Unpaved roads are essential for the economic and social development in Brazil. Water erosion is one of the key factors causing their degradation. This study developed a new model of determination of spacing between water outlets in unpaved roads. The surface runoff hydrograph in the road channel was estimated using the cinematic wave model and the runoff shear stress was calculated using the flow rate obtained in the hydrograph. Detachment occurs when the flow shear stress exceeds the critical soil shear stress. The soil loss was determined multiplying the difference between the flow shear stress and the critical soil shear stress by the soil erodibility and the area where the runoff shear stress is applied. The maximum spacing between the water outlets is calculated by the comparison of the soil loss produced by runoff with the tolerable soil loss. The model determines the road outlet spacing considering the features of the areas contributing to the runoff and the soil resistance. The simulations showed that the model is sensitive to changes in the soil erodibility, critical soil shear stress and channel slope, including the possibility of increasing or reducing the spacing by altering the tolerable channel depth.
soil conservation; hydrologic model; shear stress; water erosion
