Report

1. i
MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS AND
PRIORITIZATION OF WATERSHEDS
OFMAHANADI RIVER BASIN USING GIS
PROJECT
By
Rinku Meena
15CE01029
SCHOOL OF INFRASTRUCTURE
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BHUBANESWAR
ARUGUL -752050, ODISHA
November 2018

2. ii
Morphometric Analysis and Prioritization ofWatersheds
of Mahanadi River Basin using GIS
PROJECT
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirement for the award of the degree
of
BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
in
CIVIL ENGINEERING
By
Rinku Meena (15CE01029)
Under the supervision of
Dr. Meenu Ramadas
SCHOOL OF INFRASTRUCTURE
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY BHUBANESWAR
ARUGUL-752050, ODISHA
November 2018

3. iii
Abstract
Hydrological response and runoff generation from watersheds depend upon geo-
morphometric characteristics of the catchment. Morphometric analysis is commonly used
for development of regional hydrological models of ungauged watersheds for deriving
rainfall-runoff relationships. It gives a quantitative description of drainage basins.The aim
of this project is to determine the different morphometric parameters of watershedsin the
Mahanadi River Basin for prioritization of watersheds for conservation parctices.A critical
evaluation and assessment of different geo-morphometric parameters will be carried out in
this study. Prioritization of watersheds based on these characteristics has several
applications in watershed (soil and water) conservation activities. The analysis has been
performedusing geographical information systems (GIS) tools for prioritization for five
major watersheds in the Mahanadi River Basin. In this study, the popular freely available
Quantum-GIS (Q-GIS) software is used for spatial analysis. It is a viable alternative for
ArcGIS which is not free. Firstly the watersheds are delineated by using GISwith the digital
elevation model (DEM) data and locations of outlets as inputs. Assessment of drainage
parameters and geomorphological parameters such as stream order, stream length,
streamfrequency, drainage density, texture ratio, form factor, circulatory ratio, elongation
ratio,bifurcation ratio and compactness ratio will be calculated for the sub-
watersheds.Finally, the prioritized score on the basis of morphometric behaviour of the
watershed is assigned and is used to identify the most sensitive regions.

4. iv
CONTENTS
Page No.
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………iv
Content……………………………………………………………………………………….iv,iv
List of Figures……………………….........................................................................iv
List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………………. iv
CHAPTER
1 Introduction
1.1 General ………………………….............................................................1
1.2 Salient features of study area……………………………………………..2
1.3 Objectives of the Study…………………………………………………...2
2 Literature Review……………….………………………………………….………….3-4
3 Methodolgy
3.1 Quantum-GIS for Spatial Analysis of Watersheds……………………....5
3.2 Morphometric parameters…………………………………………..……5-8
4 Results and Discussion
4.1 Watershed Delineation using Q-GIS……………………………………9-12
5 Summary and Conclusion………………………………………………………………13
References………………………………………………………………………………...14

5. v
List of figures
Figure. No. Details of Figure Page No.
1 Stream ordering by Strahler and Shreve Method…………………….6
2 DEM obtained from SRTM …………………………......................9
3 Filled DEM obtained from Q-GIS…………………………………...10
4 Flow direction obtained from Q-GIS…………………………….…..10
5 Stream order obtained from Q-GIS……………………………….….11
6 Channel network obtained from stream processing in Q-GIS….……11
7 Delineated watershed obtained from Q-GIS
using Kesinga gaging station as outlet ………………………………12
List of Tables
Table No. Details of Table Page No.
1 Details of watershed outlets chosen for this study……………….12

