Context:

For the design of civil works, it is necessary to contemplate the hydrological factor within the studies or designs corresponding to the project. In particular, Colombia has an extensive hydrometeorological network, managed by different entities that provide a complete coverage of the country for the registration and quantification of hydrological phenomena; however, the corresponding information is not processed (for example, Intensity, Duration, and Frequency curves [IDF]). When this information is not available, inaccurate methods are used for its their estimation, or an equation applicable to other nearby regions is used; hence, inaccurate calculations are developed given the meteorological differences between regions.

Method:

In order to give a favorable solution to the problem posed, the research presented in this article develops a practical and precise model that allows to define the equation that relates the IDF variables for any given point within the study area. This investigation considers the department of Boyacá, taking advantage of its geographical and meteorological qualities, which make it the most suitable area to carry out the study. However, what is developed in this publication is applicable and can be repeated for the other regions of the country, as expected, through other projects.

Results:

The isoline method was applied for the regionalization of the IDF curves of the department of Boyacá, due to the precision of the results and its ease of use. It is found that there is a relationship between the parameters that describe an IDF equation and its geospatial location, so it is possible to regionalize IDF curves by using isoline maps (the development is presented in this article). By means of a cross validation test, it was found that the error between a real value conventionally calculated and a value extracted from the regionalization maps is around 10%.

Conclusions:

The effective applicability of the isolines method in the regionalization of IDF curves with a high level of certainty was demonstrated. With the results, the possibility of determining the constants that describe the equation of the IDF relationships for any point of the territory of the department of Boyacá is guaranteed. This method, in addition to guaranteeing good reliability, is distinguished by being quite simple in its application independently to variables other than the geospatial location of the analysis point.