Estimating Sediment Transport Capacity in Watershed Modeling

ABSTRACT WATERSHED modelers are faced with a host of sed-iment transport formulas, each one derived for a limited range of sediment and streamflow characteris-tics. Predicted transport rates differ significantly from formula to formula, and selecting a reliable formula to predict a specific load is a difficult task. The authors have evaluated a number of transport formulas against laboratory and field data. The formulas were selected for their particular applicability to hydrologic modeling, and the data cover the wide range of parameters usually en-countered in agricultural watersheds. This paper presents a summary of the formulas and data used in the study, and the results of the evaluation.