Hydrology and Watershed Modeling

Various agencies have conducted studies in the Emory Watershed region to determine the effect of land use changes on resources such as the surface water quality, sediment quality, fish habitat, benthic invertebrates and also for developing the TMDLs (TMDL, 2001). A consortium of federal and state agencies (United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Tennessee Valley Authority, and Tennessee Technological University) funded a project to assess the impact of land use changes on stream hydrology, water quality, and aquatic habitat. This project, which was only a portion of the overall research effort, uses a geographical information systems (GIS)-based watershed model to assess the effects of land use changes within the Emory River Watershed on the stream water quality, hydrology, and aquatic habitat. A GIS-based model provides a visual display of information for interpreting water resource model outputs, which enables users to take a more dynamic approach to data input, modification, scenario development, and evaluation (Martin et al., 2005).