Which hydrological model is primarily used for flood routing?

The Muskingum method is primarily used for flood routing due to its effectiveness in simulating the temporal and spatial distribution of flood waves as they move through river systems. This method employs a flow-routing technique based on the storage mechanism in a river channel, allowing for the calculation of outflow hydrographs from given inflow hydrographs.

In flood routing, particularly in river systems, it’s vital to understand how the flow changes over time and space as water moves downstream. The Muskingum method incorporates both the effects of river storage and the time it takes for water to travel downstream, making it highly suitable for predicting flood impacts and managing flow in rivers, especially during storm events.

While other methods mentioned may be utilized in hydrological studies, they do not focus specifically on routing floodwaters in the same way. The SCS method is generally used for estimating runoff rather than routing flows. The Green-Ampt method is typically applied to unsaturated flow situations, particularly in soil water infiltration assessments. The unit hydrograph method is beneficial for deriving direct runoff hydrographs but does not provide a detailed routing mechanism for flood waves. Therefore, the Muskingum method is the most appropriate choice for flood routing scenarios.