Evaluating GIS based water budget components applicability and availability for the Lagan River catchment
Using open-access data sets on water and soil from Swedish authorities and compiling them in a QGIS-programme made it possible to present and visualise the water budget of the Lagan River Catchment. Based on the estimations of the water volume in groundwater reservoirs and lakes the total maximum available volume in the Lagan River Catchment area was determined to be 9.36 km3. Of this 75.9% (7.10 km3) is found within groundwater reservoirs and 24.1% (2.26 km3) is present in lakes. This study indicates that GIS-based parameters are useful for specifying what a water budget in a catchment area looks like. The use of GIS-based parameters also allows for the development of interactive maps which can be used to visualize different conditions in the catchment area. In addition, many people who work with water management have a good habit of using GIS tools. Utilizing open data sources means that the number of additional measurements can be kept low. Furthermore, the use of open sources contributes to increased transparency in the development process.