Ms. Al-sheriadeh et Az. Al-hamdan, Erosion risk assessment and sediment yield production of the King Talal Watershed, Jordan, ENVIR GEOL, 37(3), 1999, pp. 234-242
King Talal Dam (KTD) watershed is the most important one in Jordan. At its
outlet lies the KTD (80 MCM capacity) which serves irrigation purposes in t
he Jordan Valley. However, the dam suffers from accelerated annual sediment
ation. Therefore, this study is directed to assess the erosion risk over th
e watershed, and to simulate annual sediment yield at the dam in order to d
evise the appropriate conservation practices. Generalized assessment was fi
rst conducted over the watershed on the basis of drainage texture, rainfall
erosion index (R), and the ratio p(2)/P. As a result, the watershed is div
ided into zones of severe, high (gullying), high (overland flow) and low er
osion risk. Sediment yield at the dam was evaluated by a simulation model.
For model validation the stimulation results were compared to the measured
values over 12 years period, and a good agreement was obtained in some of t
he years. The simulation results allow us to assess the application of two
practical conservation practices: terracing and plantation of trees.