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Highway Hydrology Third Edition

Highway Hydrology, Hydraulic Design Series No. 2 (HDS-2), discusses the physical processes of the hydrologic cycle that are important to highway engineers. These processes include the approaches, methods and assumptions applied in design and analysis of highway drainage structures. Hydrologic methods of primary interest are frequency analysis for analyzing rainfall and ungaged data; empirical methods for peak flow estimation; and hydrograph analysis and synthesis. The manual describes the concept and several approaches for determining time of concentration and rainfall-runoff processes. It also provides information on hydrologic data sources and selecting tools for a given application. The peak flow methods discussed include log-Pearson type III, regression equations, and the Rational Method. The technical discussion of each peak flow approach also includes urban development applications. The manual includes development of design hydrographs and design storms. The manual presents common storage and channel routing techniques related to highway drainage hydrologic analyses and includes information on hydrologic modeling, uncertainty, and risk in hydrologic analysis applications. Special topics in hydrology include discussions of wetlands hydrology and mitigation design, snowmelt hydrology, and arid lands hydrology. This 3rd edition includes additional information on hydrologic modeling and evaluation of uncertainty and risk. It also removes several outdated topics including FHWA regression equations, USGS nationwide urban regression equations, the graphical peak flow method, and design storm by triangular hyetograph.

  • FHWA Publication Number: HIF-24-007
  • Publication Year: 2024

 


Other documents in this series:

Updated: 08/20/2024
Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000