Hydrological Modelling with SWAT

Step-by-Step tutorial
The hydrological model for Robit Watershed

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Qianwen He, Nov. 2020
Task Description
Follow the step by step tutorial to set up a hydrological model with the
given dataset. After the practice, you need to understand:
• What are the required input data?
• What is the modeling procedure?
• What results can be obtained from the model?

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Content

• Software installation

• Input data description

• Settings

• SWAT model setup

• SWAT model run

• SWAT model result visualization

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Software Installation
• Prerequisite
o Microsoft Windows XP to 10(No Mac OS)
o Microsoft Access (the interface to use Access database)
Please download from https://www.b-tu.de/it-
services/basisdienste/software/lizenzvertraege/microsoft-software/ees-campus-vertrag
(Download Keys(separate Datei) und Software)
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5

• Software to install
o QGIS
o SWATEditor
o QSWAT
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 Software Installation
• Installation:
o Step1: go to:
http://swat.tamu.edu/softwa
re/qswat/

o Step2: Install QGIS from the

same webpage

o Step3: Install SWATEditor

o Step4: Install QSWAT

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Settings
• Time and Date format modification
Control panel  Clock, Language and Region
Change data, time or number formats

This is to ensure the weather input data can be

readable by the software

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Install SWAT in QGIS
• Step1: Launch QGIS Desktop 3.x
• Step2: go to “Manage and Install Plugins” and find “QSWAT” and “install plugin”

• SWAT icon will appear on the toolbar

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References
• http://swat.tamu.edu/software/qswat/
o QSWAT3 user manual

o Discussion group: user group

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SWAT Modelling Overview
1. Watershed delineation (dem)
o Define the region of the basin/catchment
o Delineate the basin in order to obtain the subbasins/watersheds
o Define the location of the outlet, point source,…

2. HRU analysis (landuse, soil type, slope)

o Add land use, soil type data and link the attributes to SWAT database
o Choose the combination of landuse, soil type and slope in order to obtain the suitable HRUs

3. Write Input tables (weather data, management strategy,…)

o Weather data as the driving force of the model
o Other input data are also considered if obtained

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Input Data Overview
Example Data Set: Robit Watershed, Lake Tana Basin, Ethiopia
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1FFz2-lSUtgW9kDh-zaW2vMBWvbsBQL7q?usp=sharing

Remark
Climeate input, with measuring sites and time series
Location of the outlet
Observed discharge at basin outlet (m3/s)
Stream .shp
Landuse look up table, with corresponding SWAT Landuse Code

Soil look up table, with corresponding data to link the usersoil.xlsx

Soil database, to update the database

Weather statistics for weather generator
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SWAT Project Setup
• Step 1. Create a new project

• Step 2. Copy the input data set to the project folder

• Step 3. Modify tables in the database

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SWAT Project Setup
• Step 1. Create a folder first (we refer to it later as: YourHomeFolder), this is the folder where you will
save your project
• Create a project in “YourHomeFolder”, name it and save it (we refer to it as : YourProjectFolder)

YourHomeFolder

YourProjectFolder

You need to have full control of this folder

Right click the folder Security  Edit…  check “Full control” 12
SWAT Project Setup
• When the project is successfully created, the SWAT window will popup again and
new features appear

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SWAT Project Setup
• Step 2. Copy the input dataset to “YourHomeFolder”
o The input dataset were prepared and should be downloaded (page 10)
o Copy folder ”ExampleDataset” to YourHomeFolder(created in step1)

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SWAT Project Setup
• Step 3. Modify tables in the database
o After creating the project, two database(.mdb) were generated in
“YourProjectFolder”
• YourProjectName.mdb (e.g. prj1.mdb)
This is the database to store the data created
during your modelling process
• QSWATRef2012.mdb
This is the database stored the default parameters
sets that SWAT predefined

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SWAT Project Setup
• Step 3. Modify tables in the database
o In QSWATRef2012.mdb, table “usersoil” and “WGEN_user” need to be
replaced with external data
• Launch QSWATRef2012.mdb, tables are listed on the left

• Delete table “usersoil” and “WGEN_user” in QSWATRef2012.mdb

Please close all the tables first before editting:

when tables are opn, the Edit cannot be
performed

Why do we delete the original table of usersoil and WGEN_user?

• QSWATRef2012.mdb stores parameters to be used in your project
• the default table usersoil (soil properties) and WGEN_user (weather statistics) are data
within USA
• We modified this two data sets by replacing it with data of Robit Watershed
SWAT Project Setup
• Step 3. Modify tables in the database
o The deleted table will be replaced by import new tables
• “usersoil.xlsx” is to replace table “usersoil” and “WGEN_Robit.xlsx” is to replace
“WGEN_user” (\YourHomeFolder\ExampleDataset\...)

