Estimating flood peaks from small rural catchments in Switzerland

Abstract

Commonly-used methods to estimate floods in Swiss basins are still in a form proposed by their authors decades ago. Recent investigations aimed at understanding hydrological systems, together with the availability of more extended data series, lead to the suggestion that currently-used methodologies to estimate design floods are inadequate. Based on fundamental hydrological research and analysis of data, estimation procedures should be updated. This paper gives an outline on a new physically based formula to predict runoff rates caused by storm rainfall. The proposed method was calibrated against the discharge data from about 170 Swiss gauging stations in rural catchments each with an area up to 100 km2. © 1987 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.