SWMM 5 or 5.0 Blog

How to Make a Smaller Model out of a Large Model in InfoSWMM

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:50:00 +0000

Subject: How to Make a Smaller Model out of a Large Model in InfoSWMM

InfoSWMM and H2OMAP SWMM will export only those ACTIVE elements to SWMM 5 as defined by the Facility Manager.

You can use the feature to make smaller SWMM 5 models and then reimport the exported smaller SWMM 5 model back into a H2OMAP SWMM or InfoSWMM scenario.

Maximum Surcharge Height Over Crown Explanation

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:59:00 +0000

Note:   Maximum Surcharge Height Over Crown Explanation

Here is an example of how the Maximum Surcharge Height over the Node Crown is calculated.    Consider a manhole with an invert of 10 feet, one incoming pipe (Pipe A), one outgoing pipe (Pipe B), both pipes with a diameter of 2 feet, but the invert of Pipe A is 10 feet and the invert of Pipe B is 11 feet. What is the Maximum Surcharge height if the HGL at the node is 17 feet?

                                                                                HGL at Node ---- 17 feet
                                                                                Maximum Surcharge Height Over Crown is 4 feet


                                                                                Node Crown --- 13 feet         Pipe B Crown --- 13 feet

           Pipe A Crown --- 12 feet

  Pipe B Invert --- 11 feet
            Pipe A Invert --- 1o feet                           MH Invert --- 10 feet
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Importance of Viewing Results at the Proper Time Scale

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:34:00 +0000

Subject: The Importance of Viewing Results at the Proper Time Scale

In SWMM 5 when you are simulating rapidly changing flow – such as pump flows – it is important to remember that you are only seeing the results of the simulation at your selected report time step. Here is an example model with the same number of pump starts for all three simulations (318), the same average time step during the simulation (10 seconds) but different report time steps. The conception of the pump starts is totally different visually depending on the selected report time steps. You should always compare the starts using the pump graphs and the pump summary table. The percent utilized and the number of pump start ups tells you the mean pump start length or in this case 153 seconds or 45.1 percent of 30 hours divided by 318 pump starts.

An Example of the Importance of the Term DQ4 in the SWMM 5 St Venant Solution

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:06:00 +0000

Subject: An Example of the Importance of the Term DQ4 in the SWMM 5 St Venant Solution

The four terms are are used in the new flow for a time step of Qnew:

Qnew = (Qold – dq2 + dq3 + dq4) / ( 1 + dq1)

when the force main or gravity main is full dq3 and dq4 are zero and Qnew = (Qold – dq2) / ( 1 + dq1)

The dq4 term in dynamic.c uses the area upstream (a1) and area downstream (a2), the midpoint velocity, the sigma factor (a function of the link Froude number), the link length and the time step or

dq4 = Time Step * Velocity * Velocity * (a2 – a1) / Link Length * Sigma

where Sigma is a function of the Froude Number and the Keep, Dampen and Ignore Inertial Term Options. Keep sets Sigma to 1 always and Dampen set Sigma based on the Froude number, Ignore sets Sigma to 0 all of the time during the simulation.

The value of dq4 increases when there is a significant difference in the cross sectional area of the downstream end of the link and the upstream end of the link. In this example, the downstream storage node causes a backflow in the link (Figure 1). The flow may look unstable in the link flow time series but the change in flow is simply due to the water sloshing back and forth. There is no continuity error as the term dq4 keeps the water in the link in balance (Figure 2).

Figure 1. GIF of Water Surface Showing the effect of the term dq4

Figure 2. Time Series of Flow - the Link has Mass Balance due to the term dq4

See the full gallery on Posterous

ArcToolBox GIF

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:14:00 +0000

Use the SWMM 5 Scatter Graph to show the Pump Curve used during the Simulation

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:40:00 +0000

Subject: Use the SWMM 5 Scatter Graph to show the Pump Curve used during the Simulation

You can use a scatter graph to show the relationship between the pump during the simulation and the Storage Depth. If the pump is on the curve based on the pump summary table then the scatter graph should look like the pump curve. The pump summary table in the SWMM 5 RPT also shows you the time off the pump curve low and high.

See the full gallery on Posterous

pump_scatter.INP Download this file

From SciAM - Why Plants are important to River Formation

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:13:00 +0000

Thanks to Plants, We Will Never Find a Planet Like Earth

Earth's flora is responsible for the glaciers and rivers that have created this planet's distinctive landscape

Perhaps even more surprisingly, vascular plants formed the kinds of rivers we see around us today, according to another article by Martin Gibling of Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia and Neil Davies of the University of Ghent in Belgium, who analyzed sediment deposition going back hundreds of millions of years. Before the era of plants, water ran over Earth's landmasses in broad sheets, with no defined courses. Only when enough vegetation grew to break down rock into minerals and mud, and then hold that mud in place, did river banks form and begin to channel the water. The channeling led to periodic flooding that deposited sediment over broad areas, building up rich soil. The soil allowed trees to take root. Their woody debris fell into the rivers, creating logjams that rapidly created new channels and caused even more flooding, setting up a feedback loop that eventually supported forests and fertile plains.

"Sedimentary rocks, before plants, contained almost no mud," explains Gibling, a professor of Earth science at Dalhousie. "But after plants developed, the mud content increased dramatically. Muddy landscapes expanded greatly. A new kind of eco-space was created that wasn't there before."

How to Import the SWMM 5 Report File as a Layer in infoSWMM

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 01:27:00 +0000

Subject: How to Import the SWMM 5 Report File as a Layer in InfoSWMM

The idea of this blog of note is to show how one may extract information from the SWMM 5 or InfoSWMM RPT file and import the Excel File as a feature in InfoSWMM. This blog has an example Excel file to illustrate the linkage. The steps are:

Step 1: Copy the whole row from Conduit Summary from the InfoSWMM Browser
Step 2: Add the two columns length and slope from the Link Summary Table and the InfoSWMM Browser
Step 3: You need a few calculations based on the table values from SWMM 5 to estimate the CFL time steps in the .
Step 4: Add the Excel Spreadsheet as a layer in InfoSWMM – the Named Range should be added to insure valid numbers and not Nulls after the join
Step 5: You can now plot the CFL Time Step for the Links using the Layer Properties command in Arc Map

Step 1: Copy the whole row from Conduit Summary

Step 2: Add the two columns length and slope from the Link Summary Table

Step 3: You need a few calculations based on the table values from SWMM 5 to estimate the CFL time steps.

