Application of GIS for Watershed Prioritization and Management: A Case Study

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1 International Journal of Environmental Science Development & Monitoring Volume 2, Number 1 (2011), pp Research India Publications Application of GIS for Watershed Prioritization and Management: A Case Study Ashish Pandey 1*, S. Behra 2, R.P. Pandey 3 and R.P. Singh 1 1* Corresponding Author, 2 Ex-graduate Student, Department of Water Resources Development and Management, IIT Roorkee, Roorkee , Uttarakhand, India 3 National Institute of Hydrology Roorkee , Uttarakhand, India 3 Water Resources Development and Management, IIT Roorkee, Roorkee , Uttarakhand, India ashish_nerist@yahoo.co.in, ashisfwt@iitr.ernet.in Abstract The present investigation is an effort to prioritize the subwatersheds of the Ret watershed using morphometric parameter to identify the suitable sites for soil and water conservation measures. The Ret watershed was delineated into 26 subwatershed and morphometric parameters namely bifurcation ratio, form factor, circularity ratio, elongation ratio, drainage density, stream frequency, drainage texture were derived independently for each of the subwatersheds. Based on the Morphometric parameters watershed prioritization was carried out and water resource management plan were derived by integrating land use/cover, soil and slope information with morphological parameter. The highest value of bifurcation ratio, drainage density, stream frequency, drainage texture among 26 subwatersheds was assigned a rating of 1, the next highest values was given rating of 2, and so on. For the shape parameters i.e. form factor, circularity ratio, elongation ratio, the lowest value was given a rating of 1, the next lowest value was given a rating of 2, and so on. Integration of the above seven parameters was done using simple summation of ratings. Based on the average value of these parameters, the subwatershed having the least rating value was assigned the highest priority number of 1, the next highest value was assigned a priority number 2, and so on. Based on the average value of these parameters, the subwatershed having the least rating value was assigned the highest priority and vice versa. The subwatersheds were classified into the five scales of priority, namely: very high, high, medium, low and very low. Among the identified subwatersheds in the Ret watershed,

2 26 Ashish Pandey, S. Behra, R.P. Pandey and R.P. Singh six subwatersheds covering an area of 66.5 km 2 falls under very high category. The count of subwatersheds which fall under high, medium, low and very low priority class are five each and covering an area of 61.7, 58.27, and km 2 respectively. Based on the morphometric parameter, stream order, slope category, land use/land cover, soil type of the subwatersheds, suitable sites for check dams were identified and marked in the map for very high, high, medium, low and very low priority areas of the Ret watershed. In view of the requirement of soil and water conservation measures, it has been proposed to construct 11 numbers of check dams in subwatershed numbers 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 22, and 24. Keywords: Morphometric parameters, prioritization, watershed, GIS, remote sensing Introduction Water resources development and its availability is one of the crucial factors for sustainable development of nation. Though, water is omnipresent and abundant since oceans cover 70 percent surface of the earth, but usable fresh water available on land is just about 2.7 percent. In essence merely 1 percent of water on earth is available in usable form. The population explosion has also increased the demand of water resources for various purposes. Both natural resources and the socio-economic situation are integral parts of any watershed and should be given equal attention. Soil and water conservation measures on watershed basis can play an important role in formulating a long term comprehensive land and water management strategies. Therefore, development of water resource is essential for sustainable development of nation. Remote sensing technology deals the requirements of reliability and speed, and is an ideal tool for generating spatial information which is pre-requisite for planned and balanced development at watershed level (Ravindran et al., 1992). The Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology provides suitable alternatives for efficient management of large databases. Integration of Remote sensing data and GIS technologies has proved to be an efficient tool for water resources development and management projects as well as for watershed characterization and prioritization (Chalam et al. 1996; Chaudhary and Sharma 1998; Kumar et al. 2001; Ali and Singh, 2002; Singh et al., 2003, Pandey et al., 2009, Pandey et al., 2010). An appropriate technology developed for particular regions cannot be used as such for other areas for physiographic, environmental, technical and socio-economic reasons. The water resources development technologies are not based on annual rainfall only, but terrain, soil type, drainage, land use/ land cover and there variability in space and time too plays an important role in determining the suitable sites for water conservation. Thus, it is generally accepted that sustainable land and water management must be approached with the application of advanced technologies (remote sensing and GIS) and watershed as the basic management unit.

