Flow Gauges Research Articles

Yeşilırmak Havzası için Hidrolojik ve Meteorolojik Kuraklık Tahmini, Türkiye

Drought is the most dangerous natural disaster. It differs from the other disasters in that it occurs insidiously, its effects are revealed gradually, and it persists for a long period. Drought has huge, negative effects on both society and natural ecosystems. In this study, values from the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) were used to generate drought estimation models by using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). In addition, the probability of hydrological drought was determined by using SPI values to predict Streamflow Drought Index (SDI) values with ANN. Also, the SPI and SDI were used as the meteorological and hydrological drought indices, respectively, in conjunction with Feed Forward Neural Networks (FFNN), in ANN models. For this purpose, three rainfall and three flow gauging stations located in the Yesilirmak River Basin of Turkey were selected as the study units. The SPI and SDI values for the stations were calculated in order to create ANN estimation models. Different ANN forecasting models for SPI and SDI were trained and tested. In addition, the effects of the spatial distribution of precipitation on flows were determined by using the Thiessen Method to develop the SDI prediction model. The results generated by the ANN prediction models and resulting values were compared and the performances of the models were analyzed. The combination of ANN and SPI predicted meteorological drought with high accuracy but the combination of ANN and SDI was not as good in predicting hydrological drought.

CO2 capture and ions removal through reaction with potassium hydroxide in desalination reject brine: Statistical optimization

Previous studies have investigated the overall performance of the modified Solvay process based on a new alkaline compound, namely, KOH. Preliminary results have confirmed its high reactivity and effectiveness in capturing CO2 and managing reject brine. In this study, parametric sensitivity analysis has been carried out to optimize the operating conditions and thereby maximize CO2 capture and ions removal from high-salinity brines. Response surface methodology (RSM) analysis using the central composite design (CCD) approach was implemented to statistically determine the impact of important operating conditions, including KOH concentration (30–110 g/l), CO2 gas flow rate (400–1600 ml/min), gauge pressure (1–3 barg), and temperature (10–50 °C) on key response process output variables, such as CO2 uptake and ions reduction. The importance of these parameters and their interactions were confirmed by employing analysis of variance (ANOVA) approach at a confidence level of 95% (p < 0.05). These analyses demonstrated that under the optimized conditions of a temperature of 10 °C, gauge pressure of 2.1 barg, CO2 gas flow rate of 848.5 ml/min, KOH concentration of 110 g/l, and an inert mixing particle volume fraction of 15%, a maximum CO2 uptake value of 0.58 g/g KOH, maximum sodium (Na+) removal of 44.1%, chloride (Cl−) removal of 40.1%, calcium (Ca2+) removal of 100%, and magnesium (Mg2+) removal of 99.8% were achieved. The characterization of the collected solid products at optimum conditions revealed the production of valuable and useful products, particularly sodium and potassium bicarbonates, in addition to KCl.

Managing flood risks in a changing climate

Managing flood risks in a changing climate

Water use of selected cover crop species commonly grown in South African fruit orchards and their response to drought stress

Cover crops are widely planted in orchards for a variety of reasons. These include suppressing soil erosion, nutrient cycling, phytosanitary purposes, general orchard aesthetics etc. However, there is need to balance these benefits against use of scarce resources such as water and nutrients. Currently no information exists on how different cover crop species use water in orchards and how they cope with drought stress. The aim of this study was therefore to compare the transpiration dynamics of various cover crop types in order to identify species with conservative water use rates. Studied species included: 1) two exotic legumes i.e. Lupine (Lupinus albus L.), and Common vetch (Vicia sativa), 2) three exotic grasses i.e. Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea), Rye grass (Loliumperenne), and Kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandestium) and; 3) grasses that are indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa i.e. African Lovegrass (Eragrostis capensis) and Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana). The crops were planted in pots under controlled greenhouse conditions. Transpiration rates were quantified using miniature stem heat balance sap flow gauges and by manual weighing. Drought stress was imposed by withholding irrigation at selected intervals and the responses were quantified through changes in the water relations of the plants. The study showed that exotic legumes had the highest daily water use which peaked at about 2.4 L per square metre of leaf area per day, followed by exotic grasses at 1.5–2.0 L/m2/d. The indigenous grasses used the least water ranging from 0.8 to 1.2 L/m2/d. The indigenous grasses largely displayed an isohydric response to drought stress by maintaining their leaf water status with increasing soil water deficit. The exotic species, on the other hand, showed risk taking behaviour (anisohydry) wherein both the transpiration and leaf water status decreased sharply as drought stress increased. Consequently, some exotic species failed to recover when stress was relieved. From a water use perspective, this study demonstrates that indigenous grass species are more appropriate as cover crops in South African orchards because of their low transpiration rates and the ability to cope with extended periods of water deficit.

