COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF STREAM DISCHARGE MEASUREMENT UPSTREAM OF RIVER KUBANNI, ZARIA, NIGERIA.
Mukhtar. S.1*, Yusuf. Y.O.2 and Abdullahi. J.2
The requisite for planning of water resources development is the availability of accurate data of stream flow for a considerable period of time to determine the extent and pattern of available supply of water. The aim of this study was to carry out a comparative analysis of discharge measurement upstream of River Kubanni in Zaria in order to know the extent and pattern of available supply of water. Stream discharge data were obtained from the gauging stations at Malmo, Tukurwa, Maigamo and Goruba tributaries using the weir technique for the 2017 hydrological year and tables, charts and Analysis of Variance were used for the analyses. It was observed that the flow periods of the tributaries ranged from 206 to 239 days with Malmo having the least and Goruba the highest. The regime diagrams revealed a single peak discharge periods of August for Goruba and Maigamo and September for Tukurwa and Malmo. The study shows a significant difference in the stream discharges with Goruba tributary having the highest discharge value of 2,344,896 m3/yr., followed by Maigamo and Tukurwa with discharge values of 1,215,648 m3/yr. and 1,127,520 m3/yr. respectively, while Malmo tributary has the lowest stream discharge of 508,896 m3/yr. The study therefore recommends that there should be continuous monitoring of stream discharge in order to determine the pattern of available supply of water and measures to prevent or control flooding should be established since there was an increment in the flow periods of each tributary, as water may be forced into the land destroying farmlands and properties if they exceed their carrying capacity.
Key words: River Kubanni, Stream discharge, Tributaries, Weir method.