6. vi

7. 1
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 General
Land and water both are most vital natural resources of the earth as life and various
developmental activities depend on it. These resources are limited and their uses are
increasing day by day due to population rise. Therefore, a need for water resources
planning, conservation and better management for its sustainable use is required for
sustained growth of a country like India. Watershed management plays a significant role in
conservation of water and soil resources and their sustainable development.
Morphometric analysis is a significant tool for prioritization of sub-watersheds even without
considering the soil map. Morphometry is the measurement of the configuration of earth’s
surface shape and dimension of its landform. It gives a quantitative description of drainage
basin which is very much useful in studies such as hydrologic modelling, watershed
prioritization, natural resources conservation and management, and rehabilitation.
A watershed is a hydrological unit which generates runoff by itself as a result of
precipitation.However, the runoff water depends upon morphology of the watershed.
Morphometric analysis of streams is an important aspect for characterization of watershed.
Proper planning and management of watershed is very necessary for sustainable
development of living being. Geo-morphological analysis of a watershed is usually used for
evolving the regional hydrological models for resolving different hydrological difficulties of
the ungauged watersheds in the absence of data accessibility conditions. Morphometric
analysis of a drainage basin and its stream channel arrangement can be well understood
through the drainage network, aerial and relief aspects, and contributing ground slopes.For
quantitative analysis of the watershed involving various components such as stream
segments ,basin perimeter, basin area, elevation difference, slope and profile of land has
been responsible for the natural.Morphometric parameters mainly depend upon lithology,
bed rock and geological structures. Hence, the information of geomorphology, hydrology,
geology and land use pattern is highly informative for reliable study of drainage pattern of
the watershed.

8. 2
1.2 Salient Features of the StudyArea
The Mahanadi River originates from state of Chhattisgarh and flows through Odisha sbefore
emptying into the Bay of Bengal.The total area of theMahanadi River Basin is about
141600 sq. kms. In this study, watersheds are identified for the stream gaging stations
located at Tikarapara, Sundargarh,Sukma,Salebhata, and Kesinga. There are four distinct
climatic seasons for this region: pre-monsoon (March–May), monsoon (June–September),
post-monsoon (October and November) and winter(December–February). The rainy months
of the south-west monsoon (June to September) is the major source of water for agricultural
activities. In summer, temperatures reachup to 47˚ C in this region; and the average
temperature varies between 17˚C and 32˚C.Agriculture is the main source of livelihood for
the population in these watersheds and are also tribal community-dominated watersheds.
There is a great scope for morphometric analysis-based prioritization of watersheds in the
Mahanadi River Basin, for introducing water resources management and watershed
conservation practices.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The goal of the study is toperform morphometric analysis and prioritization of watersheds
in the Mahanadi River Basin using Q-GIS. Following are the specific objectives:
i. To identify and properly execute the geoprocessing tools to delineate streams
network, and watersheds using DEM data in the Q-GIS software.
ii. To determine the characteristics of the watersheds such as drainage and
morphometric parameters
iii. To utilize the results of morphometric analysis to prioritize the watersheds.

9. 3
Chapter 2
Literature Review
Literature review suggests that drainage and morphometric parameters were either extracted
from topographical maps or field surveys in the past. With the advent of highresolution
digital elevation model (DEM), the extraction of drainage parameters from DEM has
become more popular in the last few decades due to rapid, precise, updated and cost
effective way of performing watershed analysis (Dietrich 1993, Zhang 1994).
Biswas et al. (1999) used Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques which are being
effectively used in recent times as tools in determining the quantitative description of basin
geometry i.e., morphometric analysis. In the present study, each of the nine subwatersheds
of the major part of Nayagram Block in the Midnapore District, West Bengal have been
studied in terms of the morphometric parameters - stream length, bifurcation ratio, drainage
density stream frequency, texture ratio, form factor, circularity ratio and elongation ratio
and prioritised all the subwatersheds under study. The results suggest that the ratio between
cumulative stream length and stream order is constant throughout the successive orders of a
basin. The morphometric parameters bifurcation ratio and drainage density, confirm that the
area is under dense vegetation cover and virtually the drainage has not been affected by
structural
Sridhar et al. (2012) delineated the Kaddam watershed of Middle Godavari sub-basin of the
Godavari River Basin into mini watersheds. They carried out the delineation using GIS
tools and it was concluded that Kaddam watershed is well drained and the drainage is in a
well-integrated pattern and the area is underlain by highly resistant permeable material with
vegetative cover and lower relief. Their study demonstrated that GIS is flexible technique
and is relatively easy to apply on large areas enabling gathering of all data and information
in a common database for watershed delineation and stream network analysis.
Guru and Meher (2016) performed delineation of Mahanadi River Basin using GIS tools.
They delineated it into five sub-basins based on the five CWC operated discharge sites in
Odisha, namely five sub-basins in particular Kesinga, Kantamal, Salebhata, Sundergarh and
Tikarpada. The sub-basin characteristics like soil type, land use type, elevation and the
process of draining of water were investigated in their study.