Transmission loss estimation for ephemeral sand rivers in Southern Africa

Ephemeral sand rivers represent an important water resource in Southern Africa. These rivers only flow for a few days in a year. However, much of this water infiltrates the underlying river bed sediments where it is protected from evaporation and utilized by farmers throughout the dry season. Despite their importance, little is known about how much recoverable water is annually stored within the sand. A particular difficulty concerns obtaining reliable estimates of transmission losses (the amount of water that infiltrates the river bed). The objective of this article was to develop an improved methodology for quantifying transmission loss from ephemeral sand rivers by calibrating a lumped rainfall-runoff model to observed river flow data. Fifteen years of daily river flow data were obtained from four sand rivers in Botswana, namely, Shahshe, Ntshe, Tati and Metsimotlhabe. These data were supplemented with meteorological data from AgMERRA (Ruane et al., 2015) and precipitation data from CHIRPS (Funk et al., 2015). Our simplified rainfall runoff model had four unknown parameters including a river bed infiltration factor, a surface storage capacity, a river bed storage capacity and an average river channel width. Posteriori parameter distributions were derived using a GLUE (Beven and Binley, 1992) methodology. Our study confirms that upper and lower bounds for transmission loss can be obtained by calibrating a lumped rainfall runoff model to a single set of river flow gauging data. Transmission loss was found to represent between 55% and 85% of the total surface runoff at these locations.

Procedure to optimize the solid angle for the colimation of the nai detector used to measure the flow rate in pipelines

The use of radiotracers of product flow ducts from the oil and gas industry allows checking of installed flow meters and knowledge of the flow profile within the duct. The time transient method is older for the flow media and gauging of the flowmeters and lower permanence of the radioactive magazine at two different points. For the oil and gas industry, it is important that there is an average rate of 0.7%, so that this value is reached by a level of necessary care. One of the points is a correct detector / duct geometry at the two measurement points because the quality of the contents depends on the passage across a straight section of the radioactive duct. The present work has the purpose of analyzing the collimation effect of the detector signal during radiotracer during flow in a steel duct using Au198 as the radiotracer. The analysis was carried out using computer simulation using the computational code Microshield, simulating the entire face detector / shielding / collimation system of the NaI detector 2x2" and the fluid being used in conjunction with the system Glycerol in regime of turbulent flow. The study is found in the same way as the radio of the detector in the same distance of the radio reserve from the radio in the entrance to the standard of the ANP.

Partitioning evapotranspiration by measuring soil water evaporation with heat-pulse sensors and plant transpiration with sap flow gauges

Understanding the contributions of soil water evaporation (E) and crop transpiration (T) to evapotranspiration (ET) is essential for irrigation management and improving crop water use efficiency. Current methods for partitioning ET are subject to uncertainties, due in part to the scale differences in determining E, T, and ET. In this study, ET of a lysimeter planted with maize (Zea mays L.) was partitioned into E and T using sensors that had compatible measurement scales: E was measured with heat pulse sensors (following the sensible heat balance (SHB) and modified sensible heat balance (MSHB) approaches), and T was measured with sap flow gauges (following the heat-balance sap-flow (HBSF) method). The accuracy of the measurements was evaluated by comparing the sum of E and T values (E + T) to weighing lysimeter ET data. During the study period, E, T, and ET had average values of 0.9, 4.0, and 4.8 mm d−1, respectively, and the fractions of E and T were 19% and 81% of E + T, respectively. In general, the E + T values agreed well with the lysimeter ET data, but slight overestimations and underestimations were observed at relatively small and relatively large ET rates, respectively. By combining the SHB and MSHB approaches and the HBSF method, it is possible to partition ET into E and T with satisfactory accuracy.

