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Title: THE AUTOMATED GEOSPATIAL WATERSHED ASSESSMENT (AGWA) TOOL ¿ ENHANCED CAPABILITIES OF JUST RELEASED VERSION 1.4 1705

Author
item BURNS, I. - UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
item SEMMENS, D. - EPA
item SCOTT, S. - UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
item LEVICK, L. - UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
item Goodrich, David - Dave
item KEPNER, W. - EPA

Submitted to: Proceedings Arizona Hydrological Society Symposium
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/28/2004
Publication Date: 9/15/2004
Citation: Burns, I.S., Semmens, D.J., Scott, S.N., Levick, L.R., Goodrich, D.C., Kepner, W.G. 2004. The automated geospatial watershed assessment (agwa) tool -enhanced capabilities of just released version 1.4.Proc. Arizona Hydrological Soc. 17th Annual Sym., Sept. 5-18, Tucson, AZ, 3 p.

Interpretive Summary: Planning and assessment in land and water resource management are evolving from simple, local-scale problems toward complex, spatially explicit regional ones. Such problems have to be addressed with distributed models that can compute runoff and erosion at different spatial and temporal scales. The extensive data requirements and the difficult task of building input parameter files, however, have long represented an obstacle to the timely and cost-effective use of such complex models by resource managers. The Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) tool is a GIS-based hydrologic modeling tool that addresses these issues. The latest release of AGWA, version 1.4, increases the utility and functionality of AGWA by adding many new features that give the user more flexibility and power in modeling simulations. Additionally, AGWA is now more accessible to the end-user. With the release of version 1.4, it is now available as an extension for the EPA's Better Assessment Science Integrating Point and Nonpoint Sources (BASINS) multipurpose environmental analysis system version 3.1 in addition to the current stand-alone extension, both for the ESRI ArcView 3.x Platform.

Technical Abstract: The Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) tool is a GIS-based hydrologic modeling tool designed to facilitate watershed assessment at multiple scales. Numerous improvements have been made to the tool in anticipation of the release of version 1.4 during the summer of 2004. AGWA will be released as: an extension for the Better Assessment Science Integrating Point and Nonpoint Sources (BASINS) version 3.1 and as a stand-alone extension, both for the ESRI ArcView 3.x Platform. The addition of AGWA into the BASINS tool has two important benefits: BASINS users will now have additional modeling and visualization tools at their disposal; and AGWA users will find required input data much more accessible via the Data Download Tool. With the release of version 1.4, BASINS and Stand-alone extensions, many additional features are included that increase the applicability of the tool. New features give the user increased control over model runs and data preparation, while maintaining an intuitive user interface. They include: the ability to modify and rerun existing simulations, allowing the customization of standard input files; customizable hydraulic-geometry relationships allowing for regionally specific channel geometries; implementation of a baseflow feature in KINEROS; implementation of the SWAT elevation banding feature; and a land-cover modification tool useful for scenario development and alternative futures work.