Evaluating the Hydraulic Performance of Al Msharah River

Abstract

Al Msharah River is one of the main controlled feeders of AlHuwayza Marsh in addition to its importance in irrigation of thenearby agricultural areas. A study for evaluating the hydraulicperformance of this river has been carried out to develop the ability ofthe river to accommodate the increase of the required discharge forfeeding the marsh and agricultural projects. Achieving this objectiverequire carrying out field hydrological measurements, stage anddischarge, at a number of stations distributed along the river for periodof six months. A steady one dimensional hydraulic model has beenprepared to simulate the flow in this river using the HEC-RASsoftware (Version 3.1.3). The calibration and verification processes ofthe model have been carried out by making use of the fieldmeasurements. The maximum allowable discharge of this river for thepresent conditions has been found and the failure, flood, locationshave been specified along the river. The required cross sections todevelop the capacity of the river have been found considering themarsh and agricultural requirements.