Abstract
Upland erosion and sedimentation are one of the severe problems which faces dams as sediments occupy spaces within reservoirs storage, hence, decreasing live water storage which is the main purpose of dam’s construction. Iraq is one of the countries that will face a significant shortage of water income as a result of both the increment in water demand and of the reduction of water shares from the source countries. Thus, the existing dams in Iraq represent a strategic resource to fulfill water demands, and the sedimentation at these dams is studied to assess the quantity of sediments that reach to these reservoirs and decrease available water volume and useful life of reservoir. In the current study, Khassa Chai Dam is located in the Northeast of Iraq and its main watershed basin covers an area of about 412 km2 between Kirkuk and Al Sulaymaniyah Governorates has been selected to estimate and predict the amount of sediment yield based on 30 years of daily climate data and the events of different intensity rainstorms. Automated geospatial watershed assessment (AGWA) tool model has been used to simulate Khassa Chai Dam catchment area. This model utilizes the geographic information system (GIS) application to analyze the required data from GIS layer for digital elevation model, soil type, land use, and land cover by interference with the required climate data. The key components of AGWA model are the soil and water assessment tool model and kinematic runoff and erosion (KINEROS) model which are able to simulate complex watershed behavior to explicitly account for spatial variability of soils, rainfall distribution patterns, and vegetation. The hydrologic characteristics for Khassa Chai catchment area according to the SWAT outputs show that the most erosive sub-basins are not able to deliver the eroded material or sediments to the reservoir due to their transmission losses, percolation, and other minor obstacles. KINEROS model simulation for sediment yield is much closer to the behavior of Khassa Chai watershed in erosion and sediment transport according to the single storm events and for individually selected sub-watersheds which are closed in their location to reservoir inlet.
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