3 Application of GIS for Watershed Prioritization and Management 27 The Ret watershed is a part of the Mahanadi river system and it is situated in the Kalahandi district, Orissa, India. The annual average rainfall of the study area is mm and 80% of the rainfall occurs during monsoon season. Due to undulating topography much of the naturally incoming water flows out quickly as runoff and results in poor recharge of underground water reserves. The Kalahandi district is a drought prone area and very much prone to soil erosion. Paddy is the predominant Kharif crop in the study area. A dry spell of even one week can cause moisture stress to the crop in up-reaches. Generally, cessation of monsoon rain starts during last week of September to first week of October and growing stage of paddy crop often suffers due to moisture stress. The farmers are lacking interest in farming due to poor returns from cultivated land. Therefore, this area requires attention for sustainable development of water resources to provide assured irrigation facilities in the region by constructing water conservation structure like check dams to ensure crop success in Kharif season. It requires possible attempts to store rain water in fields through the provision of bunds and check dams, and in water storage reservoirs for taking better advantage of rainfall in the watershed. For the Ret watershed, where the gauging station is not available. It may not be appropriate to use empirical models for identification of the priority areas in the absence of observed runoff and sediment data and implementation of water resources development plan. In view of the above, it was thought to consider morphometric parameter, GIS and remote sensing techniques for prioritization of the watershed. Morpohometry is the measurement and mathematical analysis of the configuration of the Earth s surface, shape and dimensions of its landforms (Clarke, 1966). This analysis can be achieved through measurement of linear, aerial and relief aspects of basin and slope contributions (Nag and Chakroborty, 2003). Morphometric parameters such as stream order together with soil and land use play important role in generating water resources action plan. Recent studies (Sharda et al., 1993; Sidhu et al., 1998; Sharma et al. 2001; Dabral and Pandey, 2004; Pandey et al. 2007a and Pandey et al 2007b) revealed that remote sensing and GIS techniques are of great use in characterization and prioritization of watershed areas. Pandey et al. (2004) and Durbude and Venkatesh (2004) have successfully prioritized the watershed on the basis of percentage cultivated area, drainage density and percent slope for the Jharkhand and Karanataka respectively. In the absence of sediment yield data morphometric parameters along with the satellite-based land use/land cover information of the watershed may be useful in prioritizing the sub-watersheds. The present study envisaged to derive the drainage characteristics of the Ret watershed, watershed prioritization, and generation of water resource development plan using integrated themes such as land use/cover, drainage, soil, slope etc. of the watershed under GIS environment. The main purpose of this study is to device an action plan for utilization and management of resources. The study also includes identification of effective sites for soil and water conservation structures. Therefore, keeping the above facts in view this study was undertaken to derive the different drainage characteristics of the Ret watershed of Orissa, India. Watershed prioritization and generation of water resource development plan was envisaged by integrating satellite based land use/cover, and soil information with morphological parameters of the watershed to identify suitable sites for soil and water conservation measures on a holistic approach.

4 28 Ashish Pandey, S. Behra, R.P. Pandey and R.P. Singh Study Area The Ret watershed is part of the Mahanadi river basin and encompasses an area of about 262 km 2 (Fig. 1). It is located between and 20 0 N latitude and and E longitude. The temperature of the study area varies widely between 11 C (December) to 49 C (May). The climate of the area is sub-tropical, sub-humid monsoonal climate with three prominent seasons characterized by hot summer, from March - mid June, rainy season from mid-june - September and winter from October - February. Major crops of the region are rice, finger millet, minor millets, niger, potato, brinjal and fruit tree such as mango, jack fruit, guava, papaya and sapota. The study watershed is occupied by clay and sandy loam. The soils of the watersheds are strongly to moderate acidic with low to medium organic matter status and poor water retentive capacity. The soil map of the study area was obtained from the National Bureau of Soil Survey and Landuse Planning (NBSSLUP), Nagpur. Figure1: Location map of the Ret watershed. Materials and Methods Spatial database generation In the present study, drainage network, contour map, spot heights, surface water bodies and village location maps were generated from the Survey of India toposheets on 1:50,000 scale. Drainage map of the study area is presented in fig.2. Subsequently, these digitized contours were used for generation of a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) with a spatial resolution of 30 m 30 m under GIS environment (Fig. 3). Further, the study watershed was delineated into twenty six sub-watersheds using DEM and drainage network. Finally, code numbers from 1-26 were allotted to these subwatersheds. The soil map of the study area was digitized and is presented in fig. 4.

