Technique for Estimating Magnitude and Frequency of Peak Flows in Maryland
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TECHNIQUEFORESTIMATINGMAGNITUDEAND FREQUENCYOFPEAKFLOWSINMARYLAND U.S.GEOLOGICALSURVEY Water-ResourcesInvestigationsReport95-4154 Preparedincooperationwiththe MARYLANDSTATEHIGHWAYADMINISTRATION CONVERSION FACTORS, VERTICAL DATUM, AND ABBREVIATIONS _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Multiply By To obtain _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ foot (ft) 0.3048 meter mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer square mile (mi2) 2.590 square kilometer cubic foot per second (ft3/s) 0.02832 cubic meter per second cubic foot per second per square mile [(ft3/s)/mi2] 0.01093 cubic meter per second per square kilometer _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Sea level: In this report, "sea level" refers to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929--a geodetic datum derived from a general adjustment of the first-order level nets of the United States and Canada, formerly called Sea Level Datum of 1929. TECHNIQUE FOR ESTIMATING MAGNITUDE AND FREQUENCY OF PEAK FLOWS IN MARYLAND By Jonathan J. A. Dillow _____________________________________________________________________________________________ U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Water-Resources Investigations Report 95-4154 Prepared in cooperation with the MARYLAND STATE HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION Towson, Maryland 1996 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BRUCE BABBITT, Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Gordon P. Eaton, Director _____________________________________________________________________________________________ For additional information write to: Copies of this report can be purchased from: U.S. Geological Survey District Chief Earth Science Information Center U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Reports Section 208 Carroll Building Box 25286, MS 517 8600 La Salle Road Denver Federal Center Towson, MD 21286 Denver, CO 80225 CONTENTS Abstract...............................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................2 Background...........................................................................................................................................2 Purpose and scope.................................................................................................................................2 Description of study area ......................................................................................................................2 Physiographic setting ..............................................................................................................3 Geologic setting ......................................................................................................................4 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................5 Data collection and analysis ...............................................................................................................................5 Criteria for station selection..................................................................................................................5 Station flood-frequency analysis ..........................................................................................................8 Explanatory variable identification.......................................................................................................9 Methods for estimating magnitude and frequency of floods............................................................................12 Magnitude estimation method for ungaged streams...........................................................................13 Demonstration of the estimation method for ungaged streams.............................................13 Sensitivity analysis of explanatory variables ........................................................................13 Accuracy and limitations ......................................................................................................15 Magnitude estimation method for gaged streams...............................................................................16 Estimation method for a site at a gaged location ..................................................................16 Estimation method for a site near a gaged location ..............................................................19 Estimation method for a site between gaged locations.........................................................19 Summary and conclusions................................................................................................................................21 Selected references ...........................................................................................................................................22 Glossary ............................................................................................................................................................23 Appendix. .........................................................................................................................................................37 Analysis of the streamflow-gaging-station network...........................................................................38 FIGURES 0 1-3. Maps showing: 1. Study area and physiographic provinces in Maryland ...............................................................3 2. Location of streamflow-gaging stations and hydrologic study regions in Maryland and surrounding States. ........................................................................................6 3. Distribution of underlying limestone/dolomite in the Blue Ridge and Great Valley region in Maryland and surrounding States. .................................................11 04-04. Graph showing relation of observed to estimated 100-year peak discharges for the Appalachian Plateaus and Allegheny Ridges hydrologic region in Maryland and surrounding States........................................................................................................................16 Technique for estimating magnitude and frequency of peak flows in Maryland iii FIGURES--Continued 5a-5e. Graphs showing relation of maximum known unit discharge to drainage area for hydrologic regions: (a) Appalachian Plateaus and Allegheny Ridges, (b) Blue Ridge and Great Valley, (c) Piedmont, (d) Western Coastal Plain, and (e) Eastern Coastal Plain in Maryland and surrounding States...................................................17 05-06. Graph showing flood magnitudes and frequencies for the Potomac River. ......................................20 06-77. Map showing location of potential gaging station sites in Maryland................................................40 TABLES 01. Number of streamflow-gaging stations by hydrologic study region in Maryland and surrounding States ..................................................................................................8 02. Summary of drainage area, number of streamflow-gaging stations, and average years of record used in regression analyses for Maryland. .....................................................................8 03. Summary of statistics for variables associated with gaged basins in Maryland in regression analyses for hydrologic study regions in Maryland ...................................................10 04. Runoff-curve numbers defined by land use and hydrologic soil type................................................10 05. Standard errors of estimate and standards errors of prediction for estimation equations, by hydrologic study region in Maryland ....................................................................15 06. Equivalent years of record for estimation equations, by hydrologic study region in Maryland ..................................................................................................................................16 07. Basin characteristics and observed flood-frequency characteristics for selected drainage basins in Maryland and surrounding States ..................................................................24 8. Basin characteristics for potential gaging-station sites in Maryland. .................................................42 09. Maximum discharges at selected streamflow-gaging stations. ..........................................................43 iv Technique for estimating magnitude and frequency of peak flows in Maryland TECHNIQUE FOR ESTIMATING MAGNITUDE AND FREQUENCY OF PEAK FLOWS IN MARYLAND By Jonathan J.A. Dillow ABSTRACT A convenient and reliable technique for estimating flood magnitudes is required for effective flood-plain management and for the efficient design of bridges, culverts, embankments, and flood-protection structures. Methods are presented for estimating peak-flow magnitudes of selected frequencies, ranging from 2 to 500 years, for all nontidal drainage basins in Maryland. The methods were developed by generalized least-squares regression techniques using data from 219 gaged basins in and near Maryland. The State is divided into five hydrologic regions: the Appalachian