Runoff and Sediment Yield Determination for Karita Wuha Watershed in West Belsa

Woreda the Uplands of Tekeze River Basin, Ethiopia

Temesgen Tsehayneh (MSc.), Fasikaw Atanew (PhD), Seifu Admassu (PhD)

Department of Hydraulic and Water Resources Engineering, Assosa University, Assosa, Ethiopia.

ABSTRACT
The study was conducted in Karita Wuha watershed tion of soil water conservation practice in 2020 but
(Atlaku and Menu Catchments) in West Belesa the watershed still categorized in high class of erosion
Woreda the uplands of Tekeze River Basin, Ethiopia. and needs farther conservation practice.
My study presents Runoff and sediment Yield deter-
Key Words: West Belesa Watershed, Karita wuha,
mination for Menu and Atlaku catchments. During
Menu, Atlaku, Sediment Yield.
the rainy period of 2019 and 2020 Precipitation were
measured continuously in both catchments using both
1. INTRODUCTION
manual and automatic rain wise rain gauge instru- In the highlands of Ethiopia, soil erosion and land

ments. The river cross section was surveyed using degradation is a serious and continuous problem that

leveling instrument and the velocity was determined resulted in the loss of fertile topsoil leading to low

by floating method, the surface velocity were multi- agricultural productivity (Hurni, 1993). Lack of effec-

plied by two-third for calculating mean velocity to tive watershed management system and poor land use

compute the mean discharge. The discharge were practices played a significant role in land degradation

determined by velocity area method, the area obtained in the region (Setegn et al., 2009). About 1.3 billion

by area staff gauge model and the velocity was the ton of fertile soil are lost each year and soil erosion

average velocity obtained from two third of surface and land degradation increase significantly due to

velocity then the best fit stage discharge rating curve undulation and irregular topography in the area (Hur-

was developed from all the 20- minute flow depths. A ni, 1989b). According to various studies in the Ethio-

0.6 liter of water was sampled using bottles and taken pia highlands, much of the lost land will be economi-

to be filtrated using Whitman filter paper to compute cally insufficient in the near future. According to the

the mass of suspended sediment concentration and Ethiopian highland reclamation study (Yilma and

sediment rating curves were also develop. The annual Awulachew, 2009), in the mid1980’s, 27 million

runoff depth varies between 191.08mm and hectare or almost 50% of the high land area was sig-

124.99mm with an average of 158.03mm for Atlaku nificantly eroded, 14 million hectare seriously eroded

catchment and between 125.08mm and 73.96mmwith and over 2 million hectare were beyond reclamation.

an average of 99.52mm for Menu catchment. The Efforts have been made to manage this loss. Howev-

annual Sediment yield for Atlaku catchment was er, a number of previous studies have pointed out that

decreased from 36.47ton/ha/yr in 2019 to such arrangements were unsatisfactory and incompat-

28.43ton/ha/yr in 2020and the annual Sediment yield ible due to ineffective community participation in

for Menu catchment are decreased from 27.4ton/ha/yr planning stage, improper intervention selection, poor

