Mathematical models are a valuable tool to study different water-related problems. 1Dimensional and 2Dimensional mathematical models are widely used in river engineering studies. 1D and 2D mathematical models are set up for Buna River using SOBEK software developed from Deltares Institute, the Netherlands. Buna River is part of the water system of Shkodra Lake, Drini and Buna River. This water system is the largest in Albania, and receives significant amounts of annual precipitation ranging from 1600 mm to 4000 mm. This water system discharges all its waters into the Adriatic Sea through Buna River bed, which has a total length of around 44 km. Around 1.5 km from flowing out of Shkodra Lake, Buna River joins Drini River, and then meanders in a low land area before discharging into the sea.
Validation is a very important step in the process of building a mathematical model for a water system. Validation of 1D and 2D mathematical models for Buna River is done by using the hourly water level data from on-line stations for an event. The results of both models are evaluated based on graphical comparison and statistical tests such as: Root Mean Square Error, Mean Absolute Error, and Correlation Coefficient. The 1D mathematical model shows a better performance for the flow inside the river banks (bankfull discharge) due to a more accurate representation of the river bathymetry.