FLOOD ROUTING

INTRODUCTION
The knowledge of Hydrology is essential to ensure proper functioning of hydraulic
structures like Barrages and Dams. Storm water from catchment ultimately reaches
streams. At a certain time, a peak flow is built up. For safety of a Barrage or Dam it is
necessary to plan its safe-passage over the structure. This requires flood forecasting.
Flood routing is one of techniques which may be used for flood forecasting.

Flood routing is an analytical technique of determining the flood hydrograph at a

particular location in a channel or a reservoir resulting from a known flood at some other
location upstream.

Basing on the type of equations used, different techniques have been developed to route
the flood. These are Hydraulic Routing and Hydrologic Routing. Hydraulic Routing is
based on equations of continuity and momentum whereas Hydrologic Routing is based on
the equation of continuity and empirical equation.

These two techniques are used for catchment routing, reservoir routing and channel
or river routing.

RESERVOIR ROUTING
The main components of Dam are an inflow channel, storage reservoir and outflow
structures like spillways, tunnels etc. Once a flood enters a reservoir, part of it may be
stored in the reservoir and balance safely passes through or over outflow structures. The
main function of a reservoir is to store water, from which releases are made according to
water-demands on downstream of reservoir. A multipurpose hydroelectric project has
storage of water as well as generation of electricity.

The reservoirs may be small or large. An example of small reservoir is pond of a barrage.
A small reservoir has small capacity and hence water levels in barrage pond are sensitive
to quantity of inflow and time of inflow. The outflow from a small reservoir is solely a
function of pond elevation if the outflow is not controlled. In case of large reservoirs the
moderate inflow may not have large impact on reservoir elevation however large floods
need to be negotiated keeping in view the operational rules. Sometimes the water
requirement may have marked influence on releases from the reservoir. The outflow from
the reservoir also includes discharge through power house. The inflow hydrograph is
tackled in such a way that peak outflow is within safe limits. The inflow hydrograph may
be a forecast flood or an actual one.

The reservoir routing may be classified according to outflow control at a particular

reservoir e.g.

a. Flood routing in reservoirs with uncontrolled outflow

b. Flood routing in reservoirs with controlled outflow

The basic equation applied is storage equation given as

Inflow-Outflow = Rate of Change of Storage

I-O=ds/dt - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (8.1)

Equation (8.1) shows that if inflow is assumed constant the reservoir storage is a mere
function of outflow. This condition is however a simplification and may not be met
practically. In case of large reservoirs many other factors contribute a substantial change
in storage e.g. groundwater flow. If average values of inflow and outflow are considered
for opted time interval ∆t then equation (8.1) can be written as

(Ij+Ij+1)/2-(O j+O j+1)/2=(S j+1-S j)/∆t - - - - - - - - - - - (8.2)

Where subscript ‘j’ represents jth time step values of I , O and S

Equation (8.2) can be rearranged as

(I j+I j+1)+[(2S j/∆t)-O j]=[(2S j+1/∆t)+O j+1] - - - - - - (8.3)

As mentioned above the subscripts ‘j’ and ‘j+1’ denote values of Inflow, Outflow and
Storage at beginning and end of jth time interval ∆t. The time ∆t is known as routing
period. This period should not be so large that peak of inflow hydrograph is not
intercepted.

Flood routing in reservoirs with uncontrolled outflow

The following steps explain procedure of reservoir routing

1. The Elevation Vs Storage of reservoir information should be known. Here storage

means volume of water that a reservoir can accommodate at certain elevation. This
elevation vs storage information may either be in the form of table or graph. A typical
elevation vs storage graph is shown in Figure 8.1.

208
 Elevation vs Surface Area Realationship

124
122
120
118
Elevation (m)
116
114
112
110
108
106
104
102
40000 42000 44000 46000 48000 50000 52000 54000
Surface Area (m²)

Fig. 8.1 Variation of Surface Area of a Reservoir with Elevation

2. The discharge capacity of overflow structure with change in water level should be
calculated. For this purpose the applicable discharge formula need to be applied.
The well known weir equation is:

Q = Cd B H3/2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (8.3A)

Where,
Q = Total Discharge
Cd = Coefficient of Discharge
B = Width of Weir
H = Differential head over the crest of the weir neglecting velocity of approach

The coefficient of discharge depends on degree of submergence of the weir. Its value is
determined experimentally e.g. by model tests. The value of discharge can also be
determined from Gibson’s curve. Its value generally ranges from 1.6 to 2.2 having units
of m1/2/s. A mean value of 1.70 is often used in SI units.

