The Tyler Forks watershed: Creating an SFR package from a configuration file using NHDPlus

This example shows how a configuration file can be used to build an SFR package from NHDPlus data, with a model grid specified using a MODFLOW model or a shapefile. The example is set in the Tyler Forks watershed in northern Wisconsin, where groundwater/surface interactions are the primary modeling interest.

In the first configuration file, the Name file and workspace for a MODFLOW-NWT model are specified. An active area denoting where the SFR package will be built is provided with a shapefile. NHDPlus data are provided as a file path to the root folder level for a drainage basin (for example, 04, The Great Lakes), assuming the files within that path are in the same structure as the download from the NHDPlus website. Finally, a dem is provided as a a more accurate source of streambed elevations.

tf_sfrmaker_config.yml:

 1model:
 2  namefile: tf.nam
 3  model_ws: tylerforks/
 4flowlines:
 5  nhdplus_paths: NHDPlus/
 6dem:
 7  filename: dem_26715.tif
 8  elevation_units: meters
 9options:
10  active_area: active_area.shp

In the second configuration file, no model is specified, so a package version, name, output path and length units are specified. The model grid is specified from a shapefile that has attribute fields indicating the row, column location of each cell. NHPlus data a specified as individual files.

 1package_version: 'mfnwt'
 2package_name: 'tf'
 3output_path: '.'
 4modelgrid:
 5  shapefile: grid.shp
 6  icol: i  # attribute field with row numbers
 7  jcol: j  # attribute field with column numbers
 8flowlines:
 9  NHDFlowlines: NHDPlus/NHDSnapshot/Hydrography/NHDFlowline.shp
10  PlusFlowlineVAA: NHDPlus/NHDPlusAttributes/PlusFlowlineVAA.dbf
11  PlusFlow: NHDPlus/NHDPlusAttributes/PlusFlow.dbf
12  elevslope: NHDPlus/NHDPlusAttributes/elevslope.dbf
13inflows: # see sfrmaker.flows.add_to_segment_data for arguments
14  filename: inflows.csv
15  line_id_column: line_id_COMID
16  period_column: SP  # column with model stress periods
17  data_column: inflow_m3d  # column with flow values
18dem:
19  filename: dem_26715.tif
20  elevation_units: meters
21  buffer_distance: 50.
22options:
23  model_length_units: 'feet'

Either of these configuration files can then be used with a python script similar to the following:

tylerforks/make_sfr.py:

1"""Run the Tyler Forks example.
2"""
3import sfrmaker
4sfrdata = sfrmaker.SFRData.from_yaml('tf_sfrmaker_config.yml')

This will produce an sfr package for MODFLOW-NWT, csv table representations of the SFR input, and shapefiles for visualizing the SFR package.

Running the tylerforks model

The above script can be found in the examples/tylerforks folder of the SFRmaker repository. Assuming the script was run from that location, the resulting MODFLOW model can then be run using the MODFLOW executable packaged with SFRmaker (on Windows):

cd tylerforks
../../../bin/win/mfnwt.exe tf.nam

(or on OSX)

cd tylerforks
../../../bin/mac/mfnwt tf.nam