Modeling the Impact of Land-Use Change on Water Budget of Gaza Strip
Affiliation(s)
Civil Engineering Department, Islamic University of Gaza, Gaza, Palestinian Territory. Engineering Science Department, University College of Applied Science, Gaza, Palestinian Territory.
Civil Engineering Department, Islamic University of Gaza, Gaza, Palestinian Territory. Engineering Science Department, University College of Applied Science, Gaza, Palestinian Territory.
ABSTRACT
Gaza has a water crisis and faces serious challenges for the future sustainability of its water resources. Land-use change has an expected effect on water budget of the Gaza Strip. Three different land cover scenarios; the and cover of 2007, land cover of 2020, and full urbanization land cover were simulated independently using The Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) tool which work under the umbrella of GIS. In general, the simulation results indicate that land-cover changes will significantly alter the hydrologic response of Gaza region. Percolation is expected to decrease in all options as urban areas are expanded where as the simulated surface runoff reflected a relative departure from the first scenario comparing with other scenarios. In the baseline scenario (2007), the simulated surface runoff and percolation represent 12% and 41% respectively from the water budget components of the Gaza Strip. In year 2020, these values were expected by the simulation results to be 20% and 27% respectively. A unique linear relationship between the relative change in urban area and the corresponding relative change in surface water has been investigated from the simulation results. The analysis of the three urbanization scenarios can give decision makers better understand for the future situation and assist them to advance towards achieving sustainable development planning for water resources system in the Gaza Strip.
Gaza has a water crisis and faces serious challenges for the future sustainability of its water resources. Land-use change has an expected effect on water budget of the Gaza Strip. Three different land cover scenarios; the and cover of 2007, land cover of 2020, and full urbanization land cover were simulated independently using The Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) tool which work under the umbrella of GIS. In general, the simulation results indicate that land-cover changes will significantly alter the hydrologic response of Gaza region. Percolation is expected to decrease in all options as urban areas are expanded where as the simulated surface runoff reflected a relative departure from the first scenario comparing with other scenarios. In the baseline scenario (2007), the simulated surface runoff and percolation represent 12% and 41% respectively from the water budget components of the Gaza Strip. In year 2020, these values were expected by the simulation results to be 20% and 27% respectively. A unique linear relationship between the relative change in urban area and the corresponding relative change in surface water has been investigated from the simulation results. The analysis of the three urbanization scenarios can give decision makers better understand for the future situation and assist them to advance towards achieving sustainable development planning for water resources system in the Gaza Strip.
Cite this paper
J. T. Hamad, T. A. Eshtawi, A. M. Abushaban and M. O. Habboub, "Modeling the Impact of Land-Use Change on Water Budget of Gaza Strip," Journal of Water Resource and Protection, Vol. 4 No. 6, 2012, pp. 325-333. doi: 10.4236/jwarp.2012.46036.
J. T. Hamad, T. A. Eshtawi, A. M. Abushaban and M. O. Habboub, "Modeling the Impact of Land-Use Change on Water Budget of Gaza Strip," Journal of Water Resource and Protection, Vol. 4 No. 6, 2012, pp. 325-333. doi: 10.4236/jwarp.2012.46036.
References
[1] Gaza Weather Website, “Overview of Gaza Weather,” 2010. http:/www.gazaweather.com [2] Coastal Municipality Water Authority (CMWA), “Water Situation in the Gaza Strip,” Technical Report, 2008, pp. 1-2. [3] Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), “PWA Background Information and Water Resource Management Strategy,” 2004. [4] Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), “Data-Bases of Palestinian Water Authority on Groundwater,” 2008. [5] A. Aish, O. Batelaan and F. De Smedt, “Distributed Recharge Estimation for Ground Water Modeling Using WetSpass Model,” The Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, Vol. 35, No. 1, 2010, pp. 155-163. [6] T. Alslaibi and Y. Mogheir, “Recent Estimation of Hydrological Cycle Components in Gaza Strip Catchment Area,” International Conference, Sustainable Development and Management of Water in Palestine, 2009. [7] A. Khalaf, J. Hamed and H. Alnajar, “Assessment of Rainwater Losses Due to Urban Expansion of Gaza Strip,” Islamic University of Gaza, Gaza, 2005. [8] F. Abdulla and T. Eshtawi, “Application of Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) Tool to Evaluate the Sediment Yield in a Semi-arid Region: Case Study, Kufranja Basin-Jordan,” Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, Vol. 1, No. 3, 