SFRmaker and Linesink-Maker: Rapid Construction of Streamflow Routing Networks from Hydrography Data

Area of Science:

• Hydrology
• Hydrogeology
• Computational Science

Background:

• Groundwater models increasingly incorporate complex water cycle components.
• Integrating realistic surface water boundary conditions into models is a significant challenge, often manual and prone to errors.
• Existing methods require substantial time and expertise.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present two Python packages for automating the creation of surface water boundary conditions for groundwater models.
• To reduce the time and potential for error associated with manual data input.
• To improve the reproducibility and flexibility of hydrological modeling workflows.

Main Methods:

• Development of two Python packages: SFRmaker for MODFLOW SFR input and Linesink-maker for GFLOW input.
• Utilizing readily available hydrography data as the primary input source.
• Automation of the process to convert hydrographic data into model-ready boundary condition files.

Main Results:

• Significant reduction in processing time, from weeks/months to minutes.
• Enhanced accuracy and reproducibility of model boundary condition setup.
• Successful application demonstrated through two real-world case studies at various scales.

Conclusions:

• The developed Python packages offer a robust and efficient solution for incorporating surface water boundaries in groundwater models.
• These tools facilitate more complex and iterative hydrological modeling by simplifying data preparation.
• The automation significantly lowers the barrier to entry for accurate and reproducible groundwater model development.