ABE147

Watersheds have been subjected to various forms of degradation such as indiscriminate logging &
kaingin, resulting loss of cover from 17 million ha in 1934 to 5.3 million ha in 2003.

But if properly managed, watershed can provide a continuing flow of water to a particular water body to
man-made "water use outlets".

About 45% of the arable lands in PH have been moderately to severrlg eroded. Approx. 5.2 M ha severely
eroded and 8.5 M ha are moderately eroded resulting to 30-50% reduction in soil prod. and water
retention capacity.

CONSERVATION ETHICS

- should be used to provide the greatest good for the greatest number for longest time

- leads to sustainable development where we meet current needs without compromising future gens

- dev that best meets present & future needs w/o damaging the envi and bio diversity

- 4R: Reduce, Recycle, Reuse, Rethink

SOIL EROSION CONTROL

- essential tk maintain the crop prod of soil as well to control sedimentation and pollution in streams and
lakes

- coir mats, woven geotextiles, non-woven geotextiles

- Reforestation

- Terracing

- Multiple Cropping

- Contouring

- Cover cropping

- Sloping Agricultural Land Technology

DRAINAGE/Sewerage
- essential to reclaim saline and sodic soils by leaching and to prevent salinity problems by maintaining a
low water table

- essential for permanent irrigated agriculture

- Ph no separate storm water and waste water systems

- Greywater: wastewater from sinks, showers, washing

THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

Precipitation = Runoff + EvapoTranspiration + Infiltration

@ Steady state: Precipitation = ET

Volume RO vs. Volume Infiltration will depend on

- Rate precipitation

- watershed characteristic

OCEAN STORAGE

- from ocean 96.5%, others: 3.5%

- vol: 321,000,000 cu. mi

- total global water : 332,500,000 cu.mi

- volume of world's ocean change because of climate change

- last glacial period: sea levek 400 ft lower than today

- last inter-glacial period: sea level 18 ft higher than today

- 3M years B.P. : Sea level 165 ft higher

Two Processes change liquid water into vapor

- Evaporation - 90%

- Transpiration - 10%
Evaporation

- liquid water is transformed into gaseous state

- into gas ceases when the gas reaches saturation

- manifested by a decrease in the temp of tge condensed phase

included in exam:

Types of Clouds, height of clouds from the surface

TRANSPIRATION

- process of water loss from plants through stomata (small openings on the underside of leaves

- passive process thag depends on: humidity of the atmosphere, moisture content of the soil

- only 1% of the water transpired used for growth

- transports nutrients from tge soil into roots and carries them to the various cells of plants

Accoubte for 10% of the moisture in the atmosphere depends on:

- temp, humidity, insolation, precipitation, soil type & saturation, wind, land slope

What percent of the Earths total vol. of water is stored in atmosphere?

- 0.001%, water vapor, clouds

- max. water retention in clouds is 10 days

PECIPITATION

- vapor that accumulates or freezes on condensation nuclei is acted on by gravity and falls to Earth
surface.

- rain , freezing rain, sleet, snow, hail

- primary connection in the water cycle that provides for tge delivery of atmospheric water to Earth

Meteorological Factors Affecting Surface Runoff

- Type of Precipitation
- Rainfall Intensity

- Rainfall Amount

- Rainfall Duration

- Distribution of rainfall over the drainage basin

- Direction of storm movement

- Precipitation that occured earlier and resulting soil moisture

- Meteorological conditions that affect evapotranspiration

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS AFFECTING SURFACE RO

- Land Use

- Vegetation

- Soil Type

- Drainage Area

- Basin Shape

- Elevation

- Topography, slopy area

- Drainage network patterns

- Ponds, lakes reservoirs, sinks w/c prevent/delay RO from continuing downstream

HUMAN FACTORS AFFECTING SURFACE RO

- Urbanization: more impervious surfaces reduce infiltration and accelerate water motion

- Removal of vegetation and soil: surface grading, artificial drainage network increases vol. RO and
shortens runoff time to streams from rainfall and snowmelt

MOST RO

- Drains to a creek, stream, river, ocean

- rarely runoff drains to a closed lake

- may be diverted for human uses

Lake & Swamps

- freshwater makes up 3% of all water on Earth, lakes and swamps account mere 0.29%

- 20% of all freshwater is in Lake Baikal in Siberia (638 km long, 80 km wide, 1620 m deep

- another 20% is in great lakes

Groundwater begins as INFILTRATION

- falls and infiltrates into subsurface soil and rock

- can remain in shallow soil layer

- might seep into stream bank

- may infiltrate deeper, recharging aquifer

- travel long distances

- may stay in storage as ground water

FACTORS AFFECTING INFILTRATION

- Precipitation

- Soil Characteristics

- Soil Saturation

- Land Cover

- Slope of the land

- Evapotranspiration

Infiltration replenished aquifer

slow process: groundwater moves slowly through the

Subsurface water

- as precipitation infiltrates, subsurface soil, it forms zones

*EVAPOTRANSPIRATION (Et) balances precipitation

*important consideration in agriculture because of the need to maintain soil moisture

*also important for open reservoirs because evaporation during the day may be significant

* unit of measure (mm/day)

INSTRUMENTS USE IN EVAPORATION

-atometer

-pan evaporation

-lysimer

Tree water uptake= Transpiration=10-1,000 L/day

*Curves on this sheet are for the case Ia=0.2S (Infiltration)

*Q=(P-0.2S)²/P+0.8S

Urban areas ➡️Increased infiltration by 25-70% ➡️Forested

INFILTRATION

- is the water that absorbed by the soil and into the bedrock

- inflitrated water feeds into the groundwater

Main factors that affect infiltration rated

- intensity and duration of rainfall

- topograph / slope

- type of land cover (type of vegetation)

- type of soil

- type of bedrock

Intruments to determine infiltration

Double Ring Infiltrometer

- inner ring is filled w/ water that is left to infiltrate into ground

- outer ring is used to control flow towards the ground and not horizontally
- unit of measure (mm/hr)

Water in Soil

- water lost through ET

- water that will join runoff through subsurface flow

- groundwater recharge

WATERSHED

- an area of land that drains water, sediment, and dissolved materials to a common outlet

- separated by drainage divides

- can be any shape & size

- catchment, drainage basin

- is the total land area that contributes to the flow of a particular water body

waterhsed may be:

- with or without nhabitants

- with or without vegetation

CLASSIFICATION OF WATERSHED

River basin - Over 1000 km²

Large Watershed - 500-100

Medium WH - 100-500 km²

Small WH - 10-100 km²

Micro WH - under 10 km²

STREAM ORDER

- Head water (first stream order)

- Confluences (second stream order)

- Outlet

Stream order - use to roughly define the size, and to some extent the strength of a stream

- ranges from 1st to 12th order, biggest is Amazon River

WATERSHED MANAGEMENT

- define the process of guiding and organizing land and other resources uses in watershed to provide
desired goods and service without adversely affecting the soil and water resources

- planning, organizing, staffing, directing, controlling

AIMS of Watershed

- improve rainwater to provide quality water and increased protection from flood and sedimentation
damage

- improved standard living

- main objective in all cases is to slow water movement to prevent soil transport

WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

- Policy

- Prevention

- Corrective

BENEFITS OF WATERSHED MNGT

Economic Benefits - water supply, forestry, agriculture, livestock, fishery, mining

Social Services - tourism, recreation, historical, cultural, health

Environmental Services - biodiversity, soil & water conservation, etc