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<br />107.4 percent based on the 50-year recurrence <br />interval information determined for the gaged <br />site upstream of this ungaged site. <br /> <br />SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS <br /> <br />Drainage-basin and channel-geometry <br />equations are presented in this report for <br />estimating design-flood discharges having <br />recurrence intervals of 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 <br />years at stream sites on rural, unregulated <br />streams in Iowa. The equations were developed <br />using ordinary least-squares and weighted <br />least-squares multiple-regression techniques. <br />Statewide equations were developed for the <br />dratnage-basin flood-estimation method and <br />statewide and regional equations were <br />developed for the channel-geometry flood- <br />estimation method. The drainage-basin <br />equations are applicable to stream sites with <br />drainage areas less than 1,060 mi2, and the <br />channel-geometry equations are applicable to <br />stabilized stream channels in Iowa. <br /> <br />Flood-frequency curves were developed for <br />188 continuous-record and crest-stage gaging <br />stations on unregulated rural streams in Iowa. <br />Pearson Type-III estimates of design-flood <br />discharges are reported for these gaging <br />stations. <br /> <br />Regression analyses of Pearson Type-III <br />design-flood discharges and selected drainage- <br />basin characteristics, quantified using a <br />geographic-information-system (GIS) proce- <br />dure, were used to develop the statewide <br />drainage-basin flood-estimation equations. The <br />significant characteristics identified for the <br />drainage-basin equations included contributing <br />drainage area; relative relief; drainage <br />frequency; and 2-year, 24-hour precipitation <br />intensity. The regression coefficients for these <br />equations indicated an increase in design-flood <br />discharges with increasing magnitude in the <br />values of each drainage-basin characteristic. <br />The average standard errors of prediction for <br />the drainage-basin equations ranged from 38.6 <br />to 50.2 percent. <br /> <br />Techniques on how to make manual <br />measurements from topographic maps for the <br />primary drainage-basin characteristics used in <br />the regression equations are presented along <br />with examples. Several of the primary <br /> <br />drainage-basin characteristics used in the <br />regression equations are map-scale dependent. <br />Use of maps of scales other than the scales used <br />to develop the equations may produce results <br />that do not conform to the range of estimation <br />accuracies listed for the equations. <br /> <br />Regression analyses of Pearson Type-III <br />design-flood discharges and selected <br />channel-geometry characteristics were used to <br />develop both statewide and regional channel- <br />geometry equations. On the basis of a <br />geographic bias identified from the statewide <br />regression residuals, two channel-geometry <br />hydrologic regions were defined for Iowa <br />relative to the Des Moines Lobe landform <br />region. The significant channel-geometry <br />characteristics identified for the statewide and <br />regional regression equations included bankfull <br />width and bankfull depth for natural channels <br />unaffected by channelization, and active- <br />channel width for stabilized channels affected <br />by channelization. The regression coefficients <br />for the statewide and regional channel- <br />geometry equations indicated an increase in <br />design-flood discharges with increasing <br />magnitude in the values of each channel- <br />geometry characteristic. The average standard <br />errors of prediction for the statewide regression <br />equations ranged from 41.0 to 68.4 percent and <br />for the regional regression equations from 30.3 <br />to 70.0 percent. The regional channel-geometry <br />regression equations provided an improved <br />estimation accuracy compared to the statewide <br />regression equations, with the exception of the <br />Region II active-channel regression equations <br />developed for design floods having recurrence <br />intervals of 25, 50, and 100 years. Guidelines for <br />measuring the channel-geometry character- <br />istics used in the statewide and regional <br />regression equations are presented along with <br />examples. <br /> <br />Procedures for applying the drainage-basin <br />and channel-geometry regression equations <br />vary and depend on whether the design-flood <br />discharge estimate is for a site on an ungaged <br />stream, an ungaged site on a gaged stream, or a <br />gaged site. When both a drainage-basin and a <br />channel-geometry regression-equation estimate <br />are available for a stream site, a procedure is <br />presented for determining a weighted average of <br />the two flood estimates. The procedure for <br />estimating a design-flood discharge for an <br /> <br />SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 41 <br />