Value of roughness coefficient ni

Channel Type and Description

Minimum

Normal

Maximum

0.009

0.010

0.013

0.010
0.013

0.012
0.016

0.014
0.017

0.010
0.011

0.013
0.014

0.014
0.016

0.012
0.013

0.014
0.016

0.015
0.017

0.017
0.021

0.019
0.024

0.030
0.030

0.008
0.009

0.009
0.010

0.010
0.013

0.010
0.011

0.011
0.013

0.013
0.015

0.010

0.011

0.013

0.011

0.013

0.014

0.011
0.013

0.012
0.015

0.014
0.017

0.012
0.012
0.015

0.013
0.014
0.017

0.014
0.016
0.020

0.010
0.015

0.012
0.017

0.014
0.020

0.011
0.011
0.013

0.013
0.014
0.015

0.017
0.017
0.017

0.014

0.016

0.018

0.011
0.012
0.012

0.013
0.015
0.013

0.015
0.017
0.016

0.016
0.018
0.009
0.010

0.019
0.025

0.020
0.030

A. Closed Conduits owing partly full

A1 Metal
a. Brass, smooth
b. Steel
1. Lockbar and welded
2. Riveted and spiral
c. Cast iron
1. Coated
2. Uncoated
d. Wrought iron
1. Black
2. Galvanized
e. Corrugated metal
1. Subdrain
2. Storm drain
A2 Non-metal
a. Lucite
b. Glass
c. Cement
1. Neat, surface
2. Mortar
d. Concrete
1. Culvert, straight and free of
debris
2. Culvert, with bends,
connections, and some debris
3. Finished
4. Sewer and manholes, inlet, etc,
straight
5. Unnished, steel form
6. Unnished, smooth wood form
7. Unnished, rough wood form
e. Wood
1. Stave
2. Laminated, treated
f. Clay
1. Common drainage tile
2. Vitried sewer
3. Vitried sewer with manholes,
inlet, etc.
4. Vitried subdrain with open
joint
g. Brickwork
1. Glazed
2. Lined with cement mortar
h. Sanitary sewers coated with
sewage slimes with bends and
connections
i. Paved invert, sewer, smooth bottom
j. Rubble masonry, cemented
k.Polyethylene pipe
l. Polyvinyl chloride

Value of roughness coefficient n

Channel Type and Description

Minimum

Normal

Maximum

0.011
0.012
0.021

0.012
0.013
0.025

0.014
0.017
0.030

0.010
0.011

0.011
0.013

0.013
0.015

0.010
0.011
0.011
0.012
0.010

0.012
0.012
0.013
0.015
0.014

0.014
0.014
0.015
0.018
0.017

0.011
0.013
0.015
0.014
0.016
0.018
0.017
0.022

0.013
0.015
0.017
0.017
0.019
0.022
0.020
0.027

0.015
0.016
0.020
0.020
0.023
0.025

0.015
0.017
0.016

0.017
0.020
0.020

0.020
0.024
0.024

0.020
0.020

0.025
0.030

0.030
0.035

0.017
0.020
0.023

0.020
0.023
0.033

0.025
0.026
0.036

0.011
0.012

0.013
0.015

0.015
0.018

0.017
0.023
0.013

0.025
0.032
0.015

0.030
0.035
0.017

0.013
0.016
0.030

0.013
0.016

0.500

B. Lined or Builtup Channels

B1 Metal
a. Smooth steel surface
1. Unpainted
2. Painted
b. Corrugated
B2 Nonmetal
a. Cement
1. Neat, surface
2. Mortar
b. Wood
1. Planed, untreated
2. Planed, creosoted
3. Unplaned
4. Plank with battens
5. Lined with roong paper
c. Concrete
1. Trowel nish
2. Float nish
3. Finished, with gravel on bottom
4. Unnished
5. Gunite, good section
6. Gunite, wavy section
7. On good excavated rock
8. On irregular excavated rock
d. Concrete bottom oat with sides of
1. Dressed stone in mortar
2. Random stone in mortar
3. Cement, rubble masonry,
plastered
4. Cement rubble masonry
5. Dry rubble or riprap
e. Gravel bottom with sides of
1. Formed concrete
2. Random stone in mortar
3. Dry rubble or riprap
f. Brick
1. Glazed
2. In cement mortar
g. Masonry
1. Cemented rubble
2. Dry rubble
h. Dressed ashlar
i. Asphalt
1. Smooth
2. Rough
j. Vegetal cover