5 Application of GIS for Watershed Prioritization and Management 29 Figure2: Drainage Map of the study area. Figure3: Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the Ret watershed. Figure4: Soil Map of the study area.

6 30 Ashish Pandey, S. Behra, R.P. Pandey and R.P. Singh Land use / land cover generation The cloud free digital data of Landsat 5 Imagery of 30m spatial resolution pertaining to 31 October, 1989 in seven spectral bands was downloaded from The ERDAS IMAGINE 8.6 software was used in this study for processing of the satellite data. Based on limited ground truth land use / land cover classification of satellite data was carried out and prominent eight land use/cover classes were identified in the study watershed. Classified image depicting various land use/ cover classes of the study area are presented in table 4.1 and fig. 5 respectively. Figure5: Land use /land cover map of the Ret watershed. Morphometric Parameters For morphometric analysis, perimeter, maximum length, drainage map, numbers of streams of each order and watershed relief values are required. These inputs were computed using ARC-GIS software. The definition of different morphometric parameters used in the study and mathematical formulae are presented in table 1. Table1: Definition of geometric, stream and morphometric parameters. Sl. Morphometric Formula References No. parameters 1 Stream Order Hierarchial rank Strahler(1964) 2 Stream Length of the Stream Horton(1945) length(lu) 3 Mean Stream Lsm=Lu/Nu, where Lu=Total stream length Strahler(1964) length(lsm) of order,'u' Nu=Total no.of stream segments of order 'u' 4 Bifurcation R b =Nu/Nu+1, where Nu=No.of stream Schumn(1956)

7 Application of GIS for Watershed Prioritization and Management 31 ratio(rb) segments of order 'u', Nu+1 = No. of segments of the next higher order 5 Drainage density(d) D = Lu/A, where Lu = Total stream length of orders, A = Area of the Basin in km 2 6 Stream Fs = Nu/A, where Nu=Total no.of streams of frequency(fs) all orders, A = Area of the Basin in km 2 7 Drainage Rt = Nu/P, where Nu=Total no.of streams of Texture(Rt) all orders, P = Perimeter in km 8 Form Factor(R f ) R f = A/L 2 b, where L 2 b = Square of basin length, A = Area of the Basin in km 2 9 Circularity 12.57A/P 2, where A=Area of the Basin in Ratio(Rc) km 2, P 2 =Square of the Perimeter (km) 10 Elongation 1.128A 0.5 / Lb, where A=Area of the Basin in Ratio(Re) km 2,,Lb=Basin length Horton(1932) Horton(1932) Horton(1945) Horton(1932) Miller(1953) Schumn(1956) Prioritization of Watershed Due to limited resources, always it is not possible to treat the entire area of the watershed at a time. Therefore, subwatersheds with more vulnerable areas yielding comparatively more prone to erosion should be treated with priority. Thus, the watershed prioritization is the ranking of different subwatersheds according to the order in which they have to be taken for treatment and water conservation measures. In the present study, prioritization of subwatersheds was carried out on the basis of morphometric parameters. The parameters for prioritization include the bifurcation ratio, drainage density, stream frequency, texture ratios, and three basin shape parameters (i.e, form factor, circulatory ratio, and elongation ratio). All these parameters are correlated with each other through several formulas to obtain the average value of priority then from it the final priority number is calculated. On the basis of final priority number, the sub watersheds were divided into very high, high, medium, low and very low priority. The criterion suggested by Biswas et al. (2002) was used for prioritization of the subwatersheds of the Ret watershed. Selection of Suitability Sites In the present study, information about various themes such as land use/cover, drainage, soil, slope etc. were integrated in the GIS environment to arrive at a decision regarding sites for conservation measures on a holistic approach. Survey of India toposheet of the watershed with a scale of 1:50000 and contour interval of 20 m was used to compute the DEM. From DEM, slope grid was generated for the study area, which was again reclassified according to the Integrated Mission for Sustainable Development (IMSD) guidelines (NRSA, 1991). In addition to that quantitative morphometric analysis was carried out in all the twenty six subwatersheds independently for determining their linear aspects. For selection of the appropriate sites for water conservation works, 3 rd order streams were considered from the drainage map after avoiding existing surface water bodies. The guidelines for the selection of suitable sites for location specific activities are adopted from IMSD