2007, pp. 234-244. [9] W. Kepner, D. Semimens, S. Bassett, D. Mouat and D. Goodrich, “Scenario Analysis for the San Pedro River, Analyzing Hydrological Consequences of Future Environment,” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Vol. 94, No. 1-3, 2004, pp. 115-127. doi:10.1023/B:EMAS.0000016883.10110.15 [10] S. Miller, D. Semmens, D. Goodrich, M. Herna-ndez, R. Miller, W. Kepner and D. Guertin, “The Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment Tool,” Environmental Modeling & Software, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 365-377. [11] M. Tripathi, R. Panda, N. Raghuwanshi and R. Singh, “Hydrological Modeling of a Small Watershed Using Generated Rainfall in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool Model,” Hydrological Processes, Vol. 18, No. 10, 2004, pp. 1811-1821. doi:10.1002/hyp.1448 [12] NASA Website, 2010. http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/version2_1/SRTM3/Africa [13] Ministry of Agriculture, “Strategy of Sustainable Agricultural Development from 2010 to 2020,” Seventh Document, 2010. [14] Ministry of Transportation & Communications, Archived Data, 2010. [15] S. Ghabayen, Utah State University, 2010. http://hydrology.neng.usu.edu/giswr/archive00/termpapers/ghabayen.htm [16] A. Mohammadin, et al., “Estimation of Runoff for East Bani Naim Watershed Using SCS Curve Number Method and GIS,” Graduation Project Palestine Polytechnic University, West Bank, 2003. [17] K. Goris and M. Samian, “Sustainable Irrigation in the Gaza Strip,” M.Sc Thesis, Katholike University, Leuven, 2001. [18] S. N. Miller, W. G. Kepner, M. H. Mehaffey, M. Hernandez, R. C. Miller, D. C. Goodrich, F. K. Devonald, D. T. Heggem and W. P. Miller, “Integrating Landscape Assessment and Hydrologic Modeling for Land Cover Change Analysis,” Journal of the American Water Resources Association, Vol. 38, No. 4, 2002, pp. 915-929. doi:10.1111/j.1752-1688.2002.tb05534.x
[1] Gaza Weather Website, “Overview of Gaza Weather,” 2010. http:/www.gazaweather.com [2] Coastal Municipality Water Authority (CMWA), “Water Situation in the Gaza Strip,” Technical Report, 2008, pp. 1-2. [3] Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), “PWA Background Information and Water Resource Management Strategy,” 2004. [4] Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), “Data-Bases of Palestinian Water Authority on Groundwater,” 2008. [5] A. Aish, O. Batelaan and F. De Smedt, “Distributed Recharge Estimation for Ground Water Modeling Using WetSpass Model,” The Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, Vol. 35, No. 1, 2010, pp. 155-163. [6] T. Alslaibi and Y. Mogheir, “Recent Estimation of Hydrological Cycle Components in Gaza Strip Catchment Area,” International Conference, Sustainable Development and Management of Water in Palestine, 2009. [7] A. Khalaf, J. Hamed and H. Alnajar, “Assessment of Rainwater Losses Due to Urban Expansion of Gaza Strip,” Islamic University of Gaza, Gaza, 2005. [8] F. Abdulla and T. Eshtawi, “Application of Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) Tool to Evaluate the Sediment Yield in a Semi-arid Region: Case Study, Kufranja Basin-Jordan,” Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, Vol. 1, No. 3, 2007, pp. 234-244. [9] W. Kepner, D. Semimens, S. Bassett, D. Mouat and D. Goodrich, “Scenario Analysis for the San Pedro River, Analyzing Hydrological Consequences of Future Environment,” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Vol. 94, No. 1-3, 2004, pp. 115-127. doi:10.1023/B:EMAS.0000016883.10110.15 [10] S. Miller, D. Semmens, D. Goodrich, M. Herna-ndez, R. Miller, W. Kepner and D. Guertin, “The Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment Tool,” Environmental Modeling & Software, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 365-377. [11] M. Tripathi, R. Panda, N. Raghuwanshi and R. Singh, “Hydrological Modeling of a Small Watershed Using Generated Rainfall in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool Model,” Hydrological Processes, Vol. 18, No. 10, 2004, pp. 1811-1821. doi:10.1002/hyp.1448 [12] NASA Website, 2010. http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/version2_1/SRTM3/Africa [13] Ministry of Agriculture, “Strategy of Sustainable Agricultural Development from 2010 to 2020,” Seventh Document, 2010. [14] Ministry of Transportation & Communications, Archived Data, 2010. [15] S. Ghabayen, Utah State University, 2010. http://hydrology.neng.usu.edu/giswr/archive00/termpapers/ghabayen.htm [16] A. Mohammadin, et al., “Estimation of Runoff for East Bani Naim Watershed Using SCS Curve Number Method and GIS,” Graduation Project Palestine Polytechnic University, West Bank, 2003. [17] K. Goris and M. Samian, “Sustainable Irrigation in the Gaza Strip,” M.Sc Thesis, Katholike University, Leuven, 2001. [18] S. N. Miller, W. G. Kepner, M. H. Mehaffey, M. Hernandez, R. C. Miller, D. C. Goodrich, F. K. Devonald, D. T. Heggem and W. P. Miller, “Integrating Landscape Assessment and Hydrologic Modeling for Land Cover Change Analysis,” Journal of the American Water Resources Association, Vol. 38, No. 4, 2002, pp. 915-929. doi:10.1111/j.1752-1688.2002.tb05534.x