For pipe flow,

Q = Cd A V - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (8.3B)

Where,

Q = Discharge in m³/s
A = Area of Flow
V = velocity of flow

If ‘H’ is the head of water up to centre of pipe, Equation (8.3B) can be written as
209
 Q = Cd A H1.5 √2g

Q = 4.43 Cd A H1.5 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (8.4)

‘A’ is cross-sectional area of the pipe, ‘H’ is water head and ‘g’ is acceleration due to
gravity. Its value is 9.81 m/sec² in SI units. The value of coefficient of discharge is
determined by model tests. If velocity of approach is appreciable the head ‘H’ must be
increased by velocity head. Equation (8.4) then becomes

Q = 4.43 Cd A (H + Vo² / 2g)1.5 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (8.5)

Where, ‘Vo’ is the velocity of approach.

For other types of outflow structures like Sluice Gates, etc. different equations are used
for calculations of discharge and can be found in books of hydraulics. Once the outflow is
determined for different reservoir elevations, a graph is plotted between storage and
outflow. A typical such graph is shown in figure (8.2). Please note that outflow is taken
along x-axis and [(2S/∆t) + O] is taken along y-axis. Where ‘S’ is storage and ‘O’ is
outflow / discharge. The quantity [(2S/∆t)+O] is called ‘Storage Indication’.

300

250

200
Outflow (m³/s)

150

100

50

-
- 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000

Storage Indication [(2S/∆t)+O] (m³/s)

Figure 8.2 Outflow and Storage Indication Relationship for certain reservoir

3. The inflow hydrograph should be known. It may be actual or forecasted flood. The
inflow is added for successive values to get I1+I2. The initial outflow is assumed
equal to inflow. Corresponding to this initial outflow storage indication [(2S/∆t) + O]
is found from storage indication curve. To this value double of outflow is subtracted
to get [(2S/∆t) - O]. To this value of [(2S/∆t) - O], I1+I2 is added to get next value of
[(2S/∆t) + O]. Read out next outflow from storage indication curve and repeat the
procedure till whole of inflow hydrograph is used to get outflow values.

210
4. Now the inflow and outflow hydrographs are plotted. The difference in peak of
inflow and outflow hydrograph is known as attenuation and time between two peaks
is known as reservoir lag. Please note that by routing procedure we can find expected
maximum reservoir level due to certain inflow hydrograph. This is done to ensure that
reservoir level remains within safe limits.

The following example illustrates the procedure of Reservoir Routing.

Example 8.1
Table 8.1 shows Inflow hydrograph entering a small reservoir having a Ogee shaped
overflow spillway. The weir has a length of 3 meters and coefficient of discharge of 2.2.
The weir crest is at elevation 104.00. When the inflow hydrograph enters the reservoir, its
water level is at 140.00 m and Storage of 40000 m³. The elevation versus storage
relationship is given in Table 8.2. Route the inflow hydrograph assuming no base flow.

Table 8.1 Inflow Hydrograph (Known Information)

Time Inflow Time Inflow Time Inflow
(h) (m³/s) (h) (m³/s) (h) (m³/s)

0 50 9 295 18 50
1 75 10 252 19 45
2 175 11 212 20 39
3 355 12 177 21 38
4 455 13 145 22 28
5 525 14 108 23 20
6 510 15 84 24 15
7 450 16 64 25 6
8 365 17 53 26 5

Table 8.2 Reservoir Surface Area (Known Information)

Water El. Surface Area Water El. Surface Area

(m) (m²) (m) (m²)

104 41200 114 45700
106 42000 116 47200
108 42700 118 48700
110 43700 120 50200
112 44700 122 52700

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Solution
The first step in flood routing is to establish a relationship between reservoir water
elevation and storage of the reservoir. This can be done by slicing the reservoir
horizontally, determining surface area by appropriate method e.g. by planimetring or
using computer program. The volume of each slice can be computed using formulae of
solid geometry. The calculation of volume of reservoir referred here as storage is
calculated in Table 8.3. The formula employed is ∆V = (h/3)[A1+A2+√A1A2] where h is
difference in height between two consecutive slices/contours. The calculations are shown
in table. The elevation Vs surface area is plotted in Figure 8.1.

