Flow Duration Curves Ii: A Review of Applications in Water Resources Planning1

ABSTRACT: A streamflow duration curve illustrates the relationship between the frequency and magnitude of streamflow. Flow duration curves have a long history in the field of water‐resource engineering and have been used to solve problems in water‐quality management, hydropower, instream flow methodologies, water‐use planning, flood control, and river and reservoir sedimentation, and for scientific comparisons of streamflow characteristics across watersheds. This paper reviews traditional applications and provides extensions to some new applications, including water allocation, wasteload allocation, river and wetland inundation mapping, and the economic selection of a water‐resource project.