| It is now common knowledge that both climate and human activities have a significant impact on streamflow and other hydrologic processes. As development increases in many watersheds, it is becoming necessary for planners to develop water resources planning tools that account for human activities and their interactions with the hydrologic system. Most previous research has investigated the effects of change in climate or land use on streamflow. There are fewer studies that address the effects of water withdrawals and even fewer on the impacts of all three. The primary objective of this study is to understand the influence of the simultaneous effect of changes in climate, land use and water withdrawal on streamflow for the Aberjona River watershed and the Neponset River watershed, two urbanizing watersheds in the vicinity of Boston, Massachusetts. Another objective of this study is to emphasize the importance of including anthropogenic changes in streamflow modeling. Multivariate non-stationary monthly stochastic streamflow models developed for the two watersheds document this importance. Urban environments are heavily impacted by changes in climate, land use and water withdrawals and their effects must be considered in water resources planning and management. |