• Import “usersoil.xlsx” and “WGEN_Robit.xlsx” by clicking “External Data”

• External Data  Excel(Import&Link)  File name

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Next page for more importing 17
details
 1 2 3

Select “No primary Key”

Name it as “usersoil”

4 5 6

• Table “WGEN_user” should be deleted, then import “WGEN_Robit.xlsx” with the same procedure and name it as
“WGEN_user” 18
SWAT Model Setup
• Step 4. Watershed delineation

• Step 5. HRU Analysis

• Step 6. Edit input tables

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SWAT Model Setup
• Step 4. Watershed delineation
o launch the project created at step1

o “Delineate Watershed”

(Please save yoaur project after every step!!!)

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 SWAT Model Setup
• Step 4. Watershed delineation
o Import DEM: “YourHomeFolder\ExampleDataset\DEM\srtm_30m\hdr.adf”

If your extention (.adf) is not

shown, please google „how
to display the file extention
in Win7/8/10?“

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 SWAT Model Setup
• Step 4. Watershed delineation
o Burn in existing stream network
“\YourHomeFolder\ExampleDataset\RobitStreams\robReach.shp”

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 SWAT Model Setup
• Step 4. Watershed delineation
o Create streams

2 1
3

• Stream are created based on the digital elevation model

and the burned in stream network
• In “Define threshold”, number of cells or area is to
determine the density of the river network. When a cell
has more than 1000 cells draining into it, this cell can be
defined as part of a stream. (the less the cells/area are
set, the more dense the stream network is) For now,
please choose the value shown in the picture.
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 SWAT Model Setup
• Step 4. Watershed delineation
o Insert a outlet : the outlet location is given in ExampleDataset
“\YourHomeFolder\ExampleDataset\MainOutlet\MainOutlet.shp”

1 A outlet is displayed and then

snapped by the river network
2

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 SWAT Model Setup
• Step 4. Watershed delineation
o Create watershed

• Robit Watershed is now divided into 9 sub-watersheds.

• If the stream network is denser, more sub-watershed will
be generated.
• Area: approx. 17 sq.km

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 SWAT Model Setup
• Step 5. HRU analysis
o Import landuse and soil data, and generate the HRUs

• SWAT window Create HRUs

(the button will only turned to black after
completing “Delineate Watershed”)

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 SWAT Model Setup
• Step 5. HRU analysis
o Import landuse map and soil map
“\YourHomeFolder\ExampleDataset\Landuse\roblandusenew\hdr.adf”
o Import soil map
“\YourHomeFolder\ExampleDataset\Soil\mowr_soil90\hdr.adf”

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 SWAT Model Setup
• Step 5. HRU analysis
o Import landuse and soil lookup table
• Landuse table Use csv file
• Soil table Use csv file

o After “Read”, “choose landuse/soil lookup csv file” pop

up
o Select “Robit_landuses.csv” and “Robit_soils.csv”
respectively

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 SWAT Model Setup
• Step 5. HRU analysis
o landuse and soil lookup table
• The lookup tables have the attribute that can be linked to tables stored in QSWATRef2012.mdb. Those
tables contain parameters and the model will use the parameters for simulation

• The usersoil table has been replaced with the usersoil.xlsx in ExampleDataset. usersoil.xlsx contains the
soil property of the Robit watershed and the original usersoil table did not have those information

parameters

Robit_landuse.xlsx

QSWATRef2012.mdb, table “crop” 29

 SWAT Model Setup
• Step 5. HRU analysis
o Set landuse, soil and slope thresholds
Select “Read from maps”

Check “Generate FullHRUs shapefile” (if you are not

able to check it, please click “Read” again)

Insert “10”

Select “Filter by landuse, soil, slope”

Insert “Landuse(%)” with 10  “Go”

Insert “Soil(%)” with 5  “Go”

“Create HRUs”
Hint: If “Set bands for slope(%)” panel is grey and slope value 10 cannot
be inserted, please cancel this window and go back to “Delineate
Watershed” window again, click “OK” at the bottom, and redo “Step5. 30
HRU analysis”
 SWAT Model Setup
• Step 5. HRU analysis
o HRUs are the combination of a certain landuse, soil and slope, when the three of them are overlayed

o The threshold of the landuse, soil and slope can be user-defined

• Dominant landuse, soil, slope/dominant HRU indicate only one HRU to be created within one sub-watershed
• ”Filter by landuse, soil, slope” to determine the
combination(e.g. 10% of landuses means in each sub-
watershed, only landuses larger than 10% will be considered
for HRUs and the other landuses are neglected)
• “Set bands for slope(%)” is to category the slope range
• “Generate FullHRUs shapefile” is to generate the HRU map
when Landuse is 0% , soil is 0% and slope is also 0%

