Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2002WY2B

Testing of hydrologic models for estimating streamflow in mountainous areas of Wyoming

Institute: Wyoming
Year Established: 2002 Start Date: 2002-03-01 End Date: 2003-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $17,970 Total Non-Federal Funds: $58,377

Principal Investigators: Bruce Brinkman, Lawrence Ostresh, Hugh Lowham

Project Summary: Streamflows in mountainous areas of Wyoming are receiving increased interest in their role as a source for allocation water. This is a major source of water for non-consumptive instream flow rights and numerous consumptive water rights located within and downstream of the high mountain basins of Wyoming. To properly plan for and manage this remote resource, there needs to be a way to determine the yearly cycle, of volume and time of year, that the water is available The ideal situation for planning and management of this water resource is to have long-term data available from an existing gage for the stream in question. However, economic and physical constraints prevent the installation and operation of gages at many mountain sites especially in the winter. When a gage is not available, then streamflow estimates are used. The primary purpose of this project is to determine and document the accuracy of the available methods for estimating streamflow values in the mountains of Wyoming. Of particular interest are winter flows, which are sometime difficult to obtain. The secondary purpose of this project is to review the possibilities of using emerging technologies such as remote analysis using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), that may help in the determination of the basins properties. In the process of this research, all opportunities will be taken to provide training and practical experience to as many students and professionals as possible.