in 2019 to 21.13ton/ha/yr in 2020 following installa- management after construction, not integrated with
biological conservation measures and others among
the smallholder farmers (Hurni, 1989b). This requires
immediate action to estimate soil erosion rate and
develop a relation with sediment and discharge of the
study watersheds and adapt conservation practice in
the area.
Estimating soil erosion is the process of mathemati-
cally incorporating and describing soil detachment,
transport and deposition on land surfaces. Empirical
methods are an inseparable part of any erosion re-
search to estimate the amount of sedimentation (Najm
et al., 2013).One way of trying to improve our predic-
tion of erosion processes is through sediment rating
curves based on empirical knowledge from a specific
region (Asselman, 2000).For the Ethiopian highlands,
sediment rating curves are complex since sediment
delivery depends on discharge, the onset of rainfall,
land use and land cover, which vary between rainfall
seasons (Awulachew, 2010). However, developing
these rating curves from a long record of sediment
concentration and associated runoff rates is a viable
alternative to models that require a large number of
different types of data inputs. On the other hand, dif-
ferent management intervention scenarios have de-
veloped for the watershed which helps to reduce land
degradation, increase vegetation cover, and increases
the productivity of the watershed area. Therefore, to
address the above situation, runoff and sediment yield
determination for watershed management is one of
the most important approaches, which helps to reduce
land degradation, minimize sedimentation problem in
different hydraulic structures, increase vegetation
cover, and increases the productivity of the watershed
area.
1.2. Statement of the problem
Soil erosion is a critical problem in Ethiopia high-
lands. Deforestation, human settlements and agricul-
tural expansion in the watershed directly related to
land use change. This change will cause an effect on
the hydrology and sediment yield of the watershed,
for example when forest is lost and crop or agricul-
tural land is expanded increase in surface runoff and
cause severe soil erosion and sedimentation problem
in different hydraulic structure. Fast population
growth and high density of livestock’s spare those
forest lands to crop lands. Also cultivation on long
and steep slopes are conducted without effective pro-
tective measures which makes the watershed suscep-
tible to soil erosion. Due to decreasing crop produc-
tion community living in both catchments categorized
food insecure area since 1999 by the regional gov-
ernment (Birru, 2007). Soil and water conservation
measure had been implanted in the watershed for the
last decades. However, community as well as gov-
ernment blindly recommended different measures
without any evidence on targeting as a result they
aggravated instead of reducing soil erosion in both
watersheds. To reduce soil erosion problems in the
watershed, rate of soil loss could be estimated. In the
highlands of Ethiopia, in which Menu and Atlaku
catchments are found, are facing severe problems
arising from excessive erosion that results sedimenta-
tion problem in Karita wuha gravity Dam which was
constructed for both water supply and irrigation pur-
pose in the downstream of the watershed.
1.3. Objective of the Study
The overall goal of this study is Runoff and sediment
Yield determination for Menu and Atlaku catchments
and develop stage discharge rating curve and sedi-
ment rating curve in both catchments.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Soil and land degradation in Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, deforestation, rapid rate of soil erosion
and degradation of land are serious environmental
problems resulting in food insecurity and reducing
agricultural productivity. Soil erosion is one part of
land degradation that affects the physical and chemi-
cal properties of soil and resulting in on-site nutrient
loss and off-site sedimentation of water resources in
Ethiopia (Hurni, 1993).Other degradation processes annual soil loss of 1,493Mt (Sinore et al., 2017). The
include intensified runoff from grasslands and related severity is much higher in agriculture land, in which
gulling, as well as high soil erosion rates from heavily 85% of the total population depends on it to get their
degraded lands. The practices of the small scale farm- survival (Authority, 2012)
