RUNOFF WATER HARVESTING OPTIMIZATION USING RS, GIS AND WATERSHED MODELING IN WADI EL-ASSIUTI, EASTERN DESERT, EGYPT

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Water Resources, National Authority for Remote Sensing & Space Sciences (NARSS), Egypt.

2 Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

3 Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.

Abstract

Water in dry areas is a critical resource needed for developmental activities. Runoff water harvesting (RWH) will have its own bearing in combating water scarcity in the study area. The present work introduces a detailed hydro-morphometric analysis for El-Assiuti watershed in the northeastern desert to highlight the potentiality areas for the RWH. Hydro-morphometric parameters were delineated by analyzing ASTER DEM 30m and Landsat OLI+8 images. Eight thematic layers, i.e., basin area, basin slope, basin length, drainage density, maximum flow distance, length of overland flow, basin infiltration number, and volume of annual flood (calculated by SCS-CN method), were used to construct a multi-parametric weighted spatial probability model (WSPM). These thematic parameters, which include the linear, aerial, and relief aspects, were determined for the nine sub-watersheds of Wadi El-Assiuti. The WSPM was run two times for two scenarios: (1) equal weights are assigned for criteria and (2) weights are assigned according to the sensitivity analysis. The resulted RWH potentiality map classified El-Assiuti watershed into five classes ranging from very low to very high. Depending on the justified weights of thematic layers of scenario II, the very high RWH potentiality class is occupied by small parts in the northeastern and southeastern sides of the wadi with spatial distribution about 4 % relative to the total area of the wadi, while the high class is occupied by small zones in the northeastern, northwestern, and southeastern parts of the wadi with spatial distribution about 8 % relative to the total area of the wadi. Accordingly, the justified scenario II could be considered as a product of high reliability for determining the RWH potentiality, where it also coincides with the local inhabitants’ experiences and needs.

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