Water area and volume calculation of two reservoirs in Central Cuba using remote sensing methods. A new perspective

Abstract

The availability, quality and management of water constitute essential activities of national, regional and local governments and authorities. Historic annual rain (between 1961 and 2020) in Chambas River Basin (Central Cuba) was evaluated. Two remote sensing methods (Normalized Difference Water Index and RADAR images) were used to calculate the variation of water area and volumes of two reservoirs (Chambas II and Cañada Blanca) of Ciego de Ávila Province at end of wet and dry seasons from 2014-2021. The results showed that mean annual rain was 1330.9 ± 287.4 mm and it did not showed any significant tendency at evaluated period. For both reservoirs, mean water areas measured with two methods were 19 % and 8 % smaller than the mean water area reported by authorities for the same period. The static water storage capacity (water volume) of both reservoirs varied (as area) between seasons with the greatest volume in both reservoirs recorded in October of 2017 (30.5 million of m3 in Chambas II and 45.1 million of m3 in Cañada Blanca reservoir). Large deviations of water area and volumes occurred during the dry season (lower values) and the wet season of 2017 (influenced by rain associated to of Hurricane Irma) and wet season of 2020 (influenced by rain associated to tropical storm Laura). Calculated area – volume models with significant statistical correlation are another useful tool that could be used to improve water management in terms of accuracy and to increase reliable results in cases where gauge measurements are scarce or not available.