Latur division of Marathwada region of Maharashtra State is traditionally a drought-prone region. The region receives annual rainfall in the range of 500 to 800 mm. Rainfall in uncertain and erratic in this region and sometimes suffers from severe droughts. The productivity of all crops decreases with either deficiency of rainfall or its distribution which creates moisture stress in critical growth period due to occurrence of dryspells during July and August. Runoff is one of the important hydrologic variables used in most of the water resource planning. Rainfall duration, intensity and aerial distribution influence the rate and volume of runoff. Catchment characteristics such as slope, shape and size, cover of soil and duration of rainfall have a direct effect on the peak flow and volume of runoff from any area (Chandler and Walker, 1998). Estimation of runoff for designing of any water harvesting structure is very important. Therefore, rainwater harvesting and its storage is an important issue in this region. The harvested water with suitable rainwater harvesting structure can be utilized for sustainable crop production. The rainfall data was collected from the Agro-meteorological station. Runoff was estimated using SCS curve number method considering the all parameters like soil type, vegetation etc. The rainfall runoff relationship was worked out for further planning of small water harvesting structures like farm ponds. Rainfall and runoff are significant constitute the sources of water for recharge of ground water in the watershed. Estimation of runoff in a watershed is very important to manage the water resources efficiently. The runoff potential for Latur division was found to be 20.07 %, indicating a good scope for rainwater harvesting and thereby, many more rainwater harvesting structures can be constructed based on site specific conditions. A relation between rainfall and runoff for Latur was worked out as Y = 0.486X - 186.3 (R² value - 0.731).The derived linear rainfall-runoff relation may be used to determine the runoff associated with any rainfall that takes place in the region. The link between rainfall and runoff will be helpful in determining the possibility for collecting rainwater and reusing it to increase the yield of different types of crops that get rain. For the catchment area of 1 ha, 2 ha, and 3 ha, respectively, farm pond sizes with storage capacities of 417 m³, 651 m³, and 939 m³ are specified for Latur station. Farm ponds of the square size, measuring 16 x 16 m, 19 x 19 m, and 22 x 22 m (top measurements), with a side slope of 1.5:1 and a depth of 3 m, in trapezoidal are recommended.

Download this article as