Regional Flood Estimation in New South Wales Australia Using Generalized Least Squares Quantile Regression
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 16, Issue 11
Abstract
This paper investigates the applicability of quantile regression technique (QRT) as a viable regional flood frequency analysis (RFFA) method for the state of New South Wales in Australia. The study uses data from 96 small to medium-sized unregulated basins across New South Wales to develop a generalized least squares (GLS)-based QRT. An independent test employing a wide range of statistical diagnostics indicates that the developed regression equations based on the GLS regression can provide quite accurate flood quantile estimates with median relative error values in the range of 13–42%. The developed regression equations are relatively easy to apply and require data for only three predictors—basin area, design rainfall intensity, and stream density.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial contribution of Engineers Australia to undertake the study; Professor George Kuczera; Mr. Erwin Weinmann; Associate Professor, James Ball; Mr. Mark Babister; and Dr. William Weeks for their suggestions and input to the project. This study is a part of the revision of the Australian Rainfall and Runoff (ARR) which focuses on the development of more accurate regional flood-estimation methods for Australia, which is being undertaken in association with Engineers Australia’s National Committee on Water Engineering.
References
Bates, B. C., Rahman, A., Mein, R. G., and Weinmann, P. E. (1998). “Climatic and physical factors that influence the homogeneity of regional floods in southeastern Australia.” Water Resour. Res., 34(12), 3369–3382.
Griffis, V. W., and Stedinger, J. R. (2007). “The use of GLS regression in regional hydrologic analyses.” J. Hydrol. (Amsterdam), 344(1-2), 82–95.
Haddad, K., Rahman, A., Weinmann, P. E., Kuczera, G., and Ball, J. E. (2010). “Streamflow data preparation for regional flood frequency analysis: Lessons from southeast Australia.” Aust. J. Water Resour., 14(1), 17–32.
Hosking, J. R. M., and Wallis, J. R. (1993). “Some statistics useful in regional frequency analysis.” Water Resour. Res., 29(2), 271–281.
Institution of Engineers Australia (IEAust). (1987). Australian rainfall and runoff: A guide to flood estimation, Vol 1, IEAust, Canberra, Australia.
Isik, S., and Singh, V. P. (2008). “Hydrologic regionalization of watersheds in Turkey.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 13(9), 824–834.
Kuczera, G. (1999). “Comprehensive at-site flood frequency analysis using Monte Carlo Bayesian inference.” Water Resour. Res., 35(5), 1551–1557.
Lu, L. H., and Stedinger, J. R. (1992). “Sampling variance of normalized GEV/PWM quantile estimators and a regional homogeneity test.” J. Hydrol. (Amsterdam), 138(1-2), 223–245.
Rahman, A. (2005). “A quantile regression technique to estimate design floods for ungauged catchments in Southeast Australia.” Aust. J. Water Resour., 9(1), 81–89.
Rahman, A., Bates, B. C., Mein, R. G., and Weinmann, P. E. (1999). “Regional flood frequency analysis for ungauged basins in southeastern Australia.” Aust. J. Water Resour., 3(2), 199–207.
Reis, D. S., Jr., Stedinger, J. R., and Martins, E. S. (2005). “Bayesian generalized least squares regression with application to log Pearson type 3 regional skew estimation.” Water Resour. Res., 41(10), W10419.
Singh, R. D., Mishra, S. K., and Chowdhary, H. (2001). “Regional flow duration models for large number of ungauged Himalayan catchments for planning microhydro projects.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 6(4), 310–316.
Stedinger, J. R., and Tasker, G. D. (1985). “Regional hydrologic analysis, 1. Ordinary, weighted, and generalized least squares compared.” Water Resour. Res., 21(9), 1421–1432.
Stedinger, J. R., and Tasker, G. D. (1986). “Regional hydrologic analysis, 2. Model error estimators, estimation of sigma and Log-Pearson Type 3 distribution.” Water Resour. Res., 22(10), 1487–1499.
Tasker, G. D., Eychaner, J. H., and Stedinger, J. R. (1986). “Application of Generalized Least Squares in hydrological regression analysis.” Water Supply Paper 2310, U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, DC, 197–215.
Tasker, G. D., and Stedinger, J. R. (1989). “An operational GLS model for hydrologic regression.” J. Hydrol. (Amsterdam), 111(1-4), 361–375.
Thomas, D. M., and Benson, M. A. (1970). “Generalization of streamflow characteristics from drainage-basin characteristics.” Water Supply Paper No. 1975, U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, DC.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 16 • Issue 11 • November 2011
Pages: 920 - 925
Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 7, 2009
Accepted: Mar 8, 2011
Published online: Apr 11, 2011
Published in print: Nov 1, 2011
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.