Noting that slope of curve becomes mild at higher elevations as it should, because higher
elevations can accommodate more volume of water.

Table 8.3 Storage of Reservoir

Volume between Cumulative Volume
Water El. Surface Area
successive elevations (Storage)
(m) (m²) (m³) (m³)
104 41200 40,000
106 42000 83,199 123,199
108 42700 84,699 207,898
110 43700 86,398 294,296
112 44700 88,398 382,694
114 45700 90,398 473,092
116 47200 92,896 565,988
118 48700 95,896 661,884
120 50200 98,896 760,780
122 52700 102,890 863,670

The next step is to calculate discharge using equation 8.3A with known coefficient of
discharge and crest level of spillway. The elevation is changed, net head over spillway
found and discharge calculated as shown in Table 8.4

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 Table 8.4 Discharge over Spillway

3/2
Water El. Head Above Crest, H Q = Cd B H

(m) (m) (m³/s)

104 - -
106 2 18.66
108 4 52.80
110 6 97.00
112 8 149.34
114 10 208.71
116 12 274.36
118 14 345.73
120 16 422.40
122 18 504.03

The routing interval is taken equal to time interval of inflow hydrograph which is 1.0
hour. The routing interval should not be that large so as to miss the peak flow
observation. We now have in hand, at a particular elevation storage and outflow value
which enables us to calculate storage indication against each elevation (Table 6.5). A
curve is drawn between storage indication and out flow as shown in Figure 8.3.

Table 6.5 Storage Indication

Cummulative Outflow Storage Indication

Water El.
Volume (Storage) 'O' [(2S/∆t) + O]
(m) (m³) (m³/s) (m³/s)
104 0 0
106 123,199 18.66 87.10
108 207,898 52.80 168.30
110 294,296 97.00 260.50
112 382,694 149.34 361.94
114 473,092 208.71 471.53
116 565,988 274.36 588.80
118 661,884 345.73 713.44
120 760,780 422.40 845.05
122 863,670 504.03 983.85

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 Storage Indication vs Outflow

600

500

400
Outflow 'm³/s'

300

200

100

0
0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200

Storage Indication [(2S/∆t)+O] 'm³/s'

Figure 8.3 Storage Indication vs Outflow Curve

The last step is to find outflow hydrograph which is done in Table 8.7. The column-3
shows sum of two consecutive inflow values. First value of outflow is considered equal
to inflow. In this example initial level of reservoir is assumed flush with spillway crest so
outflow is zero. The first value of storage is equal to reservoir volume up to spillway
crest. Both being known so [(2S/∆t) - O] is computed. The value of (I j+I j+1) is added to
[(2S/∆t)-O] to get [(2S/∆t)+O]. Corresponding to this value of storage indication outflow
is read from Figure 8.3. The outflow is subtracted twice from storage indication to give
next value of [(2S/∆t)-O]. The process is repeated to get all values of outflow till values
obtained are small enough representing steady flow.

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 Table 8.7 Calculations for Outflow hydrograph
Time Oj
Step (j) Time Inflow, I j I j+I j+1 [(2S/∆t)-O] [(2S/∆t)+O] Outflow
number (Hour) (m³/s) (m³/s) (m³/s) (m³/s) (m³/s)
1 0 50 0 50
2 1 75 125 51 125 37
3 2 175 250 41 301 130
4 3 355 530 27 571 272
5 4 455 810 13 837 412
6 5 525 980 4 993 494
7 6 510 1035 2 1,039 519
8 7 450 960 6 962 478
9 8 365 815 13 821 404
10 9 295 660 21 673 326
11 10 252 547 27 568 271
12 11 212 464 31 491 230
13 12 177 389 35 420 193
14 13 145 322 38 357 159
15 14 108 253 42 291 125
16 15 84 192 45 234 94
17 16 64 148 47 193 73
18 17 53 117 49 164 58
19 18 50 103 50 152 51
20 19 45 95 50 145 47
21 20 39 84 51 134 42
22 21 38 77 51 128 38
23 22 28 66 51 117 33
24 23 20 48 52 99 24
25 24 15 35 53 87 17
26 25 6 21 54 74 10
27 26 5 11 54 65 5

Inflow and outflow hydrographs are plotted simultaneously (Figure 8.4) and following
parameters are found:

o The difference in time on x-axis between peak of inflow and outflow hydrograph.
This is termed as Reservoir Lag.
o The difference between peak discharge of inflow and outflow hydrographs is
calculated. This is termed as attenuation.

