SCS-CN Method. Part I: Derivation of SCS-CN-Based Models

Abstract

This part of the paper, in a sequence of two, provides an analytical treatment of the Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) method including its derivation from a) early rainfall-runoff methods, such as the Mockus and Zoch methods, using the Horton method and b) first (linear)- and second (non-linear)-order hypotheses. After a critical review of the available analytical derivations, SCS-CN based models are proposed for depression, interception storage, and initial abstraction, which form parts of the SCS-CN method. The performance of the existing and modified versions of the SCS-CN method is evaluated using field data.