Hydrological characterization and influence of the land cover on Fêmeas River flow parameters

ABSTRACT

In this research it was studied a pluvi-fluviometric characterization and the flow rates changes of Fêmeas River basin located in São Desidério (BA), considering the presence of a PCH and the cover soil alterations. Therefore the network stations of the Agência Nacional de Águas were selected to analyze the rainfalls and flows historical data (from 1985 to 2013); LandSat 5 and IRS-P6 (RESOURCESAT-1) satellite images of 1985, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2012 years were used for land cover classification in two classes: natural; and areas with anthropic influence, in whose regions there was some kind of use; and the changes in the median and average annual flows before and after the PCH installation were evaluated. The results of this research showed that the annual average flow data over the study period reduced in a magnitude higher than the annual average rainfall data. In relation to the soil land use, the anthropic area increased over time. With this study it was found that the presence of the PCH reservoir allowed a reduction in the maximum and minimum flow rates peak. It was observed that in the post-PCH period both average and median flow rate data were lower than that those measured in the pre-PCH period. Nevertheless, these results were influenced by the combination of the human activities that increased over time and the annual average rainfall data variation in the basin.

Keywords:
impact on flows; hydrology; watershed management; barring