Modeling Temperature and Dissolved Oxygen in the Cheatham Reservoir with CE-QUAL-W2

Abstract

Water quality modeling is being used increasingly by decision-making agencies, such as the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), as a tool to predict the behavior of changing water systems. This study documents an effort to develop and calibrate a CE-QUAL-W2 version 3.6 model for the Cheatham Reservoir portion of the Cumberland River, near Nashville, TN. The model was calibrated to data from the year 2009. Model setup, calibration, and results are explained in detail to include a section on a mathematical technique for estimating daily water temperature from local daily air temperature. The study concludes with an example use of the calibrated model that analyzes the use of a fixed-cone valve, installed in the J. Percy Priest Reservoir to improve dissolved oxygen levels from reservoir releases.