Application of a hydrological method for determining monthly environmental flow in Code River, Indonesia

Abstract

The declining groundwater in Yogyakarta could potentially affect the Code River baseflow, thus lowering the river streamflow. Consequently, the riverine ecosystem would suffer from a low quantity of streamflow. The quantity standard of streamflow can be determined by calculating the environmental flow. In this study, the environmental flow requirement (EFR) for the Code River is determined by applying an enhanced version of the most-used hydrological method, namely the Modified Tennant Method based on Multilevel Habitat Conditions III (MTMMHC-III). The EFR in the Code River could be calculated successfully by the MTMMHC-III with a satisfactory temporal variability. The EFRs are the lowest during July to October in the normal years, July to September in the wet years, and July to December in the dry years. The EFRs are highest during January to April in the normal and dry years and January to May in the wet years. However, the EFR might become too low in the dry years, especially from the beginning of the dry season (May) until the early wet season (December), with only 4-11% of the average annual flow. Ultimately, the MTMMHC-III method is a better hydrological method than the original Tennant Method and Q95 method.