Assessment and planning for integrated river basin management using remote sensing, SWAT model and morphometric analysis (case study: Kaddam river basin, India)

River basin assessment is crucial for water management and to address the watershed issues. So, an integrated river basin management and assessment model using morphometric assessment, remote sensing, GIS and SWAT model was envisaged and applied to Kaddam river basin, Telangana state, India. Morphometric results showed high drainage density ranging from 2.19 to 5.5 km2/km, with elongated fan shape having elongation ratio of 0.60–0.75 with sparse vegetation and high relief. Land use change assessment showed that 265.26 km2 of forest land is converted into irrigated land and has increased sediment yields in watersheds. The calibration (r 2 = 0.74, NSE = 0.84) and validation (r 2 = 0.72, NSE = 0.84) of SWAT model showed that simulated and observed results were in agreement and in recommended ranges. The SWAT simulations were used to compute mean annual water and sediment yield from 1997 to 2012, along with morphometric results to categorize critical watersheds and conservation structures were proposed accordingly.