Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The best relationship between lumped hydrograph parameters and urbanized factors

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Natural Hazards Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study mainly explores the best relationship between hydrograph parameters and urbanized factors in urbanized areas. Urbanization of a developing watershed is analyzed through 51 available rainfall-runoff simulations from 1966 to 2002. Forty of these rainfall-runoff events were calibrated to determine the relationships between impervious area and urbanized factors. During the calibration process, the block Kriging method was used to estimate the mean rainfall, and its hourly excesses were calculated by nonlinear programming. Then, clear tendencies between parameters and urbanized factors were produced by comparing the results of the annual average and optimal interval methods. The remaining eleven cases were used to verify the established relationships. The calibration and verification results confirm that the integral approaches used in this study can effectively illustrate the hydrological and geomorphic conditions in complex urbanized processes. Parameter n responds more sensitively than parameter k to increasing impervious area and population density. Additionally, parameter n responds more strongly to imperviousness than to population. Therefore, this study demonstrates that an impervious area is the main consequence of ongoing urbanization in the Wu-Tu watershed. The satisfactory results show that kernel response of the watershed would be more sharp-pointed and be shifted forward in peak due to an increased impervious cover.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arnold CLJ, Gibbons CJ (1996) Impervious surface coverage—the emergence of a key environmental indicator. J Am Plan As 62:243–256

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bastin G, Lorent B, Duque C, Gevers M (1984) Optimal estimation of the average rainfall and optimal selection of raingauge locations. Water Resour Res 20:463–470

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boyd MJ, Bufill MC, Knee RM (1994) Predicting pervious and impervious storm runoff from urban basins. Hydrol Sci J 39:321–332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown RG (1988) Effects of precipitation and land use on storm runoff. Water Resour Bull 24:421–426

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheng SJ (2010) Raingauge significance evaluation based on mean hyetographs. Nat Hazards. doi:10.1007/s11069-010-9589-3

  • Cheng SJ, Wang RY (2002) An approach for evaluating the hydrological effects of urbanization and its application. Hydrol Process 16:1403–1418

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng SJ, Hsieh HH, Wang YM (2007) Geostatistical interpolation of space-time rainfall on Tamshui River Basin, Taiwan. Hydrol Process 21:3136–3145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng SJ, Hsieh HH, Lee CF, Wang YM (2008) The storage potential of different surface coverings for various scale storms on Wu-Tu watershed, Taiwan. Nat Hazards 44:129–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng SJ, Lee CF, Lee JH (2010) Effects of urbanization factors on model parameters. Water Resour Manag 24:775–794

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chow VT, Maidment DR, Mays LW (1988) Applied hydrology. McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Duan Q, Gupta VK, Sorooshian S (1993) Shuffled complex evolution approach for effective and efficient global minimization. J Optim Theor Appl 76:501–521

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson BK, Suckling PW (1990) Changing rainfall-runoff relationships in the urbanizing Peachtree Creek Watershed, Atlanta, Georgia. Water Resour Bull 26:313–322

    Google Scholar 

  • Franchini M, O’Connell PE (1996) An analysis of the dynamic component of the geomorphologic instantaneous unit hydrograph. J Hydrol 175:407–428

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gremillion P, Gonyeau A, Wanielista M (2000) Application of alternative hydrograph separation models to detect changes in flow paths in a watershed undergoing urban development. Hydrol Process 14:1485–1501

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hannah DM, Gurnell AM (2001) A conceptual, linear reservoir runoff model to investigate melt season changes in cirque glacier hydrology. J Hydrol 246:123–141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hollis GE (1975) The effect of urbanization on floods of different recurrence interval. Water Resour Res 11:431–435

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hsieh LS, Wang RY (1999) A semi-distributed parallel-type linear reservoir rainfall-runoff model and its application in Taiwan. Hydrol Process 13:1247–1268

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang HJ, Cheng SJ, Wen JC, Lee JH (2008a) Effect of growing watershed imperviousness on hydrograph parameters and peak discharge. Hydrol Process 22:2075–2085

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang SY, Cheng SJ, Wen JC, Lee JH (2008b) Identifying peak-imperviousness-recurrence relationships on a growing-impervious watershed, Taiwan. J Hydrol 362:320–336

    Google Scholar 

  • Junil P, Kang IS, Singh VP (1999) Comparison of simple runoff models used in Korea for small watersheds. Hydrol Process 13:1527–1540

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kang IS, Park JI, Singh VP (1998) Effect of urbanization on runoff characteristics of the On-Cheon Stream Watershed in Pusan, Korea. Hydrol Process 12:351–363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee YH, Singh VP (2005) Tank model for sediment yield. Water Resour Manag 19:349–362

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leopold LB (1991) Lag times for small drainage basins. Catena 18:157–171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matheussen B, Kirschbaum RL, Goodman IA, O’Donnell GM (2000) Effects of land cover changes on streamflow in the Interior Columbia River Basin (USA and Canada). Hydrol Process 14:867–885

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moon J, Kim JH, Yoo C (2004) Storm-coverage effect on dynamic flood-frequency analysis: empirical data analysis. Hydrol Process 18:159–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moscrip AL, Montgomery DR (1997) Urbanization, flood frequency, and salmon abundance in Puget Lowland Streams. J Am Water Resour As 33:1289–1297

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nash JE (1957) The form of the instantaneous unit hydrograph, vol 45. IAHS Publications, pp 112–121

  • Sala M, Inbar M (1992) Some hydrologic effects of urbanization in Catalan Rivers. Catena 19:363–378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simmons DL, Reynolds RJ (1982) Effects of urbanization on base flow of selected south-shore streams, Long Island, New York. Water Resour Bull 18:797–805

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh RB (1998) Land use/cover changes, extreme events and ecohydrological response in the Himalayan Region. Hydrol Process 12:2043–2055

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White LW, Vieux B, Armand D (2002) Surface flow model: inverse problems and predictions. Adv Water Resour 25:317–324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yue S, Hashino M (2000) Unit hydrographs to model quick and slow runoff components of streamflow. J Hydrol 227:195–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environment and Resources Engineering, Diwan University, 87-1, Nan-shih Li, Madou, 721, Tainan, Taiwan

    Shin-jen Cheng

Authors
  1. Shin-jen Cheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shin-jen Cheng.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Cheng, Sj. The best relationship between lumped hydrograph parameters and urbanized factors. Nat Hazards 56, 853–867 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-010-9596-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-010-9596-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation