GIS-based approach for morphometric characteristics and development of hydrographs for the upper watershed of Jebba Reservoir, Nigeria

Nigeria's Jebba sub-basins are synonymous to frequent flooding, high rate of erosion, depletion of soil nutrients and unsustainable water use. The uncontrolled flooding may be a result of numerous factors related to topography, geology, climate and human activity.  The present work was an attempt to describe the application of Geographical Information System (GIS) and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) for the estimation of morphometric characteristics of eight sub-basins in the upstream watershed of Jebba reservoir, Nigeria. Morphometric characteristics such as topographic, areal, relief and network were determined. Soil Conservation Service (SCS) technique was applied to estimate hydrographs. The study revealed that sub-basin number 3 had the lowest time of concentration and maximum depth of runoff while sub-basin number 2 had maximum ratio of circulation of 1.8 and it is tagged as the area that is highly prone to flood. The peak runoff in the sub-basins ranged between 330.10 and 924.86 m3/s (25-year return period) and for 100-year intervals ranged between 502.69 to 1408.40 m3/s. The estimated peak runoffs can be adopted for designing and constructing erosion control structures in the catchment area.