This study was conducted in the Oued El Abid watershed upstream of the Bin El Ouidane dam, in Tadla-Azilal province (Morocco) to quantify the dam siltation rates. To assess the annual soil erosion and the sediment yield the universal soil loss equation (USLE) was used. A geographic information system (GIS) was used to generate and integrate maps of the USLE factors. A spatial distribution of soil erosion in the Oued El Abid watershed was obtained. The soil erosion was determined for each rural commune in order to identify the soil erosion hotspot and estimate the amount of soil that has been transported downstream (Bin El Ouidane Dam). Soil erosion ranged from very limited values for flat and well covered areas to over 2100 t /ha/y in mountainous areas with sparse vegetation. The total annual soil loss within the watershed is estimated at 19. 6 million tons per year. An equation of sediment delivery ratio (SDR) based on river gradient was calculated. It was found that the value of SDR at the outlet of the watershed Oued El Abid was 0. 65 with a sediment yield of 12. 74 million tons per year which affect the durability of the dam.
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