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Relating Trends in Streamflow to Anthropogenic Influences: A Case Study of Himayat Sagar Catchment, India

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Abstract

Catchment development has been identified as a potentially major cause of streamflow change in many river basins in India. This research aims to understand changes in the Himayat Sagar catchment (HSC), India, where significant reductions in streamflow have been observed. Rainfall and streamflow trend analysis for 1980–2004 shows a decline in streamflow without significant changes in rainfall. A regression model was used to quantify changes in the rainfall-runoff relationship over the study period. We relate these streamflow trends to anthropogenic changes in land use, groundwater abstraction and watershed development that lead to increased ET (Evapotranspiration) in the catchment. Streamflow has declined at a rate of 3.6 mm/y. Various estimates of changes in evapotranspiration/irrigation water use were made. Well inventories suggested an increase of 7.2 mm/y in groundwater extractions whereas typical irrigation practices suggests applied water increased by 9.0 mm/y, while estimates of evapotranspiration using remote sensing data showed an increasing rate of 4.1 mm/y. Surface water storage capacity of various small watershed development structures increased by 2 mm over 7 years. It is concluded that the dominant hydrological process responsible for streamflow reduction is the increase in evapotranspiration associated with irrigation development, however, most of the anthropogenic changes examined are interrelated and occurred simultaneously, making separating out individual impacts very difficult.

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Acknowledgments

R Nune received an Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) John Allwright Fellowship and the Robert Bage Memorial Scholarship from the University of Melbourne to conduct the field work. Sridhar Parupalli (JNTU, IST, Kakinada) assisted with the field survey. The authors thank ACIAR Climate Change Project (LWR/2007/113) for its support. Thanks are due to all the Indian Government departments who provided valuable data. The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), ICRISAT, Hyderabad provided office space during field work. Tim Peterson and Murray Peel (The University of Melbourne) provided valuable suggestions on rainfall and groundwater analysis. The authors thank Dr.K.Dikgola and the anonymous reviewers for valuable comments that improved the paper.

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  1. Department of Infrastructure Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

    Rajesh Nune, Biju A. George, Pardhasaradhi Teluguntla & Andrew W. Western

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  1. Rajesh Nune
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  2. Biju A. George
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Correspondence to Rajesh Nune.

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Nune, R., George, B.A., Teluguntla, P. et al. Relating Trends in Streamflow to Anthropogenic Influences: A Case Study of Himayat Sagar Catchment, India. Water Resour Manage 28, 1579–1595 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-014-0567-5

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