Modeling Sedimentation-Filtration Basins for Urban Watersheds Using Soil and Water Assessment Tool
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 6
Abstract
Sedimentation-filtration (SedFil) basins are one of the storm-water best management practices (BMPs) that are intended to mitigate water quality problems in urban creeks and rivers. A new physically based model of variably saturated flows was developed for simulating flow and sediment in SedFils within the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The integrated SWAT-SedFil model allows for simulation of unsaturated flow in the filtration basin during small storms and fully saturated flow. Unsaturated flow was modeled using a modified Green and Ampt equation, and saturated flow was simulated with Darcy’s Law. Unsaturated flow comprises only a small fraction of large storm events; however, many regular storms are small and may not generate sufficient runoff to create a saturated flow in the filtration basin. Therefore, the combined unsaturated/saturated flow approach for modeling SedFils improved the accuracy of the model, especially in long-term evaluations. The model performs well with respect to estimating storm-water and sediment at the inlet and outlet of a SedFil.
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Acknowledgments
The writers thank the Department of Watershed Protection, City of Austin, Texas, for providing funding for the study.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 6 • June 2013
Pages: 838 - 848
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 3, 2012
Accepted: Dec 21, 2012
Published online: Dec 26, 2012
Published in print: Jun 1, 2013
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