A Geomatics-based approach for controlling flash floods and ‎augmenting water supply in arid and semi-arid regions ‎

نوع المستند : بحوث علمية محکمة

المؤلف

مدرس بقسم الجغرافيا – كلية الآداب – جامعة دمنهور

10.21608/mkwn.2025.447576

المستخلص

Flash floods in arid and semiarid regions usually occur suddenly with high intensity, damaging roads and communication networks, infrastructure, in addition to costs associated with loss of crops and livestock. Meanwhile, water scarcity is a significant challenge in arid and semi-arid regions due to their naturally minimal rainfall, which is sudden and irregular, and high evaporation rates. This necessitates the need to address water scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions through a variety of strategies such as sustainable water management practices, which entails exploring potential water resources and augmenting water supply. Among other potential water resources in arid and semi-arid regions is rainwater harvesting. At the level of catchment area, dams can be constructed to capture and store rainwater runoff during the sudden and irregular rainy seasons. This collected water can then be used for various purposes such as agriculture, domestic use, and recharging groundwater. Moreover, such water management structures can assist in flood control, augmenting water supply, and improving resilience to drought, which ultimately can contribute to sustainable development. This, consequently, requires proper design and site selection of such dams to ensure their sustainability and effectiveness.
This paper is intended to develop a Geomatics-based approach for multi-criteria suitability analysis for siting dams as water harvesting structures on a remote area with high potentials for development in eastern desert of Egypt. For this purpose, a methodology of four main steps was applied including collecting data, delineating drainage system, mapping suitability for siting dams, and finally evaluating the potential sites. The results showed that Wadi Um-Taghr has high surface runoff potential and susceptibility to flash floods. Suitability analysis for water harvesting structures revealed that most of the watershed, particularly the eastern and southern parts of the wadi, are suitable for rainwater harvesting. Among the three proposed potential dam sites, site “C” has the highest storage capacity and depth, making it the most favorable despite higher surface area and evaporation risk. The reservoirs of the suggested dams are estimated to have overall gross storage capacity of about 7.2 million m³ under full capacity scenario.
 

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