Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

The Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (WATER): A water-budget modeling approach for managing water-supply resources in non-karst areas of Kentucky (phase I) — Data processing and model structure documentstion

January 1, 2009

The Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (WATER) was developed in cooperation with the Kentucky Division of Water to provide a consistent and defensible method of estimating streamflow and water availability in ungaged basins. WATER is process oriented; it is based on the TOPMODEL code and incorporates historical water-use data together with physiographic data that quantitatively describe topography and soil-water storage. The result is a user-friendly decision tool that can estimate water availability in non-karst areas of Kentucky without additional data or processing. The model runs on a daily time step, and critical source data include a historical record of daily temperature and precipitation, digital elevation models (DEMs), the Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO), and historical records of water discharges and withdrawals. The model was calibrated and statistically evaluated for 12 basins by comparing the estimated discharge to that observed at U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations. When statistically evaluated over a 2,119-day time period, the discharge estimates showed a bias of -0.29 to 0.42, a root mean square error of 1.66 to 5.06, a correlation of 0.54 to 0.85, and a Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency of 0.26 to 0.72. The parameter and input modifications that most significantly improved the accuracy and precision of streamflow-discharge estimates were the addition of Next Generation radar (NEXRAD) precipitation data, a rooting depth of 30 centimeters, and a TOPMODEL scaling parameter (m) derived directly from SSURGO data that was multiplied by an adjustment factor of 0.10. No site-specific optimization was used.

Publication Year 2009
Title The Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (WATER): A water-budget modeling approach for managing water-supply resources in non-karst areas of Kentucky (phase I) — Data processing and model structure documentstion
DOI 10.3133/sir20095248
Authors Tanja N. Williamson, Kenneth R. Odom, Jeremy K. Newson, Aimee C. Downs, Hugh L. Nelson, Peter J. Cinotto, Mark A. Ayers
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Series Title Scientific Investigations Report
Series Number 2009-5248
Index ID sir20095248
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Kentucky Water Science Center
Was this page helpful?