International Journal of Agricultural

Science and Research (IJASR)

ISSN(P): 2250-0057; ISSN(E): 2321-0087
Vol. 5, Issue 1, Feb 2015, 81-86
TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

ESTIMATION OF RUNOFF USING SCS-CN METHOD FOR CHAKA BLOCK,

ALLAHABAD DISTRICT OF UTTAR PRADESH
RAVINDRA YALIGAR1, R. K. ISAAC2, P. S. KANANNAVAR3, MALLAPPA. J. M4 & SHASHIREKHA5
1

Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Soil and Water Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering,
University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, Karnataka, India

Professor, Department of Soil and Water Conservation Engineering, Vaugh School of Agricultural Engineering
and Technology, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
3

Assistant Professor, Department of Soil and Water Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering,
University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, Karnataka, India

Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Hydrology, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India
5

Department of Water Resources and Environmental Technology, Jawaharlal Nehru Technology

University, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

ABSTRACT
Runoff is one of the important hydrologic variables used in the water resources management and planning.
However, quickening of the watershed management programme for conservation and development of natural resources
management has necessitated the runoff information. In planning and projecting soil and water conservation structures in
small catchments, it is necessary to know the relationship between precipitation and runoff. Knowing the amount of runoff
from a catchment is of vital importance particularly for planning the hydraulic structures. In present study runoff was
determined using the USDA Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) method for Chaka block with an area of
15359 ha situated in Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh. A total of 63 single storm events were selected during 1994 and
2011 for the study. Antecedent moisture content (AMC) was calculated by taking preceding five days rainfall which gave
three conditions AMC I, AMC II and AMC III. Weighted Curve Number for the entire selected area was calculated based
on site information of the block and found to be 78 for AMC II. The CN values corresponding to AMC I and AMC III
were 59.82 and 89.08 respectively. The runoff for each storm events was estimated following Curve Number method and it
was found that among the selected storm events maximum rainfall of 203 mm occurred in September 1, 2000 generating
169.89 mm of runoff. Runoff volume of the area for each storm events was also calculated and maximum runoff was found
is 26.09 million m which would be useful for design of soil and water conservation structures in block.

KEYWORDS: Curve Number (CN), Antecedent Moisture Condition (AMC), Soil Conservation Service (SCS)
INTRODUCTION
One of the most important objectives of engineering hydrology is to calculate the water yield of the catchments to
determine the flood flows for planning the discharge facilities of water storage structures. Runoff is one of the important
hydrologic variables used in the water resources management and planning. However, quickening of the watershed
management programme for conservation and development of natural resources management has necessitated the runoff
information. In the planning and projecting soil and water conservation structures in small catchments, it is necessary to
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82

Ravindra Yaligar, R. K. Isaac, P. S. Kanannavar, Mallappa. J. M & Shashirekha

know the relationship between precipitation and runoff. Knowing the amount of runoff from a catchment, is of vital
importance particularly for planning the hydraulic structures and taking necessary erosion control measures, in catchments
where there is no runoff information. In situation where there is not sufficient and reliable data the calculation based on
empirical methods lead to mistakes in determining the dimensions of hydraulic structures. Identification of runoff is also of
critical importance where the basic reservoirs support drinking water needs of the populace.
American Soil Conservation Service (SCS) Runoff Curve Number Method is widely and efficiently used for
planning the structures aimed at water storage and erosion and flood control. The method requires numeric catchments of
interest that define the runoff potential. Rainfall-runoff relationships within a watershed are the result of the interplay of
many factors, but are driven primarily by the interaction of climate, land cover, and soils. Watershed response in the form
of runoff depth and peak discharge can therefore be used as indicators of condition and as predictors for the ramifications
associated with land cover change. Records of recent flooding indicate at many locations worldwide the more frequent
occurrence of floods likely due to climate variability where an increase in heavy precipitation might lead to an
over-proportional increase in runoff due to non-linear processes (Ashagrie et.al 2006). Hydrologic changes including
increased impervious area, soil compaction, and increased drainage efficiency generally lead to increased direct runoff,
decreased groundwater recharge, and increased flooding, among other problems (Booth 1991). An estimation of surface
runoff is essential for reducing sediments and consequent hazards because runoff is the driving force behind soil erosion.
Therefore, it has been widely used for water resource management, storm water modeling and runoff estimation for single
rainfall events in small agricultural or urban watersheds (Bo et.al 2011). One of the most important relationships in the
catchment basins is the relationship between precipitation and runoff. Runoff and erosion processes are affected by many
factors but among these factors, rainfall and land use are the two most often researched (Wei et al, 2007). Hence a study
was done for runoff estimation for storm events following Curve Number method in five land use patterns viz, agriculture,
orchard, usar, fallow, non-agriculture or settlement.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study area in Allahabad District forms the part of Central Ganges alluvial plain of quaternary age in the North
Vindhyan formation are exposed in the Southern part of the district generally known as Yamunapar area. Allahabad district
falls in two Agro-ecological zones and comprise of three distinct geographically specific diverse situations. Allahabad
district lies in the southern-east part of state (Uttar Pradesh) between 24 o 4700N to 25o 4700N North latitude and 81o
1900E to 82o 2100E longitude. It has an area of 15359 ha with 20 blocks and 3074 villages. The area is characterized
by small areas of tale land and large areas of multitude of sloppy and undulation of different land forms. The soils found in
the area are generally light textured from sandy loam to loam with predominance of sandy loam textural class.
Figure 1shows the study area.

