Feasibility Study, Detailed Engineering Survey, Soil Investigation, Hydrological Study & Detailed Design of Draft Report

Kerung Khola Bridge

Chapter 4
HYDROLOGICAL INVESTIGATION

4.1 General

Detailed hydrological studies were carried out at the proposed bridge site for the construction
of the bridges over the Kerung Khola. This study covers the following:
 Catchment area of the river up to the bridge site.
 Length of the river from the origin up to the bridge site.
 Slope of the river from the critical point (origin) to the river upto bridge site and general
slope of the catchment in both sides of the river.
 Rainfall pattern with the catchment area of the river up to the bridge site.
 Vegetation & cultivation of the catchment area of the river up to the bridge site.
 Cross section at proposed bridge site, at about 500m u/s and about 200m d/s, and silt
factor at bridge site.
 Bed slope of the river which stats from 100 m u/s and end at 100 m d/s of the bridge
site.
 Maximum discharge calculated by established formulae with different return periods.
 Velocity and depth of flow at the time of survey.
 Shifting of the river in the past at proposed site and in vicinity of it and
 Necessary information required for river control design, construction and /or
maintenance of the bridge.

4.2 Characteristics of the Catchment Area and the River

The catchment area of Kerung Khola at the bridge site is shown in Figure 1/4. The catchment
area and the river length were determined using ArcGIS 9.3 Software from the DEM data of
30m Grid data and verified from the Topography Sheets. The slope near the bridge site
(100m upstream and downstream of the bridge site) was determined from the survey data.
General characteristics of the catchment are presented in Table 1/4. It can be seen from the
table that the catchment area of the Kerung Khola is moderate steep slope and the river has
very mild slope at the vicinity of bridge.

Table 1/4: Catchment Characteristics

SN Characteristics Values
2
1 Area (km ) 64.27
2 Length of River (km) 28.271
3 Height Difference (m) 82.00
4 Overall Slope of the River (%) 0.2901
5 Slope near the Bridge Site (%) 0.05

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Figure 1/4: Catchment Area of Kerung Khola at Proposed Bridge Axis

The only one rainfall stations, 0902 (RAMPUR) is influencing the catchment of Kerung Khola
at the bridge site. The annual average basin precipitation is calculated as 2,019.96 mm. The
maximum depth of the precipitation of 24 hrs. within the basin is calculated as 296.30 mm
and the intensity of rainfall within the basin is 12.35 mm/hr.

4.3 Estimation of Peak Flow

4.3.1 WECS Method

Water and Energy Commission (1990) issued a report of task force, which developed the
methodology for estimating the peak flow of the un-gauged catchments of Nepal. The
regression equations that have been proposed to estimate instantaneous flood of 2 years and
100 years return periods by WECS. The following equations are proposed for instantaneous
peak flow estimation

For 2 year return period:

Q2 = 1.8767*(A<3k+1)0.8783 (1)

For 100 year return period

Q100 = 14.639*(A<3k+1)0.7342 (2)

Where Q is the discharge in m3/s and A<3k is the area below 3000m in km2.
Based on the algebraic evaluations of the equations used for the lognormal distribution, the
following relationships (WECs/DHM 1990) can be used to estimate floods at other return
periods.
Qf = exp(lnQ2+sσt) (3)

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Where,
σt = ln(Q100/Q2)/2.326 (4)
s is the standard normal variate. The value of s are given in the below table.
Return Period (years) s
2 0
5 0.842
10 1.282
20 1.645
50 2.054
100 2.326
200 2.576

The flow of other return periods can be calculated from these two values from equations 1
and 2 assuming two-parameter lognormal distribution by using other equations 3 and 4 and
the values of s in above table. The flows estimated by this method at the bridge site of the
Kerung Khola are given in Table 2/4

Table 2/4: Instantaneous Flood Flow Statistics

Return Period (years) Q (m3/s)

