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The Watershed Flow and Allocation Model: An NHDPlus‐Based Watershed Modeling Approach for Multiple Scales and Conditions
Author(s) -
Eddy Michele C.,
Moreda Fekadu G.,
Dykes Robert M.,
Bergenroth Brandon,
Parks Aaron,
Rineer James
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/1752-1688.12496
Subject(s) - watershed , streamflow , environmental science , hydrology (agriculture) , surface runoff , catchment hydrology , hydrological modelling , drainage basin , watershed management , computer science , geography , ecology , geology , climatology , cartography , geotechnical engineering , machine learning , biology
The Watershed Flow and Allocation model (Water FALL ® ) provides segment‐specific, daily streamflow at both gaged and ungaged locations to generate the hydrologic foundation for a variety of water resources management applications. The model is designed to apply across the spatially explicit and enhanced National Hydrography Dataset ( NHDP lus) stream and catchment network. To facilitate modeling at the NHDP lus catchment scale, we use an intermediate‐level rainfall‐runoff model rather than a complex process‐based model. The hydrologic model within Water FALL simulates rainfall‐runoff processes for each catchment within a watershed and routes streamflow between catchments, while accounting for withdrawals, discharges, and onstream reservoirs within the network. The model is therefore distributed among each NHDP lus catchment within the larger selected watershed. Input parameters including climate, land use, soils, and water withdrawals and discharges are georeferenced to each catchment. The Water FALL system includes a centralized database and server‐based environment for storing all model code, input parameters, and results in a single instance for all simulations allowing for rapid comparison between multiple scenarios. We demonstrate and validate Water FALL within North Carolina at a variety of scales using observed streamflows to inform quantitative and qualitative measures, including hydrologic flow metrics relevant to the study of ecological flow management decisions.