Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2019

Document Type

Problem/Project Report

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Committee Chair

Leslie Hopkinson

Committee Member

John Quaranta

Committee Member

Seungho Hong

Abstract

Modeling river basins started gaining in popularity and usage in the western part of the United States in large part due to its extreme droughts. Planning is necessary to sustain the population, industries, and recreational water use year-round. Water allocation modeling is a tool used to aid in the issues that come from managing water resources. This work considers the continuous models that synthesized the hydrologic processes that occur and provides a simulation of past, current, or future conditions.

West Virginia, located on the eastern side of the United States, does not have an extreme drought problem as seen in the west. However, its proximity to Washington D.C. provides expanding urban sprawl into the state and subsequently potential demand of water resources. Industrial usage of water from natural gas and coal is heavy within the region as well, providing more stakeholders to the system. This report analyzes six water allocation tools: RiverWare, StateMod, Simplified Water Allocation Model (SWAM), OASIS, Aquarius, and Modsim-DSS. Capabilities of the models were compared, and recommendations were developed for use in West Virginia. A conceptual model based on available model inputs was develop for the Tygart Valley watershed. Results will provide knowledge for the development of watershed and state-wide water allocation modeling in West Virginia.

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