Testing the Efficiency of Parameter Disaggregation for Distributed Rainfall-Runoff Modelling

A variety of hydrological models is currently available. Many of those employ physically based formulations to account for the complexity and spatial heterogeneity of natural processes. In turn, they require a substantial amount of spatial data, which may not always be available at sufficient quality. Recently, a top-down approach for distributed rainfall-runoff modelling has been developed, which aims at combining accuracy and simplicity. Essentially, a distributed model with uniform model parameters (base model) is derived from a calibrated lumped conceptual model. Subsequently, selected parameters are disaggregated based on links with the available spatially variable catchment properties. The disaggregation concept is now adjusted to better account for non-linearities and extended to incorporate more model parameters (and, thus, larger catchment heterogeneity). The modelling approach is tested for a catchment including several flow gauging stations. The disaggregated model is shown to outperform the base model with respect to internal catchment dynamics, while performing similarly at the catchment outlet. Moreover, it manages to bridge on average 44% of the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency difference between the base model and the lumped models calibrated for the internal gauging stations. Nevertheless, the aforementioned improvement is not necessarily sufficient for reliable model results.

Effect of Drip Irrigation on Soil Water Balance and Water Use Efficiency of Maize in Northwest China

Drip irrigation (DI) has been widely utilized for crops and its water-saving effect has been confirmed by numerous studies. However, whether this technology can save so much water under the field scale during practical application is still uncertain. In order to answer this question, evapotranspiration (ET), soil water content, transpiration and evaporation over the DI and border irrigation (BI) in an arid area of NW China were continuously measured by two eddy covariance systems, micro-lysimeters, the packaged stem sap flow gauges and CS616 sensors during 2014–2018 growing seasons. The results showed that the DI averagely increased crop water use efficiency (CWUE) by 11% per year against BI. The deep drainage under DI treatment was lower than BI by 8% averagely for the five-year period. While for the ET, the DI averagely decreased ET by 7% and 40mm per year against the traditional BI. The decrease in ET was mainly due to the significant reduction in soil evaporation instead of transpiration. Oppositely, we found that DI may increase maize (Zea mays L.) transpiration in some year for the better preponderant growth of crop. Thus, the accelerating effect on transpiration of DI and its reducing effect on soil evaporation should be considered simultaneously. In our experiment, DI only improved CWUE and WUE (water use efficiency) by 11% and 15% on average in a large farmland scale, unable to always be more than a 20% improvement, as concluded by many other field experiments. Consequently, the water-saving effect of DI should not be overestimated in water resource evaluation.

SISTEM MANAJEMEN PENGOLAHAN LIMBAH CAIR DI RUMAH SAKIT UMUM DAERAH KOTA PRABUMULIH

Framework of the research is to describe that hospitals in conducting its activities generate wastewater that are physical, chemical and biological. Implementation of wastewater treatment include catcher tub fat, waste water tank, tub filter, floatasi tub, sedimentation basin, tub equalization, biodetok tub FBK10, biodetok tub FBK20, tub disinfection (chlorine), disinfection contact basin, tub bioassay, sludge dryer tub. The purpose of this study was to determine the wastewater treatment process at the WWTP (Waste Water Treatment Plant) in the city General Hospital Prabumulih. In line with the problem and research objectives, this study carried out by the method of describing is descriptive about the Wastewater Treatment at City General Hospital Prabumulih by way of observation, interviews, and find sources of library. Existing research results can be concluded that the Process of Waswater Treatment in the General Hospital Prabumulih City has implemented quite well, but need to be considered again for installation of water flow gauges and how maintance WWTP (Weste Water Treatment Plant) to comply with applicable regulations and avoid occupational diseases.

