U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Estimating water availability at ungaged locations in New England Source: The Connecticut River looking north in the early evening, from the French King Bridge at the Erving-Gill town line in Western Massachusetts. Presentation to the Glacial Aquifer Workshop July 28, 2010 Stacey Archfield, Ph.D. Research Hydrologist, USGS MA-RI Water Science Center FUNDING SOURCES: Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection U.S. Geological Survey Cooperative Water Program

2 of 16 The Massachusetts Sustainable-Yield Estimator (Decision-support tool) Regulated streamflowUnregulated streamflow State-wide water-use database Flow-duration curve EXCEEDANCE PROBABILITY STREAMFLOW TIME Flow series from index gage

3 of 16 The Massachusetts Sustainable-Yield Estimator (Decision-support tool) Regulated streamflowUnregulated streamflow State-wide water-use database Flow-duration curve EXCEEDANCE PROBABILITY STREAMFLOW TIME Flow series from index gage

4 of 16 Source for STRMDEPL: Zarriello, P.J. and Barlow, P.M. (2000) and Jenkins, C.T. (1968)  If aquifer properties are known, the user has the option to apply the program STRMDEPL, an analytical solution that is used to include the time-varying effects of a ground-water withdrawal or discharge on streamflow Regulated streamflow t = Unregulated streamflow t  (Ground-water discharges t )  (Return flows t ) –  (Surface-water withdrawals t ) –  (Ground-water withdrawals t ) Estimating regulated streamflow WELL 1 WELL 2 WWTP 1 Ungaged location

5 of 16 The Massachusetts Sustainable-Yield Estimator (Decision-support tool) Regulated streamflowUnregulated streamflow State-wide water-use database Flow-duration curve EXCEEDANCE PROBABILITY STREAMFLOW TIME Flow series from index gage

6 of 16 Point-and-click GIS user-interface Users begin by opening an ESRI ArcMap document and locating the stream of interest. Users also have the option to export a map and shapefile of the study area. The user clicks on the stream location to delineate an on-the-fly watershed, compute basin characteristics, and query the water-use database for points within the watershed.

7 of 16 Navigating the tool A master Microsoft Excel file guides the user through the post-processing, graphing and reporting of the results. All relevant data is stored in a user-specified location and project folder.

8 of 16 Results Results are summarized for the user in a printable 2-page format. From Archfield and others (2010)

9 of 16 Application: Mapping streamflow alteration and water availability Estimated annual flow alterationEstimated August flow alteration Weiskel, P.K., Brandt, S.L., DeSimone, L.A., Ostiguy, L.J., and Archfield, S.A., 2010, Indicators of streamflow alteration, habitat fragmentation, impervious cover, and water quality for Massachusetts stream basins, USGS Scientific Investigations Report,

10 of 16 Application: Relating streamflow alteration to fish data Armstrong, D.S., Richards, T.A., and Brandt, S.L., 2010, Preliminary assessment of factors influencing riverine fish communities in Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010–1139, 43 p. Percent fluvial specialists Percent net flow alteration (August) for nested basins DRAFT < 15 % > 15 % Fish-sampling locations Streamflow alteration Imperviousness

11 of 16 Application: Regional daily, unregulated streamflows In cooperation with:

12 of 16 Method to estimate streamflow at ungaged sites EXCEEDENCE PROBABILITY STREAMFLOW Estimate flow-duration curve by solving the regression equations TIME STREAMFLOW Area = XX.X mi 2 Estimate basin characteristics Estimate hydrograph Sources: Archfield and others [2010]; Archfield and Vogel [2010; in press] NATURAL LOG OF STREAMFLOW 21 equations Drainage area, Percent of basin that is underlain by sand and gravel deposits, average annual precipitation, location PROBABILITY OF FLOW BEING EXCEEDED

13 of 16 Daily streamflow validation - Summary N = 31 BEST WORST

14 of 16 Daily streamflow validation – Best fit OBSERVED STREAMFLOW, IN CFS , Saxtons River at Saxtons River, VT ESTIMATED STREAMFLOW, IN CFS NS E = 0.92 NS E log = 0.87

15 of 16 Daily streamflow validation – Worst fit OBSERVED STREAMFLOW, IN CFS ESTIMATED STREAMFLOW, IN CFS , Wading River near Norton, MA NS E = 0.66 NS E log = 0.69

16 of 16 Contact Information Stacey Archfield Massachusetts-Rhode Island WSC (508)