Which streams contribute most to the network?

[808707]

Hello I was wondering if there is a way to calculate which streams contribute the most to a stream network?

[808707]

I'll try to explain that a bit better. Say some streams in the upstream network were dammed. How would you calculate which to dam to have the most impact in flow on the downstream network.

[ChristineDartiguenave]

This depends on how you are defining the contribution (flow) generated by each stream. Flows usually depend from multiple parameters: contributing area, precipitation, etc. If you have the equations and the underlying data to compute the flows (or some know flows) you could use the flows directly to assess the contribution. Otherwise you need to decide how to define the "contribution" you are going to use to rank the streams (e.g. contributing area).

Christine Dartiguenave
Esri Water Resources Team

[808707]

Thanks Christine. Unfortunately I don't have any flow data. Contributing area sounds good though. It's definitely a step in the right direction! I'm going to have a look into creating some watersheds. I'm guessing the stream that has the watershed with the biggest surface area would contribute the most to a network.