Evaluating the performance of reservoirs in semi-arid catchments of Tigray : Tradeoff between water harvesting and soil and water conservation

Auteur(s) et Affiliation(s)

TEKA, D.

Dept. of Land Resource Management and Environmental Protection, Mekelle Univ., Mekelle, Ethiopie

Georges Lemaitre Center for Earth and Climate Research, Earth and Life Inst. Univ. Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgique

VAN WESEMAEL, B.

Georges Lemaitre Center for Earth and Climate Research, Earth and Life Inst. Univ. Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgique

VANACKER, V.

Georges Lemaitre Center for Earth and Climate Research, Earth and Life Inst. Univ. Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgique

POESEN, J.

Dept. Earth and Environmental Sciences, Katholieke Univ., Leuven, Belgique

HALLET, V.

Dept. of Geology, Univ., Namur, Belgique

TAYE, G.

Dept. of Land Resource Management and Environmental Protection, Mekelle Univ., Mekelle, Ethiopie

Dept. Earth and Environmental Sciences, Katholieke Univ., Leuven, Belgique

DECKERS, J.

Dept. Earth and Environmental Sciences, Katholieke Univ., Leuven, Belgique

HAREGEWEYN, N.

Univ., Toronto, Japon

Description :
The AA. evaluated the performance of 2 micro dams in Tigray by analyzing rainfall characteristics, surface water inflows and combined evaporation and seepage losses. Given the scarcity of reliable meteorological stations, transfer of rainfall data from nearby stations to the dam sites was necessary. The rainfall magnitude and its annual distribution were considered for the transfer of the rainfall data. The latter was estimated based on a precipitation concentration index (PCI). Simple rainfall-runoff models were used to predict the inflow to the reservoirs. They slightly overestimated the monthly inflow for the catchment without soil and water conservation measures. In the catchment where soil and water conservation measures were implemented, the inflow was overestimated by a factor 3. The high losses of water through seepage and evaporation substantially decreased the irrigation capacity. This case study illustrates that an integrated assessment of the hydrological response in the catchment is necessary for an adequate design of water harvesting systems.

Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Catena (Giessen), issn : 0341-8162, 2013, vol. 110, p. 146-154, nombre de pages : 9, Références bibliographiques : 33 ref.

Date :
2013

Editeur :
Pays édition : Allemagne, Cremlingen-Destedt, Catena

Langue :
Anglais