The CFL Step = Length / (Full Velocity + (Gravity * Full Depth)^0.5)
Full Velocity = Full Flow / Full Area

You also need to create a Name A Range for you data so that the data does not show up as Nulls

Step 4: Add the Excel Spreadsheet as a layer in InfoSWMM – the Named Range should be added

Step 4: Join the Excel Table to the InfoSWMM Conduit Feature Layer

Step 5: You can now plot the CFL Time Step for the Links using the Layer Properties command in Arc Map

swmm5_summary_table.xlsx Download this file

How to Import the SWMM 5 Report File as a Layer in infoSWMM.docx Download this file

How to Approximate a Timer in the RTC Rules of SWMM 5

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:19:00 +0000

Subject: How to Approximate a Timer in the RTC Rules of SWMM 5

SWMM 5 does not have a explicit timer in its Real Time Control (RTC) rules but you can approximate it by using a Control Curve as in the attached example model. The Control Curve will modify the setting of the Weir by the Inflow to the Storage node. You can have normal weir flow settings based on the invert elevation of the weir and the Surface node water surface elevation but in addition you can control the weir setting by:

1.   Closing the weir when the inflow is low,
2.   Closing the weir by staggered Storage node depth,
3.   Opening the weir gradually when the inflow increases
4.   Closing the weir by a combination of Node Depth IF statements and Control Curve rules

For example, you can have the Weir Setting controlled the Node Depth, Link Inflow and Node Inflow simultaneously approximately with the depth and the inflow parameters closing the weir by proxy instead of by time since the closing.

gate_timer.INP Download this file

How to Approximate a Timer in the RTC Rules of SWMM 5.docx Download this file

North Carolina City Chooses InfoSewer

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:15:00 +0000

North Carolina City Chooses InfoSewer

ArcGIS Based Sewer Modeling Package Helps Hendersonville, NC Model and Manage Its Collection System

Broomfield, Colorado, USA, January 31, 2012

Innovyze, a leading global innovator of business analytics software and technologies for wet infrastructure, today announced the City of Hendersonville, North Carolina, has selected InfoSewer for ArcGIS (Esri, Redlands, CA) as its sewer modeling platform. InfoSewer has helped define the standard in the industry for GIS-centric sewer network analysis, planning and design since 2003.
The City of Hendersonville’s Water and Sewer Department is responsible for providing water service to more than 62,000 residents and businesses of Hendersonville and Henderson County and sewer service to more than 19,000 residents and businesses. The Department is also responsible for the operation and maintenance of over 580 miles of water mains, 57 water pumping stations, 24 water storage tanks (ranging in size from 100,000 gallons to 5 million gallons), over 185 miles of sewer mains and 37 sewer pumping stations. “InfoSewer gives us the blend of powerful, easy-to-use analysis capabilities we need to effectively plan and manage our sewer system,” said Brent Detwiler, City Engineer. “We have a significant investment in Esri ArcGIS technology, and InfoSewer lets us leverage our GIS data for fast and accurate modeling.”
Certified by the National Association of GIS-centric Software, InfoSewer is a powerful ArcGIS-based computer program for planning, designing, analyzing, and expanding sanitary, storm and combined sewer collection systems. It can be effectively used to model both dry-weather and wet-weather flows and determine the most cost-effective and reliable method of wastewater collection. Built atop ArcGIS, InfoSewer enables engineers and GIS professionals to work simultaneously on the same integrated platform, commanding powerful GIS analysis and hydraulic modeling in a single environment using a single dataset.
InfoSewer is used worldwide by municipal engineers and planners to create detailed, accurate models of their sewer infrastructure systems. These models enable them to evaluate the effect of new developments, zoning changes, and other additional loads on system flows; pinpoint current and future problem areas; predict overflows and backups; and determine how best to restore needed capacity lost to infiltration and inflow with the least rehabilitation.
Users also rely on these models to compute hydrogen sulfide generation and corrosion potential; analyze the rate of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) exertion; track sediment movement and deposition; trace pollutant contribution from source nodes; perform time of concentration calculations; calculate the amount of pollutant transported to the wastewater treatment plant; and assess pollutants’ impacts on receiving waters. Extensive scenario management functionality enables users to analyze existing or future sewage collection systems. The application also provides vital tools for meeting and exceeding environmental regulations and improving community relations via database queries and map displays.
InfoSewer also delivers advanced design functionality and exponential increases in efficiency while simplifying use. Users can quickly and reliably design new sewer collection systems that consider standard design criteria such as flow depth-to-pipe diameter ratios, velocity, slope, soil cover depth, and pipe crown drop. Using user-input manhole locations and rules, InfoSewer calculates the optimal pipe and slope, invert elevation of conduits and manholes, soil cover depths at both ends of each pipe section, and cost of excavation and reinstatement to meet target design criteria. Results can be reviewed using profile plots with advanced labeling of 30 node and link variables, color-coded sewer maps of these variables, or 20 comprehensive tabular reports. The profile plots can be automatically updated in the model database for steady state and extended period simulations of new and existing designs, greatly simplifying the model-building process.
Together, these capabilities help wastewater utilities worldwide dramatically raise productivity and efficiency by rapidly developing practical and optimal capital improvement strategies that minimize costs while improving system reliability, integrity and performance. By making engineering professionals more productive and their organizations more competitive, InfoSewer delivers benefits utilities can pass on to their customers through better designs and higher quality standards, achieved in a shorter turnaround time.
“InfoSewer continues to evolve to meet the growing needs of top utilities around the globe,” said Innovyze Americas Operations Director J. Erick Heath, P.E. “We are thrilled that progressive leading utilities like Hendersonville are using InfoSewer to design and manage the most efficient sewer collection systems possible.”

Philadelphia and Green Infrastructure

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:29:00 +0000

Changing the rules in the middle of the game: Philadelphia's green infrastructure

Category: Water
Posted on: January 18, 2012 4:14 PM, by Liz Borkowski
Philadelphia and Green Infrastructure

Aging US water infrastructure has meant more leaks, flooded basements, and massive sinkholes in cities across the US. Fixing the water and sewer systems in need of repair will take billions of dollars, and it's hard to find that kind of money in the budget these days.

