Water sustains ecosystems, economies, health, and livelihoods, but its balance is easily disrupted, sometimes leading to disasters. Excess water from storms or snowmelt causes floods, scarcity leads to droughts, and pollution degrades water quality. Our reliance on water spans essential needs such as drinking, irrigation, and hydropower, all of which require optimal quantity and quality of supply.
The hydrologic cycle, an intricate system of water circulation, fuels life but remains complex and influenced by many factors. Understanding the complexities of the hydrologic cycle, climate change, and urban water infrastructure is crucial for predicting outcomes and managing problems that threaten water systems.
At Streams Tech, we leverage physical sciences, statistics, advanced technologies, and vast data to enhance our predictive and management capabilities. Our modeling techniques and custom tools help mitigate human-induced problems and optimize water management. We compute how to ensure the optimal quantity and quality of water anywhere on Earth. Our mission is to provide actionable insights for building resilient water infrastructure and safeguarding our precious water resources.
Join us in harnessing Environmental Intelligence to shape a sustainable future.
Project Type
Storm Water Management
Client
Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC)
Four Mile Run drains a twenty square-mile heavily urbanized watershed in Northern Virginia to Potomac River. Federal funding for a channel modification project, which was constructed in 1980 following several devastating floods, required the local jurisdictions to prevent any increases in flood risks due to developments in the watershed. Streams Tech evaluates the impacts of site development and other construction projects using a watershed model and recommends suitable control measures, if necessary.
Project Type
Water Quality Assessment
Client
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (Virginia DEQ)
Streams Tech developed the Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for fourteen impaired streams in the upper Mattaponi River watershed, which covers 550 square miles between Richmond and Fredericksburg, Virginia, in Orange, Spotsylvania, Caroline, and King and Queen Counties. These water bodies were included in the EPA’s 303(d) list for failing to meet the water quality standards for bacteria. Streams Tech did extensive data compilation, GIS data processing, and modeling to estimate bacteria loads from various sources and develop bacteria load reduction scenarios and TMDL allocations. The rainfall-runoff processes as well as the fate and transport of pollutants were modeled using the HSPF model, which was calibrated and validated using long-term observed data. The TMDLs were approved by the USEPA and the Virginia State Water Quality Control Board in 2016.
Project Type
Flood Management
Client
Government of Sierra Leone
Streams Tech conducted a detailed technical study, including data collection and modeling, to develop a stormwater management master plan for Freetown – the capital of Sierra Leone. Intense rainfall often causes major flooding and landslides in the city. Streams Tech team compiled extensive GIS data, processed remote-sensing-based data, surveyed hydraulic structures and drainage geometries, and collected climatological and streamflow data over a rainy season to support the modeling and drainage analysis. Various mitigation options, including on-site detention storage, restoration of natural watercourses, channelization, changes to land use planning, replacement of bridges and culverts, and relocation of settlements in the flood plains, were evaluated, and specific solutions were recommended to attenuate the risk of flooding.
Project Type
Water Quality Program
Client
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (Virginia DEQ)
Streams Tech developed the Guidance Manual for Developing Bacteria TMDLs in Virginia to assist Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ) staff and contractors to successfully meet scientific, regulatory, and policy requirements. It explained the sources and processing of data, model development steps, TMDL allocations, and reporting in detail. The manual also discussed the information that is essential for the review and approval by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Project Type
Hydropower
Client
Ministry of power energy and mineral resources, Bangladesh, and The World Bank Group
The Government of Bangladesh wanted to maximize its renewable energy supply to support its fast economic growth. Streams Tech carried out a hydropower feasibility study to identify the potential sites for both the reservoir and run-of-river type hydropower plants in the hilly southeastern region of the country. In this World Bank-sponsored project, a scientific and systematic approach was followed to estimate the power potential at nineteen sites despite the challenges presented by the lack of local data. Streams Tech utilized satellite-based rainfall and digital topographic data together with advanced GIS-based analysis and hydrologic modeling to identify the locations of significant hydraulic heads, estimate long-term stream flows, generate flow-duration and energy-duration curves, calculate the maximum power and energy potential, and map the reservoir inundation zones. The government made major investment decisions on hydropower based on the findings presented in the study report. In 2020, this project won the South Asian Esri GIS Award.
Project Type
Water Supply
Client
A government client
Streams Tech developed a water distribution model for a government client in Alabama, USA to estimate the water age in different parts of the distribution system. Longer residence time or water age is a major factor in water quality deterioration within the distribution system. The two main mechanisms for water quality deterioration are interactions between the pipe wall and the water, and various chemical and physical transformations taking place within the bulk water itself. Streams Tech identified and recommended remedies to water aging in the system.
