River and Reservoir Flow Routing Module
Center for Research in Water Resources, University of Texas at Austin
Introduction
Once a water surplus has been calculated on the land surface using GH-Soil, the flow needs to be routed to the watershed outlet, and then through the river system using GH-Rivers. The methodology of the Rivers model is described in CRWR Online Report 96-5.
GH-Rivers
GH-Rivers is a fairly comprehensive system for routing water in rivers, including the effects of reservoirs, water flow over the land surface and in the subsurface environment, and optimization of watershed model parameters. The model was originally developed by Zichuan Ye and David Maidment and contains methods developed by Francisco Olivera for watershed runoff routing. The reservoir water balance component was subsequently developed by Kwabena Asante.
Resources on this CD:
Programs:
The model has five major components:
Exercises:
Exercise 1: Surface Water Simulation Model in the Souss Basin This exercise starts from the delineation of watersheds and stream network and shows how a Rivers model is set up. There is no calibration of estimated against observed flows. There are 12 monthly flows for hydrologic conditions in 1987 in the Souss Basin, Morocco. This is a modified form of Exercise 6 of the FAO/UNESCO Water Balance of Africa Exercises.
Exercise 2: Surface Water Model Calibration in the Niger Basin This exercise starts with a Rivers model of the Niger Basin and shows how to cut out a submodel for a subwatershed of the basin and calibrate the estimated flows against those observed at a gage at the subwatershed outlet. There are 90 months of hydrologic data from July 1983 through December 1990 for the Niger Basin in West Africa.
Exercise 3: Reservoir Water Balance in the Souss Basin This exercise deals with the insertion of three dams in the Rivers model for the Souss Basin with the watershed and routing parameters already calibrated. The hydrologic data are for a 24 month period for 1991-1992. The focus of the exercise is on setting up and running the reservoir simulation portion of the Rivers model.
Exercise 4: Ground Water Flow between Two Rivers This exercise deals with computing groundwater flow between two rivers in a hypothetical basin. It is intended to demonstrated the mechanism by which groundwater flow can be computed in Arc View and connected to flow in a river network. More information on surface water - groundwater interaction computation can be found in CRWR Online Report 96-5.
Data Files:
Inputs for the model may vary depending on the components being used. Four exercise have been developed in the Niger and Souss Basins in Africa. Each exercise demonstrates a different component of the model. Links to the data files required for each exercise are given within the instructions for the particular exercise.
Resources on the Internet
Documentation:
Map-based Surface Water Simulation This is a short model description prepared by Zichuan Ye.
Map-based Ground Water Simulation Another short model description prepared by Zichuan Ye.
Primary Contact
Zichuan Ye
ESRI Applications Programming group
E-mail: zye@esri.com
These materials may be used for study, research, and education, but please credit the authors and the Center for Research in Water Resources, The University of Texas at Austin. All commercial rights reserved. Copyright 1997 Center for Research in Water Resources.