Model Library

Watershed Analysis Risk Management Framework (WARMF)

Model name: Watershed Analysis Risk Management Framework (WARMF)

Developed by: Systech Water Resources, Inc. under sponsorship from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) (Last update: N/A)

Model type: Distributed, physically based, hydrological watershed model

History: The model was derived from the storm water management model (SWMM) and the integrated lake-watershed acidification study (ILWAS) model

Computational requirements: Windows XP or newer, IBM compatible PC, at least 64GB of RAM for GUI.

Software requirements: GIS: required

Link to download model: Please email info@SystechWater.com and use “WARMF Software Request” as the subject to obtain your copy.

Capabilities and Limitations:

Capabilities

  • WARMF has a modular design;
  • Intuitive, user-friendly interface;
  • WARMF has a comprehensive simulation engine which simulates watershed physical processes on a daily or shorter time step (Systech Water Resources, n.d.);
  • There is no limit on the size or scale of a potential WARMF application as long as adequate topography and other input data are available (Systech Water Resources, n.d.);
  • The model is appropriate for all wetlands with managed water flows, e.g., rice fields (Helmrich et al., 2024);
  • Availability of customized model outputs (Quinn et al., 2021).

Limitations

  • Data-intensive (Quinn et al., 2021);
  • WARMF is not an event model (Borah et al., 2019);
  • Updating time series data inputs and maintaining model calibration are expensive and time consuming (Quinn et al., 2021);
  • Tile drainage systems are not taken into consideration by the model (Dayyani et al., 2010);
  • The subsurface flow component of the model tends to be somewhat simplistic (Dayyani et al., 2010);
  • WARMF assumes zero initial snowpack (Dayyani et al., 2010).

Model Inputs and Outputs:

Inputs

Topography, LULC, Soil data, Meteorology, Hydrological data, Water quality data (optional)

Outputs

The WARMF model simulates hydrological parameters and around 40 water quality constituents, including nutrients, heavy metals, and other pollutants, across ecosystems from precipitation to reservoirs. Key hydrological processes modeled include canopy interception, snow dynamics, soil infiltration, evapotranspiration, groundwater-stream interactions, and streamflow routing. For more details, visit: https://systechwater.com/warmf_software/warmf-simulated-parameters/.

Examples:

References

Dinar, A., & Quinn, N. W. T. (2022). Developing a decision support system for regional agricultural nonpoint salinity pollution management: Application to the San Joaquin River, California. Water, 14(15), 2384. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14152384

Dayyani, S., Prasher, S. O., Madani, A., & Madramootoo, C. A. (2010). Development of DRAIN–WARMF model to simulate flow and nitrogen transport in a tile-drained agricultural watershed in Eastern Canada. Agricultural Water Management, 98(1), 55-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2010.07.012

Objectives

The objectives of the study are to present an alternative approach to salt regulation and control in the San Joaquin River Basin using the concept of "Real-Time Water Quality management" and a continually updateable WARMF forecasting model to provide daily estimates of salt load assimilative capacity and assessments of compliance with salinity concentration objectives.

The overall goal of this study was to link DRAINMOD with WARMF to improve water flow and NPS pollution estimations from watersheds that are drained/partially drained under frozen/unfrozen soil conditions.