Study the Possibility of Harvesting Water Using Remote Sensing Technologies in the Abu Hudayr Basin

Abstract

The research aims to study the possibility of rainwater harvesting in the region and the exploitation of the various valleys in them for the purposes of storage, runoff and groundwater enhancement.  Twenty-eight sites were identified in the study area. Soil samples were taken to a depth of 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm. The physical and chemical characteristics of the surface and subsurface layers of these sites were analyzed, which are (soil texture, Particle density, bulk density, porosity, water conductivity, PH, electrical conductivity, organic matter, cation exchange capacity, sodium, gypsum and Calcium carbonate) and producing maps representing the spatial distribution of these characteristics for each basin using the IDW method. The hydrological characteristics represented by basin area and flow curves were extracted and land classification was done using the laboratory results of soil samples and using the meteorological data provided by the Center for Meteorology and Remote Sensing at the University of California (CHRS) (Center For Hydrometeorology And Remote Sensing). By applying the hypothesis of the American soil conservation (SCS) (Soil Conservation Service), which is known by the Curve Number (CN) method, the runoff and surface runoff volume were estimated for two cases of rain data, the first case using an annual rate for 20 years and the period from (2000-2020) and the second case using The highest rain storm  and then identifying the most suitable sites for water harvesting in the region to take advantage of the water  through the establishment of recharge barriers to enhance the strategic storage of groundwater in the region and the construction of earthen dams to invest the land in agriculture. As the results indicated that the surface runoff depth of the Abu hudayr Basin, resulting from an annual average of 106-128.7 mm of rain, was 49.46-102.76, and its surface runoff volume was 694940224-1443511808 m3, while the highest surface runoff depth and the volume of surface runoff of peak rains in the Abu hudayr Basin amounted to 21.05 mm and 295671328 m3. Water harvesting sites were identified in the Abu hudayr Basin. Two sites were identified. The first is in the middle of the basin with coordinates (30.287314, 45.090652) in which the soil was of type B and the depth of the runoff ranged from 62.63-75.59 and the volume of the surface runoff was 879881439-1443511808 m3 and the water conductivity was high And the second site north of the basin (30.702539, 45.116873) had a depth of runoff 75.59-86.87, a volume of runoff 879881439-1443511808 m 3 and a moderate water conductivity.