Acknowledgement

I would like to express our sincere gratitude and warm appreciation to the
Department of Civil Engineering, Khwopa Engineering college, Libali-2,
Bhaktapur, for having successfully conducting the Hydrology field visits to
Dolalghat, held on 27th September 2016.

I am deeply indebted thanks to our teachers Er. Sunil Duwal, Er. Rebika
koju, Er. Razim Ganesh for the immense guidance and support throughout the
entire field visit.Also I am thankful to all my colleagues for their kind
cooperation during the field work.

I would also like to thank Er. Amit Shankar Ranjit, Head of Civil Department
and to the college administration for transportation facility on the field visit.

Lastly, I extend my thanks to all the people who helped me directly or

indirectly on the field visit as well as in preparation of this report.

Aarash Prajapati
R0ll no:- 710201 (civil)

1
Abstract
Hydrology Field Visit is a part of syllabus which help a student to account the practical problem one
gets on the application of theoretical knowledge gained during the course of studies.

The area of our visit is located on Dolalghat VDC, Kavre district, Bagmati Zone nearby the area
which consist the confluence of Indrawati and Cha river.

Our entire visit was concentrated on measuring the discharge of Indrawati and Cha river by various
method as listed below:

1. Hydrometric Techniques (Area Velocity Method)

2. Salt Dilution Method
3. Float Method

2
Contents
1.INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................. 1
1.1 Background............................................................................................ 1
1.2 Location and Topography................................................................................ 1
1.3 Objectives................................................................................................... 1
1.4 Methodology............................................................................................... 2
2. HYDROMETRY............................................................................................... 3
2.1........................................................................................................ 3
2.2........................................................................................................ 3
2.1.1 Area velocity method..........................................................................3
2.1.2 One point method.............................................................................. 4
2.1.3 Two point method.............................................................................. 4
3. Computation of discharge.................................................................................... 4
3.1Mid-section method: widely used..............................................................4
3.2 Mean section method..................................................................................... 5
3.3 Measurement of velocity................................................................................. 5
Standard current meter method.....................................................................5
Vertical axis meters................................................................................... 5
Horizontal axis meters............................................................................... 6
4.Measurement of width and depth of river cross section.................................................7
4.1 Float method................................................................................................ 7
5. Dilution technique for flow measurement:................................................................8
5.0.1 Tracer............................................................................................. 8
5.0.2Types of tracers................................................................................. 8
6. Salt dilution method in measuring the discharge:........................................................9
6.1 Canal reach choice...................................................................................... 10
CALCULATION:................................................................................................ 11
7. Float Method:................................................................................................. 11
8. Computation of discharge by Area-Velocity method:.................................................12
9. Salt dilution method:........................................................................................ 13
9.1Graph plotted for conductivity vs. salt concentration.............................................13
10. Calculation for salt dilution method:....................................................................14
11. Findings:...................................................................................................... 15
11.1 Objectives............................................................................................... 15

3
 11.2 Activities................................................................................................. 16
12. Discussion:................................................................................................... 17
13. Conclusion:.................................................................................................. 18
Bibliography...................................................................................................... 19

4
1.INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background

The hydrology field visit to Dolalghat was organized by the Department of Civil Engineering
under the Purbanchal University, Khwopa Engineering college in order to acquire the
knowledge about the stream flow measurement. We went to Dolalghat on 27 th September
2016 which was 65 km away from the kathmandu.

Application of Hydrology in Engineering

Hydrology is used to find out maximum probable flood at proposed sites e.g. Dams.

The variation of water production from catchments can be calculated and described by
hydrology.

Engineering hydrology enables us to find out the relationship between a

catchments surface water and groundwater resources

The expected flood flows over a spillway, at a highway Culvert, or in an urban storm
drainage system can be known by this very subject.

It helps us to know the required reservoir capacity to assure adequate water for
irrigation or municipal water supply in droughts condition

It tells us what hydrologic hardware (e.g. rain gauges, stream gauges etc) and software
(computer models) are needed for real-time flood forecasting.

Used in connection with design and operations of hydraulic structure,

Used in prediction of flood over a spillway, at highway culvert or in urban storm

drainage

Hydrology is used for city water supply design which is based on catchments area,
amount of rainfall, dry period, storage capacity, runoff, evaporation and transpiration.

