Minimum and reference discharges and specific yield for the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

For proper management of water resources, especially in administration activities such as, for example, in granting use of water resources for a given purpose, water availability needs to be known. To overcome existing difficulties in the attainment of hydrologic information, necessary to an appropriate water resources management of a region, we use the technique of regionalizing streamflows. The purpose of this work was to develop products, which help in water resources management, seeking to obtain subsidies for determining the water availability to water resource management agencies of Minas Gerais State. We used mathematical models for estimating the streamflows Q7,10, Q90 and QMLT in the watersheds of the rivers Doce, Paraíba do Sul, Grande, Paranaíba, São Francisco, Pardo, Jequitinhonha, Mucuri and São Mateus, at the Minas Gerais State. The spatialization of hydrological variables was performed as specific yields in SIG environments. According to results obtained, the spatialization was found to be potential for supporting the water resources planning and management.