Analysis of the impacts of land use land cover change on streamflow and surface water availability in Awash Basin, Ethiopia

Abstract

The current study analyzed the impact of Land Use Land Cover (LULC) change on streamflow and surface water availability in the Akaki catchment of the Awash Basin, Ethiopia. Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and Climatic Water Balance (CWB) models were used. The SWAT model calibrated and validated the daily streamflow. The results indicated that from 1993 to 2016, built-up and barren land areas increased by 5.3% and 3.4%, respectively. The SWAT model over-simulated the peak flows and best simulated the medium and low flows. Based on the calibrated daily streamflow, the runoff was 236.01 mm and 272.59 mm under the 1993 and 2016 LULC scenarios. The total water yield of the catchment was 366.7 mm and 382.01 mm for the 1993 and 2016 LULC scenarios, respectively. The seasonal CWB of the catchment depicted decreasing trend except for the Tsedey (SON) season. Based on the current study’s findings, since LULC change enhanced surface runoff and total water yield in the catchment, proactive flood management is recommended to reduce the impact of the flood hazard on life and property.

Keywords:

• LULC change
• water balance
• surface water availability
• SWAT
• calibration
• validation

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful and appreciate the provision of the gridded temperature and precipitation data from the National Meteorological Agency (NMA) of Ethiopia and its staff. We also would like to thank Water Land and Ecosystem (WLE), Addis Ababa University, and Wolaita Sodo University for their financial support for the corresponding author to conduct this study.

Data availability statement

The datasets supporting this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author declares that there is no conflict of interest.