Hydrology

By Maria Socorro M. Decierdo

What is hydrology?
What is hydraulics?
 Hydrology deals with waters of the
earth, their occurrence, circulation
and distribution, their chemical and
physical properties, and their reaction
with their environment, including
their relation to living things. It deals
with the various phases of the
hydrologic cycle.
Hydraulics branch of science which
treats water or other fluids in motion.
What is the importance of
hydrology to civil
engineers?
 Importance of hydrology to
civil engineers
Hydrological data one of the factors
to be considered in the planning and
design of a project.
- depth of rainfall
- stage of flooding in a river
- volume of water a river can provide
What is the scope of
hydrology?
 The study of hydrology helps us to know:
(i) the maximum probable flood that may
occur at a given site and its frequency;
this is required for the safe design of
drains and culverts, dams and reservoirs,
channels and other flood control
structures.
(ii) the water yield from a basinits
occurrence, quantity and frequency, etc;
this is necessary for the design of dams,
municipal water supply, water power,
river navigation, etc.
 (iii) the ground water development
for which a knowledge of the
hydrogeology of the area, i.e., of the
formation soil, recharge facilities like
streams and reservoirs, rainfall
pattern, climate, cropping pattern,
etc. are required.
(iv) the maximum intensity of storm
and its frequency for the design of a
drainage project in the area.
 Hydrological Data
For the analysis and design of any
hydrologic project adequate data and
length of records are necessary. A
hydrologist is often posed with lack of
adequate data.
The basic hydrological data required are:
(i) Climatological data
(ii) Hydro meteorological data like
temperature, wind velocity, humidity, etc.
 (iii) Precipitation records
(iv) Stream-flow records
(v) Seasonal fluctuation of ground
water table or piezometric heads
(vi) Evaporation data
(vii) Cropping pattern, crops and
their consumptive use
(viii) Water quality data of surface
streams and ground water
 (ix) Geomorphologic studies of the
basin, like area, shape and slope of the
basin, mean and median elevation,
mean temperature (as well as highest
and lowest temperature recorded) and
other physiographic characteristics of
the basin; stream density and drainage
density; tanks and reservoirs
(x) Hydro meteorological characteristics
of basin like long term precipitation
What is hydrologic cycle?
 Hydrologic Cycle or Water
Cycle
Hydrologic cycle is the movement of
water in the earth through various
phases. It collects, purifies and
distributes the earths fixed supply of
water.
Water renewable resource on earth
The total volume of water on, below
and above the surface of the earth is
constant.
 Hydrologic cycle is the water transfer
cycle, which occurs continuously in
nature.
The three important phases of the
hydrologic cycle are: (a) Evaporation
and transpiration
(b)precipitation and
(c) runof
The globe has one-third land and
two-thirds ocean
The Hydrologic Cycle and
the Human Impact
 Watershed
Watershed refers to the geographic
boundaries of a particular water body, its
ecosystem and the land that drains to it.
It is a topographically delineated area of
land where rainwater collects and drains
via a river system to a common outlet
point which may be a dam, irrigation
system or municipal water supply take of
point, or where stream discharges into a
larger river, lake or the sea.
 A watershed also includes groundwater
aquifers that discharge to and receive
discharge from streams, wetlands, ponds, and
lakes.
Large watersheds are sometimes referred to
as river basin.
Watersheds provide water for drinking, power
and irrigation. It also provides food and shelter
for wildlife. Communities living within the
watershed enjoy its bountiful resources and
enjoy the lakes and streams for their beauty-
and for boating, fishing and swimming.
 You and everyone in your watershed
are part of the watershed community.
The animals, birds, and fish are too.
You influence what happens in your
watershed, good or bad, by how you
treat the natural resources, the soil,
water, air, plants and animals.
 Philippine Watershed
The Philippines has extensive water
resources
31,000 hectares of rivers
200,000 hectares of lakes
19,000 hectares of reservoirs
246,000 hectares of swamplands
421 river basin of which 20 are considered
major river basins
Major rivers Cagayan River Countrys largest river
- Agno River, Pampanga River, Pasig River, Bicol
River, Rio Grande de Mindanao
99 significant lakes largest lake are Laguna de Bay
and Lake Lanao