1.2 Location and Topography

Dolalghat is small town which is about 65km away from the heart of Kathmandu. Its
geographical coordinates are 273700N and 854200E.In Dolalghat, the Indrawati river
meets the Sunkoshi river. It is on the Araniko Highway linking Kathmandu with Nepal-Tibet
border.

1
1.3 Objectives
The hydrological trip was to learn the basic skills in civil engineering regarding stream flow
and various methods of its computation.

The main objectives of our field visit were:-

Study of stream flow measurement.

Study of device called Current meter and its use .
Measurement of area, velocity and discharge of the river.
Correct selection of site for discharge measurement.

1.4 Methodology
The geological field study of the ascertained area was carried out in the following ways:-

Selection of site.
Photography of field topography and river.
Measurement of discharge by area-velocity method.
Measurement of discharge by Salt Dilution Method.

2
2. HYDROMETRY
Stream flow representing the runoff phase of the hydrological cycle is the most important
basic data for hydrological studies. A stream can be defined as a flow channel into which the
surface runoff from a specified basin drains. Stream flow is measured in units of discharge
(m^3/s) occurring at a specified time and constitutes historical data.The measurement of
discharge in a stream from an important branch of Hydrometry, the science and practice of
water measurement.

The stream flow measurement techniques can be broadly classified into two categories as

i) Direct determination

ii) Indirect determination

2.1Direct determination of stream discharge:

a)Area velocity method,

b) Dilution techniques ,

c)Electromagnetic method,

d)Ultrasonic method,

2.2Indirect determination of stream flow:

a) Hydraulic structures, such as weirs, flumes and gated structures, and

b) Slope area method.

2.1.1 Area velocity method

This method of discharge measurement consist essentially of measuring the area of cross-
section of the river at a selected section called the auging site and measuring the velocity of
flow through the cross-sectional area. Following criteria are adopted.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Figure 1 Cross section of river

The stream should have a well-defined cross-section which does not change in various
season.

3
It should be easily accessible all through the year.

The site should be in straight, stable reach

The gauging site should be free from backwater effects in channel.

For purpose of discharge estimation, the cross-section is considered to be divided into a large
number of subsections by verticals. The average velocity into a large number of subsections
is measured by current meters or floats. Computation of average velocity in a vertical.

2.1.2 One point method

for Depth<1.0m

Vav = V0.6d

2.1.3 Two point method:

Vav = 0.5(V0.2d+V0.8d)

d = depth from water surface

3. Computation of discharge

3.1Mid-section method: widely used

In this method, half width to the left and half width to the right of a vertical is taken as
width for a sub-section.

For section 2 to n-1

Width (Wavi) = 0.5(Wi+Wi+1)

Wi = Width of section i and Wi+1= width of section i+1

For first and last triangular sections

Wavi = (W1+W2/2)2/2W1

Wavn= (Wn+W(n-1)/2)2 /2W2

(Alternative way: Width (Wavi) = 0.5*(WI+Wi+1) can be used from section 1 ton.)

Cross-section area (Ai) = Wavi.di

Where di = Depth of section i

Discharge at each subsection (Qi) = AiVavi

Total discharge = Qi

4
3.2 Mean section method
Cross-section area

A=0.5*(di+di+1)*bi

Discharge at each subsection

Qi=0.5*Ai (Vavi+Vavi+1)

Total discharge = Qi

3.3 Measurement of velocity

Standard current meter method

The most commonly used instrument in hydrometry to measure the velocity at a point in
the flow cross section is the current meter. It consists essentially of a rotating element
which rotates due to the reaction of the stream current with an angular velocity
proportional to the stream velocity. There are two main type of current meters.

1. Vertical axis meters, and

2. Horizontal axis meters.

Vertical axis meters

This instrument consists of a series of conical cups mounted around a vertical axis.
The cups rotate in a horizontal plane and a cam attached to the vertical axis spindle
records generated signal proportional to the revolutions of the cup assembly. Thermal
range of velocities is from 0.15m/s to 4.0m/s. the accuracy of these instruments is
about 1.50% at the threshold value and improves to about 0.3% at speeds in excess of
1.0m/s.