215
 600

500

400

300

200

100

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Inflow Hydrograph Outflow Hydrograph

Figure 8.4 Determining Reservoir Lag and Attenuation

The inflow should be routed such that outflow hydrograph is flattened enough having low
peak discharge. This is necessary for safe passages of flood. If abrupt rise in inflow
occurs then special consideration is made for outflow at outlet structures so that sufficient
time is available for operation. This aspect is considered while designing reservoirs.

STREAM CHANNEL ROUTING OR RIVER ROUTING

The routing in channels involves solution of storage equation as was done in case of
reservoir routing. The storage is function of both inflow and outflow. The method of
channel routing is known as Muskingum Method.
Consider a channel reach having prismatic cross section as shown in figure 8.5.

Let,
S = Storage
I = Inflow
O = Outflow

The storage in the channel reach consists of two parts:

a. Prism storage equal to KO.
b. Wedge storage equal to K(I-O).

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 Wedge
Storage
=K(I-O)

O
Prism
Storage
=KO
Figure 8.5 Prism and Wedge Storage in Channel

Then total storage ‘S’ is therefore sum of prism and wedge storage. That is:

S = K [X I + (1 - X) O] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (8.6)

Where ‘X’ is a dimensionless constant for certain reach or segment of channel. ‘K’ is
storage constant having dimensions of time. Both x and K are determined from inflow
and outflow hydrographs for reach under consideration. These constants vary from reach
to reach and are determined as follows.

1. The inflow and outflow hydrographs are known for the reach. Find values of (I-O)
for each time interval.
2. Find the mean and cumulative mean values of ( I - O) which is storage.
3. Assume value of ‘X’ and find the term [X I + (1-X) O] for each time interval
using assumed value of ‘X’. The storage value is already calculated against time
as explained in step 2.
4. Plot [X I + (1 - X) O] values against storage. Inspect if data plotted nearly fits a
straight line. If not assume new value of X and repeat steps 1-4.
5. The best-fit straight line corresponds to required value of ‘X’. The slope of this
straight line is our required value of ‘K’.

Now we proceed for channel flow routing once values of ‘X’ and ‘K’ are known now.
Routing mean finding outflow hydrograph for given inflow hydrograph. We rewrite
equation 8.6 at beginning and end of jth time interval ∆t.

S j = K I j + (1 - X) O j - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (8.7)
217
 S j+1 = K I j+1 + (1 - X) O j+1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (8.8)

Subtracting equation (8.7) from equation (8.8), we get

S j+1- S j = K (I j+1- I j) + (1 - X) (O j+1 - O j) - - - - - - - - - - (8.9)

From equation (8.2), (I j+I j+1)/2-(O j+O j+1)/2=(S j+1-S j)/∆t. Substituting (S j+1-S j) from
equation (8.9) in equation (8.2) and rearranging, we have

O j+1 = CoI j+1 + C1I j+C2O j - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (8.10)

Where,

Co = [(∆t/K)-2X]÷[2(1-X)+(∆t/K)] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (8.11)
C1 = [(∆t/K)+2X]÷[2(1-X)+(∆t/K)] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (8.12)
C2 = [2(1-X)-(∆t/K)]]÷[2(1-X)+(∆t/K)] - - - - - - - - - - - - - (8.13)

It may be noted that sum of weighing coefficients Co + C1 + C2 = 1. Knowing values of

‘X’ and ‘K’ these coefficients are determined simply by substitution of values in
equations (8.11) to (8.13). If Equation (8.10) is used to find outflow values as all values
on right-hand-side are known. The value of ‘O1’ is assumed equal to ‘I1’ because steady
conditions existed prior to entrance of flood wave in the channel. The subsequent
examples explain the procedure for finding constant and routing inflow hydrograph.

Example 8.2
Table 8.8 shows Inflow and Outflow hydrographs for certain reach of a channel. Find the
Muskingum’s Coefficients ‘X’ and ‘K’ and route the given inflow hydrograph.