2 73.66
5 124.60
10 163.99
20 205.70
50 264.05
100 314.68
200 367.83

4.3.2 Modified WECS/DHM Method (Sharma and Adhikari)

This is the modification in WECS method by proposing the regression equations that have
been proposed to estimate instantaneous flood of 2 years and 100 years return periods and
this modification is proposed by Sharma and Adhikari (2004) based on long term data. They
proposed the following equations for instantaneous peak flow estimation

For 2 year return period:

Q2 = 2.29*(A<3k+1) 0.86 (5)

For 100 year return period

Q100 = 20.7*(A<3k+1)0.72 (6)

Where Q is the discharge in m3/s and A<3k is the area below 3000m in km2.

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The flow of other return periods can be calculated same method as described in WECS
method. The flows estimated by this method at the bridge site of the Kerung Khola are given
in Table 3/4.
Table 3/4: Instantaneous Flood Flow Statistics

Return Period (years) Q (m3/s)

2 83.27
5 149.50
10 202.97
20 261.22
50 344.94
100 419.33
200 498.91

4.3.2 Dicken’s Method

Dicken proposed the following formula for the estimation of peak flow
QT  CT A 0.75 (3)
3
where Q = peak flow (m /s), CT = Dickens coefficient whose value depends with the return
period and area of the catchment.
The Irrigation Research Institute, Roorkee, India suggested the following relation for Dicken’s
Constant
  1185  
CT  2.342(log 0.6T   log    4 (4)
  P 
Here P is a parameter depends on the type of catchment area and given by
a6
P 100 (5)
Aa

where a = perpetual snow area (km2), A = Total catchment area (km2), T = Return period

The P values estimated using equation (5) for the Kerung Khola was found to be 9.34. The
estimated flow of this river for different return periods are given in Table 4/4.

Table 4/4: Flow for Different Return Periods

Return Period (years) CT Q (m3/s)

2 4.390 99.65
5 6.351 144.15
10 7.834 177.81
20 9.317 211.48
50 11.277 255.98
100 12.760 289.64
200 14.243 323.30

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4.3.3 Slope Area Method

Slope Area method makes use of the observed water surface elevation at the time of
maximum flow at the bridge site to estimate the runoff. Manning’s equation given below is
generally used for flow estimation.
2 1
1
Q  AR 3 S 2 (14)
n
Where Q = Flow (m3/s), A= Cross sectional area of the flow (m2), R = Hydraulic radius (m), S
= Frictional slope; generally longitudinal slope of the bed near the bridge site is adopted for S,
n = Manning’s roughness coefficient.
The cross section of the Kerung Khola at the bridge site is given in Figure 2/4. From the
cross-section at bridge axis, the flows cross sectional area, hydraulic radius, and conveyance
corresponding to the given water level in the river was determined using the same model.
Their values are given in Table 5/4.

It is mentioned here that the observed high flood level at bridge site as reported by the
villagers and noted by the surveyor is 103.048 m.

Figure 2/4: Cross-Section of Kerung River at Proposed Bridge Axis

While estimating the runoff, the coefficient of roughness should be supplied. Based on the
site condition the roughness of the Kerung Khola was assumed to be 0.04. The runoff
estimated at bridge sites using Manning’s equation is given in Table 5/4.
Table 5/4: Maximum Runoff at the Bridge Site

Parameters Values
Observed HFL (m) 103.048
Area of Flow (m2) 272.523
Hydraulic Radius (m) 2.166
S 0.0005
N 0.04
Q (m3/s) 255.05

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4.3.4 B. D. Richard’s Method

