Testing and Application of a Transport Model for Runoff Event Inputs for a Water Supply Reservoir
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 137, Issue 8
Abstract
Effective simulation of the fate and transport of runoff event inflows is an important goal of many water quality modeling initiatives. The set-up and testing of a two-dimensional hydrodynamic transport model is documented for a water supply reservoir, Schoharie Reservoir, New York, that uses specific conductance (SC) as a conservative tracer and focuses on fate and transport of runoff event inputs, particularly the plunging of density currents in summer and fall. Model testing is supported by temporally detailed measurements of meteorological, operational, and tributary (temperature and SC) model drivers, and temporally and spatially replete in-reservoir patterns of SC following multiple runoff events, obtained with a combination of robotic monitoring platforms and gridding with rapid profiling instrumentation. Specific conductance is demonstrated to be an ideal tracer because of the distinct tributary signals and subsequent in-reservoir signatures imparted from runoff events and its close coupling to turbidity patterns that are primary water quality concerns for managers. The model is demonstrated to perform well in simulating in-reservoir signatures of SC following multiple runoff events over the spring to fall interval of 2003, including vertical, longitudinal, and temporal patterns, and features of the thermal stratification regime for the same interval. The validated model is applied in a probabilistic manner on the basis of a 61-year record (239 runoff events) of model drivers to provide a robust representation of the transport of runoff event inputs relative to the location of the water supply intake. This application demonstrates the entry of runoff event inflows as plunging density currents in summer and fall is a recurring phenomenon for this reservoir.
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Acknowledgments
Support for this study was provided by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. Field sampling and measurements were conducted by M. Spada, B. Wagner, and T. Prestigiacomo. This is contribution No. 236 of the Upstate Freshwater Institute.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 137 • Issue 8 • August 2011
Pages: 678 - 688
Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 17, 2010
Accepted: Mar 2, 2011
Published online: Mar 4, 2011
Published in print: Aug 1, 2011
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