Journal of Agricultural Engineering

Dams and small reservoirs are important water infrastructures to conserve water, and protecting downstream areas from adverse impacts of floods and droughts. However, reservoir sedimentation has become an important issue all over the world as it reduces storage capacity and shortens the useful life. The present study was carried out on Saleran reservoir situated in Shivalik foot-hills of northwest India using 18 multi-spectral multi-date satellite imageries of Landsat 8 OLI (Operational Land Imager) sensor and geographic information system. Reservoir water surface areas and storage capacity at different water elevations were estimated for the year 2016-2020. The results of the study indicated that Saleran reservoir is losing its storage capacity at a rate of 0.72%, annually due to siltation at the rate of 23.39 Mg ha^-1 y^-1. The reservoir lost 35.81 ha m (17.9%) of live storage capacity over a period of 25 years (1995-2020) due to sedimentation. The elevation-area-capacity curves have been updated for future use in estimating correct volume of water available in the reservoir at different elevations. The results obtained using geospatial technique showed an agreement with those of bathymetric survey. The study indicated an urgent need to plan and execute suitable conservation measures in the catchment to reduce the amount of sediment inflow to the Saleran reservoir for having long trouble-free service life. The findings of the study would help the planners and managers involved in planning, design, and operation of small multi-purpose reservoirs under similar climatic and topographic conditions all over the world.