10. 4
Chandniha et al.(2017) analyzed that Hydrological investigation and behavior of watershed
depend upon geo-morphometric characteristics of catchment. Morphometric analysis is
commonly used for development of regional hydrological model of ungauged watershed. A
critical valuation and assessment of geo-morphometric constraints has been carried out.
Prioritization of watersheds based on water plot capacity of Piperiya watershed has been
evaluated by linear, aerial and relief aspects. Morphometric analysis has been attempted for
prioritization for nine sub-watersheds of Piperiya watershed in Hasdeo river basin, which is
a tributary of the Mahanadi. Sub-watersheds are delineated by ArcMap 9.3 software as per
digital elevation model (DEM). Assessment of drainages and their relative parameters such
as stream order, stream length, stream frequency, drainage density, texture ratio, form
factor, circulatory ratio, elongation ratio, bifurcation

11. 5
Chapter 3
Methodology
3.1 Q-GIS for Spatial Analysis of Watersheds
Quantum-GIS functions as geographic information system (GIS) software, allowing users to
analyze and edit spatial information, in addition to composing and exporting graphical
maps. QGIS supports both raster and vector layers; vector data is stored as either point, line,
or polygon features. Multiple formats of raster images are supported, and the software can
georeferenced images. The advantage of using Q-GIS is that it is freely available software
that supports the use of advanced GIS functionalities and spatial analysis tools for
community-driven projects and watershed planning.
3.2 Morphometric Parameters
The morphometric analysis refers to quantitative evaluation of hydrological units i.e.
watersheds. This is the most common approach which is used for basin analysis,
morphometric associated with interpretation and analysis of fluvially originated landforms.
Development of the basin directly refers to numerous parameter such as stream segments,
basin length, basin area, altitude, volume, slope, profiles of the land, which show the
development of the basin. The arrangement of the stream system of a drainage basin has
been expressed quantitatively with stream order, drainage density, bifurcation ration and
stream length ratio (Horton 1945). The law of basin areas shows the mean basin area of
successive ordered streams forming a linear relationship. The major watershed
characteristics are described briefly in this chapter.
(a)Stream Order
In any watershed study, the behaviour of the flow is very difficult to find; therefore, it is
necessary to subdivide the watershed into sub-watersheds. It is method of assigning a
numeric order to links in a stream network.This order is the method for identifying and
classifying types of streams based on their numbers of tributaries.There are two methods for
stream ordering. The method proposed byStrahler(1957) is the most common stream
ordering method because this method only increase in order at intersections of the same
order, whereas according to Shreve (1966)’s method, it sums the number of sources in each
catchment above a stream gauge outflow.

12. 6
Figure 1. Stream ordering by Strahler and Shreve Method
(b) Stream number (𝑵 𝒖)
Stream number is described as the total counts of stream segments of different order
separately, and is inversely proportional to the stream order. Stream number is denoted
by 𝑁 𝑢.
(c) Total Stream Length (𝑳 𝒖)
Total stream length is calculated as measuring the length of all ordered streams within the
catchment area of the watershed and is denoted by 𝐿 𝑢. Mean stream length is the ratio of
total stream length of particular order to the total number of same ordered stream and is
denoted by 𝐿 𝑢̄ .
(d) Watershed perimeter (𝑷 𝒓)
Watershed perimeter is the total length of outer boundary of the watershed. It is obtained
from the Q-GIS after delineation.
(e) Maximum length of the watershed(𝑳 𝒃)
It is the distance between the remotest point of the watershed to the outlet.
(f) Stream length ratio(RL)
The stream length ratio (RL)is the ratio of the mean length of the stream (𝐿 𝑢1) of a given
orderto the mean length of the streams of the next smaller order (𝐿 𝑢̅1−1).
RL =
𝐿 𝑢̅1
(𝐿 𝑢̅̅1−1)

