Work

AFAR-WQS: A Quick and Simple Toolbox for Water Quality Simulation

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Effective water quality management in large-scale river networks is critical for maintaining ecosystem health and ensuring sustainable water resources. Given the complexities of developing detailed water quality models at the macro-watershed scale, there is an increasing need for preliminary approaches that provide rapid, practical insights, especially in data-limited or resource-constrained contexts. This paper presents AFAR-WQS (Assimilation Factor Analysis of Rivers for Water Quality Simulation), a MATLAB-based tool designed to simulate 13 key water quality determinants using the steady-state assimilation factors framework. The tool integrates graph theory and a Depth-First Search (DFS) algorithm to model assimilation factors, concentrations, and loads for each water quality determinant, incorporating both diffuse and point-source pollution. AFAR-WQS enables large-scale simulations with minimal computational demands and low data requirements, providing researchers, managers, and policymakers with an accessible tool for optimizing intervention strategies and resource allocation in river basin management. The DFS algorithm employed by AFAR-WQS demonstrates efficient computational performance, resolving river networks with up to 100,000 segments within minutes, making it well-suited for macro-basin scale applications.

Source: Water

DOI: 10.3390/w17050672

Authors: Carlos Andrés Rogéliz-Prada, Jonathan Nogales

Institution: The Nature Conservancy

Language: English

Topic: Water Quality and Pollution Assessment

Subfield: Water Science and Technology

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Clean water and sanitation

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,137