| Abstract: |
Watershed assessment and allocation planning is a multi-disciplinary process which requires diverse and integrated expertise and information. The UConn Center for Land Use Education and Research is participating in a research project to develop a GIS supported assessment framework for addressing basin screening and water resource allocation in Connecticut. The goal is to be able to efficiently and accurately assess the degree to which waters currently are allocated, where current and future demands exceed water availability, and how water allocation in one watershed compares to and impacts water allocation in other watersheds. This presentation will focus on the development of local watershed parameters in the ArcHydro Data Model. ArcHydro delineates drainage areas from any point along a stream network using digital elevation models of the land surface terrain and then calculates parameter attributes for the resulting watershed. In order to assess watershed health and identify at-risk basins, a number of watershed parameters were created from physical, biological, hydrological, demographic, and land cover datasets. Such user defined watersheds and customized parameters increase flexibility of watershed assessment tools and can provide more detailed information about at-risk resources. |