Hydrological Modeling of West Banas River Basin using Soil and Water Assessment Tool SWAT

Abstract

The effect of land cover change and forest management activities on hydrological processes has been widely used for hydrological models. The hydrological model, particularly in small watersheds, has rarely been used. In the creation of a sustainable environment, a river basin is called a unitary land unit. The modelling of river basins has therefore become the requirement of the hour. Increasing population pressure, rapid urbanization and climate change, combined with insufficient land and water resource management, are altering the natural hydrological processes in the river basin, making it important to use an efficient and adequate modelling system. The SWAT (Soil Water and Assessment Tool) model was used in this study to estimate monthly runoff in the West Banas River Basin, which covers an area of 2152 sq km in the Sirohi district of the southwestern part of Rajasthan, India. The ArcGIS interface for the SWAT model, ArcSWAT allows inputs including the Digital Elevation Model (DEM), land use maps, and soil maps for the extraction and zoning of the river basin to be used by the Geographical Information System (GIS). SWAT model tests its feasibility by reasonably calibrating and validating the different parameters, the individual sensitivities of which have been established. The collection of meteorological data for twenty years from 1999 to 2018, was obtained from SWAT TAMU database for six stations in and around the river basin.The SRTM 90 m digital elevation model (DEM) of the study area has been downloaded from USGS Earth Explorer. Contd..... newline