Analysis of Sediment Reduction with VFS and Diversion Channel with Enhancements in SWAT Landuse-Subbasin Overland Flow and VFS Modules

In the last decade, many methods such as greet chamber, reservoir, or debris barrier, have been utilized to manage and prevent muddy water problem. The Vegetative Filter Strip (VFS) has been thought to be one of the most effective methods to trap sediment effectively. The VFS are usually installed at the edge of agricultural areas adjacent to stream or drainage ditches, and it has been shown that the VFS effectively removes pollutants transported with upland runoff. But, if the VFS is installed without any scientific analysis of rainfall-runoff characteristics, soil erosion, and sediment analysis, it may not reduce the sediment as much as expected. Although Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model has been used worldwide for many hydrologic and Non-Point Source Pollution (NPSP) analysis at a watershed scale. but it has many limitations in simulating the VFS. Because it considers only 'filter strip width' when the model estimates sediment trapping efficiency, and does not consider the routing of sediment with overland flow option which is expected to maximize the sediment trapping efficiency from upper agricultural subbasin to lower spatially-explicit filter strip. Therefore, the SWAT overland flow option between landuse-subbasins with sediment routing capability was enhanced with modifications in SWAT watershed configuration and SWAT engine. The enhanced SWAT can simulate the sediment trapping efficiency of the VFS in the similar way as the desktop VFSMOD-w system does. Also it now can simulate the effects of overland flow from upper subbasin to reflect the increased runoff volume at the receiving subbasin, which is what is occurring at the field if no diversion channel is installed. In this study, the enhanced SWAT model was applied to small watershed located at Jaun-ri in South Korea to simulate diversion channel and spatially-explicit VFS. It was found that approximately sediment can be reduced by 31%, 65%, 68%, with diversion channel, the VFS, and the VFS with diversion channel, respectively.