Watershed managers addressing non-point source pollution are increasingly in need of data management and processing tools that perform basin-wide, spatially distributed, water quality analysis. Despite dynamic growth in remote sensing, mapping sciences, and the availability of spatially distributed data, the development of tools that integrate and synthesize these rich data sets has been lacking. Specifically, geographic information system (GIS) technologies have been designed to facilitate image processing, data overlay, spatial query, and map-linked database lookup, but rarely are these same GIS tools directly coupled with internationally recognized water resource models for management scenario simulation.
The Better Assessment Science Integrating point and Non-point Sources (BASINS) model represents a commendable response to this monitoring, modelling, and assessment GIS-platform need. BASINS couples multiple spatial and tabular database management tools, pre-and post-analysis tools, robust statistical and report-making tools, and terrestrial and aquatic runoff and pollution modelling tools within a single package.
Organizational benefits abound in the BASINS toolkit. Once a project's spatially distributed data sets are loaded, the system facilitates easy production of data trends reports, and a data visualization interface for several distinct watershed models, each providing a unique insight to the basin's water quality and runoff response. Although the BASINS tool has been available since 1996 (Version 1.0), a tremendous leap in functionality occurred during its recent punctuated evolution into Version 3.0. Unfortunately, some bugs have not been worked out of the system, and a visit to the BASINS FAQ page (http://www.epa.gov/ost/ftp/basins/system/BASINS3/ bsn3faqs.htm) reveals EPA's attention to solving user-identified problems.
Risk-averse hydrologists have the promise that BASINS will be inexpensive. In fact, the BASINS tool is free of cost, downloadable from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website (http://www.epa.gov/ost/BASINS). Accessing the full functionality of the BASINS GIS-tools, however, requires an investment in the Earth Science Research Institute (ESRI) Arc View platform and Spatial Analyst extension. Though this GIS software can present a substantial financial hurdle for tightly budgeted hydrologic laboratories,