Modelling Evapotranspiration and Runoff Rates in Swat, Amid Changing Land Use and Land Cover and Climatic Conditions in the Muringato Basin, Kenya

Evapotranspiration and runoff are the major outflows in a water balance. Their rates are greatly influenced by land use and land cover, and climatic changes. This research utilised remote sensed data for Muringato Basin, Kenya namely: Landsat satellite imagery, digital elevation model, climatic data, and soil data to simulate the evapotranspiration and runoff from 1990 to 2020 in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT); while considering the changing Land Use and Land cover (LULC) and climatic conditions. From the research it was evident that both outflow components heavily depend on the rainfall received in the basin, however, changes in Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) especially a reduced forest cover of 21.4% can greatly reduce the amount of evapotranspiration and result to increased runoff. These findings are important in the formulation of policies and sensitisation of the community on the importance of the environment and its management.