Daily Streamflow Simulation

A daily multiple-station streamflow simulator is developed using a first order Markov chain and regression analysis techniques. Historical flow records of two gaging stations on the Calapooia River in Oregon are analyzed and the hydrographs rearranged to reduce the observed variations of flow within any particular day and between each day. Rearrangement of flows consists of distributing the monthly peak or peaks of the hydrograph about particular days in order that the ascension and recession curves of the arranged flows occur on particular days. Daily flows are simulated on the basis of the statistical properties of the rarranged flows. A dampening factor is contained in the simulator to produce nonhistoric flow sequences with statistical distributions similar to the historic distributions for the annual flows, maximum one-day, three-day and ten-day average flows and the minimum one, seven, 30 and 120-day average flows.