A Solution to the Surface Runoff Problem

Surface runoff hydrographs are computed by a relatively simple method consisting of reducing the governing partial differential equations to ordinary differential equations at several nodal points along the flow plane. These equations are then solved for the time derivatives which are used in Taylor's series to approximate the velocity and the depth after an increment in time. Comparison with experimental data shows that runoff hydrographs were reproduced fairly accurately. The numerical solution was shown to be stable and truncation errors negligible.