AGNPS

AGricultural Non-Point Source

Pollution Model

Submitted By:
NAVNEET KAUR
ANUSHRUTI AGRAWAL

DEPARTMENT OF REMOTE SENSING

(2016-2018)
INTRODUCTION
AGNPS is a tool for use in evaluating the effect of management decisions impacting water,
sediment and chemical loadings within a watershed system. It simulates the behaviour of
runoff, sediment, and nutrient transport from watersheds that have agriculture as their prime
use. The nutrients include nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P), both essential plant nutrients
and major contributors to surface water pollution. The model is relatively easy to use and is
flexible in its capability to address a wide range of problematic conditions within watersheds.
It contains a continuous simulation, surface runoff model designed to assist with determining
Best Management Practices, the setting of Total Maximum Daily Loads, and for risk and
cost/benefit analysis.

Development:
The AGNPS model was developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
at the Agriculture Research Service (ARS) in Morris, to compare the effects of pollution
control practices that could be incorporated into the management of watersheds. It is a joint
USDA-Agricultural Research Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service system of
computer models developed to predict non-point source pollutant loadings within agricultural
watersheds.

HISTORY:
The problem appeared in 1970s. The 1970 Clean Water Act (CWA) and its subsequent
Amendments clearly considered NPS pollution as one of the most serious water quality
problems.

In The Netherlands, Dr. Fedders, a professor in Wageningen Agricultural University,

researched water models SWATRO and SALTBL from 1972. So far, they developed
integrated model SWACROP.

After 1980s many countries pay attention to research Water models and they gradually
developed many advanced models, such as TANK model (Japan), STANFORD model,
Sacramento Model (America), CROPWAT (Italy, FAO).

In China, the model research started from 1970s. The most famous models are Full Store
Runoff model, Over Ratio Runoff model (River & Sea Univ.) and SPAC model (QingHua
Univ.)

Function:
 Hydrological calculation: Rainfall and Runoff
 Water contamination: sediment and chemical contamination
 Water pollution control: point and non-point pollution.

METHOD:
The model operates on a cell basis. Cells are uniformly square areas subdividing the
watershed and allowing analyses at any point within it. Potential pollutants are routed through
cells from the watershed divide to the outlet in a stepwise manner so that flow at any point
between cells may be examined. A separate routine also permits the use of variable cell sizes
to allow detailed characterization and analysis of critical areas. For watersheds exceeding
2,000 acres, cell sizes of 40 acres are generally recommended. Smaller cell sizes are
recommended for smaller watersheds. Accuracy of results can be increased by reducing the
cell size, but this increases the time and labour required to run the model.

Model components use equations and methodologies that are well established and extensively
used by agencies such as the USDA Soil Conservation Service (SCS). Runoff volume and
flows are calculated with the SCS curve number method. Upland erosion and sediment
transport is estimated using a modified form of the Universal Soil Loss Equation, USLE.
Sediment is routed from cell to cell through the watershed to the outlet using a sediment
transport and depositional relationship described by which is based on a steady-state
continuity equation. Chemical transport is calculated based on the relationships adapted from
the CREAMS model.

Watersheds modelled by AGNPS are divided into homogenous square working areas called
Cells. Subdivision of main cells into smaller sub-cells, gives flexibility to account for
heterogeneity in the watershed. Due to this discretization, all watershed characteristics are
expressed at the grid-cell level thus requiring the input of spatially distributed data that is
handled through the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS).

Data Input: Inputs to the model include information on precipitation, soils, land use,
upland and channel drainage, agricultural management, and point sources. Data needed for
the AGNPS model are classified into two categories:

 watershed -It includes information applying to the entire watershed such as size,
number of cells, storm intensity, etc

 Cell data-It includes information on values based on topography, soil type, landuse
and management practices within each cell.

Through the AGNPS interface, we can automatically extract the required information to
calculate the model input data. In the model, some variables are related to topography while
others are functions of soil type and landuse. The automatic extraction of map data, included
in the AGNPS Interface, requires a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) file and Map files with
soil type and landuse layers. All watershed characteristics and inputs are expressed at the cell
level.

It needs input 22 data for each cell.

1. Cell number (from): Function of DEM.

2. Receiving cell number (to): Function of DEM.

3. SCS curve number (CN): Function of Landuse layer. It is used for determining the
approximate amount of direct runoff from a rainfall event in a particular area.

4. Land slope: Function of DEM.

5. Land slope shape factor: Function of DEM.

6. Field slope length: Function of DEM.

7. Channel slope: It is the difference in elevation between 2 points on a stream divided by

the difference between them measured along the stream channel.

8. Channel side slope

9. Manning`s roughness coefficient

10. Soil erodibility factor: It is a measure of the susceptibility of soil particles to detachment
and transport by rainfall and runoff.

