Modeling Sediment Flow near

the Dahla Reservoir, Afghanistan

SEDIMENT FLOW NEAR THE DAHLA RESERVOIR

KEVIN H. LAWHON GIS 582, SPRING 2015

BACKGROUND
Location: 21 Miles north of Kandahar City on the Arghandab River
Built: 1952 by the U.S. Reclamation Bureau
Operated By: The Helmand/Arghandab River Authority
Original Capacity: 83 Billion Gallons
Acres Irrigated: 98,000
Dependent Population: 500,000

Kandahar is Afghanistans second most populated city and its

cultural center. The Arghandab River meanders its way from the
Hindu Kush Mountains of Central Afghanistan through Kandahar
on its way to the Helmand River. When the Dahla Dam was put in
place 60 years ago, Kandahar became the breadbasket of
Afghanistan, growing enough fruits and vegetables not only to
feed the country but also provide exports. Major exports include
pomegranates, grapes, apricots, and pistachios.

SEDIMENT FLOW NEAR THE DAHLA RESERVOIR

KEVIN H. LAWHON GIS 582, SPRING 2015

WHATS THE PROBLEM AND WHY SHOULD WE CARE?

30% reduction in capacity due to sedimentation
Security situation complicates routine maintenance
Decreased predictability in irrigation resources
complicates crop substitution programs
Increased reliance on opium production due to its
durability in arid climates
USACE raising dam by 25ft to increase capacity by
nearly 1/3rd.
But that doesnt stop the sedimentation.

SEDIMENT FLOW NEAR THE DAHLA RESERVOIR

KEVIN H. LAWHON GIS 582, SPRING 2015

PROBLEM STATEMENT
Can anything be done to mitigate sediment
flow into the Dahla Reservoir?
Objectives

Identify erosion prone areas for mitigation

Identify deposition prone areas for monitoring
Attempt to understand the dynamics of
sediment flow in the Upper Arghandab
Watershed

SEDIMENT FLOW NEAR THE DAHLA RESERVOIR

KEVIN H. LAWHON GIS 582, SPRING 2015

DATA AND METHODS

Data Type

Organization

Title

Resolution

Native Format

Date

Elevation

ASTEM DEM

30m x 30m

GeoTiFF

2011

Soil Erodibility Factor

Soil Regions

National Data Set

ShapeFile

2001

Land Cover Factor

Land Cover Classes

National Data Set

ShapeFile

1993

Composite Raster

LandSat ETM

28.5m x 28.5m

GeoTiFF

2006

Rain Fall

USACE Design Req.

Provincial Data

Text

2010

Rill Erosion model used for LS Factor due

to lack of vegetation
SEDIMENT FLOW NEAR THE DAHLA RESERVOIR
KEVIN H. LAWHON GIS 582, SPRING 2015

WORKFLOW
Pre-Processing

RUSLE/USPED Model

Mosaic Rasters (DEM, LandSat Scenes)