Saqib Rahim reports for ClimateWire on Philadelphia's decision to use "green infrastructure" rather than building a larger pipe system to handle the water that's dumped on the city during severe storms. The combination of more intense storms and more paved area is a problem: Impervious surfaces like roads, sidewalks, and parking lots can't absorb rainfall, so it ends up in the city's stormwater collection system -- which, in many older cities, is combined with the sewage system. When these combined systems are overwhelmed by heavy rainfall, the result is often that a rainfall-and-sewage mixture gets discharged into a local waterway. (Read more about this problem here.) Rahim explains Philadelphia's solution to this problem:

Instead of building an even larger pipe system to address the issue, [Water Department Commissioner Howard] Neukrug pitched the most aggressive "green infrastructure" plan in the country. Through increased vegetation, rain barrels, sponge-like roads and other measures, the city would try to absorb more water where it fell. The ground would filter out pollutants, reduce strain on the pipelines and make the city a more attractive place.

Neukrug tells Rahim that the green infrastructure solution will cost Philadelphia $2 billion, compared to $8 billion to $10 billion for larger underground tunnels. But the part of the city's plan that's currently causing a controversy is what water customers will pay. They'll now be charged not just for the water they use, but for their contributions to stormwater problems -- that is, sites with a lot of impervious surfaces will pay more.

The average household will see an average bill rise from approximately $60 to around $63.50, Rahim reports. For some large businesses, though, costs could rise significantly over the next few years -- and 100 of these businesses have hired a lobbyist and met with the Water Department to oppose implementation of the new billing practices.

I can understand why these businesses are upset. When they invest and plan for their businesses' futures, they assume the rules will stay the same. Their extensive impervious surfaces are causing problems for public health, but they might not have realized that their decisions about what to pave were raising costs for the city's residents (and everyone else affected when its sewage ended up in local waterways).

Changing the rules isn't ideal, but it's the best solution if the current rules create incentives for behavior that harms public health. If this country had never changed the rules to make businesses start bearing more of the cost for problems they cause the general public (externalities, in economic language), we'd still have rivers so polluted that they catch fire. Governments can ease the pain by providing grants or low-interest loans to help businesses and individuals invest in greener setups -- and, Rahim reports, Philadelphia is offering loans to businesses that want to green their facilities. Increases in bills will also be capped at 10% or $100 per month.

Such an approach could also be used to address other public health issues like CO2 emissions -- but so far, opposition to a carbon tax has been stronger than support. In the meantime, I'll be watching Philadelphia's effort and hoping it succeeds with a green solution to water infrastructure challenges.

Source: http://scienceblogs.com/thepumphandle/2012/01/changing_the_rules_in_the_midd.php#more

Example SWMM 5 Model for Activated Sludge

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:20:00 +0000

Note: Example SWMM 5 Model for Activated Sludge

Here is one example of how to model an activated sludge tank. The image is Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activated_sludge) and is the watermark background in the SWMM 5 GUI. There is 100 lps inflow, 20 percent recycle and 10 percent sludge drawoff. You can adjust the amount of recycle and sludge altering the pump type 2 flows or if you want to increase the inflows – add more flow in the RawWater inflow node.

activated_sludge.inp Download this file

Three Flow Divider Link Example in SWMM 5

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:59:00 +0000

Subject: Three Flow Divider Link Example in SWMM 5

You can have more than 2 downstream OUTLET Type links in the SWMM 5 dynamic wave solution. Each link, Under5, Over5 and ReturnFlow is an OUTLET Link with a rating curve depth/flow table. Depending on the depth in the storage node DIVIDER, the flow is computed from the table for links Under5, Over5 and ReturnFlow.

ReverseFlow.inp Download this file

Output Statstics Manager to find negative flows in InfoSWMM

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:02:00 +0000

Subject: Output Statstics Manager to find negative flows in InfoSWMM

Output Statstics Manager to find negative flows with these parameters:

1.       Pipe Features
2.       Use a Domain with your force mains
3.       Select Flow
4.       Event Dependent
5.       Total – NOT Mean or Peak to find the negative and positive flows
6.       Large NEGATIVE Flow Threshold
7.       Large NEGATIVE Volume Threshold
8.       Zero for Interevent Time to pick up all values
9.       You will get a table that shows you the minimun flows, and a histogram of the flows

Flow Dividers in SWMM 5 Dynamic Routing

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:01:00 +0000

Note: Flow Dividers in SWMM 5 Dynamic Routing

You can have flow dividers in SWMM 5 dynamic routing by using Storage Nodes for the dividers, OUTLET links for the downstream links and minimizing downstream HGL effects. The needed components are:

1.   A Storage Node for the divider node as a OUTLET Link does not have a Surface Area,
2.   Two or More OUTLET Links as the downstream diversion and cutoff links,
3.   Two or More Rating Curves to divide the flow up based on either depth or head,
4.   Pumps, Outfalls or Steep Sloped Links Downstream of the diversion and cutoff links to minimize downstream HGL effects

dividers_in_dynamic_wave.inp Download this file

Keep and Dampen options and their effect on the four main terms of the St Venant equation

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:09:00 +0000

Note: The Keep and Dampen options and their effect on the four main terms of the St Venant equation.

The four terms are are used in the new flow for a time step of Qnew:

Qnew = (Qold – dq2 + dq3 + dq4) / ( 1 + dq1)

when the force main or gravity main is full dq3 and dq4 are zero and Qnew = (Qold – dq2) / ( 1 + dq1)

dq4 = Time Step * Velocity * Velocity * (a2 – a1) / Link Length * Sigma

the dq3 term in dynamic.c uses the current midpoint area (a function of the midpoint depth), the sigma factor and the midpoint velocity.

dq3 = 2 * Velocity * ( Amid(current iteration) – Amid (last time step) * Sigma

dq1 = Time Step * RoughFactor / Rwtd^1.333 * |Velocity|

The weighted area (Awtd) is used in the dq2 term of the St. Venant equation:

dq2 = Time Step * Awtd * (Head Downstream – Head Upstream) / Link Length or

dq2 = Time Step * Awtd * (Head Downstream – Head Upstream) / Link Length

Normally, dq1 (Friction Loss / Maroon in the Graph) balances dq2 (Water Surface Slope Term or Green in the Graph) but often for links with a large difference between upstream and downstream depths dq4 (Red in the Graph) can have a significant value. If dq4 or dq3 are important then the depth of water to increases to pass the same flow using the Keep option over the Ignore. If you have a link with a Froude number near or over 1.0 (Supercritical) then using Keep or Dampen for the Options may result in depth differences. The effect of Keep is to increase the “loss” terms in the St Venant Equation. The effect of Dampen and Ignore is to decrease the sum of the “loss” terms in the St. Venant Solution and lower the simulated depth.