8 32 Ashish Pandey, S. Behra, R.P. Pandey and R.P. Singh (1995), Adiga and Krishna Murthy (2000), Chowdary et al., (2009), Pandey et al. (2010) and Indian National Committee on Hydrology (INCOH) and are presented in table 3 and 4. Table2: Area (%) under different Land use/land cover of the Ret watershed. Sl. No. Land use/land cover Area (km 2 ) % (area) 1 Dense forest Open forest Water Paddy Agricultural land Pasture land Barren land Settlement Table3: Slope categories used for design of soil and water conservation structures. Sl. No. Slope Category Slope (Percent) 1. Nearly level Very gently sloping Gently sloping Moderately sloping Strongly sloping Moderately steep to steep sloping Very steep sloping Extremely steep >50 Table4: Site selection criteria for soil and water conservation structures. Name of Slope Category Land use structure Check dams Nearly level to River stream (Near gentle slope by agricultural land) Percolation Nearly level to Open land /Waste tank very gentle land Nala bunds Nearly level to Open land/waste very steep land Soil Drainage type Fine Upto 3 rd loam order Clay 2 nd and loam 3 rd order Loam Upto 3 rd order Catchment area Upto 25 ha >5 ha >20 ha Results and Discussion Morphometric Analysis The variables derived from morphometric analysis are in the form of ratios and dimensionless numbers thus providing an effective comparison, regardless of scale.

9 Application of GIS for Watershed Prioritization and Management 33 The quantitative morphometric parameters of each subwatersheds were estimated independently for the prioritization purpose. The prioritization includes the bifurcation ratio, drainage density, stream frequency, texture ratio and three basin parameters i.e., form factor, circularity ratio and elongation ratio. The highest value of any first four parameters (i.e. bifurcation ratio, drainage density, stream frequency, texture ratio) among subwatersheds is given a rating of 1, the next highest values is given rating of 2, and so on. The lowest value is rated last in the series of numbers. For the shape parameters, the lowest value is given a rating of 1, the next lowest values is given rating of 2, and so on. After the rating has been done based on every single parameter, the rating values for every subwatershed are averaged to arrive at a compound value. Based on the average value of these parameters, the subwatershed having the least rating value is assigned the highest priority number of 1, the next highest values is assigned a priority number 2, and so on. The subwatershed that got highest value is assigned the last priority number. Morphometric parameters were calculated for the subwatersheds of the Ret. The results of the morphometric analysis are discussed in the following section: Analysis of drainage characteristics After analysis of the drainage map, it is found that Ret watershed is 5 th order stream and the drainage pattern is dendrite. The GIS analysis shows that the numbers of first, second, third and fourth order streams are 1142, 499, 276 and 147 respectively (Table 5) and, the total number of streams of first, second, third and fourth order constitutes percent, percent, 9.05 percent and 4.97 percent respectively. The total stream length of the different order reveals that the total stream length in the study area is km. Table5: Number of streams of different order in the Ret watershed. SWS No. First order Second order Third order Fourth order Fifth order

10 34 Ashish Pandey, S. Behra, R.P. Pandey and R.P. Singh Bifurcation ratio (R b ) It is the ratio of the number of streams of a given order to the number of streams of the next higher order (Schumn, 1956). Horton (1945) considered bifurcation ratio as an index of relief and dissections. The bifurcation ratio reflects the geologic and tectonic characteristics of the watershed area. In case of subwatershed numbers 1-5, 7, 9, 10, 12-17, 19-21, 25 and 26, R b values are low as compared to remaining subwatersheds and vary from to 2.11 and (Table 6). Lower R b values are the characteristics of structurally less disturbed watersheds without any distortion in drainage pattern (Nag, 1998). Therefore, these subwatersheds are structurally less disturbed. It is also seen from Table 6, in the subwatershed numbers 6, 8, 11, 18 and 22-24, R b values are high. Higher value of R b for a sub-watershed indicates high runoff, low recharge and mature topography. Therefore, special care is required from the soil and water conservation point of view. SWS No. Table6: Morphometric parameters of the subwatersheds of Ret. A (km 2 ) P (km) L b (km) R h (%) R b D d F u (km/ (Number km 2 ) /km 2 ) T (km -1 ) R f R c R e

