(Abstract from Proceedings of the First Federal Interagency Hydrologic Modeling Conference, held in Las Vegas, NV, April 19-23, 1998, prepared by the Subcommittee on Hydrology of the Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data)

A near real-time flood-simulation system is being developed by the U.S. Geolo gical Survey (USGS) in cooperation with Du Page County Department of Environment al Concerns for a 15-mile reach of Salt Creek in Du Page County, Ill. The Hydrol ogic Simulation Program-FORTRAN (HSPF) is being utilized to simulate rainfall-ru noff for input to the Full EQations (FEQ) model for dynamic-wave routing. The me teorological inputs for the rainfall-runoff simulation are obtained by Internet access and radio-telemetered precipitation gages. Boundary conditions for the dy namic-wave routing model are obtained from telemetered stream-elevation gages an d rating curves. The interface for data-base management, developing and processi ng simulation files, and analysis of simulation results is the program GENeratio n and analysis of model simulation SCeNarios (GENSCN).

The flood-simulation system is being developed to estimate the downstream eff ects of diverting streamflow into or out of the Elmhurst Quarry Flood Control Fa cility, located about 10 miles from the downstream boundary, under various real- time or forecasted rainfall distribution scenarios. The flood-wave characteristi cs of the stream system are highly dependent upon the distribution of rainfall i n taime and space and, thus, the most effective management of diversions is depe ndent on the ability of facility managers to quickly simulate rainfall and snowm elt effects on the stream system.

The full benefit of understanding the complex model output from dynamic-wave routing can be realized only when the results can be quickly visualized and anal yzed. Time series and model input files must be effeciently managed and the data base made user friendly. Current operational procedures for the flood control fa cility are partly based upon operator intuition, which does not provide a system atic means to evaluate alternative operational schemes. The interfaced system ma kes it possible to test and compare various potential rainfall/diversion scenari os. This includes clickable maps, animated water-surface profiles, and a variety of graphical and analytical tools for evaluating the output scenarios.

¹US Geological Survey, Urbana, Ill.

²Du Page County Dept. of Environmental Concerns, Wheaton, Ill.

(Abstract from Proceedings of the First Federal Interagency Hydrologic Modeling Conference, held in Las Vegas, NV, April 19-23, 1998, prepared by the Subcommittee on Hydrology of the Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data)

The Truckee-Carson Program was established in 1992 to assist the U.S. Department of the Interior in implementing Public Law 101-618, the Truckee-Carson-Pyramid Lake Water Rights Settlement Act of 1990. An objective of the Truckee-Carson Program is to build, calibrate, test, and apply interbasin hydrologic computer models to support efficient water-resources planning, management, and allocation.

Flow-routing computer models simulating storage and streamflow in the Truckee and Carson Rivers were modified to simulate reservoir and river-diversion operations for analysis of water-management scenarios. Examples of reservoir operations include reservoir releases based on flood-control criteria and water-storage priorities; reservoir releases to meet agricultural, municipal and industrial, and hydropower demands; exchanges of water categories between reservoirs; and reservoir releases to meet minimum flow requirements for fisheries. These models are coded with river-diversion operations for existing agricultural, municipal, and industrial demands and diversion operations used to fill reservoirs. The ability to simulate alternative management scenarios and compare simulation results will help users understand effects of changes in river/reservoir operations, land use, water-rights transfers, and irrigation practices on water quantity throughout the Truckee River and Carson River systems.

An interactive computer program is being developed to aid in the usage of these comprehensive and data-intensive river-basin models. The program waill serve as a user interface enabling users to apply and analyze results from these complex models in an easy and efficient manner. Examples of the user/model interface are (1) to select, modify, and create a variety of model scenarios, (2) to run those various model scenarios, and (3) to analyze and compare the simulation results.

(Abstract from U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 89-4052)

The characteristics of rainfall-runoff relations were hypothesized for the study area as a whole by using existing information. In undisturbed areas, shallow-subsurface flow from hillslopes mantled with glacial till, groundwater flow from glacial outwash deposits, and saturation overland flow from depressions, stream bottoms, and till-capped hilltops are the important runoff mechanisms. In disturbed, primarily urban areas, Horton overland flow, which is runoff generated from rain falling at a greater rate than the infiltration rate of the soil, is a significant mechanism, along with overland flow from impervious surfaces.

