TECHNICAL PAPERS
May 1, 1988

Flood Skew in Hydrologic Design on Ungaged Watersheds

Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 114, Issue 2

Abstract

The skew of a peak‐discharge frequency curve is an important determinant of the magnitude of events having small exceedance probabilities. Unfortunately, methods for estimating skews for ungaged locations provide highly inaccurate estimates. This appears to be the result of a lack of understanding of the primary causes of variation in skew. An analysis of existing hydrologic methods indicates that the skew assumed with these methods for ungaged locations is different than the mean skew for gaged sites in the same area. Furthermore, the design methods suggest that watershed storage is the primary factor affecting skew, with an increase in skew as the volume of watershed storage is decreased. Variables that show greater potential for providing accurate estimates of skew are discussed, and a relationship for estimating the effect of imperviousness on skew is provided.

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References

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Brakensick, D. L., and Rawls, W. J. (1983), “Green‐Ampt infiltration model parameters for hydrologic classification of soils.” Advances in irrigation and drainage: surviving external pressures, J. Borelli, V. R. Hasfurther, and R. D. Burman (eds.), ASCE, New York, N.Y., 226–233.
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Estimating peak flow frequencies for natural ungaged watersheds. (1981). U.S. Water Resources Council, Hydrology Committee, Washington, D.C.
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“Guidelines for determining flood flow frequencies.” (1982). Bulletin 17B, Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data, Hydrology Subcommittee, U.S.G.S., Reston, Va.
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Published In

Go to Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 114Issue 2May 1988
Pages: 301 - 310

History

Published online: May 1, 1988
Published in print: May 1988

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Authors

Affiliations

Richard H. McCuen
Prof., Dept. of Civ. Engrg., Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
Theodore V. Hromadka, II, Members, ASCE
Dir. of Water Resour. Engrg., Williamson and Schmid, 17782 Sky Park Blvd., Irvine, CA 92714, and Res. Assoc., Princeton Univ., Princeton, NJ 08540

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