A geographic information system for prediction of design flood hydrographs

Abstract
A geographic information system (GIS) supporting a flood hydrograph prediction software package is described. The hydrograph prediction method is based on the convolution of excess rainfall with a synthetic unit hydrograph, derived by the Soil Conservation Service runoff curve number and a regional dimensionless unit hydrograph method, respectively. The GIS uses a raster method to store the following data: land use and land cover, soil type, rainfall intensity–frequency–duration statistics, runoff curve numbers (CN), regional dimensionless unit hydrograph, and regional lag-time relationship. The GIS has also the capability of computing a number of watershed and hydrologic parameters required for predictions, such as a watershed average rainfall and CN value, area, centroid, stream length, etc. Most of the data for such computations are input from a digitizer. Substantial time and cost savings are possible once the data base has been created. Application of the system is illustrated by an example of predicting flood frequency curves for selected watersheds in Alberta's Rocky Mountain foothills. Key words: geographic information system, flood hydrograph, curve number, hydrologic simulation, flood frequency.