United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service		 National Water Management Center Go to Accessibility Information
Skip to Page Content
 Photo of River Bend




Tools for Water Resources Management

The NWMC staff assists customers in determining appropriate water quality models for a number of resource concerns. Some examples of our support include:

Watershed Ecosystem Nutrient Dynamic (WEND) Tool

A tool for quantifying and tracking inputs and outflows of phosphorus at a watershed level, considering agriculture, urban, and forest sectors. NWMC and WSSI staffs have collaborated to assist with the application of the model for dairy operations (Vermont), pork production (Minnesota) an poultry growers in Delaware and Oklahoma.

Ecological Dynamics Simulation (EDYS) Model

Simulation results will be used to evaluate EDYS utility in addressing (water yield associated with vegetation management) for five watersheds in Utah, New Mexico, and Texas. Output will consist of:

  • a landscape-scale simulation of continuous and event -driven surface and subsurface water dynamics in response to control of pinon, juniper, and saltcedar.
  • evaluation of secondary succession following brush control on forage quantity and quality and effects on wildlife habitat
  • demonstration of the model's usefulness to NRCS and our conservation partners.

Corps of Engineers
Hydrologic and Hydraulic computer programs:

HEC/RAS

NWMC provided Arizona's Water Resources Planning Staff with technical assistance to set up, calibrate and run a one-dimensional steady flow hydraulic model (HEC-RAS) of Scotts Reservoir Spillway to safely pass the ½ Probable Maximum Flood (PMF) event.

UNET

NWMC engineers assisted NRCS Louisiana's Water Resources staff in modeling the circulatory flow characteristics of the Penchant Basin Project Area, using UNET. This is a computer tool that models one-dimensional unsteady flow through a full network of open channels. . Output will assist in describing the hydrologic component of the unique floating marsh ecosystems.

AnnAGNPS -Water Quality/Pollutant Loading Tools

AnnAGNPS (Annualized Agricultural Non-Point Source) is a system of computer models to predict non-source pollutant loadings within agricultural watersheds. Assistance is provided to states in data preparation in order to use this tool.

Water Table Control and Nitrate Reduction

Assisted Illinois NRCS with selecting a tool to assess the implications of reducing the loading of nitrates into the Gulf of Mexico. One tool that may be appropriate in similar situations is DRAINMOD-N, a computer model as a tool to assess water table control and nitrate reductions.

Contacts:
Thom Garday    501-210-8905    thom.garday@ar.usda.gov

< Back to NWMC Accountability - Briefing Sheets