Journal Article

A coupled hydrodynamic (HEC‐RAS 2D) and water quality model (WASP) for simulating flood‐induced soil, sediment, and contaminant transport

Mehaffey, Megan, Woznicki, Sean A., Butcher, Jonathan, Shabani, Afshin, Wool, Tim A., Whung, Pai‐Yei

2021

Overview

Increased intensity and frequency of floods raise concerns about the release and transport of contaminated soil and sediment to and from rivers and streams. To model these processes during flooding events, we developed an External Coupler in Python to link the Hydrologic Engineering Center‐River Analysis System (HEC‐RAS) 2D hydrodynamic model to the Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program (WASP). Accurate data transfer from a hydrodynamic model to a water quality model is critical. Our test results showed the External Coupler successfully linked HEC‐RAS and WASP and addressed technical challenges in aggregating flow data and conserving mass during the flood event. We ran the coupled models for a 100‐year flood event to calculate flood‐induced transport of sediment‐associated arsenic in Woodbridge Creek, NJ. Change in surface sediment and arsenic at the end of 48‐h flood simulation ranged from a net loss of 13.5 cm to a net gain of 11.6 cm, and 16.2 to 2.9 mg/kg, respectively, per model segment, which demonstrates the capability of the coupled model for simulating sediment and contaminant transport in flood.

• Publisher: Blackwell Publishing Ltd,John Wiley & Sons, Inc,The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), Wiley,Wiley
• Subject: Arsenic / Binding sites / Coastal inlets / computer simulation / Contaminants / Contaminated sediments / Couplers / Creeks & streams / Data transfer (computers) / Environmental protection / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES / Environmental Sciences & Ecology / flood / Flood frequency / Flooding / Floods / Flow velocity / Fluvial sediments / Hurricanes / hydrodynamic linkage / Hydrodynamic models / Hydrodynamics / Hydrologic analysis / hydrologic models / Hydrology / Particle size / polluted soils / Pollution transport / Quality assurance / risk management / Rivers / Sediment / sediment and contaminant transport / sediment and contamination transport / Sediment transport / Sediments / Shear stress / Simulation / Soil / Soil contamination / Soil pollution / Soils / Storm damage / streams / Surface water / Transport / Two dimensional analysis / Two dimensional models / Water quality / water quality analysis / water resources / Wool