The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) has been a leading model internationally for predicting the fate and transport of non-point source agrochemicals at the watershed scale for nearly two decades. The SWAT model is a semi-distributed model based on a hydrologic response unit (HRU) conceptual model that aggregates areas with similar landscape characteristics within sub-watersheds, such as land use and soils, to simplify the calculation of water, sediment, and chemical loadings to a channel system. Strengths of SWAT for the simulation of agrochemicals include the comprehensive hydrologic model, channel routing and in-stream chemical transport processes, and extensive customization of agronomic management practices. A significant update to the SWAT model, called SWAT+, has been recently released and offers multiple enhancements, including improved model processes, expanded flexibility in agronomic management, and a simplified model inputs structure that will better support national-scale assessments. One of the most important changes to the conceptual model in SWAT+ is the ability to route water, sediment, and chemicals across different landscape units before entering a channel system. This presentation will provide an overview of the new features of SWAT+, with an emphasis on enhancements that will allow for improvements in the simulation of agrochemicals across a broad range of flowing water body sizes and flow regimes. An example application of SWAT+ for an agricultural use pesticide will be shown and compared with simulation results obtained with the most recent version of the traditional SWAT model.

Overview and application of the SWAT+ model for watershed scale aimulation of agrochemicals

2019 Fall National Meeting

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