The Delineation of Watersheds in the Dhenkanal District, Odisha, India; Using Arc-GIS

The watersheds of the Dhenkanal district of Odisha, India with the centrally flowing, river Brahmani identified and explored. The watersheds added with anthropogenic stresses are unattended that affect the land, hydrology, ecology, vegetation, and fertility of the soil. Population growth, migration to cities, challenges, continuous disasters, and anthropogenic stresses block the growth.

The Arc GIS software and its Hydrology toolset were utilized. The Digital Elevation Model is used to scale various maps like flow direction, stream order, flow accumulation, Stream features, Pour points, and watershed maps of the district. The Rengali Dam, and Samal barrage of the Brahmani system and its left and right canal system have a positive impact on watersheds on both sides of the river Brahmani but the surface and groundwater are polluted by industrial effluents.

The watersheds in transition ridges of the Mahanadi and the Baitarani basin of the Brahmani basin have been poorly attended in Dhenkanal. Construction of farm ponds, groundwater recharge units, soil conservation activities, renovation, and new construction of waterbodies can cater to and care for the land, water, and vegetation of the district. It is high time to prepare large-scale maps by modern survey techniques (UAV, drones, GIS, and GPS) and the observed data used to identify, delineate, prioritize, and plan for sustainable environment management considering availability v/s demand of water through Integrated Watershed Management in the district.