Assessment of Suitable Land for Surface Irrigation in Ungauged Catchments: Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia
Planning and decision making for new irrigation development projects requires the systematic assessment of irrigable land together with available water resources. The data required are usually not available in developing countries, and therefore a method was developed for quantifying surface water r...
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MDPI AG
2019-07-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/7/1465 |
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| author | Getenet Nigussie Mamaru A. Moges Michael M. Moges Tammo S. Steenhuis |
| author_facet | Getenet Nigussie Mamaru A. Moges Michael M. Moges Tammo S. Steenhuis |
| author_sort | Getenet Nigussie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Planning and decision making for new irrigation development projects requires the systematic assessment of irrigable land together with available water resources. The data required are usually not available in developing countries, and therefore a method was developed for quantifying surface water resources and potentially irrigable land in ungauged watersheds in the Upper Blue Nile Basin using Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model and Multi-Criterion Decision Evaluation (MCDE). The method was tested using the <i>Lah</i> river basin in the <i>Jabitenan</i> district and then applied in the whole area, including ungauged areas. In MCDE, soil type, slope, land use, and river proximity were considered. Onion, Cabbage and Tomato were grown on the identified irrigable areas. The predicted monthly stream discharge agreed well with observed values, with Nash and Sutcliffe efficiencies of 0.87 during calibration and 0.68 for validation. The SWAT model calibrated parameters from the gauged catchment were used to simulate the discharge of the ungauged catchments. The potential irrigable land was determined in <i>Jabitenan</i> woreda and included the Rivers like <i>Birr, Tikurwuha, Gunagun, Leza Lah, Geray,</i> <i>Arara</i>, <i>Debolah</i>, <i>Guysa</i>, and <i>Silala</i>, with an area of 460 km<sup>2</sup>. By evaluating gross irrigation demand of irrigable land with available flow in rivers (both observed and simulated), the actual surface irrigation potential was 47 km<sup>2</sup>. The main limitation for surface irrigation in all districts was the available water and not the land suitable for irrigation. Therefore, the study suggests that in order to irrigate a greater portion of the irrigable land, water should be stored during the monsoon rain phase for use in the last part of the dry phase. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T22:52:54Z |
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| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T22:52:54Z |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-cda79ab21d5047e896c1b840b12c8e312022-12-22T03:13:18ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412019-07-01117146510.3390/w11071465w11071465Assessment of Suitable Land for Surface Irrigation in Ungauged Catchments: Blue Nile Basin, EthiopiaGetenet Nigussie0Mamaru A. Moges1Michael M. Moges2Tammo S. Steenhuis3Faculty of Civil and Water Resources Engineering, Bahir Dar Institute of Technology, Bahir Dar Institute of Technology, Bahir Dar University, P.O. Box 26, Bahir Dar, EthiopiaFaculty of Civil and Water Resources Engineering, Bahir Dar Institute of Technology, Bahir Dar Institute of Technology, Bahir Dar University, P.O. Box 26, Bahir Dar, EthiopiaFaculty of Civil and Water Resources Engineering, Bahir Dar Institute of Technology, Bahir Dar Institute of Technology, Bahir Dar University, P.O. Box 26, Bahir Dar, EthiopiaDepartment of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USAPlanning and decision making for new irrigation development projects requires the systematic assessment of irrigable land together with available water resources. The data required are usually not available in developing countries, and therefore a method was developed for quantifying surface water resources and potentially irrigable land in ungauged watersheds in the Upper Blue Nile Basin using Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model and Multi-Criterion Decision Evaluation (MCDE). The method was tested using the <i>Lah</i> river basin in the <i>Jabitenan</i> district and then applied in the whole area, including ungauged areas. In MCDE, soil type, slope, land use, and river proximity were considered. Onion, Cabbage and Tomato were grown on the identified irrigable areas. The predicted monthly stream discharge agreed well with observed values, with Nash and Sutcliffe efficiencies of 0.87 during calibration and 0.68 for validation. The SWAT model calibrated parameters from the gauged catchment were used to simulate the discharge of the ungauged catchments. The potential irrigable land was determined in <i>Jabitenan</i> woreda and included the Rivers like <i>Birr, Tikurwuha, Gunagun, Leza Lah, Geray,</i> <i>Arara</i>, <i>Debolah</i>, <i>Guysa</i>, and <i>Silala</i>, with an area of 460 km<sup>2</sup>. By evaluating gross irrigation demand of irrigable land with available flow in rivers (both observed and simulated), the actual surface irrigation potential was 47 km<sup>2</sup>. The main limitation for surface irrigation in all districts was the available water and not the land suitable for irrigation. Therefore, the study suggests that in order to irrigate a greater portion of the irrigable land, water should be stored during the monsoon rain phase for use in the last part of the dry phase.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/7/1465SWATMulti Criterion Decision EvaluationIrrigation potentialBlue Nile Basin |
| spellingShingle | Getenet Nigussie Mamaru A. Moges Michael M. Moges Tammo S. Steenhuis Assessment of Suitable Land for Surface Irrigation in Ungauged Catchments: Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia Water SWAT Multi Criterion Decision Evaluation Irrigation potential Blue Nile Basin |
| title | Assessment of Suitable Land for Surface Irrigation in Ungauged Catchments: Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia |
| title_full | Assessment of Suitable Land for Surface Irrigation in Ungauged Catchments: Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of Suitable Land for Surface Irrigation in Ungauged Catchments: Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of Suitable Land for Surface Irrigation in Ungauged Catchments: Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia |
| title_short | Assessment of Suitable Land for Surface Irrigation in Ungauged Catchments: Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia |
| title_sort | assessment of suitable land for surface irrigation in ungauged catchments blue nile basin ethiopia |
| topic | SWAT Multi Criterion Decision Evaluation Irrigation potential Blue Nile Basin |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/7/1465 |
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