Hydrological Model of the Diyala River Watershed in Iraq Using Soil Water Assessment Tool

Authors

Ahmed Sagban Khudier, Architectural Department, College of Engineering, Basrah University, Basrah, IraqFollow
Ahmed Naseh Ahmed Hamdan, Civil Department, College of Engineering, Basrah University and Basrah for Oil and Gas University, Basrah, Iraq

Abstract

The motivation of the present study is to study and address the limitations imposed on hydrological models and the spatial and temporal distribution of streamflow in the Watershed Diyala River (WDR) from January 1996 to April 2023, which has an area of 25652 km2, which is considered an important source of water for central and southern Iraq, to enable decision-makers to make a future management plan for streamflow. To achieve this motivation, the SWAT model was used and fed by input data such as a Digital elevation model with a 30 m resolution, a soil map, the land use and land cover map with a spatial resolution of 30 m, weather data, and the daily streamflow data. Using the SUFI-2 algorithm and SWAT-CUP, the model was calibrated automatically. Statistically, using the R2, NSE, and Pbs the performance of the model was evaluated. The statistical analysis displays a perfect match between simulated and observed values when calibrating and verifying the model for streamflow. The results indicate that the monthly evapotranspiration rate and streamflow constitute 65% and 37% of the rainfall in WDR, respectively, and that the annual average surface runoff ranged from 320.358 to 8.325m3/s. Therefore, it is possible to rely on the calibrated model, successfully verified with high reliability, to simulate the hydrological model in WDR.

Recommended Citation

Khudier, Ahmed Sagban and Hamdan, Ahmed Naseh Ahmed (2024) "Hydrological Model of the Diyala River Watershed in Iraq Using Soil Water Assessment Tool," Al-Bahir Journal for Engineering and Pure Sciences: Vol. 4: Iss. 2, Article 6.
Available at: https://doi.org/10.55810/2313-0083.1061

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