Title: SWAT-based runoff and sediment simulation in a small watershed of Nepalese river: a case study of Jhimruk watershed

Authors: Madhab Rijal; Hari Prasad Pandit; Binaya Kumar Mishra

Addresses: Department of Hydropower Engineering, Central Campus of Engineering, Mid-Western University, Surkhet, Nepal ' Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Nepal ' School of Engineering, Pokhara University, Nepal

Abstract: Watershed models represent a scientific understanding of various processes involved within a watershed or simulate natural processes of the flow of water, sediment, etc. This study presents the methodology of evaluating soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) and test the applicability of SWAT on runoff and sediment load simulation in the Jhimruk watershed located in hilly region of Nepal. Daily runoff and sediment event data of 1995-1998 period were used in this study. The evaluation statistics (NSE = 0.768 and 0.689 for flow and NSE = 0.648 and 0.582 for sediment calibration and validation; coefficient of determination R² = 0.774 and 0.689 for flow and R² = 0.656 and 0.636 for sediment calibration and validation, respectively) for the daily runoff simulation indicate that the model results were acceptable and the model performed well in capturing trend of runoff and sediment. The results indicate that the SWAT model can simulate the runoff and sediment yield with good performance. The study indicates that SWAT can be efficiently used in hilly region of Nepal.

Keywords: soil and water assessment tool; SWAT; watershed; sediment load; runoff; simulation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHST.2022.120629

International Journal of Hydrology Science and Technology, 2022 Vol.13 No.2, pp.215 - 235

Received: 05 Oct 2019
Accepted: 28 Jul 2020
Published online: 31 Jan 2022 *

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