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Improving Time of Concentration Estimates for Small Rural Watersheds in the Appalachian Plateaus Physiographic Province, West Virginia Active

By Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center June 13, 2017

Many culverts and other drainage structures in rural West Virginia are located in small streams or valleys draining 100 acres or less. Design of these structures in West Virginia is generally done using discharge estimates made with widely used and well accepted methods. However, these methods require information including flow-segment length and channel geometry that are poorly characterized for very small watersheds in West Virginia. This project will allow the West Virginia Department of Transportation – Division of Highways (WVDOH) to better characterize local conditions for small, rural, predominantly forested watersheds, and verify and improve peak-flow estimates made for streams draining such watersheds.

  • Overview

    Many culverts and other drainage structures in rural West Virginia are located in small streams or valleys draining 100 acres or less. Design of these structures in West Virginia is generally done using discharge estimates made with widely used and well accepted methods. However, these methods require information including flow-segment length and channel geometry that are poorly characterized for very small watersheds in West Virginia. This project will allow the West Virginia Department of Transportation – Division of Highways (WVDOH) to better characterize local conditions for small, rural, predominantly forested watersheds, and verify and improve peak-flow estimates made for streams draining such watersheds.