Critical effects on the photosynthetic efficiency and stem sap flow of poplar in the Yellow River Delta in response to soil water

To explore the critical relationships of photosynthetic efficiency and stem sap flow to soil moisture, two-year-old poplar saplings were selected and a packaged stem sap flow gauge, based on the stem-heat balance method, and a CIRAS-2 portable photosynthesis system were used. The results show that photosynthetic rates (Pn), transpiration rates (Tr), instantaneous water use efficiency (WUE) and the stem sap flow increased initially and then decreased with decreasing soil water, but their critical values were different. The turning point of relative soil water content (Wr) from stomatal limitation to nonstomatal limitation of Pn was 42%, and the water compensation point of Pn was 13%. Water saturation points of Pn and Tr were 64% and 56%, respectively, and the WUE was 71%. With increasing soil water, the apparent quantum yield (AQY), light saturation point (LSP) and maximum net photosynthetic rate (Pnmax) increased first and then decreased, while the light compensation point (LCP) decreased first and then increased. When Wr was 64%, LCP reached a lower value of 30.7 µmol m−2 s−1, and AQY a higher value of 0.044, indicating that poplar had a strong ability to utilize weak light. When Wr was 74%, LSP reached its highest point at 1138.3 µmol∙m−2 s−1, indicating that poplar had the widest light ecological amplitude and the highest light utilization efficiency. Stem sap flow and daily sap flow reached the highest value (1679.7 g d−1) at Wr values of 56% and 64%, respectively, and then declined with increasing or decreasing Wr, indicating that soil moisture significantly affected the transpiration water-consumption of poplar. Soil water was divided into six threshold grades by critical values to maintain photosynthetic efficiency at different levels, and a Wr of 64–71% was classified to be at the level of high productivity and high efficiency. In this range, poplar had high photosynthetic capacity and efficient physiological characteristics for water consumption. The saplings had characteristics of water tolerance and were not drought resistant. Full attention should be given to the soil water environment in the Yellow River Delta when planting Populus.

New, open-source miniature external sap flow gauges for capturing plant water use

New, open-source miniature external sap flow gauges for capturing plant water use

Long-Term Homogeneity and Trends of Hydroclimatic Variables in Upper Awash River Basin, Ethiopia

Understanding long-term trends in hydroclimatic variables is important for future sustainable water resource management as it could show the possible regime shifts in hydrology. The main objective of this study was to analyze the homogeneity and trends of hydroclimatic data of Upper Awash Sab-Basin (UASB) in Oromia, Ethiopia, by employing homogeneity tests and Mann-Kendall and Sen’s slope tests. The data consist of 18 rainfall stations, 8 temperature stations, and 8 flow gauging stations across the UASB. Homogeneity and trends in streamflow, rainfall, and temperature variables were analyzed for the time period 1980 to 2017. In order to analyze homogeneity of hydroclimatic variables, we used four homogeneity tests (Pettitt’s test, Buishand’s test, standard normal homogeneity test, and von Neumann ratio test) at 5% significance level. Based on the outputs of four homogeneity tests, the results were classified into three categories, namely, “useful,” “doubtful,” and “suspect” to select the homogeneity stations. Mann-Kendall (Z) and Sen’s slope tests (Q) were applied for the selected homogeneous time series to detect the trend and magnitude of changes in hydroclimatic variables. The result showed that most of the stations in annual rainfall and streamflow data series were classified as useful. It is found that 58% of the rainfall stations were homogeneous. It is highlighted that 3 out of 8 discharge gauging stations have an inhomogeneity as they failed from one or a combination of the four tests. The MK revealed significant decreasing trends of annual rainfall in Addis Alem (Q = −19.81), Akaki (Q = −5.60), Hombole (Q = −9.49), and Ghinch (Q = −12.38) stations. The trend of annual temperature was a significant increasing trend in Addis Ababa Bole (Q = 0.05), Addis Ababa Tikur Ambessa (Q = 0.03), Tulu Bolo (Q = 0.07), and Addis Alem (Q = 0.06) stations. The results of discharge showed a significant increasing trend in Bega at Mojo (Q = 0.17) and Hombole (Q = 0.03) gauging stations. In general, the results obtained from discharge, rainfall, and temperature series indicated that most of the stations exhibited no trends in both annual and seasonal time series. It can be concluded that decreases in average annual rainfall totals and increases in mean annual temperature will probably drive sub-basin scale changes in discharge. We believe that the results obtained can fill information gaps on homogeneity and trends of hydroclimatic variables, which is very crucial for future water resource planning and management in the face of climate change.

