Application of TRMM Data to the Analysis of Water Availability and Flood Discharge in Duriangkang Dam

Abstract

One of the challenges in hydrologic modelling in Indonesia is data limitation. Rainfall data quality is rarely evaluated, and in some cases, the data are unavailable. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), satellite rainfall data provided by NASA, is an alternative method to solve such problems. This study aims to promote the use of TRMM data to analyze water availability and flood discharge in Duriangkang Dam, Batam City, Indonesia, in comparison with the use of available ground station data. Results show that the ground station data contain some errors; however, overall, the data show similar patterns and acceptable differences compared with the TRMM data. The NRECA and HEC-HMS models are used to analyze water availability, and both models are calibrated using the available reservoir water level data. The NRECA model generally shows a good fit of monthly discharge, although the use of TRMM results in slightly overestimated values in dry years. Similar results are obtained for daily discharge computation using the HEC-HMS model. Water availability analysis using the TRMM data shows an acceptable margin of error. When flood discharge is computed using an uncalibrated HEC-HMS model, the TRMM data somehow yield a lower maximum daily rainfall value than the ground station data. As a result, the obtained 10,000-year flood calculated using the Hang Nadim Station and TRMM data are 1,086 and 624 m3/s, respectively. Therefore, the use of corrected TRMM data in flood discharge computation is essential but increases the value up to 897 m3/s.