Application of time continuous model in mapping flood potential- A case study of Varekhdi watershed, LTB, Gujarat, India
Abstract
This paper describes the assessment of flooding potential for group of Varekhadi Mini watersheds by application of SWAT model using Remotely Sensed data through GIS. Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is the most recent one used successfully for simulating runoff, sediment yield and water quality of small watersheds (Rosenthal et al, 1999). The SWAT model is a distributed parameter, continuous model developed by the USDA-ARS (Arnold et al. 1996, 1998). The major advantage of the model is that, unlike other conventional conceptual simulation models, it does not require much calibration. The fastest growing city of India, Surat is settled on the bank of river Tapi .Floods have always been a major problem to the human race as many settlements have grown up around rivers. The Varekhadi and its 26 Mini watersheds lead water in to the lower Tapi basin and the flow takes a small time period due to which the city gets flooded once in a 4 to 5 year losses large amount of lives and property. Our work is focused on the assessment of runoff from the study area which does not gauged and random assessment of this inflow may one of the factors responsible for such natural disaster.
