Abstract

Drainage Areas(up-from-gauge) in Canada: Creating the National Dataset
Track: Water Resources
Authors: Judy Kwan, Louis Liu, Dave Harvey

Station drainage area delineation is the first step in watershed analyses and hydrologic modeling. For Environment Canada, traditionally upstream drainage area calculations for Water Survey of Canada(WSC) stations are available for most stations, but their corresponding upstream watershed boundaries are not. The national Hydrometric Station Drainage Area Delineation project strives to make hydrometric drainage area delineations(both area value and polygons) available to water resource practitioners and researchers for all WSC gauges in Canada. Currently, this national project strives to modernize the Drainage Area(DA) from a numeric value in the national archive to a spatial definition on the landscape for all 2100+ Active Discharge stations in Canada. The DA polygon up-from-gauge is the springboard to landscape-watershed characterizations in Canada. In creating the Drainage Areas(up-from-gauge) national dataset, a GIS-based hybrid approach was adopted and applied in Canada. Results and experiences in collating and creating this important national dataset will be presented.