An improved approach for rainfall-runoff simulation under anthropogenic influence

Human activities significantly influence the rainfall-runoff process, leading to pronounced fluctuations in runoff data and presenting substantial challenges for accurate simulation. In this study, the Water Allocation and Simulation (WAS) model was adopted and enhanced to simulate rainfall-runoff under the impact of human activities. The virtual reservoirs were established within the WAS model to effectively represent water consumption associated with human activities, including agricultural irrigation and pond storage. The model was compared with the results of rainfall-runoff simulation under natural conditions. This study method was applied to simulate rainfall-runoff in the Yanglou hydrological station basin, Northern Anhui Province, China, in which the water cycle is strongly influenced by human activities. The results show that the simulation accuracy of the WAS model is superior to that of rainfall-runoff simulation under natural conditions. The WAS model significantly improved the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (NSE) from 0.704 to 0.898 and the correlation coefficient ( R 2 ) improved from 0.869 to 0.952 during the validation period. The WAS model can be practiced in areas with strong human activities. The findings of this study are instrumental in enhancing rainfall-runoff simulation in regions of strong human activities.