WETBUD

Wetland Water Budget Modeling Software

One of our most significant collaborative research and outreach accomplishments has been the development of the “Wetbud” software program for wetland water budget modeling in cooperation with Zach Agioutantis at the University of Kentucky (our software programmer), along with Tess Wynn Thompson and W. Lee Daniels at Virginia Tech, Rich Whittecar at Old Dominion University, Stephen Stone at Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc (WSSI), and Mike Rolband (retired from WSSI).

Wetbud is primarily intended as a planning tool for use in the design of wetland creation sites, but can also be applied to native wetland systems where/when the required input parameters can be correctly specified. We strongly believe that Wetbud is one of the most flexible and useful tools available for wetland mitigation consultants and regulators today.

Wetbud software features:

  • Simple Windowstm  interface-driven model for evaluating created wetland design alternatives.
  • Pre-loaded NOAA weather data for many states. Can also download nearest station to site.
  • Selects D-N-W Years for model runs.
  • Predicts associated groundwater fluctuations for local wells with > 6 months of historic data.
  • Default “Wizard” version runs in < 10 minutes.
  • Fully configurable Basic (2D) and Advanced (3D) Model versions. Multiple ET estimators.
  • Generates graphical annual hydroperiod and tabular data output for all input/output parameters. 

The Wetbud package contains 138 pre-installed weather data sets for the mid-Atlantic and southeast USA that we believe are a “best nearby match” to a designated site along with the ability to download NOAA data sets for any other locations in the USA. Wetbud’s “Basic Model” will then generate a monthly water budget (and predicted hydroperiod) for dry, normal and wet years for a location specific given site design. Wetbud was recently featured in the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center – Wetlands Regulatory Assistance Program Technical Note (ERDC/TN WRAP-20-1; published September 2020).

  • The latest Wetbud download (Version 3.0) is now available and is freeware for our regulatory cooperators. After you fill out and submit this form, the download link will be provided.
  • Need help? A Wetbud Technical Support forum is available on Google Groups.
  • The most recent User’s Manual is available here and will also be supplied with your download. The information in the User’s Manual is also provided to Wetbud users as context sensitive help.
  • Wetbud video tutorials will quickly get you up to speed.
  • Wetbud 3.0 provides a library of “target hydroperiods” for a range of non-tidal wetland settings in the mid-Atlantic region. These data are from well-documented natural and relatively undisturbed systems that will hopefully provide appropriate guidance for wetland design professionals.