Network-based subbasin-scale mapping of streamflow alteration in Ontario, Canada

Abstract. Dams, reservoirs, and waterpower facilities are central to regional water management, but they can induce streamflow alterations that propagate downstream through connected river networks and complicate hydrologic modeling and aquatic ecosystem assessment. Existing streamflow indicators often quantify alteration only at discrete locations (e.g., hydrometric gauges), thus limiting spatially continuous, subbasin-scale mapping of where upstream infrastructure may influence downstream flows. We propose the Streamflow Alteration Index (SAI), a network-based screening metric that propagates point-based alteration signal sources downstream through a routing network to map potential alteration influence. The framework includes paired indices: SAI_I (0–100 %) and SAI_II (0–100 %), representing two levels of influence derived from confirmed (Level I) and potential (Level II) alteration signal sources. We implemented SAI to develop the SAI v1.0 database for Ontario, Canada, using the Ontario Lake and River Routing Product Version 2 (OLRRP v2) network and an inventory of 643 alteration signal sources compiled from provincial datasets. The resulting product provides seamless, high-resolution, network-based, subbasin-scale mapping of streamflow alteration across Ontario and enables SAI estimates at both gauged and ungauged nodes within the routing network. We validated SAI by classifying subbasins containing hydrometric gauges as natural, conditional, or altered and compared these classes against two independent references: Reference Hydrometric Basin Network (RHBN) gauges (with minimal human impact) and Water Survey of Canada (WSC) gauge “Natural” and “Regulated” labels. SAI shows strong agreement for gauges labelled natural: 86 % of RHBN natural gauges and 86 % of WSC-natural gauges are classified as natural by SAI. For WSC-regulated gauges, SAI classifies 74 % as conditional or natural. Overall, SAI v1.0 provides a practical, objective screening product for large-domain hydrologic and aquatic applications without requiring detailed dam operating information, and it offers a scalable pathway toward national- to global-scale, network-based screening products for streamflow alteration.