Software

Simulated forest and plant communities.

Environmental flow recommendations shown in the Regime Prescription Tool (HEC-RPT).

Technologies for simulating reservoirs and ecosystems are being developed and applied at SRP sites in concert with changes in operations and advances in scientific understanding. These tools allow scientists and water managers to better understand the tradeoffs between different uses of water and explore management scenarios that are not easily tested through implementation. SRP has also advanced water resources modeling through development of a new computer program to help define environmental flows. This program, named HEC-RPT, makes it easier for water managers and scientists to formulate different ways to manage rivers.

Computer programs allow scientists, engineers and stakeholders to evaluate potential water management scenarios. These tools help Sustainable Rivers Teams better understand and communicate tradeoffs between different water release plans:

• Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA)

• Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC)

  • HEC-EFM: Ecosystem Functions Model

  • HEC-RAS: River Analysis System

  • HEC-RPT: Regime Prescription Tool
    (developed jointly by USACE and The Nature Conservancy)

  • HEC-ResSim: Reservoir Simulation Model