ers are the main cause of these processes. Due to this
2.2. SWC practices in reducing storm runoff and
Soil erosion and land degradation is a great concern
sediment yield
which constitutes to global environmental and eco-
The Ethiopian highlands are characterized by defor-
nomic problems (Hurni, 1993).Studies suggested that
estation, accelerated soil erosion, and severe land
high rates of soil erosion in Ethiopia is mainly caused
degradation due to thousands of years of agriculture
by extensive deforestation due to the prevalence of
and human settlement in the area (Bishaw, 2005)
high demand for fuel wood collection and grazing
SWCPs are intended to improve infiltration, recharge
into steep land areas (Amsalu et al., 2007).On the
ground water, and reduce surface runoff and erosion
other hand, soil erosion by water is the degradation
(Morgan, 2009). To reduce erosion and land degrada-
process and occurs particularly on cropland, with
tion, a series of soil and water conservation (SWC)
annual soil loss rates on average of 42 tons/ha for
programs were launched. In Ethiopia, these practices
croplands, and up to 300 tons/ha in extreme cases
were reported to result in reduction in runoff and
(Hawando, 1995), also estimated that the amount of
increase infiltration and reduction of sediment yield
annual soil movement (loss) by erosion ranges from
(Nyssen et al., 2010) and Results also showed in-
1,248 to 23,400 Mtyr-1 from 78 million ha of pasture
creased agricultural production (Adgo et al., 2013),
and rangelands and cultivated fields in Ethiopia. Us-
improved soil physical and chemical properties
ing conventional soil loss measuring methods, the six
(Fekadu et al., 2015), and economical pay-off
SCRAP sites of Ethiopia found a soil loss ranging
(Teshome et al., 2013). However, few of these studies
from 18 to 214.8tons/ha/year (Berhe, 1996). This by
included detailed assessment of the effect of SWCPs
far exceeds the natural rate of regeneration. (FAO
on catchment hydrology based on measured hydrolo-
1986. Food and Agriculture Organization .Ethiopian
gy data “before” and “after” the SWCPs intervention.
highlands reclamation study), estimated that 50% of
2.3. On-site and Off-site Effects of Erosion
the highlands are significantly eroded of which 25%
The reduction of soil productivity over extended peri-
are seriously eroded and 4% have reached a point of
od is the main onsite effect of soil erosion. In Ethio-
no return (MoWIE, 1993, Hurni, 1989a). Based on
pia, the active soil erosion is turning many of the once
estimation, the trans-boundary Rivers that originate
fertile and surplus production areas in to badlands
from the highlands of Ethiopia carry about 1.3billion
(Emama et al., 2015). Erosion not only damages the
ton/year of sediment to the neighboring countries.
immediate agricultural area where it occurs but also
The extent and severity of the problems different in
negatively affects the surrounding environment. Sed-
spatial variations, is subject to difference in altitude,
imentation and water pollution are the main off-site
ecology, settlement, topography, and land use system
effects of soil erosion by water. For the conservation,
(Shiferaw, 2015). Natural resource degradation is the
development and utilization of our soil and water
major environmental problem resulting from decline
resources, sedimentation should be the main concern
of agricultural productivity (Tesfa and Mekuriaw,
(Julien, 2010). Sediment is the product of erosion and
2014). The average rate of soil erosion in the country
it decreases the storage capacity and life expectancy
wide was estimated at 12ton ha-1yr-1, giving a total
of reservoirs, increases flood damage and water
treatment cost (Toy et al., 2002). The sediment deliv-
ered at the outlet of a watershed /watershed sediment
yield should be estimated before the designing of
reservoirs to analyze sedimentation and water quality
problems. In Ethiopia, most of the reservoirs that are
built for different purpose are filled with sediment
with in less than 50% of their projected service lives
(Braimoh and Vlek, 2008).
3. Methodology
3.1. Description of the study area
The study area Karita wuha watershed (Atlaku and
Menu catchments) are located in West Belesa Woreda
the upland of Tekeze River basin Amhara National
Regional State Ethiopia (figure 3-1) The Geograph-
ical coordinate of Karita wuha watershed is ranges
from 37o46’2”to 37o46’45” E and12o26’50”to
12o27’25” N. Both catchments are classified under
semi-arid agro climatic zone.

