Delaware River Basin Focus Area Study
The Delaware River Basin Focus Area Study benefited from two different streamflow modeling approaches. One is a process based hydrologic model, the Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (WATER-DRB), that enables testing of different land-cover forecasts and climate projections using physical aspects of the basin that will remain unchanged, like topography and soil properties. The second model is statistical, the Streamflow Estimator Tool (DRB-SET) based on the 1960-2010 period, that can be used to compare streamflow under minimally altered and developed conditions for the recent past, using historical relations between land-use, climate, and streamflow. Both hydrologic models estimate streamflow for ungaged streams in the basin. These two modeling approaches are complementary because they highlight aspects of Delaware River Basin water availability that can be expected to change the most as land-use continues to change and precipitation and temperature patterns shift. Links to products and data from this study component are below.
Summary of hydrologic modeling for the Delaware River Basin using the Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (WATER)
User Manuals for the Delaware River Basin Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (DRB-WATER) and associated WATER Application Utilities
Sensitivity of the projected hydroclimatic environment of the Delaware River basin to formulation of potential evapotranspiration: Climatic Change
User’s Guide for the Delaware River Basin Streamflow Estimator Tool (DRB-SET)
Estimation of Daily Mean Streamflows for Ungaged Locations in the Delaware River Basin, Water Years 1960-2010
The Delaware River Basin Focus Area Study addressed the stakeholder-identified needs to improve the integration of state water use and water-supply data and to provide the compiled water use information to basin users. This water use information was also used in the hydrologic modeling and ecological components of the study. Links to products and data from this study component are below.
Estimated use of water in the Delaware River Basin in Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, 2010
Research on the ecological flow needs of a variety of freshwater species such as fishes, mussels and submerged aquatic vegetation in the Upper Delaware River Basin was used to develop a Decision Support System that can be used to evaluate how alternative flow management scenarios might affect habitat available for riverine biota. Links to products and data from this study component are below.
User’s manual for the Upper Delaware River Riverine Environmental Flow Decision Support System (REFDSS)
An integrated riverine environmental flow decision support system (REFDSS) to evaluate the ecological effects of alternative flow scenarios on river ecosystems: Fundamental and Applied Limnology/Archiv für Hydrobiologie
Developing and testing temperature models for regulated systems: a case study on the upper Delaware River: Journal of Hydrology
Predicting thermally stressful events in rivers with a strategy to evaluate management alternatives: River Research and Applications
Evaluating methods to establish habitat suitability criteria: A case study in the upper Delaware River Basin, USA: River Research and Applications