Rooftop gardens could solve Singapore's flooding problem

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:30:00 +0000

Rooftop gardens could solve Singapore’s flooding problem

By Tyler Falk | January 18, 2012, 9:09 AM PST
From SmartPlanet

In the last two years, rapid urbanization and changing weather patterns have lead to major flash floods in Singapore.
“[It] can be safely presumed that the weather patterns in Singapore have changed,” said Singapore’s Minister for the Environment and Water Resources last year after a flash flood where in one day Singapore received 77 percent of the amount of rainfall that usually falls in June. “It is very likely that our drainage systems will have to be redesigned to cope with such intense flashes.”
Singapore convened a panel to come up with the best options for dealing with flash floods and stormwater runoff. Their suggestion? Not an overhaul of the drainage system, but rooftop gardens.
Big infrastructure projects are costly and take time to replace. And while the upgrading the drainage system is likely necessary, the panel suggests a quick fix to Singapore: require rooftop gardens on all new and retrofitted buildings. Rooftop gardens don’t just add beauty to the city, they can also play a big role in mitigating floods by reducing and slowing stormwater runoff and filtering pollutants.
But it’s not just rooftop gardens, Singapore’s Today reports:
These measures are to be complemented with diversion canals, storage tanks along “pathways” of drains, drain capacity improvements, and finally, flood barriers, raised platform levels - some of which is already being done, but “could be carried further”, noted Prof Balmforth.
The panel also suggested storage tanks, rain gardens, and porous pavement.
Photo: HenryLeongHimWoh
/Flickr
Urbanisation has led to increase in storm water run-off: Expert panel [Today]

Innovyze Surge Line Brings Surge Events to Life With Cutting-Edge Pipe Profile Animations

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:15:00 +0000

Innovyze Surge Line Brings Surge Events to Life With Cutting-Edge Pipe Profile Animations

High Quality Animation Gives Engineers Inside View of Model Activities for the First Time

Broomfield, Colorado USA, January 17, 2011 — Innovyze, a leading global innovator of business analytics software and technologies for wet infrastructure, today announced the worldwide release of the SurgeAnimatemodule for its industry-leading surge product line. The breakthrough pipe profile animation module brings a new level of visualization and interpretation power to transient analysis, helping engineers quickly gain a thorough understanding of the complex phenomena occurring within their distribution systems.

Available for InfoSurge and InfoWorks TS, the module is ideal for assessing the strength and effectiveness of water supply and distribution systems under a wide range of hydraulic transient conditions, from routine operation to emergency states. It has unprecedented power to help users confidently determine the best combination of surge protection devices to minimize the impact of objectionable pressure transients. The enhanced product suite reflects Innovyze’s vanguard position in the water industry and its continuing commitment to delivering pioneering technology for improving the safety and reliability of the world’s water supply.

“This key new modeling functionality makes it easy to get a handle on how transient waves propagate over time in distribution systems, allowing water utilities worldwide to better see how transient events are mitigated by surge protection devices,” noted Christopher W. Baxter, Ph.D., President of HYDRANNT Consulting Inc., in Port Coquitlam, BC, Canada. “Innovyze continues to raise the standard in the industry.”

Anticipating and controlling transient response is critical to ensuring the protection, integrity, and effective/efficient operation of water distribution systems. Transient responses can introduce pressures of sufficient magnitude (upsurge) to burst pipes and damage equipment. The resulting repercussions can range from extended service outages to loss of property and life. Transient responses can also produce sub-atmospheric pressures (downsurge) that can force contaminated groundwater into the distribution system at a leaky joint, crack or break, leading to grave health consequences when carried out downstream in the pipe system. Sustained sub-atmospheric pressures may also lead to cavitation and water column separation, resulting in severe “water hammer” effects as the vapor cavity collapses.

The Innovyze transient flow simulation technology suite addresses every facet of pressure surge analysis and its role in utility infrastructure management and protection, delivering the highest rate of return in the industry. It provides the engineer-friendly simulation framework water utilities need to identify characteristics that can make their water supply and distribution systems more susceptible to transient pressure events. Users can quickly and efficiently assess the effects of power outages, pump shutdowns and startups, valve closures, rapid demand and pump speed changes, as well as the efficacy of any combination of surge protection devices. The product suite also accurately simulates cavitation and water column separation and evaluates their intensity. Its blazing simulation speed, unrivalled in the industry, makes transient analysis an easier and more enjoyable task.

The new SurgeAnimate module enables users to create live animations of pipe profiles simply by specifying the first and last nodes; the rest is done automatically. Tank and reservoir levels, pump speeds, water flow or velocity rates are all animated. Many surge devices (such as air valves and bladder tanks) are also animated in detail. Animation speed can be set and stopped or restarted interactively at any simulation time period, allowing the user to thoroughly view and analyze the model’s transient activities (including cavitation pressure). Animations can be saved as AVI files.

Armed with these mission-critical network modeling capabilities, water utilities can more accurately assess their susceptibility to low or negative pressures caused by transient surges, identify vulnerable areas and risks, evaluate and design sound control and mitigation measures, and determine improved operational plans and security upgrades.

“The ability to confidently assess distribution system vulnerability to pressure transients is becoming more critical every day,” said Innovyze President and Chief Operating Officer Paul F. Boulos, Ph.D., BCEEM, Hon.D.WRE, F. ASCE. “Our new SurgeAnimate module makes models come alive, allowing users to go inside the pipes and network elements for the first time. This unprecedented ability to see and experience model transient activities in real time is critical to designing reliable, enduring systems and protecting public health.”

