SCS CN Runoff Estimation for Vindhyachal Region using Remote Sensing and GIS

Abstract

For the effective management of watershed accurate understanding of hydrological behavior is needed and is required. Estimation of runoff from storm rainfall is frequently needed for water resource planning and environmental impact analysis. Among the most basic challenges of hydrology are the prediction and quantification of catchment surface runoff. Remote sensing (RS) and Geographic information system (GIS) can be effectively used to manage spatial and non-spatial database that represent the hydrologic characteristics of the watershed. The Land use and Land Cover map, Soil map, Rainfall data are collected from different sources and processed. The weighted Curve numbers were determined based on antecedent moisture condition with an integration of hydrologic soil groups and land use/ land cover classes. The study area shows that 40% of area falls under high CN value which interprets in more runoff to the study area. The annual runoff depth for catchment was computed for this un-gauge catchment area. The study reveals that the SCS-CN model can be used to estimate surface runoff depth when adequate hydrological information is not available.