Abstract

The Importance of Incorporating Diversions in the National Hydrogrpahy Dataset
Track: Water Resources
Authors: Kristiana Elite

The incorporation of diversions in the NHD will allow for more accurate water modeling, empowering decision makers and researchers with intelligent information to help address today's water issues and better prepare for the future. The NHD was originally designed to primarily represent natural watercourses and therefore man-made watercourses such as diversions are either entirely absent or incomplete. Diversions are a critical component in telling a comprehensive story of water in the United States. For example, California's primary method for water deliverance is via diversions. Their hydraulic plumbing system is comprised of some 2,000 miles of aqueducts, canals, and pipelines. With the correct representation of these diversion systems, applications like The Incident Command Tool for Water could follow water through canals, pipelines and aqueducts in addition to rivers.