Figure 3-1: Location map of the study area

3.2. Hydrology
The hydrological data for both catchments obtained from the station installed on the study area. The annual
rainfall occurred mainly between May and October in a unimodal distribution of the watershed. The majority of
annual rainfall falls between July (34%) and August (32%) during the main rainy season accounting for 66% of
the total annual rainfall.
3.3. Data collection and Analysis
The selection of sub-catchments have been made on
Water for Food Security, Women's Empowerment and
Environmental Protection program (SWEEP) of CARE
Ethiopia together with Bahir dar Institute of technology
to develop SWC structures in the watershed. Once deci-
sion has been reached on the selection of sub-
catchments, next was to collect materials for obtaining
catchment data. To accomplish the objective of the
study both primary and secondary data were collected
3.3.1. Primary data collection
Daily water level records, rainfall, floating time and
sediment sample were collected primarily from the site
by the local people appointed by Bahir dar Institute of
Technology and sample survey of ground control points
for land use land cover classification and different land
uses have been identified and Coordinates of training
samples were taken by GPS. The GPS points were tak-
en from main types of land uses; cultivated lands, for-
ests, bush lands, grazing lands and bare lands. These
Figure 3- 2: The location of both automatic rain wise
rain gauge and manual rain gauge
3.3.1.2. Area determination
The cross sectional area for both catchments were de-
termined by AUTOCAD that means by drawing the
cross section of the river at the staff gauge position and
determine the area for each staff gauge reading and
develop the staff gauge area model for Menu catchment
both catchments.
training points have been verified through Google Earth
and land uses have been prepared by GIS software. To
accomplish these data, I have used different materials.
3.3.1.1. Rainfall data analysis
Daily rainfall was measured with manual rain gauge has
orifices diameter of 20cm and a capacity of 150mmand
Automatic rain wise rain gauge. These rain gauges were
installed in close vicinity to the site manager’s home as
shown in Figure 3- 2 and record 167 rain fall data.
Since the two catchments are nested catchments and the
rain gauge was installed in Menu catchments, it is as-
sumed that the rain fall distributions considered as simi-
lar for the two catchments. Rainfall data were collected
two times a day at 7:00 and 19:00 by the local people
appointed by Bahir dar Institute of Technology. In addi-
tion to these record additional records have been col-
lected during any time of the day when there is rain.
Irregular check-ups were made as often as possible, to
check on the rain gauge observation skills, and addi-
tional training was given when required.
Figure 3- 3: Survey Menu river cross section profile
3.3.1.3. Water level measurement
Water level was usually monitored with the help of staff
gauges, which was read two times a day at 7:00 and
19:00 by the local people appointed by Bahir dar Insti-
tute of Technology. Additional records have been col-
lected during any time of the day when there is runoff.
Therefore, during 2019-2020 the level of water (to be
converted to discharge, when stage discharge rating
curves have been established) has been measured based
on a painted staff gauges (made of metal) and with a
painted staff board at the accuracy of 1cm, produced
and delivered by Bahir dar University Institute of Tech- small river catchments as shown in Figure 3- 7 and 156
nology, in early 2019. There were two staff gauges measurements were taken in both catchment.
installed in Karita Wuha watershed at Menu and Atlaku

