Citation :

Shilpa Motegaonkar, Ajay Chavadekar, Harshal Rasal, "Simulation of Surface Runoff for Khadakwasla-Dasave Watershed, Pune, India Using SWAT Model," International Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 13, no. 8, pp. 51-65, 2026. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23488352/IJCE-V13I8P103

Abstract

Accurate prediction of surface runoff is critical for watershed management, flood risk assessment and water resource planning. This study has applied the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model using Geographic Information Systems to predict monthly surface runoff in the Khadakwasla - Dasave watershed, Pune district, Maharashtra, India. The watershed covers a total area of 265,680 hectares with an average elevation of 650 meters mean sea level. Soils are mainly clay and clay-loam, and about 74% of the region is used for cultivation. For model parameterization, we used 30 meter digital terrain models derived from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), land use/land cover, soil properties, and weather data from 2000 to 2013 (the first two years were used for model warming-up). The years 2002-2009 were used for model parameterization, while 2010-2013 were used for model validation. The Sequential Uncertainty Fitting (SUFI-2) algorithm in the SWAT-CUP software was used to calibrate model parameters. Lacking streamflow data, observed runoff was calculated using the Soil Conservation Service Curve Number method, with a composite curve number of 81.47, based on Antecedent Moisture Condition II and Hydrological Soil Group C, and an initial abstraction ratio of 0.1. After calibrating for 22 iterations, statistical fit measures suggest high model accuracy: Coefficient of Determination (R²) value of 0.94 and Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) value of 0.74 for calibration and 0.96 and 0.62 for validation, respectively. The watershed was discretised into 19 sub-basins and 398 Hydrological Response Units. The average monthly runoff simulated was 36.65 millimeters during calibration and 48.02 millimeters during validation. The results show that SWAT–SUFI-2 modeling approach provides a scientifically sound and implementable methodology for hydrologic modeling in a semi-arid Indian watershed.

Keywords

SWAT model, Surface runoff, SCS-CN method, SWAT-CUP, SUFI-2.

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