SWAT Check: A Screening Tool to Assist Users in the Identification of Potential Model Application Problems

Area of Science:

• Environmental science
• Hydrology
• Water resource management

Background:

• The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is a widely used basin-scale hydrologic model.
• Increased use by less experienced users and automated calibration can lead to undetected errors.
• Existing methods may not identify input data errors or inappropriate parameter adjustments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a software tool to assist users in identifying potential problems in SWAT model applications.
• To improve the reliability of SWAT modeling by detecting common errors.
• To provide users with better insights into model output appropriateness.

Main Methods:

• Developed a stand-alone Microsoft Windows program named "SWAT Check".
• SWAT Check reads selected SWAT output files.
• The program alerts users to out-of-range values, visualizes output appropriateness with process-based figures, and detects common application errors.

Main Results:

• SWAT Check identifies values outside typical ranges in SWAT output.
• It generates visualizations for commonly ignored but important outputs.
• The software detects and alerts users to frequent model application errors.

Conclusions:

• SWAT Check assists users in identifying potential errors in their SWAT model applications.
• The software promotes the development of more reliable hydrologic models.
• It enhances the usability and accuracy of SWAT for a broader user base.