UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING
FOURTH YEAR SEMESTER 1 2022/2023
FCE 425: HYDROLOGY
COURSEWORK: TUTORIAL 1
DATE: 4TH NOVEMBER 2022
TIME: 14.00 P.M. – 16.00 P.M.
ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS.
Submit the work on 7th November 2022 before 4.00 P.M.
1. Four raingauges located within a rectangular area with four corners at (0,0), (0,13),
(14,13), and (14,0) have the following coordinates and recorded rainfalls:
Raingauge Coordinate Rainfall (mm) Sub-area gage (km2)
1 (2,9) 14.75 101.1
2 (7,11) 19.75 80.81
2 (12,10) 23.5 109.55
2 (6,2) 42.25 180.00
i. Draw the Thiessen polygon for the problem.
ii. Compute the average rainfall over the area by the Thiessen method, and
compare with the arithmetic mean
2. The relationship between the crop coefficient kc and the stage of crop growth, for
average conditions in Kipipiri are shown in the table below. The crop coefficients for
Page | 1
corn are k1=0.38, k2=1.0 and k3=0.55; t1= April 1, t2= June 1, t3= JuIy 1, t4=September
1, and t5 = October 1.
Month Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct
Etr 4.14 5.45 5.82 6.60 5.94 4.05 2.34
mm/day)
kc 0.38 0.38 0.69 1.00 1.00 0.78 0.55
Et 1.57 2.07 4.02 6.60 5.94 3.16 1.29
(mm/day)
i. Draw a graph showing the relationship between the crop coefficient kc and the
stage of crop growth using the data above.
ii. Calculate the actual evapotranspiration from this crop assuming a well-watered
soil.
3. The following are the rain gage observations during a storm.
Time since commencement Accumulated rainfall
of storm (min.) depth (cm)
5 0.1
10 0.2
15 0.8
20 1.5
25 1.8
30 2.0
35 2.5
40 2.7
45 2.9
50 3.1
i. Construct the mass curve of rainfall, and the rainfall hyetograph for this storm.
ii. What are the maximum rainfall depths (cm) during 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and
35-min. durations?
Page | 2
4. The normal annual rainfall at stations A, B, C, and D in a basin are 80.97, 67.59,
76.28 and 92.01 cm respectively. In the year 1999, the station D was inoperative, and
the stations A, B and C recorded annual precipitations of 91.11, 72.23 and 79.89 cm
respectively. Estimate the rainfall at station D in that year.
5. Annual rainfall data for station M as well as the average annual rainfall values for a
group of eight neighbouring stations located in a meteorologically homogeneous
region are given below.
i. In what year is the change in records of station M pointed out?
ii. Adjust the records and calculate the new mean annual precipitation of station M.
6. The following rainfall data were recorded at gauge station 7 in Makueni County for the
storm of May 24-25, 1994.
Time 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
(min)
Rainfall - 1.75 5.0 6.25 5.5 5.25 2.5 3.0 0.75
(mm)
i. Plot the rainfall hyetograph.
ii. Compute and plot the cumulative rainfall hyetograph.
iii. Calculate the maximum depth and intensity recorded in 10, 20, and 30 minutes for
this storm.
Page | 3
