Where Did That Water Go/Come From?

Water is complicated, especially in complex watersheds developed to meet municipal, agricultural, industrial, and flood control needs. It can come from stream channels, reservoirs, and aquifers, and it can be used to serve the needs of cities, industries, agricultural irrigation, transportation, a biodiverse environment, and flood control.

In recent months Dr. Jeff Arnold has been enhancing the water allocation components of SWAT+ to help users easily specify from where, to where, and how much water moves between these many potential sources and destinations. SWAT+ users can now use the model’s water allocation table to specify sources, destinations, anticipated amounts, and limits of water (and contaminant) movement between water sources and destinations. This will allow users to more easily and realistically simulate alternative scenarios of water allocation in complex watersheds with multiple water sources and uses.

The enhanced version of SWAT+ is currently being evaluated by several users in Europe, India, and the United States, and we anticipate that it will soon be available on the SWAT+ website.