Impact Factor (JCC): 4.3594

Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0

Estimation of Runoff Using SCS-CN Method for Chaka Block, Allahabad District of Uttar Pradesh

83

Figure 1: Location Map of Chaka Block, Allahabad District

Data Acquired
For the study, daily and monthly rainfall was collected from weather Station, College of Forestry, Allahabad
Agricultural Institute- Deemed University for the period of 1994-2011.
SCS Rainfall Runoff Relation
The method was developed in 1954 by the USDA Soil Conservation Service (SCS, 1985). In mathematical form,
SCS uses the empirical relationships
(1)
Where,
F = actual retention (mm), S = potential maximum retention (mm)
Q = accumulated runoff depth (mm), P = accumulated rainfall depth (mm)
Ia = initial abstraction (mm)
(2)
Combining Equations 1 and 2 yields

( P Ia ) 2
P Ia S

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(3)

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84

Ravindra Yaligar, R. K. Isaac, P. S. Kanannavar, Mallappa. J. M & Shashirekha

To eliminate the need to estimate the two variables I a and S in Equation 3 a regression analysis was made on the
basis of recorded rainfall and runoff data from small drainage basins. The data showed a large amount of scatter
(Soil Conservation Service 1972). The following average relationship was found
(4)
Combining Equations 3 and 4 yields

( P 0 .2 S ) 2
( P 0 .8 S )

For

(5)

Equation 5 is the rainfall-runoff relationship used in the CN method.

The potential maximum retention S has been converted to the CN.
This relationship between S and CN is given Eq. 6
(6)

Calculation of CN
Sixty three storm events were selected during 1994 and 2011 for calculation of CN of Chaka block. CN of the
block was derived from the hydrologic conditions of the watershed like characteristics of the soil, vegetation, including
crops and land use. The hydrologic soil group of the Chaka block is taken as C. CN for the block is selected based on the
site information under various conditions. These values are applied to AMC II only i.e. for average condition.
Antecedent Moisture Condition (AMC)
AMC condition of Chaka block has been calculated by taking five days preceding rainfall data of each storm
event. AMC is used as an index of watershed wetness.
Converting Values of CN I and CN III to CN II
For conversion of CNI and CNIII into CNII, a method has been suggested by Chow et al. (1988). In the study,
the same method has been adopted for conversion of CN I and CN III into CN II. The procedure for conversion is given
below-

CNI

4.2CNII
(10 0.058 CNII )

(10)

23CNII
(10 0.13CNII )

(11)

CNIII

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Curve Number (CN)
For calculating CN value of Chaka block, the hydrologic soil group in block was considered as C.
Using information collected about the land use pattern, treatment adopted, cropping pattern, areal extent, AMC condition

Impact Factor (JCC): 4.3594

Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0

Estimation of Runoff Using SCS-CN Method for Chaka Block, Allahabad District of Uttar Pradesh

