ENCLOSURE-3: Hydro-Meteorological Data Justification Report

1. Background
The Kopili River is a south-bank tributary of the Brahmaputra River, originating in the south-
western slope of the Shillong Peak in Meghalaya. About 76% of the river lies in Assam and is
flanked by a catchment area of approximately 16,421 km2. The basin area sees an annual rainfall
of 980-1700 mm with an average annual run-off of the basin at 600 mm generating average yearly
flow volume of 9,023 million cubic meter (MCM). Kopili is often noted as ‘mighty’ for its volume of
water flow and intensity during peak monsoons causing flash floods, landslides, widespread
displacement of people, and laying waste to property. These scenes exemplify the situation of
disaster risk in the Hojai, Dima Hasao, Karbi Anglong, Morigaon and Nagaon districts through
which the river traverses, where road network connectivity, critical services sustenance (food,
shelter) and resources are beyond compromised. Additionally, the planning and construction of
the Lower Kopili Hydro-electric Project (LKHEP) is also under headway. These events and
processes necessitate careful management of the basin and risks to the community living in the
area. These conditions require targeted interventions from multiple stakeholders using a multi-
pronged approach comprising flood risk identification, forecasting and disaster risk reduction in
the project area. Thus, prior planning is a pre-requisite for foreseeing any development in the
Kopili river basin.
Thus, as a joint effort among the Government of Assam, Assam State Disaster Management
Authority, Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGCL) and Flood and River Erosion
Management Agency of Assam (FREMAA) which is funded by the Asian Development Bank
(ADB), technical services are being hired which will support the above-mentioned agencies in
addressing flood, erosion and landslide risk in the Kopili River basin in Assam and devise disaster
risk reduction plans feasible for five most flood-prone districts. The administrative boundaries of
the five districts considered under this assignment, namely Hojai, Dima Hasao, Karbi Anglong,
Morigaon and Nagaon

2. Need of the data

The objective of this study is Resource Management and Disaster Resilience on Kopili River.
This includes development of a Flood forecasting and Warning model of the Kopili river and its
tributaries, which involves development of two types of models – hydrological model (rainfall
runoff) of the catchment and hydrodynamic model of the rivers, and assessment of flood and
erosion risk in the basins and formulation of plan for mitigating these risks.
As such the data will mainly be used for development of the flood forecasting models and also for
assessing flood and erosion risks.

3. Scope of study
Broadly, the execution of the study has been divided into 3 parts, namely:
▪ Resource Management Systems in the Kopili River Catchment Area (Output 1)
▪ Community Resilience and Disaster Preparedness (Output 2)
▪ Reporting and Coordination
A. Resource Management Systems in the Kopili River Catchment Area
(Output 1)
The main activities of this component are described below.

a. Identify appropriate locations and install sensors to collect real-time data on water inflows
and outflows from the hydropower dams on the Kopili River and other relevant tributaries
of the Kopili River as well to support resource management in the autonomous district
councils. Sensors, software, equipment’s and any other materials required for completing
the assignment shall be purchased by the consultant from the Provisional Sum of project.
b. Source suitable satellite data on rainfall and correlate with real-time water inflows (from
the installed sensors) in the river with the discharges from the hydropower plants.
c. Make available the above real-time data on dashboards to relevant state agencies
(ASDMA, WRD, FREMAA, APGCL) and the five district authorities so that can make
informed decisions on the likely impacts on communities and physical infrastructure and
take necessary measures to mitigate the impacts.
d. Undertake a mapping of the two autonomous district councils to cover village data
(including ground water), mineral resources, forest cover, agriculture assets, disaster
prone areas (flooding areas and landslides) etc. to make this information available also on
the state government’s dashboards and on the autonomous district council dashboards
for timely decision making
e. Review relevant information including development plans to prepare a wetland
development plan to help manage the flooding.
f. Assist three District authorities of Hojai, Nagaon, Morigaon, the WRD, ASDMA, and
FREMAA to be better prepared to addressing disasters through better prediction of
flooding, improved hydrology modeling, and better disaster risk maps
g. Undertake an assessment of the existing 110 km of river embankments and erosion
protection and the needs assessment of addition embankments of 80 km to protect
downstream districts of Nagaon, Hojai and Morigaon and the reinstatement of wetlands to
hold flood waters.
B. Community Resilience and Disaster Preparedness (Output 2)
The main activities of this component are described below:

h. Identify five villages, one in each district and undertake a need assessment. Following the
assessment design and implement a participatory village resilience disaster risk reduction
plan to increase resilience and disaster preparedness. Implement the village disaster risk
reduction plan in consultation with village communities.
i. Use the data from items, (a) to (d) to develop a robust flood prediction model and an early
warning system and correlate to anecdotal evidence for confirmation of flood prone areas
and to improve disaster preparedness of the communities, including development of
disaster mitigation plans that will be shared with government agencies.
j. Undertake training of state agencies on watershed management and disaster risk
management
k. Identify five villages (one from each district) to carry a participatory village resilience
disaster risk reduction. Implement the village disaster risk reduction in consultation with
the village communities.
l. In the trainings, ensure that at least 500 people (90% are vulnerable households of which
about 40% to be women) have increased their capacity on disaster risk management. In
the process, develop a household evacuation plan for the downstream districts of Nagaon,
Hojai, and Morigaon;
 m. Conduct training workshops for APCGL, ASDMA, WRD, Disaster Management
Committees of the downstream districts of Nagaon, Hojai, and Morigaon.

The modelling needs range of inputs, out of which cross-section, discharge, water level, sediment,
velocity, Manning’s n data from multiple HO sites is the prime input.

The hydrological and hydrodynamic models of the catchment and the rivers respectively will be
developed for forecasting water levels at all gauging stations and for preparation of flood
inundation maps. The efficiency of these models largely depends upon the frequency of data and
long record of data. The hourly water levels and discharges data (if any) are required for
calibration and validation of the models. Silt (suspended sediment concentration) and sediment
load will be used to assess risk of riverbed aggradation and degradation.

The spacing of the cross-section data greatly affects the simulation results as the simulated water
level and grid-spacing will depend upon the cross-section spacing. Thus, cross-section data from
CWC gauging stations will help development of a more accurate model.

4. Data required for Kopili River Basin

a. River Gauge, discharge, and sediment for each Gauge (G), Gauge and Discharge (G&D),
Gauge Discharge Sediment (GDS) and Gauge Discharge Sediment Quality (GDSQ) site.

(i) River gauges and discharges for the existing CWC sites.
(ii) Observed sediment rate data (bed load, suspended load, sediment
characteristics).
(iii) River sediment size: bed material and suspended sediment: D16, D50, D84 including
Particle size distribution (PSD) curve of the suspended sediment load and bed
material.
(iv) Vertical velocity distribution and vertical sediment distribution at significant river
stages for each G&D site.
(v) Riverbank material characteristics including PSD curves.

b. Cross sections of the river

(i) Available bathymetry survey of rivers.

(ii) River geometry and river cross section.
(iii) Morphological cross-sections available with CWC.

c. Hydrographic survey of each study reaches for different river stages.

(i) ADCP survey of discharge, velocity profile and suspended sediment

concentration.