Estimation of natural stream-water flow rates in semi-arid climate with the rough model method

The present research paper attempts to apply a new method for the calculation of flow rates which is the rough model method (RMM). The latter is applied for the first time to natural watercourses in the Mediterranean and semi-arid area. The rationale of the research stems from the need to reduce hydrometric stations costs and to increase the frequency of flows measurements, especially in case of strong floods. This calls for the development of effective methods for the estimation of the flow rates of the natural streams of water. On this basis, five hydrometric stations are used for the purpose of data collection. The RMM is based on the absolute roughness, which is an easily measurable parameter. Firstly, a rough reference model is used to establish the relationships between the hydraulic characteristics. Then, these relationships are used to easily deduce volume flow rates for the studied natural stream water by introducing a dimensionless correction factor. The results show an excellent estimation of the flow rate values for all the stations; it is worth noting that the maximum relative deviation is less than 20%.