11. Cover and management factor

12. Support practice factor: Function of Landuse layer. P is the support practice factor. The
RUSLE P-factor reflects the impact of support practices on the average annual erosion rate.

13. Surface condition constant

14. Aspect (direction of drainage): indicating the principal draining direction from cell.

15. Soil texture: sand, slit, clay, and peat

16. Fertilization level: zero, low, medium, high

17. Fertilization availability factor

18. Point source indicator: Indicates the existence of a point source input within a cell

19. Gully source level: estimate the amount of gully erosion with in a cell.

20. Chem. Oxy. Demand. (COD) factor: COD determine the amount of organic pollutants
found in surface water (e.g. lakes and rivers) or wastewater

21. Impoundment factor: indicates the presence of a impoundment terrace system within a
cell

22. Channel indicators

Output:
It can obtain 24 Output value at the watershed outlet in Hydrology and Nutrient items:

Hydrology:

1. Runoff volume (inches)

2. Peak runoff rate (cfs)

3. Fraction of runoff within the cell

4. Sediment (by part. size and in total)

5. Sediment yield (tons)

6. Sediment concentration (ppm)

7. Sediment particle size distribution

8. Upland erosion (tons/acre)

9 .Chemical erosion (tons/acre)

10. Amount of deposition (%)

12 Enrichment ratio

13. Delivery ratio

Nutrient:

1. Nitrogen

2. Sediment associated mass (lbs/acre)

3. Concentration of soluble material

4. Mass of soluble material in runoff

5. Phosphorous

6. Sediment associated mass (lbs/acre)

7. Concentration of soluble material

8. Mass of soluble material in runoff

9. Chemical Oxygen Demand

10. Concentration (ppm)

11. Mass (lbs/acre)

INTERFACES:
The model has been coded as standalone software for both UNIX and DOS PC's operating
systems. The latest versions of AGNPS model is linked or integrated to GIS software such as

1. Arcview: ArcView Nonpoint Source Pollution Modelling (AVNPSM), an interface

between ArcView GIS and AGNPS is developed in support of agricultural watershed
analysis and nonpoint source pollution management. The interface is PC-based and
operates in a Windows environment. Basic input data to the interface include: soil,
digital elevation model, land use/cover, water features, climate, and information on
management practices. It is user friendly, flexible, and robust, and it significantly
improves the efficiency of the nonpoint source pollution modelling process.

2. Arc/Info: tight coupling of the Agricultural Non-point Source (AGNPS) water quality
model and ARC/INFO GIS software to provide an interactive hybrid modelling
environment for evaluation of non-point source pollution in a watershed. The modelling
environment is designed to generate AGNPS input parameters from user-specified GIS
coverages, create AGNPS input data files, control AGNPS model simulations, and
extract and organize AGNPS model output data for display.

3. ERDAS Imagine's Spatial Modeler: A Windows-based program, the AGNPS Data

Generator (ADGen), has been developed to simplify the task of preparing and creating
the input for AGNPS through an interface with ERDAS Imagine . By utilizing the
Imagine Developer’s Toolkit, geographers and programmers at the U. S. Geological
Survey created the AGNPS Data Generator (ADGen) program to compute all of the
parameters necessary for AGNPS to solve this problem of integrating geospatial datasets
and generating the AGNPS model parameters.

4. RAISON: The GIS interface of the model (RAISON) was used to extract input
parameters from digital elevation model, soils and land use layers. Interfaces were built
(Leon, 1999) to allow interaction with the model by intercepting input and output and to
connect them to the database in the system. Work was done to create communication
links between the AGNPS model and RAISON. The interface created in the present
research, drastically reduces the time required to prepare input data for the model based
on automatically extracting parameter values from digital information of the watershed.

5. GRASS: AGNPS-GRASS module, created by Srinivasan and Engel (1992), is an add

on module in GRASS which provides an integrated system of AGNPS model and GIS
software. GRASS is used to prepare input data in AGNPS's input format, perform
calculations base on AGNPS model version 5.00 and view the results of calculation.
Since 1992, AGNPSGRASS has been modified and corrected but some difficulties
remains with its operation

6. SPANS(SPatial ANalysis System)

LATEST SOFTWARE VERSION:
 Version 5.45 (December 2016)
 The software has been designed to run under Windows 2000, Windows NT,
Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10.
 The user then has the option of installing 32-bit or 64-bit versions of the executable
programs. Installing the 64-bit version requires that the computer the software is
installed onto has a 64-bit operating system. The advantage of utilizing the 64-bit
versions of AGNPS is that these components provide the capacity to handle more
memory demands by the programs, which also executes faster than the 32-bit
versions.
 Download is available at USDA portal
 LINK-https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/national/water/manage/
hydrology/?cid=stelprdb1043535