Surcharged Node and the Link Connection in SWMM 5

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:52:00 +0000

Subject: Surcharged Node and the Link Connection in SWMM 5

A surcharged node in SWMM 5 uses this point iteration equation (Figure 1):

dY/dt = dQ / The sum of the Connecting Link values of dQ/dH

where Y is the depth in the node, dt is the time step, H is the head across the link (downstream – upstream), dQ is the net inflow into the node and dQ/dH is the derivative with respect to H of the link St Venant equation. If you are trying to calibrate the surcharged node depth, the main calibration variables are the time step and the link roughness:

1.   Mannings’s N
2.   Hazen-Williams or
3.   Darcy-Weisbach

The link roughness is part of the term dq1 in the St Venant solution and the other loss terms are included in the term dq5. You can adjust the roughness of the surcharged link to affect the node surcharge depth.

Figure 1. The Node Surcharge Equation is a function of the net inflow and the sum of the term dQ/dH in all connecting links. Generally, as you increase the roughness the value of dQ/dH increases and the denominator of the term dY/dt = dQ/dQdH increases.

Figure 2. The value of dQ/dH in a link as the roughness of the link increases.

HOW MOSQUITOES FLY IN RAIN from 3Quarks

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 02:33:00 +0000

HOW MOSQUITOES FLY IN RAIN

Mariel Emrich in Talking Science:
Mosquitoes are as adept at flying in rainstorms as under clear skies. But how is that possible? Wouldn’t rain crush a mosquito to the ground since mosquitoes weigh 50 times less than raindrops?
David Hu, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and biology at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and his graduate research assistantAndrew Dickerson have found that while mosquitoes do get hit by raindrops, they don’t get crushed by them.
Hu discussed their research in a talk at November's APS Division of Fluid Dynamics Meetingthat was entitled “How Mosquitoes Fly in the Rain”.
The researchers measured the impact forces of raindrops on both regular mosquitoes and custom-built mosquito mimics. The mimics were made from small Styrofoam spheres of mosquito-like size and mass. They used high-speed video to capture images of the mosquitoes getting hit with raindrops.
Since the bugs fly so slowly (a maximum of 1 meter per second) compared to the drops (which fall between 5 to 9 meters per second), the mosquitoes cannot react quickly enough for avoidance, and most likely cannot sense the imminent collision.
More here.

Posted by Abbas Raza at 03:42 PM | Permalink

How to Make Icons and Expand the Toolbars in infoSWMM and InfoSewer

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 22:28:00 +0000

Subject: How to Make Icons and Expand the Toolbars in InfoSWMM and InfoSewer

You can customize the toolbars in InfoSWMM and InfoSewer by clicking on Customize and performing 4 steps:

Step 1. Click on Customize

Step 2. Move the tool from the Command list to the toolbar.

Step 3. Change the Button Image for the Default Style.

Step 4. The Toolbar now has a new Icon for the InfoSWMM command.

Step 1. Click on Customize

Step 2. Move the tool from the Command list to the toolbar.

Step 3. Change the Button Image for the Default Style.

Step 4. The Toolbar now has a new Icon for the InfoSWMM command.

How do I correct a fatal error resulting in automatic shutdown in ArcMap?

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:16:00 +0000

Subject: How do I correct a fatal error resulting in automatic shutdown in ArcMap?

If you cannot open ArcMap, InfoSewer or InfoSWMM at all and get a fatal Esri error the problem may be the file normal.mxt

“If the startup file in ArcGIS Desktop or component applications (e.g., ArcMap, ArcGlobe, ArcScene) is corrupt, a fatal error can occur. Renaming or deleting the existing startup file will often resolve the error. Once the corrupted startup file is removed, ArcGIS will create a new startup file after the application is launched (http://kb.iu.edu/data/asuv.html).”

To remove the startup file in Windows XP for Arc GIS 10 go to the directory C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name\Application Data\ESRI\Desktop10.0\ArcMap\Templates and delete the file Normal.mxt. You then reopen Arc Map and the normal.mxt file will be recreated and smaller. You will have to reset the ArcMap toolbars to better control InfoSewer and InfoSWMM.

SWMM 5 Engine Updates between v13 and v22 by Category

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:09:00 +0000

Subject: SWMM 5 Engine Updates between v13 and v22 by Category

The complete list of engine and GUI changes can be found in this text file on the EPA Site http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/wswrd/wq/models/swmm/epaswmm5_updates.txt

This note categorizes the engine changes by aggregating dynamic wave solution changes, surface ponding changes, RDII and Hydrology for example. The number preceding each change is the change number per engine update – the version of the engine update is shown at the end of each change paragraph. The Categories are General Changes, Dynamic Wave Changes, RDII Changes, Infiltration and Surface Runoff Changes, Climate Data Changes, Rainfall Changes, LID Changes and Water Quality Changes.

General Changes

6. The maximum trials used when evaluating the flow and head equations at

a given time period for dynamic wave routing was increased from 4 to 8.

See dynwave.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

28. For models that only compute runoff and have a reporting time step

less than the wet time step, the latter is internally set equal to

the former. See swmm5.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

1. Reporting of the total infiltration + evaporation loss for each

Storage Unit (as a percent of total inflow to the unit) was added

to the Storage Volume Summary table in the Status Report. See

objects.h, node.c, stats.c, and statsrpt.c. Build 5.0.018 (11/18/09)

2. Double counting the final stored volume when finding the nodes with

the highest mass balance errors has been eliminated. See stats.c.
Build 5.0.018 (11/18/09)

4. Hot Start interface files now contain the final state of each

subcatchment's groundwater zone in addition to the node and

link information they have always had. See routing.c. Build 5.0.018 (11/18/09)

5. To avoid confusion, the actual conduit slope is now listed in the

Link Summary table of the Status Report rather than the adjusted

slope that results from any conduit lengthening. See link.c and

dynwave.c. Build 5.0.018 (11/18/09)

6. The Status Report now displays only those summary tables for

which results have been obtained (e.g., if the Flow Routing

option is turned off, then no node or link tables are displayed).

