Simulating sediment yield by SWAT and optimizing the parameters using SUFI-2 in Bilate river of Lake Abaya in Ethiopia

Abstract

Purpose Prediction of sediment yield for a particular river is essential to study the river morphology, agricultural land management and the lake/reservoir sedimentation investigation. The purpose of this research was to predict sediment yield by simulating and optimizing using model analysis from Bilate River. Design/methodology/approach Continuous daily sediment produced was estimated using sediment rating curve analysis. Sediment yield was simulated with soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) and the parameters were optimized by using Sequential Uncertainty Fitting algorithm. A total of 15 years of monthly flow and sediment yield data was calibrated and validated during the course of time. Findings Results evaluated through SWAT showed that the model performance was very good. From the model output prediction, the total measured and simulated sediment yield were 5.425 million ton/year and 5.538 million ton/year, respectively. The result indicates that there were high amount of soil loss resulting into sediment yield produced from the watershed per year which needs appropriate soil and water conservation techniques. Thus, the finding of this research work can provide an effective watershed/river basin management and environmental restoration. Originality/value This paper is an original research work and all the referred sources are cited properly wherever deemed fit.