Global Positioning System/GIS-Based Approach for Modeling Erosion from Large Road Networks
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 11, Issue 5
Abstract
Sediment budget analyses require watershed scale evaluation of road erosion and delivery. The Watershed Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model, as developed by the USDA Forest Service, simulates sediment detachment and delivery for a road, fill, and buffer system. Time and budget constraints typically prevent a comprehensive sediment loading analysis using WEPP throughout a watershed. We present an automated approach to run the hillslope version of WEPP to simulate sediment detachment and delivery for a large road network. Road attributes are acquired from global positioning system-assisted road surveys and mapped in a geographic information system (GIS). After data manipulation in GIS and Excel, the required input files for WEPP are built. The approach can be applied to multiple road designs and climate regimes, with unique attributes for each road segment. We applied the automated approach to the South Fork Clearwater River watershed for of road divided into 6,955 road segments. The availability of analysis capabilities of the WEPP results from large road networks within GIS provides a spatially explicit tool for the management and evaluation of sediment production throughout large road networks.
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Acknowledgments
This work was funded by an assistance agreement grant (Grant No. UNSPECIFIEDCP-97005001-4) from EPA through the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ). The writers thank Drea Traumer for organizing and conducting the GPS field data collection along with Jamie Lee Davis, Grant Traeumer, Stephanie Hallock, and Josh Linard.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 11 • Issue 5 • September 2006
Pages: 418 - 426
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Mar 10, 2004
Accepted: Dec 22, 2005
Published online: Sep 1, 2006
Published in print: Sep 2006
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