Sensitivity Analysis for Regional Hydrological Modeling Using HEC-HMS Simulation Program and Geographic Information System in Tropical Watershed

Abstract

The flood hydrograph estimation in a catchment is a significant parameter for water resources and conservation of water. Recently, the Geographic Information System (GIS) has become an efficient tool obtaining the watershed’s physiographical and hydrological parameters. This work presents a sensitivity analysis used as test for the comparison between hydrological studies prepared using the common practice (watershed parameters calculated by hand) and the GIS integration as a newer practice in the water resources industry in tropical regions. The GIS model used was ESRI ArcMap, the ArcHydro tools and HEC-GeoHMS extensions, to determine the hydrologic parameters used in HEC-HMS model. The investigation have proven that the use of GIS and the hydrologic tools improve the calculations of the Area and Curve Number parameters; in the case of the Lag time many factors influences the formula selection including the analyst expertise and historical equation selection. Key Terms - Geographical Information System, HEC-GeoHMS, Sensitivity Analysis, Tropical Watershed.