A Stream Network Model for Integrated Watershed Modeling

Abstract

We describe a flexible, computationally efficient stream network model, which forms the core of a simulation framework that spatially integrates the contributions from point and nonpoint sources in a watershed. The model uses the map and stream topology information in the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Reach File 3 to generate a spatially explicit network of stream reaches. Water and materials are routed through the stream network to the watershed outlet, and the routing process accounts for transit times and for possible nutrient losses in streams. This model can be applied wherever Reach File maps or maps from the newer National Hydrography Dataset are available, and it can be combined with models of other watershed processes to create a complete watershed simulation system. We present an application of the stream network model to two watersheds of different sizes in the Patuxent River watershed of Maryland, USA. Simulated predictions of streamflow and nitrate concentrations are either very good or good according to standards developed for evaluating the widely used Hydrologic Simulation Program – Fortran (HSPF) watershed model.