Analyzing the Land Use Impact on Flood Regime of Soan River Basin

Abstract

Rapid urbanization is a result of population growth, and as a result imperviousness increases, whereas infiltration, runoff discharge, and flood peak decrease. Researchers are paying close attention to various urbanization patterns and how they affect flood responses. Using HEC-HMS v. 4.9, this study focuses on the shifting effects of urbanization on the flood peak of the Soan River Basin (SRB) (Hydrologic Engineering Center - Hydrologic Modeling System). The Digital Elevation Model, maps of land use and land cover, soil and rainfall data, and other sources were used to estimate the input variables for the HEC HMS model. Urbanization has been on the rise during the 20th century, and this has grown from 3% to 17% of the total basin area between 1997 and 2020 in Soan River Basin (SRB). In response to a change in land use and land cover (LULC) on the calibrated event of 1997, the HEC-HMS model resulted in simulated peak discharge for 1997, 2010, and 2020 LULC as 2383 m3/sec, 2442 m3/sec, and 2462 m3/sec respectively. A higher rise in predicted peak discharges (flood flow) was seen in HEC-HMS modeling as a result of an increase in LULC change in the Soan River Basin (SRB) between 1997 and 2020. The study found that changing the LULC influenced flood peaks.