11 Application of GIS for Watershed Prioritization and Management Average Drainage Density (D d ) Drainage density expresses the closeness of spacing of channels. D d is the indicator of drainage efficiency of the watershed. It is the measure of the total length of the stream segment of all orders per unit area. It is affected by factors which control the characteristic length of the stream like resistance to weathering, permeability of rock formation, climate, vegetation etc (Chopra et al., 2005). In general, low value of D d is observed in regions underlain by highly resistant permeable material with vegetative cover and low relief. In the study area, subwatershed numbers 1, 5, 6, 8-10, 12, 14, 18, 19, 22 and 26, D d value varies from 1.2 to (Table 6). This indicates low drainage densities which results in the area of low relief. This is also inferred from the land use/land cover of the study area in which major portion is covered with forest (44-80%) in the subwatershed numbers 5, 6, 8, 14, 18, 19 and 22. In case of subwatershed numbers 2-4, 7, 11, 13, 15-17, 20, 21 and 23-25, D d value varies from to (Table 6) indicating high drainage densities. High D d values indicate high runoff and serious erosion problem in the area. Subwatersheds with greater D d require special attention. Misra et al. (1984) observed that higher the drainage density more was the sediment production rate. Stream frequency (F s ) Stream frequency/channel frequency (F s ) is the total number of stream segments of all orders per unit area (Horton, 1932). In general, low stream frequency indicates maximum area of subwatershed is covered with forest and high frequency indicates maximum area is covered with agricultural land (Pandey et al., 2007). Stream frequency varies from to (Table 6). The subwatershed numbers 2, 4, 7, 13, 16, 17 and are having high F s values which indicate more runoff and high flood may occur. The subwatershed numbers 13 and 20 may produce more runoff as compared to others because of greater F s value (Table 6). From land use/land cover of the area it is found that in the subwatershed numbers 13 and 20 agricultural lands occupies 30% and 25% (approx.) area respectively.

12 36 Ashish Pandey, S. Behra, R.P. Pandey and R.P. Singh Drainage texture (T) Horton recognized infiltration capacity as the single important factor which influences drainage texture (T). Smith (1950) has classified drainage texture into five different texture i.e, very coarse (<2), coarse (2-4), moderate (4-6), fine (6-8) and very fine (>8). The results of the study area shows that Drainage texture (T) is very coarse for subwatershed numbers 12 and 26, coarse for subwatershed numbers 2, 3, 6, 8-13, 17 and 18, moderate for sub watershed numbers 5, and 22, and fine for subwatershed numbers 4, 7, 17, 20, 21 and 24 (Table 6). In case of subwatershed numbers 4, 7, 17, 20, 21 and 24, because of the fine drainage texture, more runoff is expected. Analysis of Shape factors Form factor (R f ) It is defined as ratio of basin area to square of the basin length (Horton, 1932).The value of form factor should always be less than (for a circular basin) (Chopra et al., 2005). The basins with high R f will have high peak flows of shorter duration, whereas, elongated subwatershed with low form factors have lower peak flow of longer duration. Flood flows of elongated basins are easier to manage than the circular basin (Pandey et al., 2007). Smaller the value of form factor, more elongated will be the basin which indicates a flatter peak of flow for longer duration. In the present study, minimum and maximum value of R f varies from to for the subwatersheds 10 and 18 respectively (Table 6). High value of R f for the subwatershed numbers 3, 5, 11, 12, 17-19, 21, 22 and shows high peak flows for shorter duration. Therefore, these subwatersheds are susceptible from flood and erosion. Circularity ratio (R c ) It is the ratio of area of basin to the area of circle having the same circumference as the perimeter of the basin (Miller, 1953). It is influenced by the length and frequency of streams, geological structures, land use/land cover, climate, relief and slope of the basin (Chopra et al., 2005). The minimum and maximum value of R c ranges from to for the subwatersheds numbers 23 and 2 respectively (Table 6). The result indicates that the subwatershed numbers 2, 3, 9, 17, 19, and has greater R c values and there will be slow disposal of runoff. The low R c values in the subwatersheds 1, 4-8, 10-16, 18 and 23 has been observed (Table 6) and may have quick disposal of runoff. Elongation ratio (R e ) It is the ratio between the diameter of the circle of the same area as the drainage basin and the maximum length of the basin. A circular basin is more efficient in runoff discharge than an elongated basin (Singh and Singh, 1997). The R e values can be grouped into three categories, namely circular (>0.9), oval ( ), less elongated (<0.7) (Chopra et al., 2005). The minimum and maximum values of R e are to for the subwatersheds 10 and 18 respectively (Table 6). In case of the