gauge and the hourly flow data were processed in

spread sheet software to get daily, decadal and monthly
value. The decadal and monthly values are aggregated
averaging the values obtained from daily basis.
𝑄=𝐴∗𝑉𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 (3.3)
3.3.1.6. Runoff determination
The storm runoff volume was calculated by assuming
that the discharge flow rate was constant during the
time interval, and thus runoff volume was obtained by
multiplying the time duration, 𝛻(sec), by the discharge
flow rate, Qi (m3/sec). The time interval 𝛻(sec) is the
time that the staff gauge reading was taken.
𝑅=𝑄𝑖∗∇𝑡 (3.4)
Figure 3- 7: Staff gauge position for both Atlaku in (A)
3.3.1.7. Stage-discharge rating curve
and Menu in (B) catchments
Direct and continuous recording of discharge was diffi-
3.3.1.4. Velocity determination
cult that is costly, time consuming, and sometimes im-
The velocity in both Menu and Atlaku catchments was
practical during floods. However, observing and record-
determined by using flouting method. The flouting was
ing flow depth relatively simple. To determining the
always determine at a constant length for each water-
stage discharge rating curve I have used the recording
sheds, i.t the time was read in minute for 15m length for
stage and the discharge determined by area velocity
Menu and 20m length for Atlaku catchment (Dessie et
method. I have used stage-discharge rating curve by
al., 2014), finally the velocity was determined by apply-
treats the discharge as a unique function of the stage
ing a simple mathematics.
(Zhang et al., 2015).
𝑉𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒=𝐿𝑡 (3.1)
𝑄= (𝐻) (3.5)
Because of surface velocities are typically higher than
3.3.1.8. Sediment data collection and analysis
mean or average velocities the following correction
Suspended sediment concentration was measured using
method have used.
the grab sample method with 0.6 liter bottles. The sam-
𝑉𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛=𝐾∗𝑉𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 (3.2)
ples were collected from the site to determine the mass
Where, k is a coefficient that generally used as two
of sediment concentration per 0.6liter of discharge.
third of surface velocity (Tilahun et al., 2013).
During storm events, stage-discharge and suspended
3.3.1.5. Discharge determination
sediment concentration measurements were taken at 20-
In both Atlaku and Menu catchments the discharge was
min intervals and continued until flow stabilized to pre-
determined by applying velocity area method, area ob-
storm levels and the water became visibly clear
tained from area staff gauge model and velocity ob-
(Tilahun et al., 2013). For Menu catchment 119 samples
tained from floating method. Interpolation of original
were collected and 103 sample were also collected in
data to hourly data were used to get hourly data of staff
Atlaku catchment. The concentration of suspended map to get Land use land cover classification, and Soil
sediment was determined in the laboratory using classification for the years of 2019-2020 which helps to
Whatman 320mm diameter with a pore size of2.5mm notice the rate of soil loss within the study area.
filter paper. To determine sediment concentration the 4. RESULUT AND DISCUSSION
first step was determine the weight of the paper and
4.1. Precipitation for Karita wuha watershed
second filtering the sample and put the sediment sample
The rainfall pattern in the Karita Wuha catchment is
in an oven-drying at a temperature of 105 °C for 24 hr,
unimodal, which occurs from May to October. Total
After the oven dry the sample was measured by using
precipitation of the six months of the rainy season
sensitive balance as shown in Figure 3- 8 and converted
(May-Oct) are as shown in Figure 4- 1.Total precipita-
to equivalent dry mass by applying simple mathemati-
tion for the six months May to October from 2019 to
cal equations (Dessie et al., 2014).
2020 ranged between 635mm and 710.4mm as shown
SSC (g/L) =Weight of oven dry sample (g) - weight of
in Table 4- 1. The difference between the driest (2019)
paper (g) /0.6 (3.6)
and wettest (2020) year was 75.4mm. The analysis and
For ease of unit conversion sediment concentration of
conversion of original rainfall data to daily monthly and
the measured data to sediment load converted as:
annual was conducted by using excel spread sheet soft-
SSL=86.4∗Q∗SSC (3.7)
ware, and the result as shown in Table 4- 1 & Figure 4-
Where: SSL is suspended sediment load in (ton/day), Q
1.
is flow of the stream (m3/s), SSC is suspended sediment
Table 4- 1: Annual Rainfall of Karita wuha (Menu and
concentration (g/l) and 86.4 is conversion factor.
Atlaku) catchments
The sediment yield was determined by using the formu-
la
SY (t/ha/yr) =SSL (t/yr)/A (ha) (3.8)

2019 2020
250
200
Rainfall (mm)

150
100
50
0

Figure 3- 8: Laboratory Procedures for measuring sus-

pended sediment concentration
3.3.2. Secondary data collection Figure 4- 1: Monthly precipitation for both Atlaku and

Digital elevation model (DEM), soil maps and Satellite Menu catchments

images were collected. The Digital Elevation Model 4.2. Runoff

(DEM) of study area, having 30meter spatial resolution The annual runoff depth varies between 191.08mm and

was downloaded from the Website 124.99mm with an average of 158.03 mm for Atlaku

https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/in the month of July catchment and between 125.08mm and 73.96mm with