Flood risk assessment in Luvuvhu river, Limpopo province, South Africa

Floods are the most destructive and affect a larger population as compared to any other weather related disasters. Luvuvhu River Catchment is one of the areas in South Africa that has been subjected to extensive flood damage. A major flood hazard which claimed lives and left thousands homeless occurred in the year 1999/2000. The main aim of the study was to analyse flood frequency and assess flood risk in Luvuvhu River Catchment. Four flow gauging stations covering the catchment were used for flood frequency analysis and only a segment was assessed for flood risk.The Anderson-Darling (AD), Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS), and Chi-Squared (x2) goodness of fit tests revealed Log Normal, Log Pearson 3 and Generalized Extreme Value as the best fitting distribution to the annual maximum discharge data. The computed peak discharges were 206.61 m3/s, 351.63 m3/s, 498.46 m3/s and 685.41 m3/s for 20, 50, 100 and 200 year return period for A9H001 station.HEC-RAS was used with ArcGIS for floodplain mapping. Flood risk maps provided an indication of areas that are at risk of being inundated during floods with 20, 50, 100 and 200 years return period which were 462,407 m2, 539,198 m2, 594,735 m2 and 65,925 m2 respectively. These areas will be submerged in depth of water ranging from 0.1 m along the floodplains to 9 m in the main channel. They also revealed that settlements and cultivated areas will be the most vulnerable land uses in all flood events except 200 year flood, where natural resources will be more exposed.

Contribution of understorey vegetation to evapotranspiration partitioning in apple orchards under Mediterranean climatic conditions in South Africa

Orchard evapotranspiration (ET) is a complex flux which has been the subject of many studies. It often includes transpiration from the trees, cover crops and weeds, evaporation from the soil, mulches and other orchard artefacts. In this study we investigated the contribution of the orchard floor evaporative fluxes to whole orchard ET focusing on the transpiration dynamics of understorey vegetation which is currently not well known. Data on the partitioning of ET into its constituent components were collected in apple (Malus Domestica Bork) orchards with varying fractional canopy cover. The study orchards were in the prime apple growing regions in South Africa. The orchards were planted to the Golden Delicious/Reinders and the red cultivars (i.e. Cripps’ Pink/ Royal Gala/Fuji). Tree transpiration was quantified using the heat ratio method and the thermal dissipation sap flow techniques. Understorey transpiration was measured at selected intervals using micro stem heat balance sap flow gauges calibrated against infrared gas analyser readings. Orchard ET was measured using an open path eddy covariance system while the microclimate, radiation interception, and soil evaporation were also monitored. Orchard floor evaporative fluxes accounted for as much as 80% of the measured ET in young orchards with dense understorey vegetation that covered most of the orchard floor. In these orchards the understorey transpiration was of the same order of magnitude as the bare moist soil evaporation suggesting that water use by the understorey vegetation was substantial. However, in mature orchards with a high canopy cover (>55% fractional cover), orchard floor water losses were less than 30% of the measured ET. Understorey transpiration rates were much lower, contributing less than 10% of the whole orchard ET. Significant volumes of water can be saved, especially in young orchards, by keeping the orchard floor vegetation short, reducing the area occupied by understorey vegetation, and by reducing the wetted ground surface area.

Simulating Reservoir Induced Lhasa Streamflow Variability Using ArcSWAT

Lhasa River Basin being the socio-economic hotspot of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is experiencing an increased hydropower capacity in the form of damming and reservoir construction. The Pangduo hydropower station, commenced in 2013, is one of these developments. Lhasa River discharge is analyzed for spatial variability under the reservoir operation at Pondo and Lhasa gauging station. The Mann–Kendall Trend analysis reveals an increased precipitation and a decreased Lhasa River discharge trend upstream and downstream the reservoir. However, the discharge received at Lhasa gauging station is experiencing a greater decline revealed by Sen’s slope estimator. Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) modelling of the Lhasa River discharge for both the hydrometric stations from 2008–2016 reveals better simulation results for Pondo hydrometric station in terms of R2, NSE and PBIAS values. The modelling results for Pondo station correspond comparatively well to the reservoir operation procedures including water level and inflow despite of data availability constraint. However, the importance of non-simulated processes (e.g., groundwater abstractions) to the accurate prediction of the Lhasa flow regime particularly at the downstream flow gauge is recommended. The study can prove beneficial for local water distribution measures in Lhasa River Basin.

