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Velocity and time of concentration of a basin - A renewed approach applied in the Rio Grande Basin, Ecuador

Abstract:

After a review of the existing formulas for the time of concentration of a basin, it has been established that there is no unique formula that may be applied to a wide range of basins with different geomorphological parameters. So far, the results obtained according to the equations of different authors are completely different and in some cases even inapplicable. Therefore, a new practical formula has been obtained based to the theoretical analysis of the Chezy equation in order to determine the velocity of a flow at a control point, using the single empirical coefficient k. With this formula, the average runoff velocity is reached, which, in turn, allows the calculation of the concentration time of a basin. The proposed equation has been compared with the results obtained by other authors, with values which are acceptable for their application in studies and projects at the pre-design level, for example, with the field data obtained by López (2005) compared with the results of the proposed equation, we received an r2 = 0.99. The given formula has been applied in a variety of river basins across the world and the resulting values have been compared with the existing ones. Lastly, the new formula has been applied to the Rio Grande Basin in western Ecuador.