Estimating the runoff coefficient using the analytic hierarchy process

Abstract

The runoff coefficient (RC) is a parameter that is very often used in surface hydrology in order to characterize the drainage capacity of a watershed. The traditional estimate of this coefficient is often made from abacuses based on 2 or 3 parameters to the maximum. In this work, three numerical models are presented. Two models are based on experimental work. The first one is based on three criteria, namely the vegetation cover, the type of soil, and the slope. The second one considers the size of the watershed, the maximum daily rainfall and the type of soil. In practice, it is not easy to estimate the coefficient of runoff by simultaneously considering the influence of several criteria. In order to overcome this problem, a third model is developed and presented; it allows capitalizing the information from the first two models mentioned above. The objective of the present work is to be able to verify the comparability of these criteria and to assess the relative importance of each of them.