13 Application of GIS for Watershed Prioritization and Management 37 subwatersheds 18 and 24, R e value is high as compared to others i.e and respectively. Therefore, very low relief or slow disposal of runoff is expected from these subwatersheds. In case of sub watershed numbers 1, 2, 4, 6-8, 10, 13-16, 20, 22 and 23, R e value varies from 0.6 to 0.8. These subwatersheds are in a region of steep slope and high relief which may have quick disposal of runoff. These subwatersheds need attention from soil and water conservation. The subwatershed numbers 1, 4, 6, 7, 10, 16 and 20 are less elongated, subwatershed numbers 2, 5, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 21, 25 and 26 are oval shape and subwatershed numbers 3, 12, 18, 19, 22 and 24 are in circular shape. Prioritization of Subwatersheds and Site Suitable of Check Dam Based on the analysis of four drainage parameters (i.e. bifurcation ratio, drainage density, stream frequency, texture ratios), and three basin shape parameters (i.e., form factor, circulatory ratio, and elongation ratio) prioritization of the subwatershed was carried out and presented in table 7 and fig. 6. Six subwatersheds i.e., subwatershed numbers 4, 7, 13, 16, 20 and 23 covering an area of 66.5 km 2 falls under very high priority, five subwatersheds i.e., subwatershed numbers 6, 10, 14, 21 and 24 covering an area of 61.7 km 2 falls under high priority, five subwatersheds i.e., subwatershed numbers 1, 8, 11, 15 and 17 covering an area of km 2 falls under medium priority, five subwatersheds i.e., subwatershed numbers 2, 5, 9, 22 and 25 covering an area of km 2 were found to be under low priority, five subwatersheds i.e., subwatershed numbers 3, 12, 18, 19 and 26 covering an area of km 2 were found to be under very low priority class. Figure6: Prioritization of the Ret watershed. Table7: Prioritizing subwatersheds using morphometric parameters. SWS No. Rb Dd Fu T Rf Rc Re Average value Final Priority Number Priority Medium Low Very low

14 38 Ashish Pandey, S. Behra, R.P. Pandey and R.P. Singh Very high Low High Very high Medium Low High Medium Very low Very high High Medium Very high Medium Very low Very low Very high High Low Very high High Low Very low Based on the drainage density, land use/land cover information, slope category locations of structures were decided and are shown in Fig.7. Considering the susceptibility of land degradation the location of proposed structure and implementation of soil conservation programme is proposed in the five phases. In the first phase of planning, subwatersheds numbers 8, 4, 19, 21, 22, 23, 25 and 26 with very high priority class, in the second phase of planning subwatersheds numbers 4, 6, 11, 12, 13, 27, 30, 34 and 36 with high priority area were selected. In the third phase of planning subwatersheds numbers 2, 7, 9, 10, 16, 17, 20, 24 and 35 with medium priority area were selected. By using the similar criteria other priority area were selected for soil and water conservation work. Considering the morphometric parameters, topography, land use/cover, soil type, slope, drainage and farmers view point 11 numbers of check dam has been proposed in subwatershed numbers 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 22, 24 (Fig. 7). In case of subwatershed numbers 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, check dam will bring more than 25 % of subwatershed area under irrigation. In case of subwatershed numbers 5, 6, 22 and 24 check dam will bring approximately 15 % of subwatershed area under irrigation. India is characterized with wide variations in physiographic, climatic, soil, environmental and socio-economic conditions. The water harvesting technology is highly location specific. In the study watershed water resources are available in the

