Development of a hydro-environmental model for inland navigational canals

Before railroad and lorry traffic became common, many canals were built for transportation purposes. Water quality in canals has become a major concern as maintenance of these historically active canals has declined. A generic canal model has been developed to simulate the hydro-environmental processes specifically relevant to inland navigational canals, namely lockage, weir overflow, boat traffic, and algal growth. Apart from the movement of water, three types of particulate matter are tracked: algae (chlorophyll-a), inorganic non-cohesive sediment, and inorganic cohesive sediment. The newly developed model was applied to the Kennet and Avon Canal in southern England. The method of determining the input parameters for the model was documented herein, including setting up a Hydrological Simulation Program – Fortran model to obtain the landscape flow and sediment runoff to the canal. The model predictions were compared with the observed hydrological, sediment, and chlorophyll-a data at monitoring locations along the canal, and favourable agreements were achieved.