13. 7
(g) Bifurcation ratio (𝑹 𝒃)
The bifurcation ratio is the ratio of the number of streams in lower order (𝑁𝑢) to the next
order (𝑁𝑢+1) . It is seen that the bifurcation ratio is lower in alluvial region as compared to
the Himalayan zone.
𝑅 𝑏=
𝑁𝑢̅
𝑁𝑢̅+1
(h) Form factor (𝑹 𝒇 )
Form factor is defined as the ratio of basin area (A) to square of the maximum length of the
basin (𝐿 𝑏).The smaller the value of form factor, the more elongated will bethe watershed.
The watershed with high form factors has high peak flows of shorter duration.
𝑅𝑓 =
𝐴
𝐿 𝑏
2
(i) Elongation ratio(𝑹 𝒆)
It is calculated as the ratio of equal diameter of the circle which has same area as that of the
watershed to the maximum length of the basin. Elongation ratio is denoted by𝑅 𝑒.
𝑅 𝑒 =
2
𝐿 𝑏
√
𝐴
п
(j) Circulatory ratio(𝑹 𝒄)
The circulatory ratio is influenced by the length and frequency of stream. The circularity
ratio is a similar measure as elongation ratio, originally defined by Miller (1953) as the ratio
of the area of the basin to the area of the circle having equivalent circumference as the basin
perimeter and it is denoted by the 𝑅 𝑐.
𝑅 𝑐 =
12.57𝐴
𝑃𝑟
2
(k) Drainage density(𝑫 𝒅)
Drainage density is the linear parameter of the morphometric analysis and is a sensitive
indicator for erosion calculation by the stream and effect of topographic characteristics to
the outlet. It is defined as the ratio of the total length of the streams in all ordered to the area
of watershed or basin.
𝐷 𝑑 =
𝐿 𝑢̅
𝐴

14. 8
(l) Drainage frequency(𝑭 𝑺)
Drainage frequency is calculated as the number of streams per unit area of the watershed. It
mainly depends upon the lithology of the catchment and indicates the texture of the
drainage network.
𝐹𝑆 =
𝑁 𝑢
𝐴
(m) Texture ratio(T)
It is the ratio of the total number of first-order stream segment to the perimeter of the
watershed.
T =
𝑁1
𝑃𝑟
(n) Maximum watershed relief (H)
Basin relief is the maximum elevation difference between highest and lowest point of the
watershed.
(o) Compactness coefficient (𝑪 𝒄)
Compactness coefficient is the shape parameter of a watershed and is the ratio of perimeter
of watershed to circumference of equivalent circular area of the watershed. The ð Þ Cc is
independent of size of watershed and dependent only on the slope.
𝐶𝑐= 0.2821
𝑃0.5
𝐴

15. 9
Chapter 4
Results and Discussion
4.1 Watershed Delineation using Q-GIS
4.1.1 Preprocessing of DEM
The results ofspatial analysis performed using Q-GIS and DEM data are demonstrated here.
The inputs for this analysis are elevation and location of the watershed outlet points.
Starting with a DEM, the first step is to identifythe channel network, then delineate
watersheds using outlet points and calculate the different parameters described previously.
The DEM data is obtained from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) for the
region covering the Mahanadi River Basin. It has a spatial resolution of 30 m. The DEM is
preprocessed and reprojected for the Indian region before the analysis. It is shown in Figure
2.
Figure 2. DEM obtained from SRTM for the study region preprocessed in QGIS for
watershed delineation. The darker color indicates lower elevation and lighter shades indicate
higher elevation in this figure.
In order to extract a channel network from a DEM layer, sinks (depressions with unrealistic
elevation values) need to be filled first. Filling sinks allows for theremoval of any local
depressions from the DEM layer that can cause inaccuracy when determining channel
networks.After using the Fill Sinks (Wang & Liu) tool from the QGIS toolbox, a filled
DEM layer is obtained. This is shown in Figure 3. The legend shows the maximum

16. 10
elevation in different ranges. The highest elevation in this region is 1435 m and the lowest
elevation is 70 m above mean sea level. This step gave flow direction map of the region,
which has values from 0 to 7 suggesting different directions of flow from a particular cell.
Figure 3.Filled DEM obtained from Q-GIS
Figure 4.Flow direction map obtained from Q-GIS
4.1.2 Extraction of Stream Network
In this step, the stream network of the region is extracted by first determining the order of
streams. The Strahler Order tool gave the resulting raster that displays thestreamorder. The
largest stream order of this region is obtained as 10. The raster displayed in Figure 5 clearly
shows the drainage network of the region.

