HEC-RPT - Software for Facilitating Development of River Management Alternatives

The Regime Prescription Tool (RPT) is a software program designed to help groups of scientists, engineers, and water managers access hydrologic data and draft flow recommendations while formulating different ways to manage rivers. It is a communications tool and contributes in the early stages of planning by formalizing ideas and expert knowledge into a structure easily visualized and considered in more detailed analytical tools. Applying RPT helps organize and focus group conversations that seek to create consensus-based alternatives for water management. This paper introduces the software and its role in water resources planning. An RPT application used in the definition of environmental flows for the McKenzie River, Oregon, USA, is presented.