Abstract:
Arid and semi-arid regions are prone to severe water inadequacies. They are
characterized by little rainfall resulting in several seasonal rivers. Seasonal riverbeds
provide opportunity for water to be stored in river’s sand-beds while their surfaces
may appear dry. It is an important source of water in most rural areas under arid
conditions. Several numerical models have been developed for solving sediment
problems in alluvial rivers. However, rarely if ever were a model applied for sand
filled reservoirs. This study presents a model to understand interacting factors through
which physical water storage potential can be increased in sand filled reservoirs.
Finite different method (FDM) has been applied to numerically solve mass balance
continuity equation in sand filled reservoir. There were reasonable agreements
between estimated results and experimental measurements from a laboratory setup.
The study could provide economic and suitability data for increasing water supplies
to a small community.
