Simulation of surface runoff for upper Tapi subcatchment area (Burhanpur Watershed) using SWAT

Abstract

Water related activity that takes place in one part of a river basin may have consequence in the other part. Any plan related to inter basin transfer of water from a water surplus basin to a deficit basin has to take into account the water availability and demands under the present and future scenarios of water use. Watershed is a hydrologic unit where all stream exit from the common outlet. In the present study, Tapi subcatchment area (Burhanpur watershed) located in inter-state basin of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, India, is selected for the estimation of surface runoff using SWAT model. The SWAT works in conjunction with Arc GIS 9.3. Various parameters Digital Elevation Model (DEM), slope derived from DEM, Landuse/Landcover (LULC) and NBSSLUP soil data and temporal data for temperature and precipitation was used as input for the model to predict runoff at the catchment outlet. The model was run from the year 1992 to 1997. The performance of the model in terms of simulated runoff was evaluated using statistical method and compared simulated monthly flow with the observed monthly flow values from 1992 to 1996 to a significant extent. The coefficient of determination (R2) for the monthly runoff values for 1992 to 1996 was observed to be 0.82, 0.68, 0.92, 0.69.