Low Flow Variations in Source Water Supply for the Occoquan Reservoir System Based on a 100-Year Climate Forecast

The reliability of future water supplies comes into question with the onset of global climate change and the variations in local weather patterns that it brings. Changes in temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, and sea level can all have an impact on drinking water storage and supply. As these impacts are realized, it is increasingly important to use forward projecting estimates of future supply through the use of general circulation models (GCMs). GCMs can be used to predict changes in local weather over the next century. Using GCM data as input to a hydrologic model of local water supplies, water supply managers can assess and be better prepared for the impact of these possible changes. Land use/demand in particular has an impact on runoff characteristics within a watershed. By incorporating changes in land use/demand into hydrologic model simulations, a more complete picture can be generated of the possible runoff characteristics, and thereby source water supply. The four land use scenarios used in this study are: 1) present day land use/demand; 2) projected land use/demand to 2040; 3) projected land use/demand to 2070; and 4) projected land use/demand to 2100. This study uses established techniques to incorporate both climate and land use/demand change into a hydrologic model of the Occoquan watershed, which encompasses an area of approximately 1,550 square kilometers in Northern Virginia, U.S.A., and is part of the drinking water supply to approximately 1.7 million residents.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Environmental Planning

Department dc:contributor.department

Environmental Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Maldonado, Philip Pasqual

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Moglen, Glenn E.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Godrej, Adil N.
• Grizzard, Thomas J.

• water supply
• hydrology
• low flow
• downscaling
• climate change

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

etd-09262011-113034

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/35203