Analysis of some hydrological parameters of the Nasia River Catchment in the Northern Region of Ghana for its socio-economic development

Abstract

The Nasia River is the drainage basin of the left bank tributary of the White Volta located in the Northern Region of Ghana. Most years, rivers in the White Volta basin flow only three or four months, causing seasonal deficits across the region. This research therefore studies the hydrology of the Nasia River Basin and the catchment’s conditions so as to determine the potentials for irrigation development. Thirty years of daily river flows and climatic data for Nasia River were obtained from Hydrological Services Department and the Regional Meteorological Agency at Tamale. Soils and geological information about the basin were obtained, whilst topographic maps with scale of 1:50,000 were acquired from the Regional Survey Department at Tamale for the determination of the catchment characteristics. The results obtained in the study suggested that the Nasia river basin has enough surface water resources which could be harnessed for irrigation and other socio-economic development of the area. The seasonal variation in the runoff yield is influenced by the catchment’s physical characteristics. Optimum flow parameters for hydrological design purposes indicate that the guaranteed yield which is exceeded 95% of the time is 0.0438 m3/s, whilst the characteristic drought at 63% exceedance is 0.40 m3/s. Key words: Catchment, hydrology, Nasia River, water balance.