Table 8.8 Inflow and Outflow Hydrograph (Known Information)

Time Inflow Outflow Time Inflow Outflow Time Inflow Outflow
(h) (m³/s) (m³/s) (h) (m³/s) (m³/s) (h) (m³/s) (m³/s)

0 41 41 84 742 625 168 120 179

12 36 40 96 675 675 180 96 141
24 39 38 108 450 640 192 79 115
36 123 50 120 322 575 204 67 92
48 342 130 132 247 395 216 55 77
60 577 290 144 190 31 228 50 65
72 720 470 156 145 236 240 41 55

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 Solution
The calculations are best done in tabular form. Refer Table 8.9, wherein first column
shows time interval and second column shows known inflow hydrograph. The known
outflow hydrograph is given in column-4. The routing interval is taken as 12 hours equal
to the interval of inflow hydrograph for computational convenience. However this
interval can be reduced if more precise information is sought. The storage units are 0.50
(m³/s)-day. The change in storage within a interval is found using equation 8.9 as given in
column 6. The cumulative storage is shown in column 7.

Table 8.9 Finding Muskingham’s Constants

Time Inflow Outflow
I j+I j+1 O j+O j+1 ∆S S2=S1+∆S XIj+(1-X)Oj
Interval (I j) (O j)
(m³/s)-
(Hours) (m³/s) (m³/s) (m³/s) (m³/s) (m³/s)-day X=0.1 X=0.2 X=0.3
day
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

0 41 41 41.00 41.00 41.00

12 36 77 35 76 0.25 0.25 35.10 35.20 35.30
24 39 75 38 73 0.50 0.75 38.10 38.20 38.30
36 123 162 50 88 18.50 19.25 57.30 64.60 71.90
48 342 465 130 180 71.25 90.50 151.20 172.40 193.60
60 577 919 290 420 124.75 215.25 318.70 347.40 376.10
72 720 1297 470 760 134.25 349.50 495.00 520.00 545.00
84 742 1462 625 1095 91.75 441.25 636.70 648.40 660.10
96 675 1417 675 1300 29.25 470.50 675.00 675.00 675.00
108 450 1125 640 1315 -47.50 423.00 621.00 602.00 583.00
120 322 772 575 1215 -110.75 312.25 549.70 524.40 499.10
132 247 569 395 970 -100.25 212.00 380.20 365.40 350.60
144 190 437 300 695 -64.50 147.50 289.00 278.00 267.00
156 145 335 236 536 -50.25 97.25 226.90 217.80 208.70
168 120 265 178 414 -37.25 60.00 172.20 166.40 160.60
180 96 216 141 319 -25.75 34.25 136.50 132.00 127.50
192 79 175 115 256 -20.25 14.00 111.40 107.80 104.20
204 67 146 92 207 -15.25 -1.25 89.50 87.00 84.50
216 55 122 77 169 -11.75 -13.00 74.80 72.60 70.40
228 50 105 65 142 -9.25 -22.25 63.50 62.00 60.50

Note: ∆S = (∆t / 2) [(Ij + Ij+1) - (Oj + Oj+1)]

∆t=0.5 day

Next an appropriate value of ‘X’ is assumed between 0.1 to 0.5 and weighted flow is
determined as XI+(1-X)O for each interval of time as shown in column 8, 12 and 14 of
Table 8.9. The cumulative weighted flow is then plotted against cumulative storage as is

219
shown in figs. 8.6, 8.7 and 8.8. The value of ‘X’ giving a best-fit straight line is the
required Muskingham’s constant X. The slope of this best fit straight line is required ‘K’

X=0.1

800.00

700.00

600.00
Storage 'S' [(m³/s)-day]

500.00

400.00

300.00

200.00

100.00

0.00
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
[XI+(1-X)O] (m³/s)

Fig 8.6 Weighted Flow against Cumulative Storage for X=0.1

X=0.2

800.00

700.00

600.00
Storage 'S' [(m³/s)-day]

500.00

400.00

300.00

200.00

100.00

0.00
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
[XI+(1-X)O] (m³/s)

Fig 8.7 Weighted Flow against Cumulative Storage for X=0.2

220
 x=0.3

800.00

700.00 y = 1.3023x + 73.606

600.00
Storage 'S' [(m³/s)-day]

500.00

400.00

300.00

200.00

100.00

0.00
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
[XI+(1-X)O] (m³/s)

Fig 8.8 Weighted Flow against Cumulative Storage for X=0.3

From above charts,

X=0.3
and
K=1.3 days

From known values of ‘X’ and ‘K’, constants ‘C0’, ‘C1’, ‘C2’ are determined using
equations 3.11, 3.12 and 3.13.

