Impacts of Land-Use Change on Streamflows in the Damansara Watershed, Malaysia

Abstract

Land-use change has significant impacts on hydrologic processes at the watershed level. In this study, hydrologic models and spatial data were used to assess the effects of land-use changes and predict the effects of two future land-use scenarios on the flood regime of the Damansara Watershed. Due to urban growth, the Damansara Watershed has seen increasing streamflows and experienced occasional flooding. The hydrology was modeled using the Hydrologic Engineering Center-Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) model, and land-use changes were quantified with land-use maps. Actual storms were used to calibrate and validate HEC-HMS rainfall-runoff model. The calibrated HEC-HMS model was used to simulate future streamflows and to forecast the impact of land-use changes on downstream peak streamflow. The model also estimated the contribution of individual sub-basins to downstream peak streamflows of the entire watershed. The model predicts that changes in land-use will increase the peak streamflow, and the increase is directly proportional to the rate of urbanization. It was found that the sensitivity of the hydrologic response to land-use change increases as the recurrence interval of rainfall events decreases, and that those impacts are more pronounced in different sub-basins. The results of this study provide support for land-use planning and the management of watersheds.

Analyzing the effect of urbanization on flood characteristics at catchment levels

“…Urbanizing is a major land use/cover (LUCC) change trend for most regions of China in recent decades. It modifies hydrological process by affecting runoff generation and concentration which has been research focus currently (Amini et al, 2011;Delgado et al, 2009;O'Donnell et al, 2011;Wu et al, 2007).…”

The groundwater balance in alluvial plain aquifer at Dehgolan, Kurdistan, Iran

“…Seasonal and permanent rivers which heading toward the plain, charge aquifers according to groundwater table and soil texture (Amini et al 2011). There is no permanent river in Dehgolan plain.…”

Estimation of Flood Environmental Effects Using Flood Zone Mapping Techniques in Halilrood Kerman, Iran

“…The remaining soil has new characteristics and regarding our flood zone map for the study area the volume of changes is significant. Based on our measured data in the Halilrood catchment area, the soil texture is classified to five groups, including (1) clay loam (CL), (2) sandy loam (SL), (3) silty clay loam (SiCL), (4) sandy clay loam (SCL), (5) and a region with no texture (Figure 11). As well as these from hydrological point of view, in the Halilrood catchment area soil classified to three groups, including (1) class B, which has medium effect on run off production and is consist of gravelly loam and sandy loam, (2) class C, which has relatively large effect on run off production and is consist of loam and clay loam, (3) and class D, which has very large effect on run off production and is consist of clay and silty soils (Figure 11).…”

“…The reports of floods in different parts of the world reveal the same scenario of enormous environmental and economic damages and human death for decades [1,2]. At riversides, floodplain areas are more subjected to possible flood events.…”

“…[12]. The HEC-HMS contains four main components including: (1) An analytical model to calculate overland flow runoff as well as channel routing, (2) an advanced graphical user interface illustrating hydrologic system components with interactive features, (3) a system for storing and managing data, specifically large, time variable data sets, and (4) a means for displaying and reporting model outputs [12,13]. Hydrologic engineering center-river analysis system (HEC-RAS), which was developed by the U.S. army corps of engineers, has been applied extensively in calculating the hydraulic characteristics of rivers [11].…”