IMPROVING FLOOD FORECASTING AND WATER CONTROL VIA HEC-HMS AND HEC-RAS CALIBRATION
Open Access
Author:
Bachman, Matthew James
Area of Honors:
Civil Engineering
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Norman D Folmar, Thesis Supervisor Patrick Reed, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
HEC-RAS HEC-HMS Calibration Flood Forecasting Water Control
Abstract:
This thesis will revolve around the successful calibration of a hydrologic and hydraulic analysis model for the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. The model will be developed using a combination of HEC-HMS and HEC-RAS, two traditional water resources programs that model a watershed’s response to precipitation events. The main focus will revolve around using previously modeled HMS and RAS events and river reaches to come up with a comprehensive, accurate model that can be used for future forecasting and modeling in the area. The accuracy of the results obtained will be evaluated by comparing them to the National Weather Service (NWS) expected outputs for similar events at those locations.
The intended outcome of the thesis is a successfully calibrated model for the West Branch. A successfully calibrated model can be used by government and state authorities to provide more accurate, up to date information for dam design and flood inundation studies.