See massbal.c and statsrpt.c. Build 5.0.018 (11/18/09)

7. Some code re-factoring was done to place rain gage validation

and initialization in separate functions. See project.c, gage.c,

and funcs.h. Build 5.0.018 (11/18/09)

8. The engine version number was updated to 50018 (this update had

been overlooked since release 5.0.010). See consts.h. Build 5.0.018 (11/18/09)

2. Error 112 (a conduit's elevation drop exceeds its length)

is now treated as a Warning condition and not a fatal error.

In this case the conduit's slope is computed as in earlier

versions of SWMM (elevation drop / length) instead of using

the more rigorous right-triangle method of HEC-RAS. See

link.c and text.h. Build 5.0.017 (10/7/09)

3. Inflow interface files no longer have to contain data for

all of the same pollutants defined in the current project

(e.g., they can contain just flows or some subset of the

pollutants). See iface.c. Build 5.0.017 (10/7/09)

5. The 2 GB binary output file size limit for runs made under the GUI

that was inadvertently added into release 5.0.014 was removed

(see output.c). Build 5.0.015 (4/10/09)

Binary Output File (output.c)

41. The Report Start Time written to the binary results is now

adjusted to be be one reporting period prior to when the first

result is reported so that the GUI uses the correct date when it

displays results. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

Simulation Options

37. A user can now choose to ignore any combination of the following

process models when running a simulation: Rainfall/Runoff, Snowmelt,

Groundwater, Flow Routing and Water Quality (swmm5.c, project.c,

runoff.c, subcatch.c, routing.c, keywords.c, keywords.h, text.h,

and globals.h). Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

Status Report (statsrpt.c)

38. The heading for the maximum flow column in the Link Flow Summary table

was changed to "|Flow|" to show that the flows listed are absolute

values. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

39. The labels "Mgal" and "Mltrs" were replaced with "10^6 gal" and

"10^6 ltr", respectively. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

40. The widths for the various types of flow volume fields (e.g., runoff

volume, node inflow volume, etc.) were increased in size. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

Output Report (command line version) (report.c)

42. Time series tables for reported subcatchments now report Snow Depth,

Groundwater Elevation, and Groundwater Flow (provided that snowmelt

and groundwater processes are included in the simulation). Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

RDII Changes

4. Instead of using the rain gage's recording interval as the

time step for processing a set of RDII unit hydrographs, the

smaller of the wet runoff time step and the time to peak of

the shortest unit hydrograph in the set is now used. As a

result, it is now permissible to use hydrographs whose time

to peak is shorter than the rain gage recording interval.

See rdii.c. Build 5.0.017 (10/7/09)

8. A bug created in release 5.0.015 that caused incorrect RDII inflows

to be computed when the rain gage recording interval was less than

the runoff wet time step has been fixed. (See rdii.c). Build 5.0.016 (6/22/09)

9. A new error check was added to detect if the time base of an RDII

unit hydrograph is less than its rain gage recording interval.

(See rdii.c). Build 5.0.016 (6/22/09)

2. Different sets of Initial Abstraction parameters (maximum depth,

initial depth, and recovery rate) can now be specified for each

of the three unit hydrographs (short term, medium term, and long

term) that comprise an RDII Unit Hydrograph group (see keywords.h,

keywords.c, objects.h, rdii.c, and text.h). Build 5.0.015 (4/10/09)

35. A problem with no RDII being produced when two or more RDII unit

hydrographs utilized the same rain gage was fixed. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

Time Series (table.c, error.c, error.h, objects.h)

36. Time Series data can now be imported from an external file instead

of having to be listed in the project's input file. See the Users

Manual or the Help file for details. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

Dynamic Wave Solution Changes

9. A divide by zero error no longer occurs when computing the

hydraulic radius of an empty Filled Circular pipe whose filled

depth is zero. A similar error for the hydraulic radius of an

empty trapezoidal channel whose bottom width was zero was also

eliminated. See xsect.c. Build 5.0.022 (04/21/11)

10. The critical or normal depth adjustment made for a conduit is

no longer allowed to set the depth to zero -- some small depth

level is always maintained. See dynwave.c. Build 5.0.022 (04/21/11))

11. The Pump Summary Report was expanded to include number of start-

ups, minimum flow, and time off both the low and high ends of

the pump curve. See objects.h, link.c, stats.c, and statsrpt.c. Build 5.0.022 (04/21/11)

12. When the setting of an orifice or weir was changed to 0 (to

completely block flow) the flow depth in the element wasn't

being set to 0. This was only a reporting error and had no

effect on the flow routing calculations. See link.c. Build 5.0.022 (04/21/11)

13. The Node Surcharge Summary in the Status Report did not report

a ponded node as being surcharged. This was only a reporting

error and had no effect on the flow routing calculations. See

stats.c. Build 5.0.022 (04/21/11)

5. The check to see if flow in a link should not exceed the normal flow

now uses just the upstream Froude number rather than both up and

downstream numbers. See dynwave.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

6. The maximum trials used when evaluating the flow and head equations at

a given time period for dynamic wave routing was increased from 4 to 8.

See dynwave.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

7. The Ponding calculation for dynamic wave flow routing was changed once

again to obtain better continuity results. The depth in a surcharged

node that can pond is not allowed to rise higher than just beyond full

depth in any single time step. After that, its change in depth is

determined by the node's ponded area. Similarly, the depth of a ponded

node is not allowed to drop more than just below full depth in any

single time step. See dynwave.c and node.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

8. For Kinematic Wave and Steady Flow routing, a node's ponded area is

no longer used to infer a ponded depth when a node floods with Ponding

turned on. Instead, the water depth is simply set to the node's maximum

depth and the ponded area parameter is simply used as a indicator as

to whether the node can pond or not. (This differs from dynamic wave

routing where the ponded area directly influences ponded depth through

the solution of the momentum and flow conservation equations.) See

flowrout.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

9. As a consequence of the preceeding update, the Node Flooding Summary

table in the Status Report no longer displays the maximum ponded volume

in acre-inches (or hectare-mm). Instead it displays the maximum ponded

depth (ft or m) for Dynamic Wave flow routing or the maximum ponded

volume (1000 ft3 or 1000 m3) for other forms of routing. See stats.c

and statsrpt.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

11. Controls based on flow rates now properly account for the direction of

flow when they are evaluated. This may require users to add an extra

condition clause to a rule that only applies for flow in the positive

direction (e.g., AND Link XXX FLOW >= 0.0). See controls.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

12. The Villemonte correction for downstream submergence is now also used

for partly filled orifices (instead of just for weirs). See link.c and

dynwave.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

13. A missing term in the equation used to check for submerged inlet

control for Culvert conduits was fixed. See culvert.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

14. If a non-conduit link is connected to a storage node then its

contribution to the node's surface area is now ignored. See

dynwave.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

15. The automatic adjustment of the maximum depth of a link's end nodes

to be at least as high as the link's crown no longer applies when

the link is a bottom orifice. See link.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

16. A fatal error message is now generated if a conduit's entrance,

exit, or average loss coefficient value is negative. See link.c.

Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

1. The Ponding routine for dynamic wave flow routing was once

again modified, this time to account for the special case

where a node transitions between surcharged and ponded

conditions within a single time step. This should correct

the large continuity errors experienced with ponding under

release 5.0.016. See dynwave.c. Build 5.0.017 (10/7/09)

2. When the Ponding option is turned on, nodes that can pond are no

longer always treated like storage nodes that never surcharge.

Now they are only treated this way after ponding occurs. Otherwise

they behave like a normal node. (See dynwave.c). Build 5.0.016 (6/22/09)

3. The small tolerance used to decide when a storage node was full or

not has been removed since for very small time steps it could cause

a currently full storage unit to remain full even if there was some

small net outflow from it. (See node.c). Build 5.0.016 (6/22/09)

4. Spurious warnings for negative elevation offsets no longer appear

when the "*" entry is used for the offset value or when the offset

elevation value is within a small tolerance of the node invert

elevation. (See link.c). Build 5.0.016 (6/22/09)

5. When the water level at a storage node exceeds the highest level

supplied in its Storage Curve, an extrapolated surface area from

the curve is now used only if the curve is sloping outward (i.e.,

surface area is increasing with depth at the top of the curve). If

instead it slopes inward then the last surface area entry in the

curve is used. (See table.c). Build 5.0.016 (6/22/09)

3. A Meander Modifier was added to a Transect's parameters. It is the

ratio of the length of a meandering main channel to the length of

the overbank area that surrounds it. This modifier is applied to

all conduits that use this particular transect for their cross

section. It assumes that the length supplied for these conduits is

that of the longer main channel. SWMM will use the shorter overbank

length in its calculations while internally increasing the main

channel roughness to account for its longer length. (See dynwave.c,

flowrout.c, link.c, objects.h, and transect.c). Build 5.0.015 (4/10/09)

6. Any backflow that flows into an outfall node due to the head

condition at the node is now correctly reported as part of the

node's Total Inflow result (see node.c). Build 5.0.015 (4/10/09)

8. The normal flow limitation for dynamic wave flow routing based on

the Froude number now requires that the latter be greater or equal

to 1.0 for both the upstream and downstream flow depths rather just

for either of these (see dynwave.c). Build 5.0.015 (4/10/09)

9. A reporting error for the overflow rate into the ponded volume for

a node that floods under dynamic wave flow routing was corrected

(see dynwave.c). Build 5.0.015 (4/10/09)

10. The practice of not allowing a computed top surface width to be less

than the width at 4% of the full conduit depth for dynamic wave flow

routing has been dropped in favor of using the actual width, no matter

how small (see dynwave.c). Build 5.0.015 (4/10/09)

Flow Routing (flowrout.c, node.c, inflow.c, link.c, and objects.h)

6. A new Minimum Slope option has been added. When this option is non-

zero a computed conduit slope is not allowed to be below this value.

The default is 0. (Note: the slope of a conduit whose elevation

difference is below 0.001 ft is first computed using this elevation

difference and then is compared to the Minimum Slope value.) (The

following files were also changed for this feature: keywords.c,

project.c, enums.h, globals.h, text.h). Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

7. An optional Baseline Time Pattern was added for external inflows at

nodes. It can be used to apply a periodic adjustment to the baseline

inflow value by month of year, day of week, etc. See the Help file or

the Users Manual for more details. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

8. Specific conduits can now be designated as Culverts and have Inlet

Control flow computed for them under Dynamic Wave flow routing.

9. The rating curve used to determine flow through an Outlet can now be

based on either the freeboard depth above the outlet bottom (as

before) or on the head difference between the upstream and downstream

nodes. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

10. The calculation of the maximum outflow that a node can release over

a time step should be based on the initial volume, not the final

volume, at the node. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

11. A problem with the program not accepting an ideal pump when the

connecting upstream conduit had an adverse slope was fixed.

12. The formula used to compute conduit slope was modified to match that

used by HEC-RAS. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

13. A problem with the program crashing when the No Routing option was

selected in combination with the Save Outflows Interface File option

was fixed (see output.c). Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

14. Under Steady Flow and Kinematic Wave routing one can now use a Dummy

conduit that connects to a node at higher elevation without having

to specify an inlet offset. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

Dynamic Wave Flow Routing (dynwave.c, link.c, and node.c)

15. Under-relaxation of flows for pumps between iterations of the

governing equations is no longer used since it can produce a

solution that does not conform to the pump's operating curve. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

16. Instead of the average area, the upstream weighted area that

accounts for near-supercritical flow is now used in the dQ/dH

term for conduits. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

17. The upstream/downstream Froude numbers used to check for normal

flow are now computed using hydraulic depth rather than flow depth. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

18. When ponding is allowed, ponded volume is now computed from the

computed nodal depth rather than adjusting the depth to accommodate

the ponded volume based on the excess of inflow versus outflow. This

is a return to the original method that was used up until Release

5.0.010 and makes ponding (which is actually a form of storage)

consistent with the way that storage nodes are normally treated. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

19. The volume at the inlet node of Type I pumps (where an implicit

wet well is assumed to occur) is now determined on the basis of

computed depth, just as with storage nodes, rather than computing

depth from the change in volume. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

20. The possible closing of tide gates on outfalls directly connected

to orifice, weir, or outlet links is now correctly accounted for. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

Conduit Cross-Sections (xsect.c)

21. The modified baskethandle (MODBASKETHANDLE) cross-section shape

was extended to allow the circular top to have any desired radius

equal or greater than half the section's width. It thus becomes

an upside down version of the Rectangular-Round shape. The section

geometry functions for both shapes received extensive revision. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

Control Rules (controls.c)

22. "SIMULATION MONTH" and "SIMULATION DAY" (meaning month of the year

and day of the week, respectively) have been added to the types of

time conditions that can be used in a control rule condition clause. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

Groundwater Solution Changes

6. A new error message (110) is now generated if the ground

elevation of a subcatchment is less than the initial water

table elevation of its groundwater aquifer. See gwater.c,

err.h, and err.c. Build 5.0.022 (04/21/11

7. A check was added to the tailwater term of the groundwater flow

equation to insure that the term is zero when no tailwater depth

exists. See gwater.c. Build 5.0.022 (04/21/11

8. Checks were added to the solution of the governing groundwater

mass balance equations to catch conditions where the lower zone

depth is greater than the total depth or when the upper zone

moisture content is greater than the porosity. See gwater.c.