Figure 2 Vertical axis current meter

5
Horizontal axis meters
These meters consist of a propeller mounted at the end of horizontal shaft. These come in a
wide variety of size with propeller diameters in range 6 to 12cm, and can register velocities in
the range of 0.15m/s to 4.0m/s. the accuracy of instrument is about 1% at the threshold value
and is about 0.25% at a velocity of 0.3m/s and above.

A current meter is so designed that its rotation speed varies linearly with the stream velocity v
at the location of the instrument. A typical relationship is

V= aNs + b
Where V= stream velocity at the instrument location m/s
Ns=revolutions per second of the meter and

a, b =constants

Figure 3 Horizontal axis current meter

6
4.Measurement of width and depth of river cross section
Width of river is measure by Tape, the depth of river at different points was measured by
staff. These points are the same place at where the velocity of river current is measured by
horizontal axis current meter.

4.1 Float method

In expensive and simple method in which surface velocity of river/channel is measured.
Mean velocity is obtained using a correction factor. The basic idea is to measure the time that
it takes the object to float a specified distance downstream.

Vsurface = travel distance/ travel time = L/t

Because surface velocities are typically higher than mean or average velocities
V mean = k Vsurface
Where k is a coefficient that generally ranges from 0.8 for rough beds to 0.9 for smooth beds
(0.85 is a commonly used value)

Step 1. Choose a suitable straight reach with minimum turbulence (ideally at least 3 channel
widths long)

Step 2. Mark the start and end point of your reach

Step 3. If possible, travel time should exceed 20 seconds.

Step 4. Drop your object into the stream upstream of your upstream marker.

Step 5. Start the watch when the object crosses the upstream marker and stop the watch when
it crosses the downstream marker.

Step 6. You should repeat the measurement at least 3 times and use the average in further
calculations.

Step 7.Measure the cross-sectional areas at the start and end point of your reach. Average
your cross-sectional areas: Using the average area and corrected velocity, you can now
compute discharge, Q. Correction factors to convert surface velocity to average velocity
typically range from 0.8-0.9.Many times 0.85 is used. In mountain streams with lots of
roughness elements, the value may be much lower e.g. ~ 0.67.

With an estimate of cross-sectional area, discharge can be computed as Q = VA where V is

average velocity.

7
5. Dilution technique for flow measurement:
The dilution method of flow measurement, also known as the chemical method depends upon
the continuity principle applied to a tracer which is allowed to mix completely with the flow.

5.0.1 Tracer
The tracer used should have ideally the following properties:
1. It should not be absorbed by the sediments, channel boundary and vegetation. It
should not chemically react with any of the above surfaces and also should not be
lost by evaporation.
2. It should be non-toxic.
3. It should be capable of being detected in a distinctive manner in small
concentrations.
4. It should not be very expensive.

5.0.2Types of tracers
1. Chemicals- common salt and sodium dichromate
2. Fluorescent dyes- Rhodamine-WT and Sulpho- Rhodamine B extra
3. Radioactive materials- Bromine-82, Sodium-24 and Iodine-132.

8
6. Salt dilution method in measuring the discharge:
Discharge measurement by means of injection of a NaCl-solution and integration of the
electrical conductivity (EC) as a function of time is a traditional and well-documented
method (salt dilution method).The salt dilution technique is, however, the mostly used
method in open channels in investigating superficial flows, especially in remote mountainous
or difficult to access areas where it can be hard to establish an high quality hydrologic profile,
and even harder to measure actual flow speed. Within the salt dilution method, constant-rate
injection of salt is best suited for small streams at low flows (discharges less than about
0.1m3/s)A limit of the salt dilution method is the amount of tracer to be added to increase the
conductivity at the peak of the tracer flow-through curve. In this method discharge is
measured by following formulas,

Q= C S K/ (C (t)-N Co) T;

Where, C= calibration factor

C (t) = sum of the conductivity reading

N= number of observation

Co= base level conductivity

T = measurement interval

N Co = N*initial conductivity reading

9
6.1 Canal reach choice
Following precautions for the salt dilution method, the most appropriate canal reach has been
selected for the execution of the tests considering that:

a. The reach should not have dead water between the injection and sampling points: the
storage and slow release of tracer from those areas greatly prolongs the time required to
the entire salt cloud to pass at the sampling site;
b. The sampling site has to be free of excessive turbulence; indeed EC measurements are
adversely affected by the presence of air bubbles;
c. An injection point that is turbulent enough to ensure virtually instantaneous mixing is to
be chosen; this condition is not always easy to be achieved especially in irrigation canals
where laminar flow can be predominating
d. The background EC level of the river is to be stable during the measuring time;
e. It is important to identify an optimum mixing length for a given canal reach; too short
distances will result in an inaccurate accounting of the tracer mass passing the sampling
site, conversely, too great a distances will yield excellent results, but only if it is feasible
to sample for a long enough period (Rantz, 1982).

