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A water harvesting model for optimizing rainwater harvesting in the wadi Oum Zessar watershed, Tunisia

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  • Adham, Ammar
  • Wesseling, Jan G.
  • Riksen, Michel
  • Ouessar, Mohamed
  • Ritsema, Coen J.

Abstract

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) techniques have been adapted in arid and semi-arid regions to minimise the risk from droughts. The demand for water has increased but water resources have become scarcer, so the assessment and modelling of surface water related to RWH in catchments has become a necessity. An understanding of the hydrological processes at the sub-catchment level is generally lacking, and little attention has been given to the assessment of RWH after implementation. The objective of this study was to develop a simple but generally applicable water-harvesting model and test it at sub-catchment level to evaluate and optimize the performance of RWH under different design and management scenarios. The model was applied to rainfall data for 1980–2004 in 25 sub-catchments of the watershed of Wadi Oum Zessar (south-eastern Tunisia). The performance and analysis of RWH in three types of years (dry, normal, and wet) are presented and discussed. This study emphasises the advantages of simulating long-term water balances at the sub-catchment level for improving our understanding of hydrological processes in the RWH system and provides several solutions for optimizing RWH performance in various scenarios. Changing the spillway heights together with the flow directions had a significant impact on the performance of RWH by making 92% of all sub-catchments supply sufficient water for crop requirements, compared to 44% of the sub-catchments in case of no changes.

Suggested Citation

  • Adham, Ammar & Wesseling, Jan G. & Riksen, Michel & Ouessar, Mohamed & Ritsema, Coen J., 2016. "A water harvesting model for optimizing rainwater harvesting in the wadi Oum Zessar watershed, Tunisia," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 191-202.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:176:y:2016:i:c:p:191-202
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2016.06.003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. A. Jasrotia & Abinash Majhi & Sunil Singh, 2009. "Water Balance Approach for Rainwater Harvesting using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques, Jammu Himalaya, India," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 23(14), pages 3035-3055, November.
    2. Boers, Th. M. & Zondervan, K. & Ben-Asher, J., 1986. "Micro-Catchment-Water-Harvesting (MCWH) for arid zone development," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 12(1-2), pages 21-39, October.
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    1. Adham, Ammar & Wesseling, Jan G. & Abed, Rasha & Riksen, Michel & Ouessar, Mohamed & Ritsema, Coen J., 2019. "Assessing the impact of climate change on rainwater harvesting in the Oum Zessar watershed in Southeastern Tunisia," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 131-140.
    2. Mohamed Arbi Abdeladhim & Luuk Fleskens & Jantiene Baartman & Mongi Sghaier & Mohamed Ouessar & Coen J. Ritsema, 2022. "Generation of Potential Sites for Sustainable Water Harvesting Techniques in Oum Zessar Watershed, South East Tunisia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-20, May.
    3. Vema, Vamsikrishna & Sudheer, K.P. & Chaubey, I., 2019. "Fuzzy inference system for site suitability evaluation of water harvesting structures in rainfed regions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 82-93.
    4. Ali Akbar Jamali & Reza Ghorbani Kalkhajeh, 2020. "Spatial Modeling Considering valley’s Shape and Rural Satisfaction in Check Dams Site Selection and Water Harvesting in the Watershed," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 34(10), pages 3331-3344, August.
    5. Wang, Qi & Zhang, Dengkui & Zhou, Xujiao & Mak-Mensah, Erastus & Zhao, Xiaole & Zhao, Wucheng & Wang, Xiaoyun & Stellmach, Dan & Liu, Qinglin & Li, Xiaoling & Li, Guang & Wang, Heling & Zhang, Kai, 2022. "Optimum planting configuration for alfalfa production with ridge-furrow rainwater harvesting in a semiarid region of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).

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