Improved models for surface water-groundwater interactions at the watershed and subcatchment scales: Châteauguay River basin, southwestern Québec

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Surface and subsurface water resources contribute, directly and indirectly, to the socio-economic well-being of watershed communities. The availability and quality of water can be compromised, sometimes irreversibly, by natural and anthropogenic factors. A proper understanding of the continuous interactions between atmospheric, surface, and subsurface components of the hydrological cycle is thus crucial to ensuring sustainable use of water resources. Despite the strong interactions between surface and subsurface waters, the management of these resources has traditionally focused on surface water, soil water, and groundwater as separate entities. The main goal of this project is to improve and extend two existing physically-based hydrological models, valid at the subcatchment and river basin scales, so that they can treat surface - subsurface interactions (watershed - aquifer coupling) and exploit emerging methodologies for model calibration and data assimilation. Particular emphasis will be placed on characterization and prediction of groundwater recharge and low flows. The study areas are the Châteauguay River basin located south of Montréal and the Rivière Noire subcatchment within this basin. The project will benefit from and complement several ongoing initiatives that are focused on monitoring and characterizing the hydrometeorology and hydrogeology of this river basin. The innovative calibration and data assimilation framework that will be added to the models will enable best or optimal use of the extensive observation data available. The industry partner in this project, Hydro-Québec, is actively involved in real-time hydrological forecasting for several basins in southern Québec. The more reliable forecasting that will result from this project will benefit not just Hydro-Québec but all stakeholders of the Châteauguay River basin. It will provide a basis for the sustainable use of water resources amidst conflicting demands and changing flow patterns as a consequence of demographic, land use, and climate changes. The models deriving from this project will also be applicable to other catchments in southern Québec, whereas the general approach developed will be applicable to most hydrological basins.