Author(s)

M. S. De Silva & M. H. Nachabe

Abstract

Land development through urbanization plays a significant role in changing the hydrology of a watershed. A two-dimensional finite element variable saturation flow model is coupled with a digital terrain analysis to quantify the impacts of urbanization on the hydrology of shallow water table environments. The ground surface is sealed to infiltration for a fraction of the surface corresponding to urbanized land. A 75% increase in urbanization reduces the cumulative transpiration by 86.4%, cumulative infiltration by 76.4% and base flow by 55.5%. Simulations to assess the influences of slope on local hydrology indicated that landscapes with mild slopes have less base flow than landscapes with steep slopes. Effect of surface slope on infiltration is found to be negligible due to the presence of high porosity sandy soil at this site. Keywords: urbanization, transpiration, infiltration, base flow.

Keywords

urbanization, transpiration, infiltration, base flow