HAWQS System and Data to model the lower 48 conterminous U.S using the SWAT model

The Hydrologic and Water Quality System (HAWQS) is a web-based modeling platform that utilizes the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) for regional to nationwide assessments of different scenarios for water quality and hydrology. HAWQS allows users to easily create watershed models aggregated across multiple spatial and temporal scales. HAWQS users can select from three watershed scales or hydrologic unit codes (HUCS) – 8-digit ~700mi2; 10-digit ~227 mi2; and 12-digit ~40mi2 – and from daily, monthly, or annual estimates of water quality – to run simulations.
HAWQS provides users with interactive web interfaces and maps. Pre-processed model input data are derived from existing nationwide datasets including the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD), NCDC, PRISM, NEXRAD, Crop Data Layer (CDL), National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD), STATSGO soils data, National Inventory of Dams (NID), and the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). A full list of HAWQS input data can be found at https://hawqs.tamu.edu/content/docs/HAWQS-Input-Database-Citation.pdf. These datasets in some cases have been improved or edited to provide standardized input data into the users’ model. Users can input custom values for their model parameters, to create scenarios about land-use change, altered climate, and various crop management strategies. HAWQS also allows users to analyze their model outputs through default tables and charts, in addition to raw output data. HAWQS provides a user guide and use cases, as well as the online execution and storage of a user's modeling projects.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Office of Water supports and provides project management and funding for HAWQS. The Texas A&M University Spatial Sciences Laboratory and the USEPA subject matter experts provide ongoing technical support including system design, modeling, and software development. Initial project support and guidance was provided by the United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS). Further details on the HAWQS can be found at https://hawqs.tamu.edu/.