International Journal of Multidisciplinary and Current Research ISSN: 2321-3124 Research Article Available at: http://ijmcr.com 1079|Int. J. of Multidisciplinary and Current research, Vol.6 (Sept/Oct 2018) Rainwater Resources Development using Open Space data and Software Sources (A study case: Damazin locality, Blue Nile state, Sudan) Gar Al-nabi Ibrahim Mohamed # and Faisal Althobiani ^ # Hydrographic Surveying Department, ^Department of Marine Engineering, Faculty of Maritime Studies, King Abdulaziz University, KSA Received 08 Aug 2018, Accepted 11 Oct 2018, Available online 13 Oct 2018, Vol.6 (Sept/Oct 2018 issue) Abstract Humans and animals drinking water availability is a chronic problem in under-developed countries in general and their rural areas in particular. A rainwater resources development effort was reported in this paper using a case study area in the Sudan. A rainwater harvesting method was developed using open space technology data and open application programs. The method was applied in a 12,100 square kilometers area and twenty-two potential rainwater harvesting sites were located with draining capacities ranging between 19.10 and 532.50 Million Cubic Meters (MCM) with a total average rainfall rate draining capacity of 2.105 Billion Cubic Meter (BCM). However, although it is quite possible to acquire this huge amount of water in the area, but unfortunately, local people are still facing a chronic problem of drinking water shortage, animals walk tens of kilometers to drink water and farmers transport water from the Blue Nile river tens of kilometers away from the farms to harvest their crops. An appreciated effort was made by local governments and non-government organizations related to drinking water world wide in general and in underdeveloped countries in particular using traditional methods. However, it is high time to devote this effort to the application of open space technology data and open application programs for water harvesting in these areas. This would facilitate the water supply throughout the year and avoid the drinking water shortage in the dry season. It can be applied to cover the whole area with a network of water harvesting facilities to achieve nomad’s and pastoralists settlement, avoid their conflicts with farmers in the area. Keywords: Hafeer, rainwater resource, potential rainwater harvesting site, open space data source, open application programs source, Water harvesting facility, rate of rainfall 1. Introduction 1 Water is very important for humans as well as animals and most of the natural resources disputes in the world are related to water. “Sudan rainfall decreases northwards (0-700 mm), with a total annual amount of 400 billion m 3 “[2]. “Sudan estimated annual rainfall is 442 BCM. The most abundant water resource is rainfall. Harnessing rainwater and floods is not widely practiced and water harvesting is poorly developed. Although the practice is old, it is only carried out on a small scale [1]. Rainfall collection is one of water sources in Sudan and rainwater harvesting (RWH) methods can be implemented to improve the production of crops and livestock in the region [3] The quoted texts demonstrated that the Sudan rainfall water resources are very good, but are not exploited for *Corresponding author’s ORCID ID: 0000-0003-4655-6736 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14741/ijmcr/v.6.5.12 the benefits of the Sudanese people in general and in the rural areas in particular. This paper investigated the potentialities of open space technology data and open application programs in rainwater resources development. The space technology data and application programs were integrated to derive the hydrographical and hydrological models of the study area. The two models were integrated to derive the draining water areas and their relative geometric data. 2. Study area The study area is located west of the Blue Nile in Damazin locality, Blue Nile state Sudan. It is bounded by latitudes 11° and 12° N and longitudes 33.25° and 34.5° E. The approximate study area is 12,100 sq. km. The main features in the area are the Blue Nile river, the rain-fed mechanized agricultural lands, and a series of mountains, forming a water divide zone and a large number of villages scattered all over the area (Fig. 1).