2020. DEM and satellite images were used to delineate an average of 99.52mm for Menu catchment.

and map the watershed including the streams and slope 4.3. Rain fall and Runoff patterns
In Karita Wuha Watershed most of the rainfall with
great intensities occurs in Jun and July. The maximum
daily precipitation was 52mm (occurred in 7/27/2019)
and it generates runoff depth 38mm/day. The runoff
distribution pattern was similar in both 2019 and 2020
but different in magnitude i.e., the runoff was decreased
in 2020 because of SWCP.
4.4. Runoff as affected by land use
During the entire study period (2019–2020), the annual
storm runoff volumes generated from bush land domi-
nated catchment varied between 285.84 and 261.97 mm
while the runoff volume from cultivated land dominated
catchment ranged from 310.66 to 281.57mm. Both
monthly and annual storm runoff from cultivated land
catchment was significantly greater as compared to the
runoff generated from bush land dominated catchment.
The variation in daily, monthly and seasonal storm
runoff volumes between the two catchments generally
indicate that there is a need to focus on the construction
of conservation measures.
4.5. Soil loss as affected by land use
The general trend of SSL in both cultivated dominated
catchment and bush land dominated catchments is that
SSL start lower early in the rainy season, quickly in-
creases and then gradually starts to decline with the
progress of the season Figure 4- 5 & Figure 4- 6. SSL
were greater in the month of June and July than in Au-
gust, September and December Table 4-9. This is con-
sistent with earlier observations in the catchment in that
rill formation in the unconsolidated soil after plowing is
the largest source of sediment and cause high concen-
tration in the beginning of the rainy season (Zegeye et
al., 2010). This is related with the fact that when vege-
tation cover is removed from a land surface, the rate of
removal of the soil material, at least initially, increases
rapidly. Later, when the vegetation cover improves, the
effect of this factor declines (Kang et al., 2001). In ad-
dition, in Atlaku catchment, cereals cultivation such as
‘tef’, which is the predominant crop, require repeated
tillage of up to 3–5 rounds before sowing. This repeated
tillage on the clay-dominated areas breaks soil structure,
creates greater soil disturbance and makes abundant
fine sediment available for an easy detachment and
transport. This facilitates the storm runoff to transport
sediment and results in increased SSC from the culti-
vated lands than bush land dominated catchment.
4.6. Infiltration rates
The median infiltration capacity for upper, mid and
down slope position was 82.27, 86.27 and 85.16 mm/hr
for Atlaku catchment and 82.19, 87 and 86.71mm/hr for
Menu catchment respectively, this showing the effect of
land scape positions on infiltration rates. Considerable
differences were observed in the median infiltration
rates between landscape positions. The upper portions
of the catchment exhibited lower infiltration rates, as
compared to the mid and lower portions.
4.7. Runoff source area identification
By understanding the relationship between infiltration
capacity of the soil and the spatial variability of soil
structure within the catchment, it is possible to identify
where in the catchment is runoff generated i.e. runoff
source areas. Lower infiltration rates are found in the
upland areas of the catchment where the area is bush
lands and sound rock. On the other hand, in the middle
and down slopes of the catchment, the soils are deeper
and are well drained and have higher infiltration rates.
Therefore, runoff in the middle and down slopes of the
catchment is generated from the runoff on the uplands
of the area.
Since there is no need to conserve water on upland are- not performed, they can collect less runoff and led to
as (because the soil is sound rock for crop production), increase in the runoff coefficients in 2020.
installing soil bunds will only use to discharge water Atlaku Menu

Runoff(mm) and %Reduction

safely out of the field. In addition our discussion with 210
180
farmers in both Atlaku and Menu catchments, transect
150
walks, continuous field observations and photo moni-
120
toring indicated that soil bunds are effective when they
90
are placed on specific locations in the landscape. 60
Thus, infiltration furrows were found effective on the 30
drained hillsides where Lebtosol dominate. Since these 0
soils are very shallow soil over hard rock or a deeper 2019 2020 %Reduction

soil that is extremely gravelly and/or stony, where rain

water could infiltrate easily, soil bunds are stable and Figure 4-2: Storm runoff and % reduction in runoff

collect runoff. Furrows of soil bunds in the uplands are 4.9. Stage Discharge Rating Curve

effective to infiltrate rain water as water table in these The polynomial and power trend relation were fitted.

areas are deeper which in turn reduced storm runoff. For Menu catchment the power relation is taken when

However, on the flat bottomlands that saturate with the the water level is greater than 50cm because the values

progress of the monsoon rain and on fields dominated of the polynomial trend have extremely minimized and

by vertisols, soil bunds were not effective due to the the polynomial relation is taken when the water level

combined effect of soil saturation and vertic nature of reading is less than 50cm because the values of the

soil (Chanie, 2020). Soils have very low infiltration power relation become extremely maximized the value.

rates/restricted infiltration at saturation. On the other For Atlaku catchment the power relation is taken when

hand, vertisols have a tendency to form wide-deep the water level is greater than 30cm because the values

cracks during the dry season and swell during the rainy of the polynomial trend have extremely minimized the

season. The combination of saturated and vertic soil flow value and the polynomial relation is taken when

results in instability and collapse of soil bunds and in- the water level reading is less than 30cm because the

creased runoff, thus conservation practices became values of the power trend have extremely maximized

conduits for carrying excess rainfall (Chanie, 2020). the flow value.

