Data tool helps users manage water resources, protect infrastructure


Date:
October 7, 2020
Source:
North Carolina State University
Summary:
River systems are essential resources for everything from drinking
water supply to power generation - but these systems are also
hydrologically complex, and it is not always clear how water flow
data from various monitoring points relates to any specific piece
of infrastructure.

Researchers have now developed a tool that draws from multiple
databases to help resource managers and infrastructure users make
informed decisions about water use on river networks.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== River systems are essential resources for everything from drinking
water supply to power generation -- but these systems are also
hydrologically complex, and it is not always clear how water flow
data from various monitoring points relates to any specific piece of infrastructure. Researchers from Cornell University and North Carolina
State University have now developed a tool that draws from multiple
databases to give water resource managers and infrastructure users the information they need to make informed decisions about water use on
river networks.


==========================================================================
"A streamgage tells you what the water level is at a specific point in the river -- but that's not really enough information," says Sankar Arumugam,
co- author of a paper on the work and a professor of civil engineering
at NC State.

"If you are an infrastructure operator, what you really need to know is
how long it will take for that water-level information to be relevant
to your infrastructure. How far away is the streamgage from your water
intake along the river path, not just as the crow flies? How closely
connected are those two things, hydrologically?" "This information
is important for managing water systems efficiently, for ensuring that infrastructure -- such as power plants -- are able to continue operating,
and for protecting the infrastructure," says Sudarshana Mukhopadhyay,
first author of the paper and currently a postdoctoral researcher at
Cornell University. "The information is particularly important during
extreme conditions, such as flooding or drought.

"All of that data already exists, it's just scattered across separate databases. We've developed an algorithm that efficiently pulls all of
that information into one place and accounts for how the streamgages
and the various infrastructure sites are hydrologically connected over
a large watershed," says Mukhopadhyay, who worked on the research as a
Ph.D. student at NC State.

To demonstrate the tool's utility, the researchers used the algorithm
to create a connectivity network demonstrating the interconnectedness
of about 1,400 reservoirs and 1,600 streamgages in the upper and lower
Colorado River basins.

For this network, the algorithm used data from three sources: topographic information from the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Hydrographic Dataset; streamgages from the USGS National Water Information System;
and reservoir data from the National Inventory of Dams.

"This is a tool that can be used by power plant operators, reservoir
operators, water resource managers -- really it's for anyone who draws
water from the river system," Mukhopadhyay says. "It can inform them
about river conditions both upstream and downstream, and help them
make decisions about where they should draw water from the system."
The researchers have also made a template publicly available, allowing
anyone to develop similar connectivity networks for other watersheds.

"It should be fairly easy for water resources professionals," Mukhopadhyay says.

"We are currently working on a national version, which we think will
help us better understand all of the ways that river basins connect infrastructures across the country," Arumugam says.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by North_Carolina_State_University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Sudarshana Mukhopadhyay, A. Sankarasubramanian, Chandramauli
Awasthi.

Developing the hydrological dependency structure between
streamgage and reservoir networks. Scientific Data, 2020; 7 (1)
DOI: 10.1038/s41597-020- 00660-6 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201007123035.htm

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