GIS Based Demarcation of Natural Flow Routes Using Old Topographic Data Akajiaku C
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Journal of Surveying and Mapping Engineering Mar. 2014, Vol. 2 Iss. 1, PP. 25-36 GIS Based Demarcation of Natural Flow Routes Using Old Topographic Data Akajiaku C. Chukwuocha*1, Joel I. Igbokwe2 *1Department of Surveying and Geoinformatics, Federal University of Technology Owerri, Nigeria 2Department of Surveying and Geoinformatics, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria *[email protected]; [email protected] Abstract-Demarcation of runoff natural flow routes is inestimable in mitigating flooding and erosion. It is useful also in planning urban areas and designing drainage networks. Devastating flooding and erosion are being recorded across the globe as a result of increases in the intensity and duration of storm water precipitation due to global warming. In the developing parts of the world state of the art topographical data is not always available, but it should not be necessary to stop state of the art geospatial topographical analyses especially if there are sources of old topographic data that may be authenticated. In this study, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were used to create a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of Owerri in Southeast Nigeria, using data from topographical maps of the city of 1977. The data was authenticated using three dimensional (3D) coordinates of sample points derived from Global Navigational Satellite Systems (GNSS) surveys. The DEM was processed using the ArcGIS and ArcHydro software to determine heavily accumulating flow routes. The accuracy of the result was confirmed by using the coordinates of the delineated flow routes to locate their ground positions with handheld GPS receivers after some heavy storm event. Keywords- Digital Elevation Model (DEM); Flow Routes; Flow Direction Grid; Flow Accumulation Grid; Stream Definition Threshold I. INTRODUCTION Urban areas are springing up steadily in the developing world. The United Nations highlighted the amazing rate of the population growth in the urban centers across the world in the 21st century, projecting that by 2030, half of all of Africa’s population would live in urban centers [1]. However, most of the governments of Africa have not given much attention to the issues of runoff management. It has been reported that urbanization aggravates flooding by restricting where flood waters can go, covering large parts of the ground with roofs, roads and pavements, obstructing sections of natural channels and building drains that ensure that water moved to rivers faster than it did under natural conditions. As more people crowd into cities, such effects intensify. As a result, even quite moderate storms produce high flows in rivers because there are many hard surfaces and drains [2]. “Since 2007, the flood situation in West Africa is becoming more and more recurrent and the impact on the population and infrastructures is becoming more severe” [3]. The dangers of flooding are becoming increasingly real across the globe with the issues of global warming. Owerri, capital city of Imo State, South East Nigeria has had many cases of flooding in the past quarter of a century, along with a good number of other West African cities. For instance, it was reported that on June 25 and 26, 2005, about 3,500 families in Owerri municipality and its adjoining villages were sacked by flood, which resulted from a heavy rainstorm that lasted for the two days and that properties worth over $2 Million were either washed away or completely destroyed [4]. Over the years the perennial flooding has not abated. The continued flooding of Owerri is immediately explainable after sighting the layout plans of the city. These plans show that technically the layouts are planned on a zero-runoff assumption. There are no topographic data on the layout plans, hence effective drainages cannot be planned on them. Owerri therefore floods. The concept of planning an urban area should properly speaking, be seen as a plan to develop blocks of unnatural impervious covers with consequences of increased runoff quantities, speed and power in the ensuing urban area. If the conceived urban area is going to be continually sustainable, the question of routes for runoff must be answered in the form of finding effective flow routes at the conception stage and those routes must be incorporated as part of the planning. The importance of locating natural runoff flow routes and documenting them in map form for sustainable planning and development of the urban areas cannot be overstated. The natural flow routes are the natural answers to the runoff need of the topography which have sustained the environment of the anticipated urban area over the years. In most cases, the upland natural flow routes drain the runoff into larger water bodies such as rivers and eventually into seas. The reasons for locating natural flow routes of an area include the following among others. First, the urban planners need to know the positions of the runoff natural flow routes on their base maps so as to leave them free and avoid locating facilities that would block them in planning the urban areas. Second, the engineers who design the drainage systems of the urban areas need to consider using the existing natural flow routes as basis for the design of the drainage network. Lastly, the runoff natural flow routes need to be identified on the ground long before the government plans for urban areas to stop inhabitants from constructing along the routes. - 25 - Journal of Surveying and Mapping Engineering Mar. 2014, Vol. 2 Iss. 1, PP. 25-36 The study area covers about 18602.38 Ha in the urban area of Owerri, Imo State, South East Nigeria and its environs. Owerri is the capital city of Imo State, south-eastern Nigeria. Owerri with a population of about 150,000 situates between 50 20' N, 60 55' E in the south-western corner and 50 34' N, 70 08' E in the north-eastern corner. The old city of Owerri is bordered on its south by Otamiri River and on its west by Nworie stream. However, with the development of the New Owerri City across Nworie stream on the western side, the two water bodies now have been transformed into the town. Fig. 1a shows the location of Imo State (in red, arrowed) in the map of Nigeria. Fig. 1b shows the project area (in red, arrowed) in the map of Imo State. Fig. 1c shows the project area in details. 450000.000000 462000.000000 474000.000000 486000.000000 498000.000000 510000.000000 522000.000000 534000.000000 546000.000000 558000.000000 .000000 .000000 216000 216000 .000000 .000000 Ideato North Orsu 207000 207000 . Okigwe Legend Orlu Study area boundary .000000 .000000 Ideato South imo state <all other values> Unuimo 198000 198000 LGAS Aboh-Mbaise Ahazu Mbaise Oru West Ehime Mbano Nkwere Ezinihitte Mbaise Ideato North .000000 .000000 Ideato South Nwangele Ikeduru 189000 189000 Mjaba Isiala Mbano Oru East Isu Isu Mbaitolu Isiala Mbano Ehime Mbano Oguta Mjaba Ngor-Okpala Nkwere .000000 .000000 Nwangele Obowo 180000 180000 Oguta Ohaji/Egbema Mbaitolu Obowo Okigwe Orlu Orsu Ikeduru Oru East .000000 .000000 Ahazu Mbaise Oru West Owerri Municipal 171000 171000 Owerri North Owerri West Unuimo Subcatchments Owerri Municipal <all other values> .000000 .000000 Area Ezinihitte Mbaise 320.05350896 360.276453488 162000 162000 Owerri North Text 461.573081563 Owerri West 466.236801963 Aboh-Mbaise 487.301701449 Ohaji/Egbema 495.270605097 495.736435724 .000000 .000000 615.032625947 628.232693178 153000 153000 631.90240374 652.461431266 653.824198211 683.164517103 713.981928217 725.350858253 .000000 .000000 744.662830032 869.883640897 Ngor-Okpala 144000 144000 886.316975499 1157.54464801 1158.68691022 1251.65930107 1477.02156835 1942.42028488 .000000 .000000 135000 135000 450000.000000 462000.000000 474000.000000 486000.000000 498000.000000 510000.000000 522000.000000 534000.000000 546000.000000 558000.000000 Scale: 1:250,000 30 15 0 30 Kilometers a. Map of Nigeria with LGAs, showing Imo State South East Nigeria b. Map of Imo State with LGAs, showing the project area c. Location Map of the Project Area in owerri, South East Nigeria Fig. 1 Location of the Project Area Urban planners traditionally use aspect type approach of contour interpretation to determine routes to locate drainages in designing new urban layouts. A runoff flow route is a linear connection of cells that accumulate the most runoff in an area. Quantity of accumulation of runoff is determinable on a GIS platform and to read off runoff natural flow routes from contour lines is simplistic. “Traditionally, drainage areas have been delineated from topographic maps, where drainage divides are located by analyzing the contour lines. Arrows representing water flow direction can be drawn perpendicular to each contour, in the direction of the steepest descent. Drainage areas can also be delineated automatically using digital elevation models of the land-surface terrain. A digital elevation model (DEM) is a grid of square cells, where each cell value represents the elevation of the land surface. By determining how water flows from cell to cell, the set of cells whose drainage flows through the cell at the outlet point location can be identified, and thus the drainage area determined” [5]. Some previous efforts at GIS based natural flow route studies would include that reported in [6] on the interfacing of the HEC-RAS software developed by the Hydrologic Engineering center (HEC) of the U.S Army Corps of Engineers for hydraulic computations with Arcview GIS software for flood palin analysis. HEC-RAS was developed as HEC-2 called the River Analysis System (RAS). HEC-RAS analyses data for one dimensional steady flow water surface profile computations, unsteady flow simulation, and movable boundary sediment transport calculations. The system is capable of modeling - 26 - Journal of Surveying and Mapping Engineering Mar. 2014, Vol. 2 Iss. 1, PP. 25-36 subcritical, supercritical, and mixed flow regimes for streams consisting of full network of channels, a dendrite, or a single river reach.