Value of roughness coefficient n

Channel Type and Description

Minimum

Normal

Maximum

0.016
0.018
0.022
0.022

0.018
0.022
0.025
0.027

0.020
0.025
0.030
0.033

0.023
0.025
0.030

0.025
0.030
0.035

0.030
0.033
0.040

0.028
0.025
0.030

0.030
0.035
0.040

0.035
0.040
0.050

0.025
0.035

0.028
0.050

0.033
0.060

0.025
0.035

0.035
0.040

0.040
0.050

0.050

0.080

0.120

0.040
0.045
0.080

0.050
0.070
0.100

0.080
0.110
0.140

0.070
0.090

0.045
0.050

0.180
0.300

0.090
0.150

0.014
0.250

0.080
0.130

0.050
0.060

0.035
0.040

0.120
0.200

0.070
0.100

0.100
0.170

0.160
0.090

C. Excavated or Dredged
C1 General
a. Earth, straight and uniform
1. Clean and recently completed
2. Clean, after weathering
3. Gravel, uniform section, clean
4. With short grass, few weeds
b. Earth, winding and sluggish
1. No vegetation
2. Grass, some weeds
3. Dense weeds or aquatic plants
in deep channels
4. Earth bottom and rubble sides
5. Stony bottom and weedy banks
6. Cobble bottom and clean sides
c. Dragline-excavated or dredged
1. No vegetation
2. Light brush on banks
d. Rock cuts
1. Smooth and uniform
2. Jagged and irregular
e. Channels not maintained, weeds
and brush uncut
1. Dense weeds, high as ow
depth
2. Clean bottom, brush on sides
3. Same, highest stage of ow
4. Dense brush, high stage
C2 Channels with maintained vegetation
and velocities of 2 and 6 ft/s
a. Depth of ow up to 0.7 ft
1. Bermuda grass, Kentucky
bluegrass, buffalo grass
Mowed to 2 in
Length 4 to 6 in
2. Good stand, any grass
Length approx. 12 in
Length approx. 24 in
3. Fair stand, any grass
Length approx. 12 in
Length approx. 24 in
b. Depth of ow up to 0.71.5 ft
1. Bermuda grass, Kentucky
bluegrass, buffalo grass
Mowed to 2 in
Length 46 in
2. Good stand, any grass
Length approx. 12 in
3. Length approx. 24 in
Fair stand, any grass
Length approx. 12 in
Length approx. 24 in

Value of roughness coefficient n

Channel Type and Description

Minimum

Normal

Maximum

0.025

0.030

0.033

0.030

0.035

0.040

0.033

0.040

0.045

0.035

0.045

0.050

0.040

0.048

0.055

0.045
0.050

0.050
0.070

0.060
0.080

0.075

0.100

0.150

0.030

0.040

0.050

0.040

0.050

0.070

0.025
0.030

0.030
0.035

0.035
0.050

0.020
0.025
0.030

0.030
0.035
0.040

0.040
0.045
0.050

0.035
0.035
0.040
0.045

0.050
0.050
0.070
0.070

0.070
0.060
0.110
0.110

0.070

0.100

0.160

0.110
0.030

0.150
0.040

0.200
0.050

0.050

0.060

0.080

0.080

0.100

0.120

0.100

0.120

0.160

D. Natural Streams
D1 Minor streams
(top width at ood stage < 100 ft)
a. Streams on plain
1. Clean, straight, full stage no
rifts or deep pools
2. Same as above, but with more
stones and weeds
3. Clean, winding, some pools and
shoals
4. Same as above, but with some
weeds and stones
5. Same as above, lower stages
more ineffective slopes and
sections
6. Same as no. 4, more stones
7. Sluggish reaches, weedy, deep
pools
8. Very weedy, reaches, deep pools
or oodways with heavy stand
of timber and underbrush
b. Mountain streams, no vegetation in
channel, banks usually steep, trees
and brush along banks submerged
at high stages
1. Bottom: gravels, cobbles and
few boulders
2. Bottom: cobbles with large
boulders
D2 Floodplains
a. Pasture, no brush
1. Short grass
2. High grass
b. Cultivated areas
1. No crop
2. Mature row crops
3. Mature eld crops
c. Brush
1. Scattered brush, heavy weeds
2. Light brush and trees in winter
3. Light brush and trees in summer
4. Medium to dense brush in
winter
5. Medium to dense brush in
summer
d. Trees
1. Dense willows, summer, straight
2. Cleared land with tree stumps,
no sprouts
3. Same as above but with a heavy
growth of sprouts
4. Heavy stand of timber, a few
down trees, little undergrowth,
ood stage below branches
5. Same as above, but with ood
stage reaching branches

Value of roughness coefficient n

Channel Type and Description

Minimum

Normal

Maximum

0.025

0.060

0.035

0.100

0.014
0.018
0.020
0.014

0.020
0.030
0.040
0.025

0.010
0.012

0.015
0.020

0.170
0.170
0.200
0.200
0.100
0.300
0.050

0.800
0.480
0.400
0.300
0.200
0.400
0.130

0.090
0.050

0.340
0.250

0.008
0.060
0.060
0.300
0.040
0.070
0.170

0.012
0.220
0.160
0.500
0.100
0.170
0.470

0.100
0.100

0.200
0.150

0.080
0.040
0.020

0.120
0.100
0.050

D3 Major streams
( top width at ood stage > 100 ft )
the n value is less than that for minor
streams of similar description because
banks offer less effective resistance

a. Regular section with no boulders

or brush
b. Irregular and rough section
D4 Alluvial sandbed channels
( no vegetation and data is limited to
sand channels with D50 < 1.0 mm )
a. Tranquil ow, Fr < 1
1. Plane bed
2. Ripples
3. Dunes
4. Washed out dunes or transition
b. Rapid ow, Fr > 1
1. Standing waves
2. Antidunes
E. Overland Flow (Sheetow)
E1 Vegetated areas
a. Dense turf
b. Bermuda and dense grass
c. Average grass cover
d. Poor grass cover on rough surface
e. Short prairie grass
f. Shrubs and forest litter, pasture
g. Sparse vegetation
h. Sparse rangeland with debris
1. 0% cover
2. 20% cover
E2 Plowed or tilled elds
a. Fallowno residue
b. Conventional tillage
c. Chisel plow
d. Fall disking
e. No tillno residue
f. No till (2040% residue cover)
g. No till (100% residue cover)
E3 Other surfaces
a. Open ground with debris
b. Shallow ow on asphalt or
concrete
c. Fallow elds
d. Open ground, no debris
f. Asphalt or concrete

Source: From Chow (1959), Richardson et al. (1987), Simons, Li, & Associates (SLA), 1982, and others.