SWAT Hydrological

ModelAdapted for Water

Resources Management
Sandhya Rao
INRM Consultants, New Delhi

History

SWRRB - Early 80's -Modified CREAMS

SWAT - Early 90's -Modified

SWRRB Reach Routing
Structure
Watershed
TAES-IITFlexible
Delhi MoA
- 1996, to collaborate
Configurations
in further
development of the model

Model Attributes

a model which can handle river basin as

well as small watersheds
developed to quantify the impact of
land management practices
can handle complex watersheds

Associated Model Objectives

Predict the impact of man-made changes

& management practices as well as
natural changes

water, sediment, nutrient and pesticide yields

in complex watersheds with varying soils, land
use and management conditions over a period of
time with accuracy
generate alternate scenarios

Associated Model Objectives

Predict the impact of global warming

on water, sediment, nutrient and pesticide yields

generate alternate scenarios
conduct vulnerability assessment

SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment

Tool) - Model
Features

Physically based
Distributed model
Continuous time
model (long term
yield model)
Uses readily
available data
Used for long
m
ter
impact
studies

SWAT interface in QGIS

SWAT Strengths

Upland Processes:
Comprehensive Hydrologic
Balance

Channel Processes

Flexible Watershed
Configuration

Water Transfer

Physically-Based Inputs
Irrigation

Plant Growth Rotations,

Diversions
Crop Yields

Sediment

Nutrient Cycling in Soil

Deposition/Scour

Land Management BMP Tillage,

Nutrient/Pesticide
Irrigation, Fertilizer, Pesticides,
Transport
Grazing, Rotations, Subsurface

Pond, Wetland and

Streetcomparable
Sweeping
Drainage,
Urban-Lawn
Chemicals,
SWAT variable
to stream
flow is calculated
as sum Impacts
of
Reservoir

Direct surface runoff, Lateral flow (subsurface runoff) from soil profile, GW
flow from shallow aquifer

Model Components

Weather
Surface runoff
Return flow
Percolation
Evapo-transpiration
Transmission losses
Crop Growth

Advantages

physically based
requires generally available information
as input
computationally efficient
capable of being used on
ungauged watersheds
enables users to study long-term
impacts.

Some Salient Features

Pond & reservoir storage

Crop growth & irrigation
Groundwater flow
Reach routing
Nutrient & pesticide loading
Water transfer

HRU creation

HRU created

HRU report

Model Operation

Continuous Operation in Time

Daily Time Step
One Day
Hundreds of Years
Distributed Parameter
Number of Subareas limited only
by Computer memory
Flexible Configuration

Routing Structure

SUBBASIN
ROUTE
ROUTRES
TRANSFER
ADD
ROUTSUB
RECALL
SAVE

Weather - Daily

Precipitation
Max - Min Temperature
Solar Radiation
Wind Speed (Penman-Monteith)
Relative Humidity (Penman-Monteith)
Input or Generate
Temperature - Elevation Lapse Rate

Soil Profile Balance

Percolation

Surface runoff

Lateral Subsurface Flow

Storage Routing Technique

Crack Flow Model

Kinematic Storage Model

ET

Priestly Taylor
Hargreaves
Penman-Monteith

Volume
- Curve no. as function
of soil water
- Green & Ampt - 0.5h
rainfall generator
Peak
- Modified
Rational
- TR - 55

Shallow Aquifer Balance

Recharge - Perc from Soil Profile

Revap - Plant uptake - function of land
use and potential ET
Return flow - Recession constant to lag
flow
Deep Perc - Coefficient * Recharge
Irrigation Withdrawals

Deep Aquifer Balance

No Stream Interaction
Recharge - Deep percolation from shallow
aquifer
Irrigation withdrawals

Sediment Yield

MUSLE
Onstad-Foster
MUST - Based on sediment concentration

Crop Growth

Generic model - Parameterized by

plant database used by EPIC and
WEPP
Phenological Development - Daily heat
unit accumulation
Potential Growth - Interception of
solar radiation (LAI, solar radiation)
Yield - Harvest Index
Growth Constraints - Water, temperature,

Management

Crop rotations - Input max number of

rotation
- max 3 crop within a year
Tillage - Input date and implement 100
implements in database, mixes
residue
Irrigation - Input date and amount,
Automatic based on plant stress
Grazing

Impoundment

Fraction of sub watershed can drain into

pond or wetland
Water and Sediment balance

Channel Routing

Flood Routing - Variable storage Coefficient

Method
Transmission Losses, Evaporation
Sediment Routing

Degradation - Stream Power slope velocity,

channel dimensions, channel erodibility
and cover
Deposition - Fall velocity travel time, flow
depth,
particle size

Reservoirs

ROUTRES Command - Flexible

within routing configuration
Water Balance - Inflow, Outflow,
Evaporation, Seepage, Withdrawals
Outflow

Uncontrolled - Principle &

Emergency spillways
Generic Controlled

Water Management

Transfer - general rules to transfer from any

reach/reservoir to another
Irrigation withdrawals - Specific
reach, reservoir, shallow, deep aquifer

Nutrients

Model tracks movement and transformation

of several forms of nitrogen and phosphorus
governed by nitrogen phosphorus cycle
Nutrients may be introduced to the main
channel and transported downstream
through surface runoff and lateral
subsurface flow

Pesticides

The movement of the pesticide is controlled

by its solubility, degradation half-life, and soil
organic carbon adsorption coefficient.
Pesticide on plant foliage and in the
soil degrade exponentially according
to the appropriate half-life.
Pesticide transport by water and sediment is
calculated for each runoff event and pesticide
leaching is estimated for each soil layer
when percolation occurs

Routing in the Main Channel or Reach

Flood Routing
Sediment Routing
Nutrient Routing
Channel Pesticide Routing

ROUTING

Routing in the Reservoir

Reservoir Outflow
Sediment Routing
Reservoir Nutrients
Reservoir Pesticides

Model Output

Model outputs include all the water balance component

at various levels ie basin, subbasin or watershed level
and at intervals of daily, monthly or annual
surface runoff
evapotranspiration
lateral flow
recharge
percolation
sediment yield
Nutrients

Model Validation

Paleru Subbasin - Krishna basin,

AP
Byrasagara, Kolar
Gandheshwari, Bankura
Karso, Bihar
Cauvery Basin
Krishna Basin
Amameh Catchment - Iran

Thank you