Import DEM, K-Factor, C-Factor, LandSat

Extract Rasters by Mask of Watershed

Calculate Slope/Aspect

Re-Project Geographc WGS 1984 to

Projected UTM Zone 41N

Calculate LS-Factor

Add K and C Factors to Attribute

Table based on Literature

Calculate Soil Loss

Calculate Sediment Flow

Convert K-ShapeFile, C-ShapeFile to Raster

SEDIMENT FLOW NEAR THE DAHLA RESERVOIR

Calculate Erosion Deposition

KEVIN H. LAWHON GIS 582, SPRING 2015

SOIL EROSION AND DEPOSITION RESULTS

EROSION MODEL

DEPOSITION MODEL

SEDIMENT FLOW NEAR THE DAHLA RESERVOIR

KEVIN H. LAWHON GIS 582, SPRING 2015

HIGH EROSION OVER IMAGERY

SEDIMENT FLOW NEAR THE DAHLA RESERVOIR

KEVIN H. LAWHON GIS 582, SPRING 2015

HIGH DEPOSITION OVER IMAGERY

SEDIMENT FLOW NEAR THE DAHLA RESERVOIR

KEVIN H. LAWHON GIS 582, SPRING 2015

SLOPE/C-FACTOR/K-FACTOR ANALYSIS

Most Prone to Erosion

Torriorthents with Torrifluvents Soil Class
Bare Soils/Sparse Vegetation Land Cover Class
Slopes in excess of 25%
Most Prone to Deposition
Torrithents with Torrifluvents Soil Class
Bare Soils/Sparse Vegetation Land Cover Class
Sudden Change in Slope > 10%
A Hypothesis: Sudden change of slope causes the velocity of
runoff to slow, causing it to deposit suspended solids in areas of
the greatest change in slope
SEDIMENT FLOW NEAR THE DAHLA RESERVOIR

KEVIN H. LAWHON GIS 582, SPRING 2015

CHALLENGES
Ways to improve the model may include:

Use USACE 1m Buckeye LiDAR DEM (LS-Factor)

Use 2010 Land Cover Data (C-Factor)
Soil Survey has no ground control and is generalized. Erodibility based of similar samples (K-Factor)
R-Factor available for Kandahar Province and Helmand Watershed, not Upper Arghandab specifically
Relationship between kinetic energy and rainfall intensity in RULSE is based on the Great Plains.
200mm of Kandahars 240mm annual rainfall occurs in November (High Intensity Flash Floods)
Model also does not account for snow melt in the Hindu Cush that flows through Watershed in Spring

SEDIMENT FLOW NEAR THE DAHLA RESERVOIR

KEVIN H. LAWHON GIS 582, SPRING 2015

CONCLUSIONS
Erosion and Deposition appears worst in the southern end of the watershed
High Deposition and Erosion sites may be a start for mitigation and monitoring
R.U.S.L.E. is an effective construct for thinking about erosion, but its just the start
R.U.S.L.E. is more effective for modeling small areas rather than Watersheds covering
millions of acres
Deriving K-Factor and R-Factor directly from Empirical Data will likely yield better results
Adding snow melt to the R-Factor may also enhance results

SEDIMENT FLOW NEAR THE DAHLA RESERVOIR

KEVIN H. LAWHON GIS 582, SPRING 2015

REFERENCES
University of California-Davis. (2015, April 20). Afghan Agriculture. Retrieved from E-Afghan Ag, UC Davis, USDA:
http://afghanag.ucdavis.edu/new-front
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2007). Afghanistan Opium Survey . (Vienna): United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime .
Afghan Engineer District. (2010, January). Afghanistan Engineer District Design Requirements: Hydrology Studies (Provisional). Bagram,
Afghanistan: US Army Corps of Engineers: Afghanistan Engineer District.
H. Mitasova, W. B. (2001). Terrain Modeling and Soil Erosion Simulation Final Report. Champaign, IL: U.S. Army Engineering Research
and Development Center.
Kim, H. S. (2006). Soil Erosion Modeling Using RUSLE and GIS on the IMHA Watershed, South Korea. Fort Collins, CO: Colorado State
University Press.
Melliger, J. J. (2012). Identifying and Evaluating Irrigation Dams in Afghanistan. SAME/NSPE Joint Meeting. Omaha: US Army Corps of
Engineers.
Michael, A. A. (1959). The Kabul, Kunduz, and Helmand River Valleys and the National Economy of Afghanistan. Washington, D.C. :
National Academy of Sciences-Natural Resource Council.
Sahaar, A. S. (2013). Erosion Mapping and Sediment Yield of the Kabul River Basin, Afghanistan. Fort Collins: Colorado State University
Press.
WH. Wischmeier, D. S. (2015, April 20). Wischmeier and Smith's Empirical Soil Loss Model (USLE). Retrieved from Food and Argicultural
Organization of the United Nations: http://www.fao.org/docrep/t1765e/t1765e0e.htm

SEDIMENT FLOW NEAR THE DAHLA RESERVOIR

KEVIN H. LAWHON GIS 582, SPRING 2015

QUESTIONS?
khlawhon@ncsu.edu
(714) 955-3973

SEDIMENT FLOW NEAR THE DAHLA RESERVOIR

KEVIN H. LAWHON GIS 582, SPRING 2015