Real-Time Data and Flood Forecasting in Tagus Basin. A Case Study: Rosarito and El Burguillo Reservoirs from 8th to 12th March, 2018

The hydrological regime of the Iberian Peninsula is characterized by its extreme irregularity, including its propensity for periodic floods, which cause severe floods. The development of suitable cartographies and hydraulic models (HEC-RAS, IBER, etc.) allows for defining, with sufficient precision, the areas flooded by a determined return period, and for elaborating maps of danger and areas at risk of flooding, making it possible to adopt the corresponding preventive measures of spatial planning. These preventive measures do not avoid the need for contingent plans, such as the Civil Flooding Protection Plans. Many of the Peninsula’s watercourses and rivers are regulated by reservoirs built to ensure water supply and to smooth floods by releasing water in extreme hydrological climates. Hydrological modeling tools (rain/run-off) and Decision Support Systems DSS have been developed for the optimal operation of these dams in flood situations. The objective of the article is to study and prove the effectiveness of the integrated data provision in real time, while the event occurs—a circumstance that was not possible from the limited available meteorological stations available from Official Weather Services. The development of the Automatic Hydrological Information System (SAIH) in the Spanish River Basin Authorities (Confederaciones Hidrográficas), which includes a dense network of thermo-pluviometric stations and rain-river flow gauges, has allowed for new perspectives in order to realize an effective forecast method of flows during episodes of extreme precipitation. In this article, we will describe the integration of a hydrological modeling system, developed by the Confederación Hidrográfica del Tajo (River Authority), to meet the described objectives; the results of this methodology are novel. This allows for the processing of the 15-minute data provided, including the simulation of the snow accumulation/melting processes and the forecast of inflows to the reservoir to help in the establishment of safeguards and preventive waterflow releases. Finally, the methodology described is shown in a real case of study at Rosarito and El Burguillo Reservoirs.

Estimating crop coefficients for apple orchards with varying canopy cover using measured data from twelve orchards in the Western Cape Province, South Africa

The FAO-56 crop coefficient (Kc) approach is widely used for making irrigation decisions. Allen and Pereira (2009) extended this approach by developing a method for estimating Kc using a density coefficient (Kd), which is estimated from the fraction of ground covered by vegetation and plant height. In this study we evaluated this method using detailed measurements of transpiration (T), evapotranspiration (ET), soil attributes, weather, and tree physiological variables in 12 apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) orchards in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Mid-summer canopy cover of the orchards was less than 20 % in young non-bearing and exceeded 60 % in mature full-bearing orchards. Data were collected over three growing seasons (October 2014 to May 2017) in orchards planted to the Golden Delicious/Reinders®, Cripps Pink, Cripps Red, and Rosy Glow apple cultivars. The original Allen and Pereira (A&P) method significantly overestimated the basal crop coefficients (Kcb) by on average 47 % in mature and 103 % in young orchards, respectively. However, improved Kcb estimates were obtained by adjusting the ratio of the resistances (i.e. rl /100) in the A&P method, where rl is the mean leaf resistance and 100 s/m is the typical resistance for annual crops. We defined a resistance parameter “α” for apple orchards which is equivalent to the bulk canopy resistance of a well-watered tree. Replacing rl /100 with rl /α, and using the measured mean rl and other biophysical measurements to solve the A&P equation for α gave a value ∼ 37 s/m. The improved Kcb values were used to derive the orchard Kc taking into account the contribution of cover crops whose transpiration was measured using miniature stem heat balance sap flow gauges. The seasonal total transpiration (T) estimated as T = Kcb x ETo, where ETo is the reference ET closely matched the measured values with a RMSE (root of the mean square error) of ∼ ±16 mm. Therefore, using the mean canopy resistance which is representative of apple trees in the A&P method has the potential to accurately predict both the crop coefficients and water use of apple orchards from planting until full bearing age.

