Burned Area Emergency Response Tools

Details of WATBAL

WATBAL originated from the Northern Region's Water Yield Guidelines, also known as R1/R4 Guidelines (Haupt and others 1976) to establish water yields in response to cumulative watershed development and vegetation manipulation and recovery over time. WATBAL was written in FORTRAN and has been evolved using up-to-date methodologies, research findings, and locally derived water/sediment data. WATBAL is currently designed to simulate the potential and most likely effects of primary forest management practices (e.g., timber harvest, road development, and fire) on the responses of watershed and water resource systems with regard to stream flow and sediment regimes (Jones 2005). There are three functional elements in the program:

• water yield model that uses response functions correlated to land characteristics and forest practices that were taken from the Hydrologic Simulation Model of the Colorado Subalpine Forest (Leaf and Brink 1973) and calibrated for the Northern Rocky Mountains;
• sediment yield procedure based on surface erosion that incorporates the concepts and methodologies for the Idaho Batholith physiographic regions and associated lands (Cline and others 1981); and
• sediment yield procedure based on mass erosional processes that was developed on the Clearwater National Forest (Jones 2005).

Contact Information for WATBAL

Stream Flow

This includes annual and peak runoff, and time to peak.

Relatively Accurate

The Clearwater National Forest continues to monitor watersheds. Based on the monitoring data, the model is continuously calibrated, validated, and calibrated again, and is believed to be relatively accurate.

Geographic/Geologic Limit

WATBAL is only applicable to Central and Northern Rocky Mountains for water yield (annual and peak runoff), the Idaho Batholith physiographic region for sediment yield from surface erosion, and Clearwater National Forest in the southern Idaho Batholith for sediment yield from landslides.

Watershed Limit

WATBAL tends to over predict sediment in watersheds smaller than 4 mi²; and under predict sediment in watersheds greater than 40 mi² (Jones 2005).

Not User-Friendly

The program is not user-friendly, and often adding input data requires understanding of the program and the natural processes.

Understanding of the Program

Program output data should be interpreted and used with an understanding of the program and the natural processes. Interpretations should be left to an experienced and trained professional.

REFERENCES

Cline, R.; Cole, G; Megahan, W; Patten, R.; Potyondy, J. 1981. Guide for predicting sediment yields from forested watersheds (the R1/R4 sediment guidelines). Missoula, MT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern and Intermountain Regions.

Haupt, H. F.; [and others]. 1976. Hydrologic effects of vegetation manipulation. In: Forest hydrology. Missoula, MT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Region: part 2.

Jones, Richard. 2005. Watershed response model for forest management: WATBAL technical users guide, revised. Orofino, ID: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Region, Clearwater National Forest. 36 p.

Leaf, C. F.; Brink, G. E. 1973. Hydrologic simulation model of the Colorado subalpine forest. Research Paper RM-107. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 22 p.

USDA Forest Service - RMRS - Moscow Forestry Sciences Laboratory
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