IDENTIFICATION OF CRITICAL NONPOINT POLLUTION SOURCE AREAS USING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND WATER QUALITY MODELING¹

Abstract

An integrated approach coupling water quality computer simulation modeling with a geographic information system (GIS) was used to delineate critical areas of nonpoint source (NPS) pollution at the watershed level. Two simplified pollutant export models were integrated with the Virginia Geographic Information System (VIrGIS) to estimate soil erosion, sediment yield, and phosphorus (1') loading from the Nomini Creek watershed located in Westmoreland County, Virginia.On the basis of selected criteria for soil erosion rate, sediment yield, and P loading, model outputs were used to identily watershed areas which exhibit three categories (low, medium, high) of nonpoint source pollution potentials. The percentage of the watershed area in each category, and the land area with critical pollution problems were also identified. For the 1505-ha Nomini Creek watershed, about 15, 16, and 21 percent of the watershed area were delineated as sources of critical soil erosion, sediment, and phosphorus pollution problems, respectively. In general, the study demonstrated the usefulness of integrating GIS with simulation modeling for nonpoint source pollution control and planning. Such techniques can facilitate making priorities and targeting nonpoint source pollution control programs. (KEY TERMS: nonpoint source pollution; water quality modeling; geographic information system.)

GIS Applications of Deterministic Solute Transport Models for Regional-Scale Assessment of Non-Point Source Pollutants in the Vadose Zone

“…Poiani and Bedford (1995) recently presented a cursory review of GE-based NPS pollution models emphasizing surface applications. Numerous hydrologic-water quality models of runoff and soil erosion have been used with a GIS to determine surface sources of NPS pollutants from watersheds (Pelletier, 1985;Potter et al, 1986;Oslin et al, 1988;Sivertun et al, 1988;DeRoo et al, 1989DeRoo et al, , 1992Rudra et al, 1991;Bhaskar et al, 1992;Drayton et al, 1992;Joao & Walsh, 1992;Tim et al, 1992;Walker et al, 1992;Wolfe, 1992;He et al, 1993;Heidtke & Auer, 1993;Levine et al, 1993;Mitchell et al, 1993;Warwick & Haness, 1994) agricultural areas (Hopkins & Clausen, 1985;Gilliland & Baxter-Potter, 1987;Hession & Shanholtz, 1988Panuska & Moore, 1991;Hamlett et al, 1992;Lee & White, 1992;Geleta et al, 1994;Tim & Jolly, 1994) and urban areas (Smith & Brilly, 1992;Smith, 1993;Ventura & Kim, 1993). In addition, several groundwater models have been coupled to a GIS to simulate water flow and/or NPS pol-lutants in aquifers (Kernodle & Philip, 1989;Baker & Panciera, 1990;Hinaman, 1993;Roaza et al, 1993;El-Kadi et al, 1994;Darling & Hubbard, 1994).…”

Modelo analítico de qualidade da água acoplado com Sistema de Informação Geográfica para simulação de lançamentos com duração variada

“…A integração de modelos de qualidade da água com SIG é um campo que tem se desenvolvido nas últimas décadas, a partir de trabalhos como o de Hession e Shanholtz (1988), Olivieri et al (1991), João e Walsh (1992) e Tim et al (1992), que utilizaram plataformas SIG para obter dados de entrada para a modelagem. Posteriormente, surgiram trabalhos de integração com modelos existentes, sendo utilizados a partir de interfaces dentro de plataformas de SIG, como apresentado por Srinivasan e Arnold (1994), USEPA (2003) e USACE (2003).…”

An Approach to Spatial Urban Land Use Change for Hydrologic Modeling

“…Most commonly, models represent the landscape as a two-dimensional "mosaic" of grid cells, and predict land use change based on extending previous spatial pattern trends (Tim et at, 1992;Harbor, 1994;Muller and Middleton, 1994;Adamus and Bergman, 1995;McClintock et. aI., 1995;Pijanowski et at, 1996;Bhaduri et aI., 1997).…”