U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological Survey

Estimating water availability at ungaged locations in New England

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:IMG_3758_view_north_from_French_King_Bridge.jpg

The Connecticut River looking north in the early evening, from the French King Bridge at the Erving-Gill town line in Western Massachusetts.

Presentation to the Glacial Aquifer Workshop

July 28, 2010

Stacey Archfield, Ph.D.

Research Hydrologist, USGS

MA-RI Water Science Center

FUNDING SOURCES:

Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection

U.S. Geological Survey Cooperative Water Program

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The Massachusetts Sustainable-Yield Estimator

The Massachusetts Sustainable-Yield Estimator(Decision-support tool)

Regulated streamflowUnregulated streamflow

State-wide water-use databaseFlow-duration curve

EXCEEDANCE PROBABILITY

ST

RE

AM

FL

OW

TIME

Flow series from index gage

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The Massachusetts Sustainable-Yield Estimator

The Massachusetts Sustainable-Yield Estimator(Decision-support tool)

Regulated streamflowUnregulated streamflow

State-wide water-use databaseFlow-duration curve

EXCEEDANCE PROBABILITY

ST

RE

AM

FL

OW

TIME

Flow series from index gage

4 of 16Source for STRMDEPL: Zarriello, P.J. and Barlow, P.M. (2000) and Jenkins, C.T. (1968)

If aquifer properties are known, the user has the option to apply the program STRMDEPL, an analytical solution that is used to include the time-varying effects of a ground-water withdrawal or discharge on streamflow

Regulated streamflowt = Unregulated streamflowt

(Ground-water dischargest)

(Return flowst)

– (Surface-water withdrawalst)

–(Ground-water withdrawalst)

Estimating regulated streamflow

WELL 1

WELL 2

WWTP 1

Ungaged location

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The Massachusetts Sustainable-Yield Estimator

The Massachusetts Sustainable-Yield Estimator(Decision-support tool)

Regulated streamflowUnregulated streamflow

State-wide water-use databaseFlow-duration curve

EXCEEDANCE PROBABILITY

ST

RE

AM

FL

OW

TIME

Flow series from index gage

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Point-and-click GIS user-interface

Users begin by opening an ESRI ArcMap document and locating the stream of interest.

Users also have the option to export a map and shapefile of the study area.

The user clicks on the stream location to delineate an on-the-fly watershed, compute basin characteristics, and query the water-use database for points within the watershed.

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Navigating the tool

A master Microsoft Excel file guides the user through the

post-processing, graphing and reporting of the results.

All relevant data is stored in a user-specified location and project folder.

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Results

Results are summarized for the

user in a printable 2-page format.

From Archfield and others (2010)

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Application: Mapping streamflow alteration and water availability

Estimated annual flow alteration Estimated August flow alteration

Weiskel, P.K., Brandt, S.L., DeSimone, L.A., Ostiguy, L.J., and Archfield, S.A., 2010, Indicators of streamflow alteration, habitat fragmentation, impervious cover, and water quality for Massachusetts stream basins, USGS Scientific Investigations Report, 2009-5272

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Application: Relating streamflow alteration to fish data

Armstrong, D.S., Richards, T.A., and Brandt, S.L., 2010, Preliminary assessment of factors influencing riverine fish communities in Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010–1139, 43 p.

Per

cent

fluv

ial s

peci

alis

tsPercent net flow alteration (August) for nested basins

DRAFT < 15 %

> 15 %

Fish-sampling locations

Streamflow alteration

Imperviousness

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Application: Regional daily, unregulated streamflows

In cooperation with:

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Method to estimate streamflow at ungaged sites

EXCEEDENCE PROBABILITYS

TR

EA

MF

LO

W

Estimate flow-duration curve by solving the regression equations

TIME

ST

RE

AM

FL

OW

Area = XX.X mi2

Estimate basin characteristics

Estimate hydrograph

Sources: Archfield and others [2010]; Archfield and Vogel [2010; in press]

NA

TU

RA

L LO

G O

F S

TR

EA

MF

LOW 21 equations

Drainage area, Percent of basin that is underlain by sand and

gravel deposits, average annual precipitation, location

PROBABILITY OF FLOW BEING EXCEEDED

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Daily streamflow validation - SummaryN = 31

BEST

WORST

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Daily streamflow validation – Best fit

OBSERVED STREAMFLOW, IN CFS

01154000, Saxtons River at Saxtons River, VT

ES

TIM

AT

ED

S

TR

EA

MF

LO

W,

IN C

FS

NS E = 0.92NS Elog = 0.87

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Daily streamflow validation – Worst fit

OBSERVED STREAMFLOW, IN CFS

ES

TIM

AT

ED

S

TR

EA

MF

LO

W,

IN C

FS

01109000, Wading River near Norton, MA

NS E = 0.66NS Elog = 0.69

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Contact InformationStacey Archfield

Massachusetts-Rhode Island WSC

sarch@usgs.gov (508) 490-5072