Land Use

Land use has a central position in the arrangement of the water sector. Land use will affect water resources, water use patterns, and water budgets in an area with spatial distribution.
Physically, changes in land use from natural areas to man-made areas often found in urban areas will reduce the capacity of surface water infiltration into the soil. Changes in land use will also be accompanied by an increase in water demand and the balance of water budget into a larger demand side. Changes in land use will also increase the incidence of flooding. It can also reduce the presence of degraded areas due to erosion which impact on increasing river sedimentation. Therefore, the use of existing land and predicted future changes should be considered in the assessment.