Area Method

– Manning’s
g Formula is different for both M.K.S. &
F.P.S.
Q = A(1/n) R2/3√S (M.K.S)
Q = A(1.49/n) R2/3√S
√ (F.P.S)

A = Area of cross section

section, S = Slope of water
surface
n = Manning’s
g Constant , R= Hydraulic
y Radius
Slope Area Method

– The main source of error in applying

pp y g this equation
q is
in estimating the roughness coefficient “n”.

– Since Q depends upon 1/n and the average value of

“n” for natural stream is about 0.035, an error of 0.001
in “n”
n represents about 3% in discharge.

– Under the most favorable conditions an error of 10%

may be expected in a slope area estimate of flow.
 Extension of Rating Curve

Stage ‘g’ A = Cross-Sectional D = Mean Discharge

(m) Area (m²) Depth (m) 'Q' (m³/s)
• Example 6 0.52 24.43 0.46 29

– Given in Table is 0.76 62.62 0.55 76

1 06
1.06 111 5
111.5 0 64
0.64 139
data for a station 1.23 145.86 0.85 187
rating curve. Find the 1.3 166.3 0.98 218
flow at 4.42 m stage, 1.55 199.74 1.19 268

by A√D method 1.71 221.11 1.4 303

1.82 270.35 1.49 371
2.04 304.72 1.58 428
2.08 317.73 1.65 456
2.38 367.9 1.74 538
2.67 447.79 1.83 682
2.81 464.52 1.86 708
3.02 487.74 1.98 773
4.42 761.81 2.74
 A = Cross
Cross-Sectional
Sectional D = Mead Depth Discharge 'Q'
Stage 'g' (m) A√D
Area (m²) (m) (m³/s)
0.52 24.43 0.46 29 16.57
0 76
0.76 62 62
62.62 0 55
0.55 76 46 44
46.44
1.06 111.5 0.64 139 89.20
1.23 145.86 0.85 187 134.48
13
1.3 166 3
166.3 0 98
0.98 218 164 63
164.63
1.55 199.74 1.19 268 217.89
1.71 221.11 1.4 303 261.62
1 82
1.82 270 35
270.35 1 49
1.49 371 330 00
330.00
2.04 304.72 1.58 428 383.03
2.08 317.73 1.65 456 408.13
2 38
2.38 367 9
367.9 1 74
1.74 538 485 29
485.29
2.67 447.79 1.83 682 605.76
2.81 464.52 1.86 708 633.52
3 02
3.02 487 74
487.74 1 98
1.98 773 686 31
686.31
4.42 761.81 2.74 1261.02
 Extension Of Rating Curve by Chezy
Chezy's
s
2000 Method
scharge (Q m³/s))

1500

1000

500
Dis

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400

Value of AxSQRT(D)
Stream Flow Units

• Rate of Run Off:

– It may be measured in cubic foot per second or cubic
meter per second. One cubic foot per second is a
volume of one ft³ when collected in one second.
– The ft³/second are also called cusec or cfs. In the
metric system the cubic meter per second are also
called cumec.
Stream Flow Units

• Volume Run Off:

– Volume of flow is expressed in cubic feet, cubic
meters, cubic inches and also in Acre foot and second
foot days.
Second Foot Day (SFD)

• It is the volume of water collected in 24 hours

(one day) at the rate of 1 cubic foot per second.
1 Sfd = 24 x 60x60 =86400 ft³.
• The smaller unit is second foot hour i.e. volume
collected in one hour at the rate of 1cfs.
1 sfh
fh = 60x60
60 60 =3600
3600 ft³
ft³.
Acre Foot

• If an area of one acre is converted by a uniform

depth of 1ft of water.
• The total volume thus collected is 1 Acre foot.
One Acre = 4840 (yards)²
1 Acre - foot = (4840x9)x1 = 43560 ft³
and 1 Sfd = 1.9835 Acre foot.
Hectare Meter

• If an area of one hectare is covered by a uniform

depth of 1m of water.
• The total volume thus collected is 1 Hectare-
meter.
One Hectare-meter = 104 m³
Inches of Run Off

• If a certain catchment area is having a uniform

depth of 1 cm of water, the total Run off is 1 cm
for that very catchment area.