Evaluating NOAA and PRISM Precipitation Data in Streamflow Generation Using HAWQS Model

Hydrologic and water quality system (HAWQS) is a rainfall-runoff modeling system that utilizes the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model as it is core to generate flows. The HAWQS model is setup using the web interface. The models are calibrated using split-sample calibration/validation procedure. Monthly streamflow is generated for the river Penobscot at Eddington, Maine, USA, using two different weather datasets, namely, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes model (PRISM). All the produced stream flows were compared with gaged flows using statistical parameters, such as Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency, Percentage bias, ratio of the root mean square error to the standard deviation of measured data, and coefficient of determination (R 2) to obtain most accurate flow in this region. 394The monthly flows generated from the PRISM dataset come out to be more accurate when compared with the NOAA flows for this study area.