85

of block, the weighted CN for the entire block was calculated and found to be 78. This CN value was corresponded for
AMC II. CN II value was converted to CN I and CN III based on AMC condition of each storm event and found to be
59.82 and 89.08 respectively for CN I and CN III. The higher the value of CN lesser is the potential maximum retention S
and vice versa for different AMC condition.
Potential Maximum Retention Values (S)
Potential maximum retention values S were estimated, the values varied from 31.14 mm to 170.61 mm, which
also indicates that S values were in minimum for AMC III values. This basically shows that soil is fully saturated and value
of runoff will be more. S value for AMC II is found to be 71.64 mm. For the storm events which belongs to AMC I and
AMC II the S values was much higher than that of AMC III which shows that soil condition is dry thus absorbing
maximum amount of rainfall falling on it will lead to generation of less amount of runoff.
Runoff and Runoff Volume
Direct runoff value Q of each storm event was calculated by SCS-CN equation and the runoff was estimated.
Maximum rainfall and run off depth details of the storm events for the study period during 1994 to 2011 shown in
Table 1. The same depicted in the form of bar graph as shown in Figure 2. From figure it was noted that among the
selected storm events maximum rainfall of 203 mm occurred in Sept. 1, 2000 giving the highest runoff value of 169.89 mm
for the entire Chaka block. Runoff volume of each storm event was also calculated considering the total area of watershed.
It was found that maximum value of runoff volume is 2609.33 ha-m for storm event on Sept. 1, 2000 as shown in
Table 2. These runoff depth and volumes are helpful in design of soil and water conservation structures and watershed
activities in Chaka block of UP.

Figure 2: Estimated Runoff for Chaka Block with Respect to Rainfall

Table 1: Maximum Rainfall and Run Off Depth Details of the Storm
Events for the Study Period during 1994 to 2011
Storm Events
15-Sep-94
30-Jun-95
28-Jun-96
01-Sep-97
06-Jul-98
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Rain Fall (mm)

136
84.6
85.2
75
62.2

Runoff (mm)
76.58
11.53
11.77
7.9
3.97
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Ravindra Yaligar, R. K. Isaac, P. S. Kanannavar, Mallappa. J. M & Shashirekha

16-Aug-99
01-Sep-00
01-Sep-01
22-Aug-02
13-Jul-03
11-Jun-04
22-Aug-05
09-Jul-06
06-Sep-07
07-Jul-08
15-Aug-09
25-Aug-10
15-Aug-11

Table 1: Contd.,
138.4
203
78
83.1
67.2
48.6
73
105
76
166
43.6
92.4
98.8

39.56
169.89
8.98
10.92
22.45
1.13
45.54
20.8
28.53
133.71
0.5
40.71
45.71

Table 2: Maximum Rainfall and Run Off Volume Details of the Storm
Events for the Study Period During 1994 to 2011
Storm Events

Rain Fall (mm)

15-Sep-94
30-Jun-95
28-Jun-96
01-Sep-97
06-Jul-98
16-Aug-99
01-Sep-00
01-Sep-01
22-Aug-02
13-Jul-03
11-Jun-04
22-Aug-05
09-Jul-06
06-Sep-07
07-Jul-08
15-Aug-09
25-Aug-10
15-Aug-11

136
84.6
85.2
75
62.2
138.4
203
78
83.1
67.2
48.6
73
105
76
166
43.6
92.4
98.8

Runoff Volume
(Ha-m)
1176.20
177.02
180.76
121.36
60.95
607.58
2609.33
137.87
167.79
344.82
17.40
699.41
319.52
438.19
2053.71
7.66
625.31
702.02

REFERENCES
1.

Ashagrie A. G, Laat de P. J. M, Wit de M. J. M, Tu M, and Uhlenbrook S. (2006), Detecting the influence of land
use changes on discharges and floods in the Meuse River Basin the predictive power of a ninety-year
rainfall-runoff relation. Journal of Hydrology and earth science systems, 10, 691-701.

2.

Bo Xiao, Qing-Hai wan, Jun Fan, Feng-Peng Fan and Quan-Hou DAI(2011), Application of the SCS-CN Model
to Runoff Estimation in a Small Watershed with High Spatial Heterogeneity, Journal of ELSEVIER.

3.

Booth D. (1991), Urbanization and the natural drainage system impacts, solutions and prognoses. Northwest
Environmental Journal 7: 93-118.

4.

Wei W, Chen L. D, Fu B. J, Huang Z. L, Wu D. P, Gui L. D, (2007), The effect of land uses and rainfall regimes
on runoff and soil erosion in the semi-arid loess hilly area, China. Journal of Hydrology 335, 247258.

Impact Factor (JCC): 4.3594

Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0