The study, which is a part of the representative basin studies, attempts to do a morphometric analysis of the Suddagedda basin of Andhra Pradesh. The linear, areal and relief aspects pertaining to morphology are studied. In ungauged basins and basins with very little hydrological data, the study of geomorphologic characteristics is important as these can be related with the hydrological characteristics of the basin and thus provide a simple way to understand the hydrologic behavior of various basins.
The study also details the methodology to evaluate the morphological parameters. The hydrogeomorphological properties have been manually estimated from a toposheet in the absence of availability of automatic data processing facilities.
The drainage pattern in the upstream of the basin is clear but in the middle and outlet plain portions the pattern is not clear. However with limited field checks the catchment boundary has been delineated up to Gollaprolu. The catchment of around 337 sqkm has moderate slopes and is a fifth order basin. The drainage density of the basin is 1.453 while the average basin slope up to Gollaprolu is estimated as 6.8 %. The bifurcation ratio and stream length of the basin are 4.4 and 1.563 respectively.
In the absence of a hydrometeorological station discharge data was not available and a reliable design flood hydrograph could not be developed. The estimated morphometric parameters of the basin may be useful in developing the synthetic geomorphologic instantaneous unit hydrograph or for the development of empirical formulae.
The morphometric characteristic of Suddagedda basin will provide a simple means to compare it with other basins to regionalize the experimental results in the eastern coastal regions of India.
Download the report here: