ArcEGMO-URBAN--hydrological model for point sources in river basins

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Hydrology
• Urban Planning

Background:

• Urban areas are significant sources of water pollution, impacting river basins.
• Accurate modeling of nutrient and pollutant fluxes is crucial for effective environmental management.
• Existing models may lack the spatial and temporal resolution to capture urban-specific impacts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce ArcEGMO-URBAN, a novel model for deterministic, spatiotemporal simulation of water, nitrogen, and phosphorus fluxes in urban river basins.
• To provide a flexible tool for analyzing pollution loads from various urban sources at user-defined spatial and temporal scales.
• To assess the impact of urban development and environmental changes on water quality.

Main Methods:

• Integration of a Geographic Information System (GIS) with a hydrological model.
• Utilizing remote sensing and statistical data for urban land use, population, and infrastructure characterization.
• Calculating stormwater runoff and simulating wastewater treatment processes within a defined river basin structure.

Main Results:

• The model successfully quantifies matter fluxes and identifies major pollution sources within urbanized river basins.
• Seasonal variations in pollution loads are realistically simulated.
• Model outputs can be aggregated to various spatial (river basin, section) and temporal (year, month) levels.

Conclusions:

• ArcEGMO-URBAN is an applicable tool for realistically quantifying urban pollutant fluxes and their seasonal dynamics.
• The model supports scenario analysis for factors like population changes, climate shifts, and technological advancements.
• It provides valuable insights for urban water management and environmental protection strategies.