Gis-based Assessment Of Water Availability And Water Demand In Asa Catchment, Kwara State

1.2    Problem Statement
In the study area, there has been an increase of population over the last three decades which leads to strong competition for water with growing per capital water use. Also, there is possibility of scarcity due to the potential effects of global climate change on water resources. Asa river basin faces freshwater management challenges, some of which includes allocation of limited water resources, inadequate environmental quality monitoring, and policies for sustainable water use.
1.3.    Aim and Objectives of the study
The aim of the study was to assess water availability and water demand of Asa catchment using GIS-based hydrological model. The specific objectives achieved in this research are:
1.    to predict water balance components of Asa river basin during the modelling period.
2.    to predict total water yield potential of the basin.
3.    to evaluate water demand of Asa river basin using projected population of the inhabitant of the basin.
4.    to evaluate available water resources of Asa river basin from 1986-2015.
5.    to compare the volume of available water resources with the actual water demand of the catchment area within the modelling period.
1.4    Justification for the study   
Water is vital resource for every human activity. Water is scarce and there is need for efforts to improve its availability and explore it sustainability. To achieve reliable  prediction  of  the  various  hydrologic  parameters  including  rainfall,  runoff  etc.  for river catchment, it is very tough and time consuming by conventional methods. So it is very important to  search  suitable  methods  and  techniques  for  quantifying  the  hydrological  parameters. The fundamental objective of hydrology modeling is to gain an understanding of hydrological system in  order  to  provide  reliable  information  for  managing  water  resources  in  a  sustained  manner.
1.5     Scope of Work
In this study, thirty years meteorological data such as rainfall, temperature, humidity, solar radiation etc. were used. Validation and calibration of model were not included due to non-availability of observed data. Population projection using geometric method was adopted.