Water Harvesting and Flood Risk Mitigation in Baalbek-Hermel Using GIS(Case Study: Wadi al-Turkman Basin)

Abstract

The Baalbeck-Hermel region in Lebanon suffers from the issue of floods and floods, due to the presence of arid lands and degraded valleys that receive rainfall in a short time, forming torrential floods that destroy agricultural lands and villages, causing serious material and human damage.The research aims to harvest rainwater and prevent the risks of torrents and floods resulting from severe and sudden rainstorms in Wadi al-Turkman (Baalbek-Hermel region), to protect citizens and their property, protect the soil from erosion, store a quantity of water to water crops and natural vegetation, develop the region, and maintain a sustainable environment.This research made a preliminary estimate of the number and type of facilities, their locations, and quantities of works based on DEM topographic maps 3030m at a scale of 1/50000 using GIS software, and this estimate is subject to modification in the design study phase, depending on the field audit and the accuracy of the available data and data. The choice of stone or gabion walls is related to the building materials available at the site.

The research recommends planting forest trees and annual wild plants, establishing green barriers through appropriate agroforestry to stabilize the soil, and stopping logging for heating purposes.