Another widely used method of flood estimation using rainfall and catchments characteristics
is the B. D. Richard’s method which has been comprehensively used in Mahakali Irrigation
Project, the procedure involved is as follows:
Initially certain value is assumed for Tc, then
F = 1.09352 – 0.06628 ln (A)
D = 1.102L^2/(S*F)
RTC = RT*22.127 Tc0.476577/100
I = RTC/TC
KR = 0.651 (TC+1)
CKR = 0.95632/ KR1.4806
TC3 = D* CKR
TC2 = (TC3/0.585378)1/2.17608
Where,
Tc = Time of Concentration in hr.
A = Catchment Area in Sq. Km.
L = Catchment Length in Km.
S = Catchment Slope =(Hmax-Hmin)/L)
F = Areal reduction factor
RT = 24 hour rainfall for return period T
I = Rainfall Intensity corresponding to the time of concentration Tc
TC2 = Second estimate of time of concentration
If the difference between the first estimate Tc and the resulting second estimate Tc2 is greater
than 5%, the whole process is repeated with Tc = Tc2
To calculate the flood discharge then, the following formula is used:
Q = 0.222AIF in m3/s

4.3.5 Snyder’s Method

The Snyder’s Method is another method which is widely used in Nepal. For an ungauged
river, the flood flow estimation by deriving a synthetic unit hydrographs based on known
physical characteristics of the basin is resorted to. The method is based on the analysis on
large number of hydrographs from drainage basins ranging in area from 25 Sq. Km. to 25000
Sq. Km. The method which has been used in Nepal to estimate the flood discharge
hydrographs in Nepalese Rivers is based on the following relationships.
tpr = 0.75 Ct (L*Lc)0.3
tr = standard duration of effective rainfall in hours
tpR = tpr + 0.25 (tR – tr)
qpR = 2.75 Cp/ tpR
QpR = qpR*(CA*A)*R
Where,
tpr = lag time from mid-point of effective rainfall of duration t r to peak of a unit hydrograph in
hours.
tr = Standard duration of effective rainfall in hours.
tpR = lag time in hours for rainfall duration tR
qpR = peak discharge per unit drainage are of 1 Sq. Km. due to 1 cm of effective rainfall for
rainfall duration of tr in cu.m/s/Sq.Km.
L = Length of the stream from the station to the upstream limit of the drainage area in Km.
Lc = Distance along the Main stream from the basin outlet to a point on the stream which is
nearest to the centroid of basin in Km.

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QpR = peak discharge due to rainfall of R cm of duration t R over whole of the catchment area
in cu.m/s.
Ct, Cp = coefficients depending upon basin characteristics which are best determined by
analysis some known hydrographs in the region. Since no such analysis is possible because
of lack of sufficient information, a value of Ct = 1.5 and Cp = 0.62 has been used.
R = rainfall in cm for duration tR. The rainfall R has been derived from the 24 hrs. rainfall with
the reduction factor for area.
CA = areal reduction factor, considering the fact that the average rainfall intensity over a large
is smaller than over a small area. This co-efficient is equal to 1 here.

4.3.6 MHSP (NEA, 1997) Method

For the ungauged sites, a regional analysis relating flood peaks (from the gauging stations) at
the selected return periods to basin area was carried out using regression analysis. To
increase the accuracy of flood estimates from regional analysis, the set of gauging stations
was divided into sub-sets defined according to the large river systems, of which they formed
an integral part. Since a reasonably large number of observations are required for
regressions to be meaningful, the sub-regions were limited to three as described below.
(1) The Western Region comprising the following basins:

- the Karnali River basin (the dominant basin);

- the Nepalese part of the Mahakali River basin;
- the smaller basins located between the Mahakali and Karnali with rivers flowing
independently south;
- the Rapti River basin;
- the Banganga River basin.
(2) The Central Region comprising the following basins:

- the Narayani River basin (the dominant basin);

- the Bagmati River basin;
- the numerous smaller basins with rivers flowing independently towards the border
with India.
(3) The Eastern Region which contains the following basins:

- the Sapta Kosi basin (the dominant basin);

- the Kamala River basin;
- the Kankai River basin;
- smaller basins with rivers flowing independently towards the Indian border.

The Kerung Khola basin belongs to the Central region. Flood flows at four specific return
periods were required: the 5, 20, 50 & 100 year occurrences. An examination of the records
and plots of the frequency distributions showed that the Log-Pearson type III distribution
provided the best estimates.

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Linear regression analysis was applied to the logarithmic transforms of both the dependent
and independent variables, i.e., the equation relating flood magnitude for a given return
period to drainage area had the form:
lnQ = a + b(lnA)

Where
Q = flow in m3/s
A = drainage area in km2
a and b are regression coefficients.
By inverse log transformation, the above equation was made equivalent to the following
relationship between flood peak and drainage area:
Q = kAb

Where k = exp(a)
The regressions were carried out for the three area parameters, i.e, total drainage area, area
below 5,000m and area below 3,000m respectively. The results showed that drainage area
below 3,000m gave the highest correlation for rain generated floods. The area below 3,000m
was therefore selected for application of the regional coefficients. The Table below shows the
coefficients that were obtained for the regression lines corresponding to each of the six
selected return periods.
Table 6/4: Floods and Regression Coefficient at
Different Return Period (MHSP Method)
Region
Return period Western Central Eastern Discharge
k b k b k b m3/s
5 2.0409 0.8632 1.6762 0.9660 7.4008 0.7862 93.51
20 3.2895 0.8510 3.2303 0.9281 13.0848 0.7535 153.90
50 4.2570 0.8444 4.6090 0.9071 17.6058 0.7380 201.21
100 5.2225 0.8352 5.9865 0.8888 21.5181 0.7281 242.17
1000 9.2270 0.8148 12.6603 0.8429 39.9035 0.6969 423.07
10000 14.4580 0.8063 24.6431 0.8019 69.7807 0.6695 694.28

Table 10/4: Summary of the Maximum Flow

Return Periods
S.No Description of Methods
2yrs 5yrs 10yrs 20yrs 50yrs 100yrs 200yrs
1 WECS Method (Hydest) 73.66 124.58 163.94 205.61 265.39 314.49 367.58
2 WECS Method (Modified Hydest) 83.27 149.50 202.97 261.22 344.94 419.33 498.91
3 Modified Dicken's Method 99.65 144.15 177.81 211.48 255.98 289.64 323.30
4 B.D. Richards' Method 92.86 131.13 156.47 180.78 212.25 235.83 259.32
5 Snyder's Method 137.05 193.55 230.95 266.83 313.27 348.07 382.75
6 MHSP (NEA, 1997) Method 93.51 153.90 201.21 242.17
7 Slope Area Method 255.05
Design Flood Flow 137.05 193.55 230.95 266.83 313.27 348.07 382.75

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From Table 10/4, we can see that Slope Area Method, MSHP (NEA, 1997) Method and B.D.
Richard’s Method gave the relatively small flood, whereas WECS Method, Modified Dicken’s
Method and Snyder’s Method gave average flood flow with comparison to the others, and
WECS (Modified Hydest) Method gave the largest flood flow. As the one value is very much
higher than others, we chose among highest of all methods except very much high value
(WECS (Modified Hydest) Method) which is calculated by the Snyder’s Method for 100 years
return period is 348.07 m3/s. This value was used to estimate the Highest Flood Level (HFL)
at the bridge site

4.4 Estimation of Highest Flood Level (HFL)

For estimation of Highest Flood level, by using HEC-RAS software, we have done the
analysis. From Analysis, it shows that HFL at bridge site is found 725.58 m for Upstream part
of bridge and 726.49 m for Downstream part of bridge for flood discharge of 348.07 m3/s.
Some figure below shows the output of analysis by HEC-RAS software. HFL is shown in
Figure 3/4.

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Kerung Khola Bridge

Figure 3/4-1: High Flood Level of Kerung River at for upstream part of Proposed Bridge
Axis under 100 years Flood of 348.07 m3/s

Figure 3/4-2: High Flood Level of Kerung River at for downstream part of Proposed
Bridge Axis under 100 years Flood of 348.07 m3/s

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Bridge

Figure 4/4: Plan of Kerung River including Bridge Axis

Bridge

Figure 5/4: Water Surface profile under 100 years flood flow.

