Application of an enhanced spill management information system to inland waterways

Spill response managers on inland waterways have indicated the need for an improved decision-support system, one that provides advanced modeling technology within a visual framework. Efforts to address these considerations led the authors to develop an enhanced version of the Spill Management Information System (SMIS 2.0). SMIS 2.0 represents a state-of-the-art 3D hydrodynamic and chemical spill modeling system tool that provides for improved predictive spill fate and transport capability, combined with a geographic information systems (GIS) spatial environment in which to communicate propagation risks and locate response resources. This paper focuses on the application of SMIS 2.0 in a case study of several spill scenarios involving the release of diesel fuel and trichloroethylene (TCE) that were simulated on the Kentucky Lake portion of the Tennessee River, each analyzed at low, average, and high flow conditions. A discussion of the decision-support implications of the model results is also included, as are suggestions for future enhancements to this evolving platform.