E3 Journal of Environmental Research and Management

E3 Journal of Environmental Research and Management Vol. 5 (5) pp. 087-091, May 2014; © E3 Journals; ISSN 2141-7466

Hydrological modeling of a catchment using SWAT model in the upper blue Nile Basin of Ethiopia

Abstract

Sustaining upland agriculture and food security has been very much constrained by continuing land degradation brought by soil erosion due to lack of effective rainwater management strategies. Hydrological models are essential to understand the hydrological response of a catchment. The current paper focuses on hydrological modeling of catchment with SWAT model using its two versions, SWAT-CN and SWAT-WB. In addition, the impact of existing land and water management practices on runoff yield and the applicability of the model for the region were also addressed. The model was applied on two watersheds, Mizewa (27 km2) and Gumara (1278 km2) that are located in the upper Blue Nile basin of Ethiopia in Fogera district. The results indicated that the model performance was in acceptable range and there are no many changes to predict the flow by the two versions of SWAT model. HRU analysis indicated that agricultural land were the most runoff generating areas. Soil evaporation compensation factor and curve number are the two most sensitive parameters indicating effective rainwater management interventions has a great impact in reducing soil erosion and land degradation.

Keywords: SWAT-CN; SWAT-WB; HRU; Mizewa catchment; Gumara catchment; Blue Nile Basin; Ethiopia