Author Description

This dissertation analyzes the urban water resources in northwestern Delaware from hydrology and water use perspectives. Three journal articles examine stream response to historical climate extremes at urban environments, develop hourly streamflow simulation at the local scale, and analyze water use determinant factors. The first article studies the impacts of historical extreme climates on watersheds of White Clay Creek and upper Christina River with today's land cover. Both watersheds are vulnerable to hazards of drought and flooding. Meteorology inputs of extreme wet (1996) and dry years (1964-65) were selected to simulate daily streamflow of historical climates on the present land surface using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). SWAT is a physically-based hydrologic model rooted in a water balance approach that has been used effectively to examine problems in non-urban and urban environments. The historical wet year simulation revealed the baseflow decrease in the upper Christina River in comparison to 1996 gage records. The dry year simulation indicate urban development over the last 55 years leads to lower baseflow and greater streamflow variability in both watersheds.