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 SWAT Model Setup
• Step 5. HRU analysis
o Read reports
• Click “Select report to view”
 Elevation
 Landuse and soil
 HRUs

The watershed delineation

results and the HRU generated
are listed in those tables

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 SWAT Model Setup
• Step 6. Edit SWAT input
o Input weather data and generate input tables
• “Edit Inputs and Run SWAT”
• “Connect to Database”

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 SWAT Model Setup Weather data list:
“\YourHomeFolder\ExampleDataset\ClimateRobit\”
• Step 6. Edit SWAT input
o The location of weather station
o “Write Input Tables”  “weather stations” • pcpRobStation.txt
• rhumRobStation.txt
• windRobStation.txt
• tmpRobstations.txt
o Time series of the measured weather data
• robpcp.txt
• robrhum.txt
• robwind.txt
• robsol.txxt

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 SWAT Model Setup
• Step 6. Edit SWAT input
o “Write Input Tables”  “weather stations”

This is the table user_WGEN and we have replaced the

original one with WGEN_Robit.xlsx.

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 SWAT Model Setup
• Step 6. Edit SWAT input
o “Write Input Tables”  “weather stations”
• Insert “location of weather station” file(.txt) accordingly

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 SWAT Model Setup
• Step 6. Edit SWAT input
o “Write Input Tables”  “Write SWAT Input Tables”
• All the tables needed for the simulated will be created in the yourProjectName.mdb

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 SWAT Model Run
• Step 7. Run SWAT
o “SWAT simulation”  “Run SWAT”
• Period of simulation can be set for any period
within the time range of the input weather
data
• NYSKIP should be set to 2~5 years as a warm
up period for the model
• First ”Setup SWAT run” and then “Run SWAT”

Hints: if you have warnings related to .sol file error, please go

to “Edit SWAT Input” (see slide 28), and “rewrite input tables”,
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select “sol”, click rewrite. Then redo “Step 7. Run SWAT”
 SWAT Model Run
• Step 7. Run SWAT
o “SWAT simulation”  “Read SWAT Output”
• Select ”output.rch”, “output.sub”, “output.hru”
• Then, ”Import Files to Database”
• Save SWAT Simulation with a name (e.g. sim1)

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SWAT Result Visualization
• Static data
o A single summary value
o A .shp file is created
• Animation
o Visualize the time series
with the spatial variation
• Plot
o Compare with observed data
o Compare between channels

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 SWAT Result Visualization
• Static data
• Example: Annual mean ET (evapotranspiration) at each subbasin

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 SWAT Result Visualization
• Animation
• Example: Annual mean ET (evapotranspiration) at each subbasin

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 SWAT Result Visualization
• Compare with observed discharge

Should be the same period with the observed discharge

“\YourHomeFolder\ExampleDataset\Observed\observedFLOW.csv”

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 SWAT Result Visualization
• Compare with observed discharge

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SWAT Result Database
“\YourHomeFolder\YourProjectFolder\Scenarios\YourSimulationName\TablesOut\SWATOutput.mdb”

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SWAT Result Database
“\YourHomeFolder\YourProjectFolder\Scenarios\YourSimulationName\TablesOut\SWATOutput.mdb”

These three tables were the

simulation results, for hru or rch
or subbasin.

The list of table here is the

corresponding table to each
simulation results table and
explain the meaning of each
field.
e.g. tblHruDef  hru

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SWAT Application
• Fertilizer manufactory at sub basin 6
Daily discharge: 2400m3/day
Daily ammonia nitrogen release: 0.72t/day
1. Step 3 “Edit Inputs and Run SWAT”
2. “SWAT Editor” window  “Connect to Database”
3. “Edit SWAT Input”  “Point Source Discharges”
4. “Select Point Source” 6
5. Modify the point source  Flow and NH3
6. “Save Edits” and “Exit”
7. “Edit SWAT Input” again  Re-write SWAT Input
files
8. Select “point source/inlet”  Write Files  then
“Cancel” to exit the window
9. “SWAT Simulation”  “Run SWAT”  check
“Print Water Quality Output”
10. Read SWAT output and save the simulation
11. Data visualization: have a look of variables
“NH4_OUTkg” and “TOT_kg” in rch
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