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Bridge

Figure 6/4: Water Surface under 100 years flood flow.

4.5 Required Freeboard

Nepal Bridge Standard has recommended the following freeboard based on the discharge
(Table 8/5.).

Adequate vertical clearance is required to permit the debris, boulders, trees and other floating
materials to pass through the bridge section safely so that these cannot harm the bridge.
Although flood flow is in between 501 and 2000 in Kerung Khola, as it may carry some
boulders and floating materials, trees & debris etc. during the flood, provision should be made
for their safe passage. So, considering all these facts, freeboard of at least 1.5 m is
recommended for Kerung Khola.

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4.6 Silt Factor and Scour Depth

Lacey equations (Modi, 1995) are generally used to calculate the silt factor and the scour
depth based on the flow and the size of the soil particles of the bed materials.
Lacey’s regime width called the linear water way, W in m, is calculate by the following
equation
W  4.75 * Q (15)
where Q is the maximum flow (m3/s) after addition of flow as per IRC-78-2000 Clause No.
703.1.1

The silt factor, f, is calculated from the mean grain diameter dm (mm) as
f  1.76 d m (16)
The mean scour depth for Lacey’s regime width is calculated as
1
 Q 3
d  0.47
 f 
 (17)
 
IRC has recommended the following correction formula for the scour depth, if the river is
contracted from the regime width while constructing bridge.
0.61
W 
d cor  d   (18)
 L
where L is the contracted river width (m).

IRC has also recommended for using the Maximum scour depth for alluvial & quasi-alluvial
river. According to the IRC recommendation, since the proposed bridge is of multi – span &
the river is not contracted (width of the river is greater than linear waterway), the maximum
scour depth is maximum of 2.00 times of dcor.

The average particle size at the bridge site as supplied by the analyst was 0.152 mm.

Based on the data of the flow and grain size, the silt factor and scour depth were calculated
as shown in Table 9/4.

Table 9/4: Calculation of Scour Depth

SN Parameters Symbols Values
3
1 Flow (m /s) Q 348.07
3
2 Flow (m /s) as per IRC-78-2000 Clause No. 703.1.1 Q 452.50
3 Mean dia. of the Soil Particle (mm) dm 0.152
4 Silt Factor f 0.68617432
5 Mean Sour Depth (m) dsm 5.131
6 Provided Water Way (m) Lw 75.00
7 Effective Water Way (m) L 72.90
8 Minimum River Bed Level MRBL 100.48
Maximum Scour Depth (m) below minimum bed level
9 dmax 1.147
Abutment
Maximum Scour Depth (m) below minimum bed level
10 dmax 4.892
Pier

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4.7 Summary of the Hydrological Analysis

Summary of the results of the hydrological analysis is given in Table 10/4.

Table 10/4: Summary of the Hydrological Analysis

SN Parameter Recommended Value
1 Maximum flow (Q 100 ) 348.07 m3/s
2 HFL (Q 100 ) 105.85 m
3 Freeboard (Fb ) Clearance above HFL 1.5 m
4 Bottom of the bridge 107.35 m
5 Silt factor (f) 0.686174322
6 Scour depth (dsc) below HFL 6.517 m
7 Level of Maximum Scour Depth 99.33 m
8 Minimum River Bed Level 100.48 m
Maximum Scour Depth (m) below minimum bed level
9 1.147 m
Abutment
Maximum Scour Depth (m) below minimum bed level
10 4.892 m
Pier
11 Number of Span & Bridge Span Provided 3 No. of 25 m
4.8 River Shifting and River Training Work

The bridge site has no rigid boundary and there is a possibility of lateral cutting by the river or
shifting of river course. So, the river training works will be proposed at both bank of Kerung
Khola upstream & downstream as per site condition.

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