Runoff Coefficients for the Rational Method
| ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Type of Drainage Area
|
Coefficient
| |||
Commercial
| ||||
Downtown (also shopping centers)
|
0.70 to 0.95
| |||
Neighborhood (also mixed residential and commercial)
|
0.50 to 0.70
| |||
Residential
| ||||
Urban
| ||||
Single-family
|
0.30 to 0.50
| |||
Multi units
|
0.40 to 0.80
| |||
Suburban, single-family
|
0.25 to 0.40
| |||
Garden apartments
|
0.50 to 0.70
| |||
Playgrounds
|
0.20 to 0.70
| |||
Industrial
|
0.50 to 0.90
| |||
Railroad yards
|
0.20 to 0.35
| |||
Parks, cemeteries, golf courses
|
0.15 to 0.30
| |||
Unimproved, with vegetation
|
0.10 to 0.30
|
Character of Surface
|
Coefficient
| ||
---|---|---|---|
Pavement
| |||
Concrete or bituminous concrete
|
0.75 to 0.95
| ||
Surface treated roadway
|
0.65 to 0.80
| ||
Gravel, earth, other
|
0.75 to 0.95
| ||
Roofs
|
0.75 to 0.95
| ||
Lawns, sandy soil
| |||
Flat, 2% or less
|
0.05 to 0.10
| ||
Average, 2% to 7%
|
0.10 to 0.15
| ||
Steep, 7% or more
|
0.15 to 0.20
| ||
Lawns, heavy soil
| |||
Flat, 2% or less
|
0.13 to 0.17
| ||
Average, 2% to 7%
|
0.18 to 0.22
| ||
Steep, 7% or more
|
0.25 to 0.35
| ||
Woods, heavy brush
| |||
Gravel
|
0.15 to 0.35
| ||
Sandy soil
|
0.15 to 0.30
| ||
Clay soil
|
0.25 to 0.60
| ||
Bare, cultivated or light growth
| |||
Gravel
|
0.20 to 0.40
| ||
Sandy soil
|
0.15 to 0.30
| ||
Clay soil
|
0.35 to 0.75
|
NOTE: Lower portions of ranges apply to flat slopes
and open soils; higher portions apply to steeper slopes and tight
or shallow soils.
|
Frequency of Storm
(years)
| |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Time Concentration
(minutes)
|
5
|
10
|
25
|
100
| |
5
|
5.9
|
6.5
|
7.4
|
9.0
| |
10
|
4.8
|
5.4
|
6.0
|
7.4
| |
15
|
4.0
|
4.6
|
5.2
|
6.4
| |
20
|
3.6
|
4.0
|
4.5
|
5.6
| |
25
|
3.1
|
3.6
|
4.0
|
5.0
| |
30
|
2.8
|
3.2
|
3.6
|
4.5
| |
35
|
2.5
|
2.9
|
3.3
|
4.1
| |
40
|
2.3
|
2.6
|
3.0
|
3.8
| |
45
|
2.1
|
2.4
|
2.8
|
3.5
| |
50
|
2.0
|
2.2
|
2.6
|
3.3
| |
55
|
1.8
|
2.1
|
2.5
|
3.1
| |
60
|
1.7
|
2.0
|
2.4
|
2.9
|
NOTES:
| |
---|---|
The example shown involves a two-hundred-foot flow length over
an average grass surface with a slope of 4%. The time concentration
is found to be 15 minutes.
| |
SOURCE: Elywn e. Seeley, Data Book for Civil Engineers,
Volume One: Design, 3rd Edition, (New York, John Wiley and Sons Inc.,
1960)
|
v
|
=
|
velocity in feet per second
| |
n
|
=
|
coefficient of roughness
| |
a
|
=
|
cross-sectional area of flow in square feet
| |
p
|
=
|
wetter perimeter, the length of the line of contact between
the water and the bottom and sides of the channel of pipe around the
cross section in feet
| |
s
|
=
|
slope of the channel or pipe in feet per foot
| |
q
|
=
|
capacity of the channel or pipe in cubic feet per second
|
0.015 for concrete pipes and paved channels
| |
0.021 for corrugated metal pipes
| |
0.035 for earth ditches
| |
0.040 for vegetated channels.
|
Material
|
Maximum Velocity
(feet per second)
| ||
---|---|---|---|
Well-established grass on good soil
| |||
Short pliant bladed grass
|
4 to 5
| ||
Bunch grass — soil exposed
|
2 to 4
| ||
Stiff stemmed grass
|
2 to 3
| ||
Earth without vegetation
| |||
Fine sand or silt
|
1 to 2
| ||
Ordinary firm loam
|
2 to 3
| ||
Stiff clay
|
3 to 5
| ||
Clay and gravel
|
4 to 5
| ||
Course gravel
|
4 to 5
| ||
Soft shale
|
5 to 6
| ||
Other
| |||
Bituminous or cement stabilized channels
|
6
| ||
Paved channels
|
10 to 15
|