Rainfall-Runoff Modeling Using the HEC-HMS Model for the Al-Adhaim River Catchment, Northern Iraq

Ahmed Naseh Ahmed Hamdan,Miklas Scholz,Suhad Almuktar

doi:10.3390/hydrology8020058

Abstract

It has become necessary to estimate the quantities of runoff by knowing the amount of rainfall to calculate the required quantities of water storage in reservoirs and to determine the likelihood of flooding. The present study deals with the development of a hydrological model named Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC-HMS), which uses Digital Elevation Models (DEM). This hydrological model was used by means of the Geospatial Hydrologic Modeling Extension (HEC-GeoHMS) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to identify the discharge of the Al-Adhaim River catchment and embankment dam in Iraq by simulated rainfall-runoff processes. The meteorological models were developed within the HEC-HMS from the recorded daily rainfall data for the hydrological years 2015 to 2018. The control specifications were defined for the specified period and one day time step. The Soil Conservation Service-Curve number (SCS-CN), SCS Unit Hydrograph and Muskingum methods were used for loss, transformation and routing calculations, respectively. The model was simulated for two years for calibration and one year for verification of the daily rainfall values. The results showed that both observed and simulated hydrographs were highly correlated. The model’s performance was evaluated by using a coefficient of determination of 90% for calibration and verification. The dam’s discharge for the considered period was successfully simulated but slightly overestimated. The results indicated that the model is suitable for hydrological simulations in the Al-Adhaim river catchment.

Highlights

Introduction iationsSurface water from the Tigris, Euphrates and Shatt Al-Arab rivers is the main water resource in Iraq
It has been reported that the growing water consumption in Turkey and Syria could lead to the complete drying-up of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers by the year 2040 [1]
The main objective of this study is to develop the Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC)-HMS hydrological model using remotely sensed data such as Digital Elevation Model (DEM)

Summary

Introduction

Surface water from the Tigris, Euphrates and Shatt Al-Arab rivers is the main water resource in Iraq. The water flow of these rivers varied from year to year depending on the incoming water flows coming from outside of Iraq and the annual rainfall intensity during the studied period [1]. The main factors affecting water shortage challenges in Iraq are the dams located outside of Iraq, in the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers and their tributaries, climate change, and the mismanagement of Iraq’s water resources [2]. The rivers of Iraq are affected by the annual and seasonal precipitations. A year with heavy precipitations may lead to major floods and disasters, while a year with low Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Objectives

Results

Conclusion