Instructions for Delineating and Calculating Catchment Area of Stream / River for Bridge

Hydrology
1. Add Data (Nepal_aster.img)
2. Export bridge placemark from Google Earth
3. KML to Layer (Import bridge point from KML file)
4. Clip (Clipping the required area from the whole map of Nepal)
5. Fill
6. Flow Direction
7. Flow Accumulation
8. Edit point to move to stream path
9. Snap Pour Point
10. Watershed
11. Raster to Polygon
12. Projection (Projected Coordinate System)
13. Calculate area (Using attribute table)
14. Export to Google Earth (Layer to KML)
15. Check Watershed in Google Earth

References:

1. Nepal DEM data

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LsIeGtoE7PB2jjJ6LOtxdWGItVTnrnCd/view
2. Catchment area using ArcGIS - Amod Panthee
https://youtu.be/gP70VO-jMg0
3. Catchment area Calculation using arcgis 10.4 : watershed delineation - Hydropower
https://youtu.be/m7VAPMAae70
4. Catchment Area calculation By ArcGis 10.4. Watershed Calculation,Hydrology - Rajendra Kunwar
https://youtu.be/0oqz1ZTTS1Q
5. Digital Elevation Models in GIS (theory) - Hans van der Kwast
https://youtu.be/pnAdasqHxGk
6. Stream and catchment delineation with GIS (theory) - Hans van der Kwast
https://youtu.be/ZLUjSEK-nbg
7. Special thanks to Hydrologist Jyoti Prajapati, DHM / DoR

Prepared by:

Sabin Joshi
Engineer
Department of Roads
[email protected]

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 Instructions for Delineating and Calculating Catchment Area of Stream / River for Bridge
Hydrology
1. Setting up

 Open ArcGIS ArcMap 10.7 > New Maps > My Templates > Blank Map > OK
 Open "Catalog" box by clicking "Windows > Catalog" from the menu bar
 Click "Connect to Folder" icon (yellow folder icon with + mark)
 Select a folder where you want to save your work and click OK. (example: Document/ArcGIS)
 Right click your folder shown under "Folder connections" and select "New > File Geodatabase"
for saving different files for each catchment area calculation
 Rename the Geodatabase according to your bridge (eg. Bagmati bridge, Thapathali.gdb)
 Right-click it and click "Make Default Geodatabase"

2. Add Data (Nepal_aster.img)

 Click "Add Data" button on the toolbar. (Yellow button with + mark)
 Go to folder containing nepal_aster.img (downloaded from Google Drive), select it and click
"Add"

3. Export bridge placemark from Google Earth

 Go to Google Earth and save the bridge placemark as kmz file by right-clicking it and "Save place
as..."

4. KML to Layer (Import bridge point from KML file)

 Open "Search" box by clicking "Windows > Search" from the menu bar
 Type "kml to layer" and enter
 Click "KML to Layer (Conversion) (Tool)" from the search results
Input KML File: (select the kmz file exported from Google Earth)
Click OK
 The status bar will show KML to Layer command running and notify after completion
 The placemark will be displayed in the GIS map after sometime and a new layer will be created
under "Layers"

The KML To Layer tool can also be selected by clicking "ArcToolbox" button from the toolbar (Red
button with toolbox icon). And then clicking Conversion Tools > From KML > KML To Layer

5. Clip (Clipping the required area from the whole map of Nepal)

 Zoom in the display to the tentative area of the catchment for that point
 Change the color of the map, as necessary, by clicking the color bar (between High and Low)
under nepal_aster.img
 Search > "Clip' and enter
 Click "Clip (Data Management) (Tool)"
Input Raster: (select nepal_aster.img form the drop-down list)
 Click "Environments..." button below
Click "Processing Extents"
Select "Same as display" under "Extent"

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 OK
 OK
 The status bar will show Clip command running and notify after completion.
 Selected display area will be clipped from the whole map and displayer as nepal_aster_Clip
under layers.
 The main map layer may be turned off by clicking the check box.

6. Fill

 Click "ArcToolbox" button from the toolbar (Red button with toolbox icon)
 Spatial Analyst Tools > Hydrology > Fill (double click "Fill" tool)
Input surface raster: (select "nepal_aster_Clip" from drop-down list)
Output surface raster: C:\....\Fill_............ (eg. Fill_Bagmati)
OK
 The status bar will show Fill command running and notify after completion.
 Fill_...... layer will be displayed under Layers

7. Flow Direction

 Spatial Analyst Tools > Hydrology > Flow Direction (double click "Flow Direction" tool)
Input surface raster: (select Fill_........... from drop-down list)
Output flow direction raster: C:\....\FlowDir_........... (eg. FlowDir_Bagmati)
OK
 The status bar will show Flow Direction command running and notify after completion.
 FlowDir_...... layer will be displayed under Layers

8. Flow Accumulation

 Spatial Analyst Tools > Hydrology > Flow Accumulation (double click "Flow Accumulation" tool)
Input flow direction raster: (select FlowDir _........... from drop-down list)
Output accumulation raster: C:\....\FlowAcc_........... (eg. FlowAcc_Bagmati)
OK
 The status bar will show Flow Accumulation command running and notify after completion. It
may take a long time depending on the catchment area.
 FlowAcc_........... layer will be displayed under Layers
 Other layers may be turned off by clicking the check boxes.
 Invert the color of the map by clicking the color bar (between High and Low) under FlowAcc_......
and selecting "Invert" check box.
 Compare the stream paths generated with that in Google Earth
 Zoom-in to see if our place mark lies in the identified steam path / river in the FlowAcc_.....
layer.