The concentration of salt is not determined directly but by measuring the conductivity of the
stream water. Hence the relationship between the concentration of salt and the electric
conductivity needs to be known. This is determined by taking calibration measurements to
identify the relationship between the concentration of salt and the conductivity. This
relationship is represented with conductivity on the x-axis and the salt concentration on the y-
axis. The calibration measurements, shown as dots, form a straight line that can be described
in the form of a linear regression:
y = ax + b
Where y = salt concentration [mg/l]
x = conductivity [S/cm]
a = slope [no dimension]
b = intercept
The result of the conductivity field measurements in the stream is a concentration-time
diagram at the measurement point. Discharge is determined by integrating the area below the
curve using the following equation
Q= S/ (Cal.*(C(t)-C0)*dT)
Where Q = discharge [l/s]
S = amount of salt injected [g]
Cal = calibration factor [(S/cm)/(mg/l)]
C(t) = conductivity after time step t [S/cm]
C0 = base level conductivity [S/cm]
dT = time interval [s], n=no of data taken

10
CALCULATION:

7. Float Method:
In this method, an orange and a 50m tape was used. The tape was stretched along the length
of the river and the orange was allowed to float freely along the flow of the river. The time
taken by the orange to reach to the end of the tape was noted. And the process was repeated
twice. And to calculate the velocity of the orange to reach the end of the tape, the average of
the time taken by the orange was calculated. And the calculation of the discharge of the river
was taken out as given below:

Ave
rage time=24.332sec
Average distance=30m
Surface velocity, Vs = L/t = 6.172m/s
Average velocity, Vav = 5.246m/s
Now, discharge, Q = A.Vav
= 50.933m/s
=Therefore, the discharge of the river = 50.933m/s

11
8. Computation of discharge by Area-Velocity method:
In this method, the current meter was used. At first the breadth of the river was taped where
the calculations of discharge were carried out. The current meter was introduced in the water
at the equal distances. The revolution of the current meter was noted at every interval of the
distances for 30 seconds and the average width was also taken. And the further calculations
were done as given below:

Graph plotted between width and depth of the river

RIVER CROSS-SECTION
12
10
D 8
E
6 Y-SERIES
P
T 4
H
2
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

WIDTH

12
9. Salt dilution method:
In this method, the salt water was injected in the river and the change in the conductivity was
measured using conductivity meter.

9.1Graph plotted for conductivity vs. salt concentration

60

50

40

Salt concentration 30

20

10

0
220 240 260 280 300 320 340 360

conductivity

9.2Graph plotted for time vs. conductivity

12

10

conductivity 6

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12

time

13
14
10. Calculation for salt dilution method:

Amount of salt added in the stream = 1000gm=1000000gm

Calibration factor, C= 0.40

Sum of conductivity reading, C(t) = 11299 S/cm

Number of observations, N= 40

Base level conductivity, Co = 254

Measurement interval, T = 5 sec

NCo = 10160S/cm

Now,

Discharge Q = C * K * S

(C(t)- NCo) T

Q = 0.40* 3.2341 *1000000

(11299 10160)*5

= 227.153 litre/s

=0.227 m3/s

Therefore, the discharge of the stream = 0.227m3/s

15
11. Findings:
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a regional
intergovernmental learning and knowledge sharing center serving the eight regional member
countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayas. ICIMOD serves eight regional member countries
(RMCs) of the Hindu Kush Himalayan region Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China,
India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan and the global mountain community. Founded in
1983, ICIMOD is based in Kathmandu, Nepal, and brings together a partnership of its
regional member countries, partner institutions, and donors with a commitment for
development action to secure a better future for the people and environment of the extended
Himalayan region.
The ICIMOD Knowledge Park at Godavari, on the southern slopes of the Kathmandu Valley,
was set up in March 1993, following the generous provision of 35 hectares of land by His
Majesty's Government of Nepal in November 1992. The site is used to test, select, and
demonstrate different technologies and (farming and agroforestry) practices useful for
sustainable development and natural resource management; to train farmers and those who
work with them; and as a repository for plant germplasm resources.