These hypothesized characteristics were incorporated into the Hydrologic Simulation Program-FORTRAN (HSPF) simulation model, and the model was calibrated concurrently at 21 stream-gage sites in the study area with hydrologic data from the 1985-86 water years. The calibration resulted in 12 sets of generalized HSPF parameters, one set for each land-segment type with a unique hydrologic response. The generalized parameters can be used with HSPF to simulate runoff from most headwater basins within the study area.

The average standard errors of estimate for calibrated streamflow simulation at all 21 sites were 7.9 percent for annual runoff, 11.2 percent for winter runoff, 13.1 percent for spring runoff, 40.1 percent for summer runoff, 21.7 percent for storm peak discharge, 21.4 percent for storm runoff volume, and 42.3 percent for all daily mean discharges. High flows were simulated more accurately than were low flows.

The simulation errors were not large enough to reject the hypothesized rainfall-runoff relations.

Donigian, A.S. Jr., Bicknell, B.R., and Imhoff, J.C., 1995: Hydrological Simulation Program-Fortran (HSPF), in Computer Models of Watershed Hydrology, Vijay P. Singh, ed., Water Resources Publications, Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

Donigian, A.S., Bicknell, B.R., Patwardhan, A.S., Linker, L.C., and Chang, C., 1994: Chesapeake Bay Program Watershed Model Application to Calculate Bay Nutrient Loadings-- Final Facts and Recommendations. Report EPA 903-R-94-042, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Chesapeake Bay Program Office, Annapolis, Maryland, 283 p.

Donigian, A.S. Jr., D.W. Meier and P.P. Jowise, 1986: Conversion of the Chesapeake Bay Basin Model to HSPF Operation. Prepared by AQUA TERRA Consultants for the Computer Sciences Corporation, Annapolis, MD and U.S. EPA Chesapeake Bay Program, Annapolis, MD.

Donigian, A.S. Jr., B.R. Bicknell, A.S. Patwardhan, L.C. Linker, D.Y. Alegre, C.H. Chang and R. Reynolds, 1991: Chesapeake Bay Program Watershed Model Application to Calculate Bay Nutrient Loadings. Prepared by AQUA TERRA Consultants for U.S. EPA Chesapeake Bay Program, Annapolis, MD.

Dinicola, R.S., 1990, Characterization and simulation of rainfall-runoff relations for headwater basins in western King and Snohomish Counties, Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 89-4052, 52 p.

Donigian, A.S., Jr., Imhoff, J.C., Bicknell, Brian, Kittle, J.L., Jr., 1984, Application guide for Hydrological Simulation Program--Fortran (HSPF): U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Research Laboratory, Athens, Ga., EPA-600/3-84-065, 177 p.

Laroche, A.-M., 1996: Simulating Atrazine Transport with HSPF in an Agricultural Watershed, Journal of Environmental Engineering, vol. 122, no. 7, p. 622.

Nichols, J.C. and M.P. Timpe, 1985: Use of HSPF to simulate dynamics of phosphorus in floodplain wetlands over a wide range of hydrologic regimes. In: Proceedings of Stormwater and Water Quality Model Users Group Meeting, January 31-February 1, 1985. T.O. Barnwell, Jr., ed. EPA 600/9-85/016, Environmental Research Laboratory, Athens, GA.

U.S. EPA, 1994: Upper Grande Ronde River Riparian Characterizations and Temperature Modeling Projects: Project Summary, January 1994. EPA 841-S-94-001. U.S. EPA, Office of Water, Washington, D.C.

Zarriello, P.J. and Ries, K.G.III, 2000: A precipitation-runoff model for the analysis of the effects of water withdrawals on streamflow, Ipswich River Basin, Massachusetts, U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 00-4029, 99 p.

SMIC Home | SMIC Primer | What's New | To Do List | Feedback | Bulletin Board | List of Models | Table of Models