Curve-Number-Based Watershed Model Incorporating Quick Subsurface Runoff, with Applications in the Western Ghats, South India
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 14, Issue 8
Abstract
Wet mountainous watersheds are characterized by variable source area runoff, the runoff generated from surface saturated source areas being the prominent component in most cases. However, often subsurface stormflow, generated by various different mechanisms, also contributes significantly to stream quick flow. The model presented in the present study has been developed to simulate runoff processes in such watersheds, considered to have two quick flow and a delayed flow components. The lumped watershed model used has been developed in stages, starting from the curve-number method, by drawing inferences at every stage and changing the model structure in accordance with the inferences. The data on streamflow and rainfall from five catchments in the Western Ghat regions of Karnataka, in South India, have been used in the study. The simulations of the model have been interpreted to infer that the subsurface pipe flow component forms a very significant part of quick flow in the region.
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Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 14 • Issue 8 • August 2009
Pages: 876 - 881
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: May 25, 2007
Accepted: Dec 3, 2008
Published online: Jul 15, 2009
Published in print: Aug 2009
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