Citation:

Detenbeck, N. WMOST v 3.01 and v 3.1 Training Workshop (Sessions 1-9). To be Presented at Online WMOST v 3.01 and v 3.1 Training Workshop (Sessions 1-9), NA, RI, August 18 - 20, 2020.

Impact/Purpose:

This series of WMOST training webinars is presented in response to an invitation by the Maryland Department of Environment. WMOST is designed to facilitate integrated water management among communities, utilities, watershed organizations, consultants, and others. WMOST identifies the most cost-effective suite of management practices to meet user-designated water quantity and/or water quality goals at the small watershed scale, looking across potential solutions in drinking water, wastewater, stormwater (gray and green infrastructure) and land conservation programs. New features include a benefits module which calculates the monetary value associated with additional water quality benefits and non water quality co-benefits of natural and constructed green infrastructure.

Description:

The EPA's Watershed Management Optimization Support Tool (WMOST) is designed to facilitate integrated water management among communities, utilities, watershed organizations, consultants, and others. WMOST identifies the most cost-effective suite of management practices to meet user-designated water quantity and/or water quality goals at the HUC12 – HUC10 watershed scale, looking across potential solutions in drinking water, wastewater, stormwater (gray and green infrastructure) and land conservation programs. Goals can include maintaining baseflow or storage for drinking water and aquatic life use, minimizing peak flows and estimated flooding damage, reducing incidence of CSO events, meeting water quality criteria or pollutant load targets for TMDLs. WMOST reads in baseline hydrology (runoff, recharge) and pollutant (N, P, TSS, Zn) load time series for hydrologic response units from common watershed models (e.g., HSPF, SWAT), then calculates managed time series for different best management practices of interest to the user through linkage with EPA’s SUSTAIN tool. Optimization files are created for import to NEOS, an online server with optimization packages. Optimization output from NEOS is imported back to WMOST and summarized in graphs and tables listing the optimal types of various management practices, as well as their implementation levels and costs. Additional tools are being developed to apply WMOST as part of a robust decision-making process, including a complementary version of WMOST (GreenOpt) that uses a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm to generate numerous management solutions simultaneously. These solutions reflect the tradeoffs between objectives, which represents useful information for decision-makers. Recent utilities added to the WMOST suite or nearing release include a Benefits Module and Hydrologic Comparison Assessment Module (HCAM). This series of webcasts will provide background on WMOST 3.01 and WMOST 3.1 and associated utilities, demonstrate data import and different component modules, illustrate tool outputs and provide examples from ongoing case studies.

Record Details: