Vol. 12, Issue 6 (2023)

Author(s):
Saurabhkumar Gadakh, Sarika S Wandre, Mangal A Patil and Pradip Dalavi

Abstract:
A watershed management plan necessitates current and trustworthy data on elements influencing a watershed's behaviour, such as size, shape, terrain, soil qualities, and land use/land cover. Remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) are suitable techniques for gathering this data. In one case study, Indian Remote Sensing Satellite data was used to create a land use land cover map and extract information on morphological parameters such as bifurcation ratio, elongation ratio, drainage density, ruggedness number, relief ratio, and circulatory ratio in the Warana River Basin in Maharashtra, India. These factors were combined with other thematic information including land use land cover, drainage, slope, and soil to find potential locations for soil and water conservation structures such as nala bunds, check dams, percolation tanks, and continuous contour trenches. The study employed multi-criteria evaluation in GIS to find potential zones for water conservation action. The investigation included many levels, including slope, land use/cover, soil texture, soil depth, and soil erosion. Weighted sum analysis was utilized to identify ideal locations for water conservation operations. The program Arc 10.5 was used to analyze remotely sensed data and delineate the watershed, while CHIRPS, Open Land Map, SRTM, and WWF Hydro SHEDS were used to acquire data on precipitation, soil qualities, topography, and watershed borders, respectively. Overall, the findings of the study are useful for building watershed management plans and selecting appropriate areas for soil and water conservation structures and water conservation activities. The employment of remote sensing technologies with GIS allows for the rapid and reliable capture of data, making it an essential tool for watershed management planning.