Determination of equilibrium detention storage for a series of planes

Abstract

The detention storage in a drainage basin under the equilibrium condition is an important parameter in rainfall-runoff modelling. As this parameter is an efficient measure of the basin response to rainfall, it is commonly used as a basis of approximation of a complex basin by a simpler one. For flows on an overland plane, the equilibrium storage has also been used as a basis of determining the resistance coefficient of the overland surface. A formula is derived, based on the kinematic wave theory, for the equilibrium detention storage for a series of planes. For practical applications, the formula is further developed in terms of the Manning resistance coefficient. The derived formulae are all consistent with the published formulae for a single plane.