MACANAS, JOHN REYNALD S.

BSCE 4B

Chapter 8 – Relations between Precipitation and Runoff

8-1. Surface Retention
I. SURFACE RUNOFF
Surface runoff (also known as overland flow) is the flow of water that occurs
when excess stormwater, meltwater, or other sources flows over the Earth's surface.
II. How does runoff occur?
This might occur because soil is saturated to full capacity, because rain arrives
more quickly than soil can absorb it, or because impervious areas (roofs and pavement)
send their runoff to surrounding soil that cannot absorb all of it. Surface runoff is a major
component of the water cycle. It is the primary agent in soil erosion by water.
The most familiar type of natural runoff is snowmelt. Mountains that cannot
absorb water from heavy snowfalls produce runoff that turns into streams, rivers, and
lakes. Glaciers, snow, and rain all contribute to this natural runoff.

III. SURFACE RETENTION

A. INTERCEPTION
Interception is the process by which water is captured on vegetation (leaves, bark,
grasses, crops, etc.) during a precipitation event.
Intercepted precipitation is not available for runoff or infiltration, but instead is
returned to the atmosphere through evaporation. Interception losses generally occur
during the first part of a precipitation event and the interception loss rate trends toward
zero rather quickly. Interception losses are described by the following equation (Horton
reprinted by Viessman 1996):

Vi= Si + EtR
Where:
Vi= Total storm interception
Si= surface capacity per unit of projected area
Tr= duration of rainfall

Table 1. Values of interception as computed with Horton’s equations for 25-

mm storms
Crop Height, m Interception, mm
Corn 1.8 .8
MACANAS, JOHN REYNALD S. BSCE 4B

Cotton 1.2 8.4

Tobacco 1.2 1.8
Small Grains .9 4.1
Meadow Grass .3 2.0
Alfalfa .3 2.8

As the Horton equation suggests, the total interception is dependent on the storm
duration, as longer duration storms allow more evaporation from the canopy during the
storm event. The intensity of the storm also plays a role in canopy interception
(Viessman 1996)
Grasses also can intercept a substantial percentage of gross precipitation, up to
60% of annual rainfall (Viessman 1996).

B. DEPRESSION STORAGE

Depression storage refers to small low points in undulating terrain that can store
precipitation that otherwise would become runoff. The precipitation stored in these
depressions is then either removed through infiltration into the ground or by
evaporation. Depression storage exists on pervious and impervious surfaces alike;
however, depression storage is much greater on undisturbed, pervious surfaces.
Standard design and construction practices remove these natural depressions in order
to promote drainage, which reduces depression storage.
The volume of water in depression storage at any time during a precipitation event
can be approximated as:

VS= SD(1-e-kPe)
Where:
Sd= depression-storage capacity
k= 1/sd
Pe= volume of precipitation in excess of interception and infiltration

IV. INTERCEPTOMETERS
A rain gage which is placed under trees or in foliage to determine the rainfall in that
location; by comparing this catch with that from a rain gage set in the open, the
amount of rainfall which has been intercepted by foliage is found.
MACANAS, JOHN REYNALD S. BSCE 4B

V. EFFECTS OF URBANIZATION IN SURFACE RUNOFF

A. Urbanization increases surface runoff, by creating more impervious

surfaces such as pavement and buildings do not allow percolation of the
water down through the soil to the aquifer.

B. When runoff flows along the ground, it can pick up soil contaminants such
as petroleum, pesticides, or fertilizers that become discharge or overland
flow.

C. Increased runoff reduces groundwater recharge, thus lowering the water

table and making droughts worse, especially for farmers and others who
depend on water wells.

VI. IMPORTANCE OF RUNOFF

It determines many of the characteristics of a landscape and the occurrence and

size of floods; thus, understanding and modeling the rainfall-runoff process is essential
in many flood and water resources problems.