Progress report on study of magnitude and frequency of floods on small drainage areas in Florida

Long-term flood records for small basins, especially those basins of less than 10 square miles, are almost nonexistent in Florida. In July 1967 a program was begun to develop a data base to extend short-term flood-peak records for small basins by use of the U.S. Geological Survey rainfall/runoff model. Concurrent rainfall and runoff data, for a 5- to 7-year period, were used to calibrate a model for eight rainfall/runoff gaging stations. The standard error of estimate ranged from 25 to 50 percent. Twenty other rainfall/runoff stations are ready for calibration. The Caney Creek station was calibrated, and the annual peaks simulated for 1902-68 were used as input to develop a flood-frequency curve using a log-Pearson Type III distribution. (Woodard-USGS)