Previous studies have shown that significant environmental changes are the result of human activities such as urbanization occurring at the spatial scale of landscapes. The challenge faced by many planners today is how to understand such relationships in order to support integrated watershed planning and management. Although many mathematical models have been developed to simulate the chemical transport process in a river, few are actually used in watershed assessment and management. Recently, incorporating analytical models into GIS platforms has emerged as a promising research area attracting planners and other resource managers. In this paper we present a GIS-based river water quality model (GIS-ROUT) to predict chemistry changes in river water as a result of sewage discharge changes in a watershed. Integration of spatial data, GIS, and analytical models in GIS-ROUT makes it possible to examine the dynamic linkages between water quality and human activities in a watershed. Furthermore, the user-friendly interface of the model allows its users to concentrate on the planning issues, such as examining the “What if…” questions related to different development scenarios. The study not only contributes to the application of GIS and water quality models in planning, but it also provides a comprehensive view of the watershed that can help government agencies and other stakeholders to make informed decisions.
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