HYDROLOGY CHARACTERISTICS IN KRUKUT RIVER RIPARIAN BUFFER ZONE

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the characteristic of hydrology in the Krukut River. However, it studies an interesting floodplain like the riparian buffer zone (RBZ). RBZ is close adjacent to the river waters, generally accompanied by shrubs and the other crops along a river. It is useful for stabilizing the streams and minimizing the flood damages. The development of a region will impact the surrounding ecosystem that has been a developed human activity along the river, one of which is the Krukut River. The methodology consists of hydrological analysis for finding the characteristic of hydrology. The hydrology is analyzed using the water discharge data of Krukut River headwater. However, the maximum water discharge frequency is analyzed by using two models that are a) Log Pearson distribution and b) Gumbel distribution. The observations are made during the survey reveal that RBZs and floodplain areas are dominated by human habitation on both banks. The result of the analysis showed that human habitation accounts for 77.5% and 22.5% respectively, different types of vegetation such as shrubs account for 10.5%, shrubs – for 5%, and erosion – for 7%, so the environmental conditions of the river are directly disturbed due to excessive human activities. The result indicates that in order to stabilize the river banks, the riparian can be cropped by humans for a specific aim, reducing water loss by the evaporation and reducing the flood damage risk in low-lying areas that may be the location near to the water.