GIS-BASED SURFACE IRRIGATION POTENTIAL ASSESSMENT: A CASE STUDY IN MUGA WATERSHED EAST GOJAM ZONE, AMHARA REGION, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Assessing available water and land for surface irrigation is important for planning their use. The high dependency on rain-fed farming and erratic rainfall require alternative ways of improving agricultural production. The alternative to improve is through development of small scale irrigation schemes by assessing the available suitable land and water resources in sub-basin level. The objective of this study was assessing the land and water resources potential of Muga watershed in East Gojjam Zone for surface irrigation development using Geographic Information System. Identification of suitable land, estimation of available river flow, and determination of irrigation water requirement were the main steps that were followed. The land irrigation suitability factors considered were: slope, soil, land use/land cover, and river proximity. Estimation of river flow in the six manually added outlets was conducted by simulation after calibration and validation were carried out with the observed flow of gauged river using Soil and water assessment tool. The commonly cultivated crops in the area maize, onion and potato were selected, and the irrigation water requirements of these crops were determined using the CROPWAT8.0 model. Comparison between gross irrigation water requirement of the selected crops for the identified suitable land with simulated river flow at the area of the selected site was carried out. Overall, the weighted overlay analysis of these factors gave a suitable land among river sub-basin as G/muga 560ha, E/muga 3057ha, Bora 670ha, Gibstawit 404ha, and Genet 241ha. Mean monthly flow of 11.4m3 /s were determined at the watershed. A total of 3443ha (5.1%) was found to be potentially suitable for the development of surface irrigation project from a total watershed area of 67535ha. In conclusion, the irrigation potential of the area could be increased either by harvesting rainwater or using groundwater.