Development of a Prototype Web-Based Decision Support System for Watershed Management

Using distributed hydrological models to evaluate the effectiveness of reducing non-point source pollution by applying best management practices (BMPs) is an important support to decision making for watershed management. However, complex interfaces and time-consuming simulations of the models have largely hindered the applications of these models. We designed and developed a prototype web-based decision support system for watershed management (DSS-WMRJ), which is user friendly and supports quasi-real-time decision making. DSS-WMRJ is based on integrating an open-source Web-based Geographical Information Systems (Web GIS) tool (Geoserver), a modeling component (SWAT, Soil and Water Assessment Tool), a cloud computing platform (Hadoop) and other open source components and libraries. In addition, a private cloud is used in an innovative manner to parallelize model simulations, which are time consuming and computationally costly. Then, the prototype DSS-WMRJ was tested with a case study. Successful implementation and testing of the prototype DSS-WMRJ lay a good foundation to develop DSS-WMRJ into a fully-fledged tool for watershed management. DSS-WMRJ can be easily customized for use in other watersheds and is valuable for constructing other environmental decision support systems, because of its performance, flexibility, scalability and economy.

[1]  Miquel Sànchez-Marrè,et al.  Artificial Intelligence and Environmental Decision Support Systems , 2000, Applied Intelligence.

[2]  J. Arnold,et al.  SWAT2000: current capabilities and research opportunities in applied watershed modelling , 2005 .

[3]  Ruimin Liu,et al.  Cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis of BMPs in controlling agricultural nonpoint source pollution in China based on the SWAT model , 2014, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.

[4]  Honghai Qi,et al.  Vegetation Buffer Strips Design Using an Optimization Approach for Non-Point Source Pollutant Control of an Agricultural Watershed , 2011 .

[5]  Wim G.M. Bastiaanssen,et al.  Water Accounting Plus (WA+) - a water accounting procedure for complex river basins based on satellite measurements , 2012 .

[6]  Li Yu-cheng,et al.  BMP Evaluation for Nutrient Control in a Subtropical Reservoir Watershed Using SWAT Model , 2013 .

[7]  Yong Zeng,et al.  Development of a web-based decision support system for supporting integrated water resources management in Daegu city, South Korea , 2012, Expert Syst. Appl..

[8]  C. Paniconi,et al.  Assessment of alternative land management practices using hydrological simulation and a decision support tool: Arborea agricultural region, Sardinia , 2007 .

[9]  F. Dechmi,et al.  Evaluation of best management practices under intensive irrigation using SWAT model , 2013 .

[10]  Eun-Sung Chung,et al.  Prioritization of water management for sustainability using hydrologic simulation model and multicriteria decision making techniques. , 2009, Journal of environmental management.

[11]  Liping Fang,et al.  Decision Support Systems in Water Resources and Environmental Management , 2008 .

[12]  Anthony J. Jakeman,et al.  Environmental decision support systems (EDSS) development - Challenges and best practices , 2011, Environ. Model. Softw..

[13]  Alexander Y. Sun,et al.  Development of multi-metamodels to support surface water quality management and decision making , 2014, Environmental Earth Sciences.

[14]  Nicolas Ray,et al.  Distributed computation of large scale SWAT models on the Grid , 2013, Environ. Model. Softw..

[15]  Ji Chen,et al.  Parallelization of a hydrological model using the message passing interface , 2013, Environ. Model. Softw..

[16]  Steven R. Davie,et al.  Development of Three-Dimensional Hydrodynamic and Water Quality Models to Support Total Maximum Daily Load Decision Process for the Neuse River Estuary, North Carolina , 2003 .

[17]  Tom White,et al.  Hadoop: The Definitive Guide , 2009 .

[18]  Alexander Y. Sun.  Enabling collaborative decision-making in watershed management using cloud-computing services , 2013, Environ. Model. Softw..

[19]  Carlo Giupponi,et al.  Towards the development of a decision support system for water resource management , 2005, Environ. Model. Softw..

[20]  Youn Shik Park,et al.  Hydrologic Response Unit Routing in SWAT to Simulate Effects of Vegetated Filter Strip for South-Korean Conditions Based on VFSMOD , 2011 .

[21]  Carlo Giupponi,et al.  Environmental decision support systems: Current issues, methods and tools , 2007, Environ. Model. Softw..

[22]  Chuck Lam,et al.  Hadoop in Action , 2010 .

[23]  Guoliang Fan,et al.  A web-based GIS Decision Support System for managing and planning USDA's Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) , 2007, Environ. Model. Softw..

[24]  John R. Williams,et al.  LARGE AREA HYDROLOGIC MODELING AND ASSESSMENT PART I: MODEL DEVELOPMENT 1 , 1998 .

[25]  A. Pouyan Nejadhashemi,et al.  Analysis of best management practice effectiveness and spatiotemporal variability based on different targeting strategies , 2014 .

[26]  J. Jeon,et al.  Characteristics of Water Budget Components in Paddy Rice Field under the Asian Monsoon Climate: Application of HSPF-Paddy Model , 2014 .