Modelagem hidrológica para a bacia hidrográfica do Córrego Marinheiro, Sete Lagoas -MG

Abstract

Accurate reliable and low-cost information is necessary to support planning and decision-making of watersheds. The watershed of Marinheiro Creek, located in Sete Lagoas - MG (Brazil), is one of the few surface water sources of the municipality. Its ecological importance is based on many factors, such as the fact that it is inserted in a karstic geological region, characterized by the presence of carbonate rocks that, in turn, favor the formation of caves and sinks. In addition, there is one tree species on the list of critically endangered species, Dimorphandra wilsonii Rizzini (Faveiro de Wilson), as well as it is an important source of water for irrigation systems in the region. However, in recent years, it is suffering the effects of urban expansion and rainfall reduction, and though its relevance, there is no adequate hydrological monitoring system. This work aimed to develop a hydrological model for the hydrographic region of Marinheiro Creek. The methodology was based on the validation and on the calibration of a hydrological model for an area of analysis of the river basin of Jequitibá river which has a series of flow rate measurements, being the Marinheiro creek one of its tributaries. The calibrated and validated data were extrapolated to the Marinheiro Creek basin, to generate a series of synthetic flow rate data for the years of 2003 to 2016. All the mentioned procedures were done in the software JAMS J2000. The model was able to adequately simulatethe average, mean and minimum flow rates of the contribution area. It was observed that is possiblethat the long term average flow rate (Qmld) adopted by the State for the water management is overestimated, based on the Qmld modeled for the Marinheiro Creek.