Flow and Water Quality Calibration and Validation of the Huron River Watershed SWAT Model

Session: 35. - Watershed Modeling across all Scales from Small to Large

Yu-Chen Wang, University of Michigan, [email protected]
Awoke Dagnew, University of Michigan, [email protected]
Margaret Kalcic, Ohio State University, [email protected]
Rebecca Muenich, Arizona State University, [email protected]
Donald Scavia, University of Michigan, [email protected]

Abstract

The Huron River watershed is an important watershed in the southeast Michigan, with an area of 2380 km² that drains into the Western Lake Erie basin.  The land-use/land-cover is mainly dominated by urban (32%) and forest (23%) areas.  Croplands, pasture, wetlands, and water bodies comprise 13%, 12%, 15%, and 4% of the watershed area. There are around 100 dams in the river, creating 88 impoundments. With these characteristics, it is challenging to build a watershed model to capture hydrologic processes, yet important to evaluate nutrient loads under different management scenarios given the watershed contributes to Lake Erie eutrophication. In previous work, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) watershed model was developed focusing on flow calibration. In this study, we further improved the SWAT model to be calibrated for both flow and water quality. We set up the base modeling units (hydrologic response units) at the field-level to facilitate input data processing and simulation of different agricultural best management practices at a detailed level. After calibration and validation, nutrient loads of each sub-basin were evaluated. Compared to the previous work, the current SWAT model improved the calibration results and usability of the model for scenario analysis and decision-making.

1. Keyword
water quality

2. Keyword
watersheds

3. Keyword
modeling

4. Additional Keyword
SWAT

5. Additional Keyword
The Huron River Watershed