Integrative Watershed Management Assessment Based on an AnnAGNPS, GIS and Database Management System Linkage
Lyle Frees and Chad Volkman, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Salina, KS 67401
Ming-Shu Tsou, Girmay Misgna, and Xiaoyong Zhan, Kansas Geological Survey, Lawrence Kansas 66047
Shih-Hsien Wang and Donald G. Huggins, Kansas Biological Survey, Lawrence, Kansas 66047
Abstract
Sediment yield and water quality are inherently affected by the spatial and
temporal variations of a watershed. Hence, distributed-parameter models
are often applied to watershed assessment. Annualized Agricultural Non
Point Source (AnnAGNPS) is a cell-based continuous-simulation model
used widely to investigate surface runoff and non point source pollution.
This model requires over 400 separate input parameters of 34 data
categories (e.g., climate, land characterization, field operations, chemical
characteristics, and feedlot operations). Because of the complexity of data
requirements, a user-friendly interface was developed to directly link with
a Geographic Information System (GIS, ESRI ArcView) and a databasemanagement system (Microsoft Access) to facilitate data preparation,
manipulation, and analysis as well as output display and interpolation.
The interface was built as an ArcView Extension so that it can be easily
adopted by state and regional watershed/lake managers and others.
2. GIS Interface and Data Management
A GIS interface AnnAGNPS-ArcView interface, Spatial AnnAGNPS Extension (SAE), is being developed
at the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) (Tsou et al., 2001). The ArcView interface has the capability of
providing maps of various soil properties and nutrient distribution useful for predicting areas with the
potential for contributing to total maximum daily load (TMDL). Because of the complexity of input data
to AnnAGNPS, a database using ACCESS was developed to store and manage the data.
3. Application to Cheney Reservoir Watershed, Kansas
Cheney Reservoir has a contributing drainage area of about 933 square miles in five south-central Kansas
counties. The contributing drainage area includes the North Fork Ninnescah River and associated tributaries.
Cheney Reservoir, constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior, between 1962
and 1965 serves as a water-supply source, flood control, and venue for recreational activities such as boating
and fishing. The reservoir has a conservation-pool storage of 151,800 acre-feet, with an additional floodcontrol-pool capacity of 80,860 acre-feet. The City of Wichita, Kansas, a major metropolitan area, acquires
much of its daily water supply from Cheney Reservoir.
This customized linkage provides a powerful assessment tool that allows
managers to visually evaluate surface runoff and water quality that
AnnAGNPS can stimulate. More importantly, this linkage enables
managers to identify sensitive or critical areas of non point source
pollution and to perform and evaluate various “what-if” scenarios in the
decision-making process related to watershed management and specific
water-quality management. In this study, we examined the utility of this
newly implemented linkage by modeling the runoff, sediments, and
nutrient loadings of Cheney Lake and its associated watershed in southcentral Kansas.
4. Result
Modeling results are compared with observation of six long-term
sampling sites to quantify modeling output for water-quality
constituent concentrations and loading characteristics in selected
subbasins within the watershed and into and out of Cheney Reservoir.
Areas of Focus for Phosphorous Transport Concerns produced with
AnnAGNPS results from 1997 Land use and Land Mgt. Conditions
Cheney Lake Watershed
South Central Kansas
Figure 8. Areas of focus for Phosphorus transport concerns
produced with AnnAGNPS results from 1997 land use and
land management conditions.
Figure 4. Dominant soil in each cell within Redrock Creek watershed.
Figure 1. Relationship between cell ID and field data in the database.
Runoff
1. Introduction
Annualized Agricultural Non Point Source (AnnAGNPS) is a useful tool
to assess drainage behavior and sediment yield. The integrated GIS system
was develop to handle and provide the large amounts of detailed input
data. Moreover, this linkage enables managers to identify sensitive or
critical areas of non point source pollution and to perform and evaluate
various “what-if” scenarios in the decision-making process related to
watershed management and specific water-quality management. In this
study, we examined the utility of this newly implemented linkage by
modeling the runoff, sediments, and nutrient loadings of Cheney Lake and
its associated watershed in south-central Kansas.
Sediment
Figure 5. Land use is predominately agricultural and consists mainly of
pasture and cropland. Crops produced in the watershed include corn, grain
sorghum, soybeans, and wheat.
Figure 2. Tables of field data
Phosphorus
Acknowledgments
Appreciation is expressed to Dr. Kyle Mankin, Dr. Samar J. Bhuyan, Dr. Philip Barnes
and Qianhong Tang at Kansas State University for sharing their experience in AGNPS and
AnnAGNPS.
This project was partly funded through the project entitled, “An Integrated Modeling
Approach to Predict the Effects of Watershed Management on the Eutrophication of
Reservoirs in the Central Plains”, which was supported by United States Environmental
Protection Agency.
Figure 6. Sampling locations in Cheney Reservoir watershed.
Figure 9. Comparison between modeling and
observation
References
Milligan, C.R., and Pope, L.M., 2001. Occurrence of phosphorus, nitrate, and suspended
solids in streams of the Cheney Reservoir Watershed, south-central Kansas, 1997-2000:
U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Water-Resources Investigations Report 00-4199,
18 p.
5. Final Remarks
Pope, L.M., and Milligan, C.R., 2000. Preliminary assessment of phosphorus transport in
the Cheney Reservoir Watershed, south-central Kansas. 1997-98: U.S. Geological Survey,
Water-resources Investigations Report 00-4023, 29 p.
Tsou, M.-S. and Whittemore, D.O., 2001. A user interface for ground-water modeling, an
ArcView extension: Journal of Hydrological Engineering, ASCE, v. 6, no. 3, p. 251-257.
Tsou, M.-S., Zhan, X., Misgna, G., Wang, S.H., Huggins, D.G., Liu, S., and Volkman, C.,
2001. Modeling procedures for using AnnAGNPS ArcView extension: Kansas Geological
Survey, Open-file Report 01-57.
Figure 3. Schematic diagram of planned and implemented tasks for the GIS interface.
Figure 7. Mean annual phosphorus yields.
Information and the GIS package developed will be used to evaluate
the effectiveness of implemented watershed management practices in
decreasing the selected water-quality constituents such as nutrients,
pesticides, and suspended sediment into the Cheney reservoir. They
may be transferable to other watersheds in Kansas and the Nation with
similar hydrologic and land-use characteristics. The future task for the
integrated database is to store and manipulate all data within GIS
environment and automate the steps for preparing field data as
AnnAGNPS input format.