Land Use and Climate Change Impacts on Flow Rate and Non-point pollution sources in Drinking Water Basins: Namazgah Dam Basin

Abstract

Successful water resource planning and management can be ensured by understanding the hydrological response of watersheds and non-point pollutions to land use/land cover and climatic changes. This study aims to present the effects of climate and land-use changes on hydrological processes and NPS pollutions to help prepare accurate water management policies based on their impacts. In this study, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was applied to predict climate and land-use impacts on flow rate and non-point pollutions (NPS) in Namazgah Dam Basin in Turkey. Two different climate change scenarios, RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5, and land-use scenarios, conversion of shrubland to forest and conversion of agricultural areas to the forest, were used, and statistical analyses were utilized to assess the results. At the end of this study, it was predicted that there would be an increase in phosphorus and nitrate loads and a decrease in streamflow rate.