Testing the WEAP Hydrologic Model for Awash Basin, Ethiopia “Soil Moisture Module with Watershed Demand Approach”

The research is financed by the Egyptian Government through the Nile Sector bilateral cooperation project Abstract Currently, there are several hydrological simulation models in use worldwide. Prior to adoption of a model to a specific basin, its feasibility and practicality should be tested. This study highlights on the application of Water Evaluation and Planning system (WEAP) model for hydrologic simulation of Awash river basin in Ethiopia. A monthly time step hydrologic model was developed using the soil moisture rainfall-runoff method incorporated in WEAP with an aim to check the suitability of the model for Awash river basin. For this purpose five selected flow gauge stations located at the upper, middle and lower Awash basin were used as control stations. The model is configured taking into account the effects of development and hence the water abstractions, storage, loss rate, etc. are estimated using the data provided through various kinds of research and survey in Ethiopia. Standard methods are also used to prepare the hydro-metrological and landuse input data for each sub-catchment. Based on data availability, the time period 1986-2005 was selected for the hydrologic simulation. The observed data were split for calibration (1986–1995) and validation (1996–2005) purposes. Initially, the model was set up using the default model parameters. Then, manual calibration is performed to reproduce the observed streamflow. The model-simulated values are compared with those obtained from observations using standard statistical tests on monthly and monthly average basis. From the performance test results, it is observed that the coefficient of determination (R 2 ) and the Index of Agreement (IA) show a good fit. Furthermore, the Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) and the Percent Bias (PBIAS) calibration and validation results show good performance for Upper Awash stations and satisfactory results for the middle and lower Awash control stations. As a conclusion, the main modelling constraints were discussed and possible solutions were also suggested in order to improve the performance of water resources simulation models for the Awash basin. Keywords : Awash Basin, Hydrologic Simulation, Calibration, Validation, Model Performance, WEAP DOI: 10.7176/CER/12-3-07 Publication date: March 31 st 2020

Use of Cylindrical Bristle Clusters as a novel multispecies fish pass to facilitate upstream movement at gauging weirs

Globally, gauging weirs are commonly installed in rivers to monitor flows. They have widespread negative impacts on the upstream movement of fish due to the barriers created by the unfavourable hydraulic conditions on the downstream face. There is a need to develop simple low-cost solutions to enhance multi-species fish passage, while not impacting the ability of these structures to gauge flow or increasing their potential to accumulate debris. This study investigated the use of an array of Cylindrical Bristle Clusters (CBCs), mounted on the downstream face of Crump weirs, to improve upstream passage of multiple species of fish while maintaining gauging accuracy. The simplicity and modularity of the design helps improve cost effectiveness and ease of installation. Laboratory tests with roach (Rutilus rutilus) showed that the passage efficiency of a Crump weir was increased from 0% (control) to ≈30% when retrofitted with CBCs. Swim path analysis indicated fish utilised low velocity zones in the wake of clusters to facilitate passage. Time taken to pass the weir and length of the swim path were greatest under the highest cluster density, where manoeuvrability was most constrained. Following these promising experimental results, the fish pass efficiency of a weir retrofitted with a staggered array of CBCs, was evaluated in the field. Upstream passage of a number of non-salmonid fish, including chub (Squalius cephalus) and roach, was monitored using Passive Integrated Transponder telemetry at a 7 m long, 1.2 m wide, Crump weir with a 1:5 downstream slope. Overall passage efficiency, considering all species, increased from 2% to 14% when the fish pass was installed, and for chub from 0 to 52%. Debris accumulation was minimal during the test period. Assessment of the impact of a variety of CBC array densities on gauging was also undertaken. As predicted using theory, there was no effect on gauging when arrays were placed downstream of the point at which flow regime changes from sub- to supercritical. This study highlights the potential for a staggered array of CBCs to improve the upstream passage of multiple species of fish at gauging weirs, common barriers to fish migration throughout the world, without affecting the accuracy of flow gauging.