The Effect of Land Use Changes on Availability of Water Resources in The Rupit Watershed

Abstract

Water balance of a river watershed is significantly essential for estimating water availability to meet domestic and economic demands. In this context, several parameters such as rainfall, temperature, evapotranspiration, deficit, and surplus soil water content play a crucial role in determining water availability of a river watershed based on land use, soil type, seasonal variations, and other environmental factors. Therefore, this research aimed to estimate water balance of the Rupit watershed using the Mock method. The results showed that monthly soil water content (deficit or surplus) was significantly influenced by changes in rainfall, temperature, and land use patterns. The period from November to April experiences water surplus, while May to October is characterized by deficit. Specifically, a different response to land use was observed, where the maximum annual water content was not surplus. The total runoff for the Rupit watershed calculated from the Mock method runoff simulation was 134,42 mm/year.