F16/1243/2018

NAMBIRO EMMANUEL MULAYI

FCE 425: HYDROLOGY

TUTORIAL 2

Question One

a) With the aid of clearly labeled diagrams, discuss any three types of instruments used to measure
precipitation by allowing continuous measurement and recording of rainfall.

1. Tipping bucket raingauge

- The catch from the funnel falls onto one of a pair of small buckets. These buckets are so
balanced that when 0.25 mm of rainfall collects in one bucket, it tips and brings the other one in
position. The water from the tipped bucket is collected in a storage can.
- The tipping actuates an electrically driven pen to trace a record on a clockwork-driven chart.
- The water collected is measured at regular intervals to provide the total rainfall.

2. Weighing-bucket raingauge

- The catch from the funnel empties into a bucket mounted on a weighing scale.

- The weight of the bucket and its contents are recorded on a clockwork-driven chart. This gives a plot
of accumulated rainfall against elapsed time
3. Floating type raingauge

- The rainfall collected by the funnel is led into a float chamber causing a float to rise. As the float
rises, a pen attached to the float through a lever system records the elevation of the float on a
rotating drum driven by a clockwork mechanism.
- A syphon arrangement empties the float chamber when the float has reached a pre-set
maximum level.
b) Explain the difference between humidity and relative humidity.

Humidity is the amount of moisture present in the air measured in grams of water per volume of air
while relative humidity is the percentage of the moisture in the air against the highest possible level of
moisture in the air at a specific temperature.

c) List six factors that determine a watershed’s response to a given rainfall.

- Amount of precipitation received

- Duration of rainfall

- Intensity of rainfall

- Soil characteristics of the watershed area

d) A lake with a surface area of 1050 acres was monitored over a period pf time. During a 30- day
period the inflow was 0.93m3 /s, the outflow was 0.76m3 /s, and a 37.5mm seepage loss was
measured. During the same month, the total precipitation was 112.5mm. Evaporation loss was
estimated as 150mm. Estimate the storage change in volume for this lake during the month.
(1acre=4046.86m2)

𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 + 𝐼𝑛𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 − 𝑂𝑢𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 − 𝑆𝑒𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑒 − 𝐸𝑣𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒

𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 = 1 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ = 30 × 24 × 60 × 60 = 2.592 × 106 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠

112.5
𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝑃 × 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 = × 1050 × 4046.86 = 478.04 × 103 𝑚 3
1000

𝐼𝑛𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 = 𝑄 × 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 = 0.93 × 2.592 × 106 = 2.41 × 106 𝑚3

𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 = 𝑄 × 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 = 0.76 × 2.592 × 106 = 1.97 × 106 𝑚 3

37.5
𝑆𝑒𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑒 = 𝑆 × 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 = × 1050 × 4046.86 = 159.35 × 103 𝑚 3
1000
150
𝐸𝑣𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝐸 × 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 = × 1050 × 4046.86 = 637.38 × 103 𝑚 3
1000

∆𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 = (478.04 × 103 ) + (2.41 × 106 ) − (1.97 × 106 ) − (159.35 × 103 ) − (637.38 × 103 )

= 121.31 × 103 𝑚 3
Question Two

a) Define stream gauging and list SIX factors that should be considered when setting up a gauging
station.

- Stream gauging is a measurement of the discharge or stage of a river.

-Considerations when setting up a gauging station:

- The station must be accessible at all times

- There should be minimal backwater or tidal influence

- The gauge should be located a short distance above control

- There should be no local inflows or outflows

- The gauge should have a benchmark nearby for datum

- The gauge should be securely mounted

b) Briefly discuss three factors that affect evapotranspiration.

1. Extent of vegetative cover

- The amount of evaporation from the land surface depends on the extent of ground cover. A lot
ground cover will reduce the rate of evapotranspiration.

2. Solar radiation

- Incoming solar radiation provides the energy for the process of evapotranspiration. Therefore,
a higher rate of solar radiation will increase the rate of evapotranspiration.

3. Stage of crop growth

- Other factors being equal, the stage of a crop’s growth influences its consumptive use rate
substantially. This determines the amount of water that it can lose through evapotranspiration.
c) The following are the rain gage observations during a storm.

Time since commencement Accumulated rainfall

of storm (min.) depth (cm)
5 0.1
10 0.2
15 0.8
20 1.5
25 1.8
30 2.0
35 2.5
40 2.7
45 2.9
50 3.1

i) Construct the mass curve of rainfall, and the rainfall hyetograph for this storm.

Mass Curve of Rainfall

3.5

3 3.1
2.9
Accumulated Precipitation (mm)

2.7
2.5 2.5

2 2
1.8
1.5 1.5

1
0.8
0.5
0.2
0 0.1
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time (min)
 Time Accumulate Rainfall Daily rainfall
(min.) drainfall depthduring I = (P / 5)*60
depth 5 min. (cm / hr)
(cm) (P, cm)
0 0 0 0
5 0.1 0.1 1.2
10 0.2 0.1 1.2
15 0.8 0.6 7.2
20 1.5 0.7 8.4
25 1.8 0.3 3.6
30 2.0 0.2 2.4
35 2.5 0.5 6.0
40 2.7 0.2 2.4
45 2.9 0.2 2.4
50 3.1 0.2 2.4

Rainfall Hyetograph
9 8.4
8
7.2
7
Rainfall Intensity (cm/hr)

6
6

4 3.6

3 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4

2
1.2 1.2
1
0
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Time (min)
ii) What are the maximum rainfall depths (cm) during 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35-min. durations?

Time Rainfall depth (cm)

(min)
Cumulative 5-min 10-min 15-min 20-min 25-min 30-min 35-min

0 0
5 0.1 0.1
10 0.2 0.1 0.2
15 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.8
20 1.5 0.7 1.3 1.4 1.5
25 1.8 0.3 1.0 1.6 1.7 1.8
30 2.0 0.2 0.5 1.2 1.8 1.9 2.0
35 2.5 0.5 0.7 1.0 1.7 2.3 2.4 2.5
40 2.7 0.2 0.7 0.9 1.2 1.9 2.5 2.6
45 2.9 0.2 0.4 0.9 1.1 1.4 2.1 2.7
50 3.1 0.2 0.4 0.6 1.1 1.3 1.6 2.3
Max 0.7 1.3 1.6 1.8 2.3 2.5 2.7

Question Three

a) Determine the flow through a river cross- section by the mean and mid-section

=16.44 m3/s
b) Determine the flow through a river cross- section by the mean and mid-section

=1.64 m3/s