9. Edit point to move to stream path

 Click on the icon under "Points" in Layers. Select "Circle 3", Size 15 and click OK. (Just for ease of
use)
 Right-click on the toolbar area and click on "Editor" to enable the Editor toolbar. (First time only)
 Click Editor > Start Editing in the toolbar
 Select Points and click OK

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  Click "Edit Tool" button on the Editor toolbar
 Select the green point icon in the map by making a rectangle over it with the mouse cursor
 Drag the selected point icon to the nearest stream path generated in the "FlowAcc_............"
layer. Use engineering judgement while moving.
 Click Editor > Stop Editing and click "Yes" to save your edits.

10. Snap Pour Point

 Spatial Analyst Tools > Hydrology > Snap Pour Point (double click "Snap Pour Point" tool)
Input raster or feature pour point data: (select Points from drop-down list)
Input accumulation raster: (select FlowAcc _........... from drop-down list)
Output raster: C:\....\SnapPour_........... (eg. SnapPour_Bagmati)
OK
 The status bar will show Snap Pour Point command running and notify after completion.
 SnapPour_........... layer will be displayed under Layers

11. Watershed

 Spatial Analyst Tools > Hydrology > Watershed (double click "Watershed" tool)
Input flow direction raster: (select FlowDir_............. from drop-down list)
Input raster or feature pour point data: (select SnapPour_............ from drop-down list)
Output raster: C:\....\WaterSh_........... (eg. WaterSh_Bagmati)
OK
 The status bar will show Watershed command running and notify after completion.
 The catchment area for the selected bridge point will be displayed.

12. Raster to Polygon

 Arc Toolbox > Conversion Tools > From Raster > Raster to Polygon (or search for Raster to
Polygon)
 Double click "Raster to Polygon" tool
Input raster: (select WaterSh_.......... from drop-down list)
Output polygon features: C:\....\WaterShed_........... (eg. WaterShed_Bagmati)
OK
 The status bar will show Raster to Polygon command running and notify after completion.
 WaterShed_........... layer will be displayed under Layers
 Hide all other layers by clicking the check boxes.
 Click the rectangle shape below WaterShed_...... in Layers
 Select "Lake" and increase "Outline Width :" to 2 and click OK.

13. Projection (Projected Coordinate System)

 The catchment has been obtained but the area is now known yet. We have been working in
Decimal Degrees system till now but we need the catchment area in sq.km or sq.m. We need to
convert our map to a projection system.
 Right-click on "Layers" under "Table of Contents" and click "Properties"
 Select "Coordinate System" tab

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  Click the + before Projected Coordinate System > UTM > WGS 1984 > Northern Hemisphere >
WGS 1984 UTM Zone 45N
 [45N for Eastern Nepal]
 [44N for Western Nepal]
 Click the star button to add to favorites for future use.
 Click Ok.

14. Calculate area (Using attribute table)

 Right-click on "WaterShed_................" (Raster to polygon layer) and click "Open Attribute Table"
 Click "Table Options" button (1st button) in the "Table"
 Click "Add Field"
Name: "Area_sqkm" or "Area"
Type: "Float"
OK
 Right-click on "Area_sqkm" in the table and click "Calculate Geometry"
 Click "Yes"
Property: Area
Coordinate System: Use coordinate system of the data frame: PCS: WGS 1984 UTM Zone 44N /
45N
Units: Square Kilometer [sq km]
OK
 Click "Yes"
 The area is displayed in the Table under "Area_sqkm"
 The same process can be repeated to calculate the perimeter or centroid of the catchment by
selecting respective "Property" after "Calculate Geometry".

15. Export to Google Earth (Layer to KML)

 Arc Toolbox > Conversion Tools > To KML > Layer to KML (or search for Layer to KML)
 Double click "Layer to KML" tool
Layer: (select WaterShed_...... from the drop-down list") (Raster to polygon layer)
Output file: C:\....\Watershed_..........._LayerTo.kmz (default)
OK
 The status bar will show Layer to KML command running and notify after completion.
 The KML file will be exported to the selected folder

 It is also advisable to export the point to Google Earth to check if we have moved it significantly.
 Repeat the same process and select "Points" instead of "WaterShed_.........."

16. Check Watershed in Google Earth

 Open the exported .kmz file with Google Earth (just double-click the kmz file)
 The catchment / drainage basin will be shown
 Right-click "Watershed_............" under places in Google Earth and click properties.
 Go to "Style, Color" tab and reduce the Area > Opacity to 50% (for easy viewing)
 Check by opening the "Points_......." kmz file as well.