4.8. Effectiveness of SWC practices in reducing 0.35

storm runoff 0.3 y = 0.0001x2 - 0.0011x + 0.0033
Discharge(m^3/sec)

R² = 0.9995
Soil and water conservation practices in 2020 reduced 0.25
the total storm runoff in both Menu and Atlaku catch- 0.2
ments. The reduction in both catchments ranges 0.15
from125.08mm to 73.96mm (41% reduction) in Menu 0.1
catchment and ranged from 191.08mm to 124.99mm 0.05
(35% reduction) in Atlaku catchment as shown in Fig- 0
ure 4-2. However, the reduction is higher in Menu 0 20 40 60
Staff guage(cm)
catchment (41%) than Atlaku (35%) as shown in Figure
4-2, because the furrows in Atlaku are already filled Figure 4- 1: Menu catchment stage discharge rating
with sediments and maintenance of the structures were curve when H<=50cm
 Discharge(m^3/sec) 8.2 negate this effect. The power and polynomial trend

6.2 y= 9E-06x2.6061 relation was used for both Menu and Atlaku catch-
R² = 0.9911
ments. The power relation was used when the discharge
4.2
is less than or equal to 0.01m^3/sec because the poly-
2.2
nomial function extremely maximized the value and the
0.2
polynomial was used when the discharge is greater than
50 100 150 200
Staff Gauge(cm) 0.01m^3/sec because the power function extremely
minimized the value as shown in Figure 4- 5, Figure 4-
Figure 4- 2: Menu catchment stage discharge rating 6, Figure 4- 7 & Figure 4- 8 respectively.
curve when H>50cm 28.02
12.30 24.02
Discharge (m^3/sec)

10.30 y = 0.00007x2.5922 20.02 y = 12434x1.3642

SSL (t/day)
8.30 R² = 0.9937 16.02 R² = 0.9015
6.30 12.02
8.02
4.30
4.02
2.30
0.02
0.30 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01
30.0 50.0 70.0 90.0 110.0

Staff gauge (cm) Discharge (m^3/sec)

Figure 4- 3: Atlaku catchment stage discharge rating Figure 4- 5: Menu catchment sediment rating curve
curve when H<=30cm when Q <= 0.01m^3/sec
0.40 420.00
0.35 y = 0.0005x2 - 0.0041x + 0.0194 y = 14007x2 + 1689.5x + 12.888
Discharge (m^3/sec)

SSL (t/day)

0.30 R² = 0.9985 320.00 R² = 0.9627

0.25 220.00
0.20
0.15 120.00
0.10 20.00
0.05 0.01 0.06 0.11 0.16
0.00
4 14 24 34 Discharge (m^3/sec)

Staff gauge (cm) Figure 4- 6: Menu catchment sediment rating curve

Figure 4- 4: Atlaku catchment stage discharge rating when Q > 0.01m^3/sec

curve when H>30cm 14
12 y = 15587x1.554
10 R² = 0.9461
4.10. Sediment Rating Curve
SSL (t/day)

