SanAntonioApp: interactive visualization and repository of spatially distributed flow duration curves of the San Antonio Creek - Uruguay

Abstract

Agricultural irrigation projects require information on the quantity and frequency of streamflow to design irrigation systems. On the one hand, this information is obtained from gauging stations or hydrologic models. On the other hand, there are few gauging stations, and hydrologic models are expensive to implement, especially for small irrigation projects. This work proposes a method for estimating spatially distributed Flow Duration Curves (FDC), and describes the SanAntonioApp interactive application with open access and repository, which is used to share the results of this work. The proposed framework uses three years of records of a rich hydrometeorological network to implement, optimise and cross-validate the WFLOW-HBV distributed hydrologic model in San Antonio Creek (Salto, Uruguay). Then, FDC are generated by extending the simulation period with the long records of an agro-climatological station (30 years). The results of this work contribute to evaluate the water availability of the San Antonio catchment and provide information on how often this availability is guaranteed. In addition, the application allows estimating the probability of exceedance of the daily streamflow for a given month and location. This function could be used to estimate the environmental flow established in the current water regulation in Uruguay.