Present-day activities focus on vegetation management; soil management; water

management; income-generation through high value cash crops, horticulture, and beekeeping;
livestock; biodiversity; renewable energy technologies; community outreach/off-site
demonstration, training, and provision of materials; scientific research; and training and
dissemination.

11.1 Objectives

To test and modify technologies and methodologies for sustainable land use and
management of natural resources appropriate for all or part of the HKH region;

To demonstrate viable options for the rehabilitation of degraded lands and sustainable
mountain agriculture;

To demonstrate viable options for using mountain niches to increase farm income;

To collect germplasms of multipurpose plants and cash plants for the HKH region;

To provide training facilities to improve the skills and the technical knowledge of
farmers, development workers, and members of collaborating institutions in new and
proven technologies and approaches for sustainable land use and income generation in
the HKH region; and

To disseminate appropriate technologies, knowledge, information, and replicable

experiences in the HKH region and other mountain systems through training and
visits.

16
17
11.2 Activities
Activities in an integrated agricultural system are by their nature cross-cutting and often
interactive and interdependent. The activities at the ICIMOD Knowledge Park at Godavari
are linked within a holistic approach that covers a broad range of the possibilities for
livelihood and quality of life improvement of mountain farmers, especially those in the
mid-hill areas of the HKH region. For purposes of description, the activities are classified
broadly under the following headings, but many have multiple functions, and/or are directly
interlinked with each other. The major areas of activities are

Vegetation Management

Soil Management

Water Management

Income Generation

Livestock and Fish

Biodiversity

Renewable Energy Technology

Scientific Research

Community Outreach

18
12. Discussion:
Hydrology trip to Dolalghat, as prescribed by our syllabus was successful. We measured the
discharge of stream using various methods. We also got experience of using the current
meters in the field for actual measurements. Hence the field visit to Dolalghat was quiet
fruitful to us.

Likely, the discharge measured in same river is found to be different because of various
factors. In the flow method of measurement length between the sections and time travelled by
the ball as well as cross-sectional area has huge impact on velocity which in turn affected the
discharge. The test was done near the bank of river. But, if the symmetric portion of the river
is taken and if the test is done at center we will get result with less error. In the current meter
method, the discharge was determined by dividing section into small segment. So, result
obtained by this method is more accurate than previous one. The current meter was placed at
the depth of 0.6 times the real depth assuming that it resembles the average velocity in the
profile.

The discharge of the Cha Khola was done by Salt Dilution method. During the calibration the
calibration value did not match to the prescribed one in the manual. The calibration factor
was taken 0.5. The time interval was maintained to be 5s. It would have been better if the
time interval was decreased than 5s for a better result.

19
13. Conclusion:
Hence, in this way we can determine the discharge through a flowing water body by area-
velocity method, salt dilution method or flow method. Though, the discharge measurement
was carried successfully various errors may prevail which were beyond our control.

And, at Khumaltar station various advance instruments were observed which helped in
knowing the instruments visually. Similarly, visit at ICIMOD Knowledge Park also helped in
gaining a deeper knowledge with regard to sustainable living in Himalayan region utilizing
various scientific and engineering techniques.

20
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Dulal, K. N. (n.d.).

Dulal, K., & Baral, S. (2012). Engineering Hydrology. Kathmandu: Apex Educational
Academy.

Google. (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2015, from Google : http://www.google.com

Han, D. (2010). Concise Hydrology. Ventus Publishing ApS.

K.Subramanya. (1994). Engineering Hydrology. delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education.

Karki, A. (2005). Indrawati River Basin Study Draft Report. Baneshwor,Kathmandu:

Consolidated Management Services Nepal(CMS).

Merz, J., & Doppmann, G. (2006). Measuring Mountain Stream Discharge Measuring
Mountain Stream Discharge. A practical guide. Kathmandu, Nepal: International
Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

Meteorology, D. o. (n.d.). Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. Retrieved January 22,

2015, from Department of Hydrology and Meteorology:
htttp://www.dhm.gov.np/meteorological-stations

Moore, R. D. (n.d.).

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2015, from Wikipedia: htttp://www.wikipedia.org

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