15 Application of GIS for Watershed Prioritization and Management 39 form of rivers, springs and streams. Agriculture is the major source of economic development of the community, but mostly rain-fed, and in the lean season farmers practice stream cultivation, which is perennially fed by the springs. Second crop is only possible for those, whose fields are fed by the natural springs. This traditional practice can be enhanced by means of improved irrigation facilities and optimum utilization of water either as surface or sub-surface water. This utilization can be enhanced by water harvesting structures like Check dam. Figure7: Location of suitable sites of check dam in the Ret watershed. Conclusions Generation of contour and drainage map using GIS has been found effective in determining the various morphological parameters quickly and accurately. Morphologic parameters coupled with land use, soil, slope and drainage can be helpful in decision-making process for watershed development and management. Among the identified subwatersheds in the Ret, Six subwatersheds covering an area of 66.5 km 2 falls under very high category. The count of subwatersheds which fall under high, medium, low and very low priority class are five each and covering areas of 61.7, 58.27, and km 2 respectively. The suitable site for the check dam has been identified and its was reveals that subwatershed numbers 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 22 and 24 need construction of check dams for soil and water conservation. The remote sensing and GIS based approach for planning of soil and water conservation structures in watersheds can be extended to other parts of the India. Reference [1] Ali, S. and Singh, R. (2002). Morphological and hydrological investigation in Hirakud catchment for watershed management planning. J Soil water Cons (India) 1(4):

16 40 Ashish Pandey, S. Behra, R.P. Pandey and R.P. Singh [2] Adiga, S., and Krishna Murthy, Y.V.N., Integrated sustainable development of land and water resources using Space technology inputs, Space Forum, 5(1-3), [3] Biswas, S. Sudhakar, S. and Desai, V.R. (2002).Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System Based Approach for Watershed Conservation. J. Surveying Engineering, 128(3): [4] Chalam, B.N.S., Krishnaveni, M., and Karmegam, M. (1996). Correlation of runoff with geomorphic parameters, J. Applied Hydrology IX (3-4) : [5] Chopra, R., Dhiman, R. D. and Sharma, P.K. (2005). Morphometric analysis of Sub-Watersheds in Gurdaspur district, Punjab using Remote Sensing and GIS techniques. J. Indian Society of Remote Sensing, 33(4): [6] Chaudhary, R.S., Sharma, P.D. (1998) Erosion hazard assessment and treatment prioritization of Giri River catchment, NorthWestern Himalayas. Indian J Soil Conserv 26(1):6 11. [7] Chowdary, V.M., Ramakrishnan,D., Srivastava,Y.K., Vinu Chandran and Jeyaram, A Integrated Water Resource Development Plan for Sustainable Management of Mayurakshi Watershed, India using Remote Sensing and GIS. Water Resour. Manage. 23: [8] Clarke, J.I. (1966) Morphometry from Maps. Essays in Geomorphology. Elsevier Publ. Co. New York, pp [9] Dabral, P.P. and Pandey, A. (2007). Morphometric analysis and prioritisation of a eastern himalayan river basin using satellite data and GIS. Asian J. Geoinformatics. 7 (3): [10] Durbude, D.G. and Venkatesh, B. (2004). Site suitability analysis for soil and water conservation structures. J. Indian Society Remote Sensing, 32 (4): [11] Horton, R.E. (1932). Drainage basin characteristics. Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 13: [12] Horton, R.E. (1945). Erosional development of streams and their drainage basins: hydrophysical approach to quantitative morphology. Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., 56: [13] IMSD, (1995). Integrated Mission for Sustainable Development (IMSD) Technical Guidelines. NRSA, Hyderabad. [14] Kumar, R., Lohani, A.K., Kumar, S., Chatterjee, C., Nema, R.K. (2001) GIS based morphometric analysis of Ajay river basin upto sarth gauging site of South Bihar. J Appl Hydrol XIV(4):45 54 [15] Miller, V.C. (1953). A quantitative Geomorphic study of drainage basin characteristics in the Clinch Mountain area, Virginia and Tennessee, proj.nr , Tech Rep 3, Columbia university, Department of Geology, ONR, New York. [16] Misra, N, Satyanarayana, T. and Mukherjee, R.K. (1984). Effect of topo elements on the sediment production rate from Sub watersheds in Upper Damodar valley. Journal of Agricultural Engg. (ISAE), 21 (3):

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