Visualizing Ecosystems for Land Management Assessment (VELMA) Model

Visualizing Ecosystems for Land Management Assessment (VELMA) Model

Organization

Environmental Protection Agency of the United States of America - EPA

Type(s) of Tool

Modelling ToolsSimulate economic, social, and physical systems to help planners optimize outcomes from different decisions.

Sector(s)

Natural Infrastructure

Lifecycle Phase(s)

Operation and MaintenanceInfrastructure assets are managed and maintained during their use time.

Open Source

Yes

Language Availability

English

Country of Origin

USA

Description

VELMA is a computer software model that helps improve the water quality of streams, rivers and estuaries by making better use of both natural and engineered green infrastructure that help reduce water pollution. The tool assesses different green infrastructure options for controlling the fate and transport of water, nutrients and toxics across multiple spatial and temporal scales, taking into account present and future climate scenarios. VELMA furthermore addresses longevity and maintenance issues for the identified solutions, depending on contaminant loads, soil properties and climatic changes.

Tool Outcome

The application of VELMA helps users to assess different green infrastructure solutions to improve water quality of streams, rivers and estuaries and identify possible tradeoffs through (comparative) modelling exercises and thereby facilitates decision making.

Themes

Biodiversity