SIMULATION OF TEMPORAL CHANGES IN RAINFALL‐RUNOFF CHARACTERISTICS, COON CREEK BASIN, WISCONSIN¹

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Streamflow for 67 years was simulated for Coon Creek at Coon Valley, Wisconsin, for three conditions in the drainage basin: (1) conditions in the 1930s; (2) conditions in the 1970s, excluding flood‐detention reservoirs; and (3) conditions in the 1970s, including flood‐detention reservoirs. These simulations showed that the changes in agricultural practices over 40 years (1940–80) reduced the 100‐year flood by 53 percent (from 38,900 to 18,300 cubic feet per second). The flood‐detention reservoirs reduced the 100‐year flood by an additional 17 percent (to 15,100 cubic feet per second). The simulation was accomplished by calibrating a precipitation‐runoff model to observed rainfall and runoff during two separate periods (1934–40 and 1978–81). Comparisons of model simulations showed that differences between the model calibrations for the two periods were statistically significant at the 95 percent confidence level.