BasinSim 1.0 A Windows-Based Watershed Modeling Package

BasinSim 1.0 for Windows is the product of a NOAA Coastal Zone Management grant (through the Virginia Coastal Resources Management Program) awarded to Drs. Ting Dai, R. L. Wetzel, I. C. Anderson, and L. W. Haas at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary in 1998. Additional support has been provided for the development and testing of this package and production of this user’s guide by grants from Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Department (CBLAD). BasinSim 1.0 is a desktop simulation system that predicts sediment and nutrient loads for small to mid-sized watersheds. The simulation system is based on the Generalized Watershed Loading Functions (GWLF), a tested watershed model developed by Dr. Douglas Haith and his colleagues at Cornell University, New York (Haith and Shoemaker 1987, Haith et al. 1992). BasinSim 1.0 integrates an easy-to-use graphic Windows interface, extensive databases (land uses, population, soils, water discharge, water quality, climate, point nutrient sources, etc.), and the GWLF model (with modifications) into a single software package. It was designed to enable resource managers to visualize watershed characteristics, retrieve historic data (at the county and sub-watershed levels), manipulate land use patterns, and simulate nutrient (N, P, and organic C) and sediment loadings under various scenarios. The software will assist resource managers in making sound management decisions using the latest technology, information, and scientific knowledge. The system can also be used to educate local organizations and the general public about linkages between basinwide resource management and water quality