Short Name: DWAT
Long Name: Dynamic Water resources Assessment Tool
Model Type: Event and continuous.
Flood Mechanism: Riverine flood; rainfall-only and rainfall-snowmelt
Usage: Evaluate water availability and hydrologic status of catchment at local, regional and national scales.
Special Features: Streamflow, reservoir storage, water supply from outside of the catchment, groundwater pumping, intake from rivers and supplied to other catchments, wetland including hydrological process in rice paddy fields.
Background: DWAT is a software to analyze water cycle for a basin or water management unit with runoff, evapotranspiration, water use and water supply in the different aspect of space and time. DWAT uses a distributed conceptual scheme for water cycle analysis and can be used with or without observed data. As the system is linked to a GIS tool, physical input parameters can be extracted conveniently. The global analysis of a hydrologic network is essential in numerous decision-making situations such as the management or planning of water resources.
Software was developed in a “node-link type” that enables objective considerations of runoff characteristics resulting from different geomorphological factors by dividing ranges into sub-catchments judged to be hydrologically homogenous.
Channel Routing: Kinematic wave, Muskingum, Muskingum-Cunge
Reservoir Operation: Calculation of reservoir storage, water level and discharge using stage-storage-area relationship.
Shortwave Radiation: Specified time-series, Penman-Monteith (FAO56)
Longwave Radiation: Specified time-series, Penman-Monteith (FAO56)
Precipitation: Specified time-series, gage weights, inverse distance, frequency storm, hypothetical storm.
Evapotranspiration: Specified time-series, Hargreaves, Penman Monteith
Snowmelt: Temperature index
Infiltration: Rainfall excess, Green & Ampt, Holton methods.
Surface Runoff: Optional surface depression storage can be used with all methods.
Interflow: –
Percolation: –
Baseflow: Relationship between groundwater level and river stage by the Darcy’s Law.
Input Data: Precipitation and weather data such as min/max temperature. Some methods may require wind velocity, sunshine hours, and relative humidity.
Input Format: Text file
Input Time Interval: Options range from 1 minute to daily, with automatic linear interpolation to the simulation time interval.
Optimization or Calibration: Automatic optimization algorithms (PEST) for estimating parameters using observed flow data.
Data Assimilation: None at this time
Ensemble: Provided in current version (DWAT 2.0)
Uncertainty: None at this time
Simulation Time Interval: Options range from 1 minute to daily.
Model Output Time-Series: Minimums, maximums, volumes necessary for showing mass balance
Time-Series Format: Text file
Model Output Statistics: Minimums, maximums, volumes necessary for showing mass balance
Statistics Format: Text file
Inventory Platform: FEWS (DWAT can be integrated as an external module)
Additional Platform: –
Installation: Easy – Automatic installation package
User Education: BSc
Degree of Difficulty: 3
GIS Support: GIS watershed delineation tools included
Data Preparation: Manual entry or text file editor.
Land Surface Parameters: 30 to 49, depending on user choices
Parameter Estimation: Some parameters can be automatically estimated from physical GIS data
Model Calibration: Manual adjustment, automatic optimization(model-independent Parameter ESTimation), graphs of observed and simulated results, Water balance
Model Verification: Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency, RMSE (Root Mean Square Error), MAE (Mean Absolute Error), RE (Relative Error), VE (Volumetric Efficiency), R squred (codfficient of determination)
Hardware Requirements: Memory 512MB
CPU P-4, 1.5hz Processor
Operating System: MicroSoft Windows
Language of Core Code: Visual C++
Open Source: No
Last Update and Version: May 2023 (Version 2.0)
Next Update and Version: July 2026 (Version 2.1)
Active Development Community: Yes.
Download URL: https://public.wmo.int/en/water/dynamic-water-resources-assessment-tool
Free to Download and Use: Yes, no registration required
Language of Software Interface: English
Online Support URL: https://public.wmo.int/en/water/dynamic-water-resources-assessment-tool
Training Material URL (including example data sets): https://public.wmo.int/en/water/dynamic-water-resources-assessment-tool
Language of Trainings: English
Guidance Material URL (including case studies and benchmarking of performance/speed): https://public.wmo.int/en/water/dynamic-water-resources-assessment-tool
Language of Guidance: English
References:
Owner, Developer:
Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT)
https://www.kict.re.kr/
Mailing Address:
Department of Hydro Science and Engineering Research, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology
283, Goyang-daero, Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, 10223, Rep. of Korea
Phone: +82 31.9100.745
KICT Fax: +82 31.9100.757