DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A COMPUTERIZED EROSION CONTROL INFORMATION SYSTEM

ABSTRACT

Soil Erosion is an endemic problem in different part of the world especially places where there is marks of seasonal rainfall.  This overland flow resulting  from rain splash erosion and through flow of surface, flow appear to be too extremes of a continuous sequence and is a possible condition for gully development.  In order to prevent this gully development a body must or has been established to study and check the erosion development in so many areas.  As this project tends to focus on the erosion control system in Enugu using  ministry of works as our case study.  Our limit does not extend more than Enugu, Ministry of works in the body responsible for the control of erosion in Enugu state.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

This project is specifically on erosion control information system

1.1  BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

The soil particles must be detects from the parent soil mass, Agriculture which occupy over two third of the eastern region area and land mass is seriously threatened by accelerates soil erosion which is systematically reducing the land area available for agriculture.  Causes, effects and control measures are always way been the confusing part of resolving the erosion problem in the eastern region.  Erosion is of different forms the common one along our roads includes, “Gully erosion” Gully erosion occurs in areas of strong relief or loose sandy soils.  It creates deep gorges or gullies which dissect the land surface and hind movement and the cultivation of land.  It is an advanced stage of rill erosion where surface channels has been eroded to the point where they cannot be smoothed over by normal tillage operations.  Gully erosion is simply defined as the run off concentration in channels greater than rills large channels. Often, gullies can be prevented if good land conservation measures are practiced on the farm. The U.S department of Agriculture’s Hand book #667 (AGHBK 667) in the past used “design method for Grass – lined open channel” ECMDS.  The channel protection module utilizes calculations from federal highway Administration’s Hydrallic Engineering circular #15 (HEC 15) Tractive force procedure”.  The ECMDS which stands for Erosion control material design software, provided computer – assisted selection of material for slop erosion protection and channel source resistance.  Without this checks on these types of erosion or a computer-assisted selection material for channel source resistance.  The result of the occurrence and expansion of gullies in our roads has posed the following consequences.

(1) The damage of cultivated lands: Mainly farmers relying on proceed from sale of farm products can not achieve and produce agricultural products from damaged lands and the damages the gully is causing on our roads can not be over emphasized.  It is in this quest for preventions and erosion control system, that the term “A computerized erosion information stem” become paramount.  The system utilizers design procedures from the erosion control Technology council to correct failure.  Criteria bases on lining degradation and soil loss.

(2)  Accounts for differing vegetation growth habits and densities.

(3)  Accounts for differing soil erodibility factors.

(4)  Build a web-base erosion control information system

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The existing system in the ministry of works has been proven to be the major hindrance to effective erosion control.  From a business and management perspective, information system are far more than just import-process-output machines operating in a vaccum.  The problem of the existing system as observed was lack of computerized processing, in the area of keeping record.  Record keeping in the ministry is based on manual systems.  It was quite alarming that at this very stage of it revolution I couldn’t observe any computer system readily available to support their services.  The knowledge workers was ingnonnt about the usefulness of the computer systems because they are not computer literate.  In the existing system frequent misplacement of vital information soften from the site.  No quick and timely study poor communication for contract bids as this only done on news paper instead of web-sites and other on-line marketing approach.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

This study became very important when I observed that ministry of works has really lost in the modern system running an organization.  Information systems are part of organization.  Indeed, for some companies or credit reporting firms, without the system there would be business.  The way elements of an organization are composed of different level and specialities. Their structure reveals a cleare – cut division of labour. owing to the fact that ministry of works is currently running on manual system of record keeping and poor information display of contract bids for erosion problems.  I became so interested in the ministry could be revived to meet up with modern day system of organization management.  So the essence of the new system is to introduce IT application in the area of erosion control approach.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of this project is limited to erosion control information.  In order to provide complete channel protection, a turf reinforcement (TRM) must function to provide effective erosion control and turf reinforcement.  Through the three phase of a reinforced vegetative channel lining’s development.  In phase 1 the  TRM must control soil and seed loss immediately after installation to ensure the successful development of a permanent vegetative stand.  In phase 2, defined as the period of time from seed germination until a mature stand of vegetation is established, the matting must continue its role by supplementing the erosion protection provided by the vegetation as well as structurally reinforcing the development plants against hish shear stress water flows.  Finally phase 3, when the vegetation has become mature the matting must provide stem reinforcement and root zone protection by creating a software like that of North American Green’s Vmas3 composite turf reinforcement mats (C-TRM).

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

My target in this project is to build a web-based information system that will be supported with vegetation selection modules.  The vegetation modules will utilize site specific information such as location, soil type, moisture regime and planned site maintenance to provide a list of adapted grass and legumes with corresponding seeding rates, as well as growth habits (bunch and sod farming) and longevity for each species.  The web-based information system will assist designers in selecting vegetation species well adapted to their site’s environmental conditions and erosion control.  Also to design a new system that will bring about computerized storage process, and to enlighten the knowledge workers how to implement a computerized erosion control information system.

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