Morphometric Analysis of Major Watersheds in Barind Tract, Bangladesh: A Remote Sensing and GIS-Based Approach for Water Resource Management

Morphometric analysis of major watersheds based on satellite images using hydrological module of ARC GIS software in the drought prone Barind Tract in the north-western part of Bangladesh has been carried out for its relevance in the water resource management. Here meteorological and hydrological drought effects increase day by day along with demand for groundwater irrigation, turning the area into acute agricultural drought condition. The studied watersheds have stream orders ranging from 1st to 6th, show dendritic drainage pattern, and represent homogeneity of soil texture; possibility of flash flood after heavy rainfall with low discharge of runoff; and not largely affected by structural disturbance. The moderate drainage density indicates semi-permeable soil lithology with moderate vegetation. Elongated shape watersheds are with low to moderate relief and are bounded in the east by land area of the Barind Tract of moderate to steep slope. It reveals a flatter peak of runoff flow for longer duration and gravity flow of water. Flat to gentle but undulating slope of the watersheds represent good category for water resource management owing to favorable site for infiltration due to maximum time of runoff water percolation. The east facing slopes of the watersheds show higher moisture contents and higher vegetation. The major part of the watersheds comes under cultivated land which supports the future basin development and management for water resource. Finally, present study would be useful in categorization of watersheds for future water resource development and management, and selection of suitable sites for water conservation structures like check dam, percolation tank etc., and artificial recharge of groundwater through MAR technique.