WaterBase Free, Open Source Software for Integrated Water Resources Management

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WaterBase Free, Open Source Software for
Integrated Water Resources Management
Chris George and Luis Leon
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WaterBase

• Drought
• Flood
• Pollution
• Water-borne disease
• Sediment
• Water quality

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Its not just for drinking

• Litres of water needed to make
• 1 litre of petrol 2.5
• 1 litre of biofuel 1000
• 1 cotton T-shirt 2700
• 1 kilo of wheat 4000
• 1 kilo of beef 16000
• Wealthier people consume 3000 litres per day

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WaterBase

• Water management is critical
• Must be at basin level
• Based on public/private partnership
• Requires
• Expertise
• Information
• Modelling Decision support
• Community involvement

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Modelling River Basins

• Terrain (shape of the land)
• Soil
• Landuse (vegetation)
• Climate (rainfall, temperature, humidity, )
• Model a computer program that can simulate the
  natural processes involved
• Expertise

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Resources Available WWW Data

• DEM 90m SRTM (srtm.csi.cgiar.org)
• Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission
• World wide coverage (V3 pit filled)

Tile download
Direct FTP Download
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Resources Available WWW Data

• Land GLCF (glcf.umiacs.umd.edu)
• Global Land Cover Classification
• Satellite raster (1km resolution)

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Resources Available WWW Data

• Soil FAO/UNESCO (www.fao.org)
• Digital Soil Map of the World
• 15 000 000 (raster 5x5 arc-minute)

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Model Philosophy

• Readily available input
• Physically based
• Computer efficient
• Comprehensive Process Interactions
• Simulate Management

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Upland Processes

• Weather
• Hydrology
• Sedimentation
• Plant Growth
• Nutrient Cycling
• Pesticide Dynamics
• Management
• Bacteria

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Management

• Crop Rotations
• Removal of Biomass as Harvest/ Conversion of
  Biomass to Residue
• Tillage / Biomixing of Soil
• Fertilizer Applications
• Grazing
• Pesticide Applications
• Irrigation
• Subsurface (Tile) Drainage
• Water Impoundment (e.g. Rice)

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Management

• Urban Areas
• Pervious/Impervious Areas
• Street Sweeping
• Lawn Chemicals
• Edge of Field Buffers

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WaterBase

• Support for Integrated Water Resources Management
• Using free, open source software
• An international network of users and developers

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Why Open Source?

• Free
• Secure no supplier dependence
• Encourages involvement and sense of ownership
  internationalization
• Support network via internet
• High quality
• Good maintenance
• Open standards interoperability
• Examples Linux Apache GRASS

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WaterBase

• Three phases
• First tool available MWSWAT
• Network of partners (current)
• Seek funding for development of
• Tools
• Training materials and technical documentation on
  the internet
• Data repository design and implementation

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First tool MWSWAT

• Based on MapWindow GIS system http//www.mapwindow
  .com
• Uses SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool)
  http//www.brc.tamus.edu/swat
• Distribution internet and DVD

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Preparation for SWAT

• Start with a DEM, a Digital Elevation Map (a
  grid, or 2-D array, of heights).
• This DEM has some 3.4 million values, 83.3m
  apart.

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Preparation for SWAT

• 2. Calculate stream reaches. (Uses David
  Tarbotons Taudem software.).

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Preparation for SWAT

• 3. Mark outlet(s) and calculate sub-basins

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Preparation for SWAT

• 4. Add landuse map (another grid). Here
  resolution roughly 10 times DEMs.

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Preparation for SWAT

• Add soil map (another grid). Here resolution
  roughly 80 times DEMs.

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Preparation for SWAT

• 6. Calculate HRUs Hydrological Response
  Units unique combinations of sub-basin, landuse,
  soil and slope. Small ones omitted using
  thresholds. (Here 79 retained from 326.)

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Preparation for SWAT

• 7. Add weather data from weather stations (can
  be automatic) and weather generator.
• 8. Set start and end dates, and some SWAT
  parameters.
• 9. Write SWAT input files (here 620) and
  database tables.
• 10. (Optionally) edit SWAT input files and
  tables.
• 11. Run SWAT.
• 12. Examine SWAT outputs.

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SWAT Outputs

• Runs typically over several years
• Inputs and outputs (daily/monthly/yearly) per
  subbasin
• Water flow
• Sediments
• Nutrients
• etc

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Model Output
Reach file
output.rch

• Output
• Extract from reach output
• Outlet at any sub-basin (swat2dat utility)
• Import (i.e. spreadsheet) plot

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Scenarios

• Typical use will be what if we change
• Temperatures
• Rainfall patterns
• Water management (reservoirs sewage treatment
  )
• Landuse (urban development plant trees
  cultivate new areas )
• Crop management (crop type tillage practices )
• Identify hotspots

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• Thanks to...
• David Lam David Swayne (NWRI UG)
• Daniel Ames, Chris Michaelis, Allen Anselmo
  (MapWindow Team)
• Raghavan Srinivasan (SWAT)
• Gary Bowen (TRCA)
• Karim Abbaspour (EAWAG)
• Dagny Janowska (BIAD)

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Join us!

• http//www.waterbase.org
• waterbase.contact_at_waterbase.org