Subject: Hydrological simulation of an administrative area Posted: 5/18/2025 Viewed: 371 times
Hello everyone, please i need your expertise on my current project which is the WEAP modelling of the surface water resources allocation in ilorin, Nigeria. In this project, one of my objectives is the simulation of hydrological processes within the area. i intend to use the soil moisture method for my simulation but i can't seeem to get the hang of it even with the tutorials.
A major question i have is that if i'm taking an administrative boundary as my area, and not an actual catchment , how many catchment nodes do i need to have ? Is one catchment node for the entirety of the area enough ?
in addition, i have relevant meteorological data and a land-use map from 2022. Is there anything else i need ?
Finally, i expect to obtain the streamflow data for the river in my area and other hydrological processes such as ET. Would this be accomplished if the simulation goes well ?
Thank you all in anticipation.
Mr. Doug Chalmers
Subject: Re: Hydrological simulation of an administrative area Posted: 5/19/2025 Viewed: 358 times
Hello Muritala,
In selecting the number of catchments you need, the main consideration is where you need the flow to be calculated. For example, an individual catchment boundary often ends just upstream of an important location where an observed flow gauge or major infrastructure (diversion intake, reservoir, etc) is located and the flow needs to be accurately calculated at that location. Whether or not you need more catchments due to different hydrologic behavior would depend on how your calibration goes.
Precipitation, temperature, and land use data are the main inputs for building the catchments. I would also recommend making estimated basic assumptions regarding humidity and cloudiness fraction even if you lack precise data. Note that WEAP also has global datasets accessible within catchment delineation mode. However, you will need to calibrate your catchments to observed streamflow data- so this is another critical input.
Hope this helps!
-Doug
Mr. Muritala Kadiri
Subject: Re: Hydrological simulation of an administrative area Posted: 5/21/2025 Viewed: 311 times
Hello, Mr Doug. Thank you very much for your response. I understand how to go about it now. Might I also ask you if there's a way around Modelling Water treatment facilities at reservoirs ?
Mr. Doug Chalmers
Subject: Re: Hydrological simulation of an administrative area Posted: 5/23/2025 Viewed: 206 times
Muritala,
Please see my response to the water treatment post you made. The same answer applies here:
