Environmental Intelligence

Apply advanced simulation and digital data
to deliver sustainable solutions

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 Examples

Four Mile Run Watershed Management Program

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.

Key features

Developed a stormwater model using extensive GIS data to compute the baseline peak discharges and evaluate the impact of development on the peak discharges

Performed hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) modeling and analyses to support stream restoration, bridge design, FEMA’s Flood Insurance Study (FIS)

Modeled BMPs/LIDs in the Crossman Run subwatershed to assess their effectiveness

Used the stormwater model to assess climate change conditions and help build local climate resiliency plans

Bacteria TMDL Development for Mattaponi River Watershed

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.

Key features

Distributed watershed-based hydrologic and water quality modeling for assessing bacteria loads

Recommendations on the most suitable load-reduction scenarios to ensure compliance with the Water Quality Standards

Quantitative assessment of bacteria loads from point and non-point sources

Extensive application of GIS to capture and process hydro-meteorological, land use, physical, hydrologic and water quality data

Storm Water Drainage Master Plan and Drainage Design for the Municipality of Freetown, Sierra Leone

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.

Key features

Approximately 500 sites of significant blockages and conveyance problems were identified through detailed field survey

Areas vulnerable to flooding were mapped and various mitigation options, including structural and non-structural measures, were determined

Multiple automatic flow gauges and weather stations were installed to collect data and help calibrate and validate the stormwater model

Supported local capacity development by engaging local technical staff throughout the process

High resolution satellite-based topographic data were processed in GIS to define drainage network and catchment boundaries

Guidance Manual for Developing Bacteria TMDLs in Virginia, USA

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.

Key features

Listed potential data sources for TMDL development, including hydrologic and water quality analyses

Explained the setup, calibration and validation of HSPF – a continuous model applied in watershed modeling and bacteria TMDL development in Virginia

Described the steps involved in processing of data

Elaborated the steps involved in the development of TMDL allocations

Study on Prospective Hydroelectricity Generation in Southeast Bangladesh

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.

Key features

Identified the most suitable locations for the maximum hydropower generation

Determined the human resettlement needs and potential environmentally affected areas

Performed a compressive analysis applying scientifically defensible methods in extreme data limited conditions

Estimated the total annual and peak power productions and the reliability of the forecasts

Development of a Water Distribution System Model, Alabama, USA

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.

Key features

Identified the high-risk zones in the distribution network

Developed a hydraulic model and ran simulations to determine the best options to minimize water aging

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