Co = [(0.5 / 1.3) - (2 x 0.3)] / [2(1-0.3) + (0.5 / 1.3)] = -0.12

C1 = [(0.5 / 1.3) + (2 x 0.3)] / [2(1-0.3) + (0.5 / 1.3)] = 0.55
C2 = [2(1 - 0.3) - (0.5 / 1.3)] / [2(1-0.3) + (0.5 / 1.3)] = 0.57

Check -0.12 + 0.55 + 0.57 = 1.00

The outflow hydrograph is computed using equation 8.10 as shown in Table 8.10. The
initial outflow is assumed equal to inflow.

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 Table 8.10 Computations for Channel Routing
Time Constants for X=0.3 and K=1.3
Inflow (Ij) Outflow ‘O'
Interval
(m³/s) C0Ij+1 C1Ij C2Oj (m³/s)
(Hours)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)

0 41 41.00
12 36 -4.32 22.55 23.37 41.60
24 39 -4.68 19.80 23.71 38.83
36 123 -14.76 21.45 22.13 28.82
48 342 -41.04 67.65 16.43 43.04
60 577 -69.24 188.10 24.53 143.39
72 720 -86.40 317.35 81.73 312.68
84 742 -89.04 396.00 178.23 485.19
96 675 -81.00 408.10 276.56 603.66
108 450 -54.00 371.25 344.09 661.34
120 322 -38.64 247.50 376.96 585.82
132 247 -29.64 177.10 333.92 481.38
144 190 -22.80 135.85 274.39 387.44
156 145 -17.40 104.50 220.84 307.94
168 120 -14.40 79.75 175.52 240.87
180 96 -11.52 66.00 137.30 191.78
192 79 -9.48 52.80 109.31 152.63
204 67 -8.04 43.45 87.00 122.41
216 55 -6.60 36.85 69.77 100.02
228 50 -6.00 30.25 57.01 81.26

The inflow and outflow hydrograph are shown in figure 8.9. One can find difference in peak
flows and time interval between peak flows which is one of the objectives of channel flow
routing.
Channel Routing by Muskingum Method

800

700

600

500
Flow (m³/s)

400

300

200

100

0
0 50 100 150 200 250
Time (Hours)

Fig 8.9
222
QUESTIONS
1. What is meant by the term Routing? Why we need Routing through reservoirs?
2. Explain Reservoir Routing Procedure. What assumptions are made for it?
3. What information is required prior to routing an inflow hydrograph through a
reservoir?
4. Explain Muskingum’s Method for Channel Routing.
5. What factor governs selection of suitable routing interval?
6. Take a sample data for a reservoir and route a forecast flood through it.

EXERCISE
1. A reservoir has the following elevation, discharge and storage relationships:

Elevation (m) Storage (106 m³) Outflow Discharge (m³/s)

100.00 3.350 0
100.50 3.472 10
101.00 3.880 26
101.50 4.383 46
102.00 4.882 72
102.50 5.370 100
102.75 5.527 116
103.00 5.856 130

When the reservoir level was at 100.50 m, the following flood hydrograph entered the
reservoir.

Time (h) Ordinates of 4-hr Time (h) Ordinates of 4-hr

unit hydrograph unit hydrograph
00 10 42 36
06 20 48 55
12 55 54 20
18 80 60 15
24 73 66 13
30 58 72 11
36 46

Route the flood and obtain the outflow hydrograph.

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2. The inflow hydrograph for a river reach is as given below:

Time (Hours) Discharge (m³/s) Time (Hours) Discharge (m³/s)

0 40 27 225
3 50 30 175
6 130 33 150
9 220 36 125
12 300 39 98
15 325 42 81
18 330 45 70
21 310 48 62
24 275 51 55

The values of Muskingum’s Constants are X = 0.30 and K = 18 hours. Find the peak
outflow due to given inflow hydrograph.

224