17. 11
Figure 5.Stream order map obtained from Q-GIS based on Strahler order. It is observed that
this region has 10 order stream watersheds present.
In the next step, the channel network is extracted. In order to do this, the Raster Calculator
tool in Q-GIS is used to extract those streams having order greater than 4. Then, the channel
network and drainage basin tool is used to obtain the drainage network for the region. A
channel network is considered a drainage network of water flow over the terrain. Drainage
basinsare the regions from where water flows over topographic terrain and forms water
runoff into surrounding rivers, streams and lakes. The enlarged view of channel network
obtained is shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6.Channel network obtained from stream processing in Q-GIS. The blue lines
indicate the branches in the stream network in the region.

18. 12
4.1.3 Delineation of Watersheds
In this study, the watersheds in Mahanadi River Basin are delineated for five gaging
stations: Tikarapara, Sundargarh, Sukma, Salebhata, and Kesinga. The details of these outlet
points are given in Table 1. Using the Upslope Area tool in Q-GIS,it is possible to define a
new outlet for watershed delineation. In this way, watersheds are obtained for the different
outlets. The
Table 1. Details of watershed outlets chosen for this study
Station District (State) Latitude (˚N) Longitude (˚E) Tributary
1. Kesinga Kalahandi (Odisha) 20.6016 84.7758 Tel
2. Sundargarh Sundargarh (Odisha) 22.1136 84.0083 Ib
3. Sukma Sambalpur (Odisha) 20.7822 83.3697 Mahanadi
4. Salebhata Bolangir (Odisha) 20.978 83.551 Ong
5. Tikarapara Anugul (Odisha) 20.2040 83.2220 Mahanadi
Figure 7.Delineated watershed obtained from Q-GIS using Kesinga gaging station as outlet.
The position of watershed outlet is shown as a square.

19. 13
Chapter 5
Summary and Conclusions
In this study, the use of various hydrological tools offered in the free and open source
software of QGIS is demonstrated for watershed delineation. Using SRTM 30-m resolution
DEM as input, the watersheds corresponding to gaging stationsKesinga, Sundargarh,
Sukma,Salebhata and Tikarparaof Odisha are obtained for further analysis. In the present
study,Q-GIS has been utilized for generating contours, slope,drainage pattern, stream order,
catchment delineationand other inventories for the study area. QGIS with itscapability of
integration and analysis of spatial, and multilayeredinformation is obtained in a wide variety
of formats. Geomorphology parameters as discussed in thisstudy can play an important role
in water and land useplanning in a watershed.

20. 14
References
 Band, L. E. (1986). Topographic partition of watersheds with digital elevation models.
Water resources research, 22(1), 15-24.
 Biswas, S., Sudhakar, S., & Desai, V. R. (1999). Prioritisation of subwatersheds based
on morphometric analysis of drainage basin: A remote sensing and GIS approach.
Journal of the Indian society of remote sensing, 27(3), 155.
 Chandniha, S. K., &Kansal, M. L. (2017). Prioritization of Sub-Watersheds Based on
Morphometric Analysis using Geospatial Technique in PiperiyaWatershed, India.
Applied Water Science, 7, 329-338.
 Dietrich, W. E., Wilson, C. J., Montgomery, D. R., & McKean, J. (1993). Analysis of
erosion thresholds, channel networks, and landscape morphology using a digital terrain
model. The Journal of Geology, 101(2), 259-278.
 Guru, B. G., &Meher, J. Delineation of Mahanadi River Basin by Using GIS and
ArcSWAT. International Journal of Engineering Science Invention 5(8). 44-48.
 Sridhar, P., Bose, C. A., Giridhar, M. V. S. S., &Viswanadh, G. K. (2012). Prioritisation
of miniwatersheds based on Morphometric analysis using GIS. International journal of
geomatics and geosciences, 3(2), 314.
 Zhang, W., & Montgomery, D. R. (1994). Digital elevation model grid size, landscape
representation, and hydrologic simulations. Water resources research, 30(4), 1019-1028.