Field studies were initiated in 1999 at Scotty Creek in the lower Liard River basin, NWT, Canada, to improve understanding and model-representation of the major water flux and storage processes within a wetland-dominated zone of the discontinuous permafrost region. This paper synthesises a decade of published and unpublished research at Scotty Creek for the purpose of presenting the major factors that should be incorporated into runoff modelling schemes in wetland-dominated environments with discontinuous permafrost. Four main topics are covered: (1) Relating land-cover type to the basin water cycle; (2) What controls the hydraulic response of runoff producing areas; (3) A conceptual framework for basin runoff model development; (4) Landscape change and implications for basin runoff. This synthesis offers water scientists and managers practical information needed to estimate the volume and timing of runoff from wetland-dominated basins with discontinuous permafrost. It also offers valuable insights into how landscape changes resulting from climate or human disturbances may influence the basin hydrograph.