8
In both Atlaku and Menu catchments, for a given dis- 6
charge, the concentrations were greater at the beginning 4
of the rainy season and becomes decrease at the end of 2
0
the rainy season. Higher concentrations for low flows
0 0.005 0.01 0.015
and lower concentrations for high flows in the whole
Discharge (m^3/sec)
data set made the use of a single rating curve impracti- Figure 4- 7: Atlaku catchment sediment rating curve
cal (Asselman, 2000) and gives low coefficients of when Q <= 0.01m^3/sec
determination. In some cases, dividing the data into
these different parts and plotting them separately can
 694
y = 9758.5x2 + 1645.3x - 9.6414
595 R² = 0.9956
496
397
SSL (t/day)
298
199
100
1
0.01 0.06 0.11 0.16 0.21
Discharge (m^3/sec)
Figure 4- 8: Atlaku catchment sediment rating curve
when Q > 0.01m^3/sec
4. 11. Suspended sediment yield of the two catch-
ments
The seasonal suspended sediment yield (SSY) was
greater in cultivated land dominated catchment when
compared to the SSY measured in bush land-dominated
catchment Error! Reference source not found.. The
seasonal SSY in bush land dominated catchment were
decreased from 36.47ton/ha/yr to 28.43ton/ha/yr and the
annual Sediment yield for Menu catchments were de-
creased from 27.4ton/ha/yr to 21.13ton/ha/yr. Our re-
sults are consistent with the results of (Dagnew et al.,
2017) in that land use is the key factor that influences
the sediment yield in a catchment. In addition, (Dagnew
et al., 2017) demonstrated that repeated tillage in culti-
vated land could result in higher catchment sediment
budgets, as tillage accelerates detachment and transpor-
tation of sediments. Differences between the two
catchments in SSY were significant for the years 2019
and 2020. This could be attributed to the implementa-
tion of SWC measures in 2020 that covers large areas of
the cultivated land. As sediment yield of the watershed
is quite very high greater than 21Mg ha-1, it falls under
very high soil erosion class according to (Mishra et al.,
2006)
5. Conclusion
By studying the suspended sediment dynamics at the
outlet of both catchments, the role of storm runoff in
determining suspended sediment concentration was
assessed and this was determined by developing the
rating curve. For Menu catchment the power relation is
taken when the water level is greater than 50cm because
the values of the polynomial trend have extremely min-
imized and the polynomial relation is taken when the
water level reading is less than 50cm because the values
of the power relation become less than zero. For Atlaku
catchment the power relation is taken when the water
level is greater than 30cm because the values of the
polynomial relation become extremely minimized and
the polynomial relation is taken when the water level
reading is less than 30cm because the values of the
power trend have extremely maximized the flow. For
sediment rating curve the power and polynomial trend
was also used for both Menu and Atlaku catchments.
The power relation was used when the discharge is less
than or equal to 0.01m^/sec because the polynomial
function extremely maximized the value and the poly-
nomial was used when the discharge is greater than
0.01m^3/sec because the power function extremely
minimized the value. The sediment yield in both Menu
and Atlaku falls under very high soil erosion class. The
Sediment load for Atlaku catchment are higher than
Menu catchment due to less treatment for controlling
runoff and because of Atlaku catchment is dominated
by cultivated land which is sensitive for erosion. The
implementation of large scale SWCPs such as soil
bunds and stone bunds in the Karita wuha watershed
has generally reduced the watershed sediment yields
and marginal reductions in sediment concentration. The
mid slope and down slope of the area in the catchment
were found to be erosion hotspots because cultivated
land which is actively eroding rills were found on these
areas. The land use land cover of the upland of the wa-
tershed was bush lands which is runoff source area and
leads erosion in both mid slop and down slope of the
waters. The study area is economically important; since
it is excessive soil erosion from Karita wuha watershed
lower catchment to reservoir of Karita wuha gravity
dam by increasing sedimentation problem closes its
outlet of diversion structure and reduced the storage
capacity of the dam. This study provides information to
planners and decision makers, to take effective soil and
water conservation practice, in order to reduce soil loss
and to increase amount of water accumulation in the
watershed. As a mitigation measure for prevention of
severe erosion and conservation mechanism, it is rec-
ommended to do further research on management inter-
vention scenario analysis and develop appropriate man-
agement option for those selected critical sub water-
sheds. The land use land cover of the upland of the
watershed was bush lands which is runoff source area
and leads erosion in both mid slop and down slope of
the watershed so, care must be taken for the construc-
tion of SWCP in the upland of the watershed. The Ethi-
opian government should focus on the maintenance of
previously constructed SWCPs than merely focusing on
increasing the coverage of SWCPs in Karita Wuha wa-
tershed. In Karita Wuha catchment further studies are
needed to improve our understanding of the effects of
land management practices on runoff and erosion pro-
cesses in both catchment.
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