Contributions of remote sensing in the diachronic study of the spatial and temporal evolution of the Ahmed El Hansali dam water reservoir from 2002-03 to 2018-19

Abstract

The OumErRbiabasin is one of the watersheds with the largest number of hydraulic infrastructures in Morocco. These hydraulic structuressupply water for drinking, industrial and agricultural uses. The Ahmed El Hansali dam is a 740 Mm³ reservoir located near Zaouyat Cheikh andhave an active storage of473 Mm³. The succession of dry years in the OumErRbiabasin has had a negative impact on the water resource and has caused a remarkable decrease in the reservoir of the Ahmed el Hansali dam. In this paper, the MNDWI (Modified Normalized Difference Water Index) from Landsat 5-TM, Landsat 7-ETM, and Landsat 8-OLI satellite images was used to estimate the spatial and temporal fluctuations of the volumes of water stored in the reservoir between hydrological years 2002-03 and 2018-19. Results show that the volumes estimated by remote sensing reasonably match the volumes estimated by the OumErRbia Hydraulic Basin Agency (OERHBA)using recorded water levels and reservoir storage curve for years 2002-03 and 2013-14; the determination coefficient R² exceeds 0.90. The mapping of the extent of the dam’s impoundment has shown a very significant decreasein the flooded area level during dry years.