Build 5.0.022 (04/21/11)

10. The groundwater mass balance equations were returned to the form they

had in release 5.0.013 since they were not correctly accounting for

the water volume transferred between the saturated and unsaturated

zones due only to a change in the water table depth. See gwater.c.

Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

30. The mass balance equations were re-formulated in a simpler fashion.

31. The flow equation was re-expressed in terms of distances above the

aquifer bottom instead of absolute elevations. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

32. The equation for computing the maximum infiltration rate that the

upper zone can accept was corrected. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

LID Solution Changes

1. The following fixes and updates were made to the LID

module of the code (lid.c): Build 5.0.022 (04/21/11)

a. The Drain Delay time for a Rain Barrel LID is now

correctly converted internally from hours to seconds.

b. The meaning of the Conductivity property of an LID's

Storage layer has been changed. It is now defined as

the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the native soil

below the layer instead of the conductivity of the layer

itself.

c. Storage layers are now optional for Bio-Retention Cells

and Permeable Pavement LIDs by allowing the layer height

to be zero. One should still enter a non-zero conductivity

for the layer if infiltration into native soil is allowed.

d. If the top width of the overland flow surface for an LID

is zero then any excess water above the surface storage

depth simply spills out instantaneously.

e. The calculation of infiltration in a Vegetative Swale

was corrected so that a swale with vertical sides will

produce the same results as a fully pervious subcatchment

with the same dimensions, roughness, and slope.

f. The water initially stored in all LID units is now reported

in the Status Report's Runoff Continuity table.

g. Error messages are now generated if the surface layer

vegetation volume fraction is less than 1, if the area of

all LIDs in a subcatchment is greater than the total area

or if the total capture area of all LIDs is greater than

the subcatchment's total impervious area.

1. The ability to explicitly model five different types of Low Impact

Development (LID) practices at the subcatchment level has been

added. Consult the LID Controls topic in the Help file for details.

See lid.c, lid.h, infil.c, infil.h, input.c, inputrpt.c, project.c,

statsrpt.c, and subcatch.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

Rainfall Data Changes

2. Missing values for accumulation periods within an NWS rain

file are now processed correctly. See rain.c. Build 5.0.022 (04/21/11)

3. A new error message (318) is now generated if a user-prepared

rainfall file has its dates out of sequence. See rain.c, err.h,

and err.c. Build 5.0.022 (04/21/11)

1. A refactoring bug that prevented SWMM from reading rainfall data

from external rainfall files was fixed. See gage.c. Build 5.0.020 (08/23/10)

22. Several bugs that prevented SWMM from detecting and reading Canadian

DLY02/04 climate files correctly were fixed. See climate.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

23. An error message is now generated if a time series used for rainfall

is also used for another purpose in a project (since it will cause

the two uses to be out of synch). See error.h, error.c, gage.c,

climate.c, control.c, and inflow.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

24. An error message is now generated if two Rain Gages with files as

their data source use the same Station IDs but different names for

the data file. See rain.c, error.h, and error.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

3. A warning message was added for when a Rain Gage's recording

interval is less than the smallest time interval appearing in its

associated rainfall time series. (An error message is issued if

the recording interval is greater than the smallest time series

interval.) See gage.c and text.h. Build 5.0.018 (11/18/09)

6. Comma delimited NCDC rainfall files, both with and without station

name, can now be recognized and read correctly by SWMM. (See rain.c). Build 5.0.016 (6/22/09)

7. Space delimited NCDC rainfall files with empty spaces in the condition

code fields can now be read correctly. (See rain.c). Build 5.0.016 (6/22/09)

25. When zero rainfall values appear in a rain file or time series they

are now skipped over and treated as a dry period, the same as would

occur had they not been entered in the first place. See gage.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

19. The Ignore Snowmelt switch is now internally set to true whenever

there are no snow pack objects defined, so that precipitation is not

mistakenly converted to snow for a project with temperature data.

See gage.c and project.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

4. NWS files in space delimited TD 3240 or 3260 format that include a

station name field have been added to the types of rainfall files

that are automatically recognized by SWMM (see rain.c). Build 5.0.015 (4/10/09)

7. A fatal error is now generated if the smallest time interval between

values in a rainfall time series does not match the recording time

interval specified for the associated rain gage object (instead of

internally adjusting the gage interval and issuing a warning message)

(see error.c, error.h, and gage.c). Build 5.0.015 (4/10/09)

Rain Gages (gage.c, table.c, error.c, error.h, and objects.h)

1. The recording interval for a rain gage is now automatically adjusted

to be no greater than the smallest time interval for the gage's time

series data (with a warning message written to the Status Report).

2. When two or more rain gages reference the same time series data, a

fatal error message is now generated if the Rainfall Formats

(intensity, volume, or cumulative volume) for the gages are not all

the same. 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

Snowmelt (snow.c)

33. Snow removal for a subcatchment now works by removing snow once the

"Depth at which removal begins" is reached. The fraction of this

amount that remains on the surface is whatever is left over after

all of the redistribution options are satisfied.

34. The "Depth at which removal begins" value is now correctly converted

to internal units of feet. 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

Infilltration Changes

5. Curve Number infiltration was modified to use only direct

precipitation, not including runon or internally routed flow,

to compute an infiltration rate. See infil.h, infil.c,

subcatch.c and lid.c. Build 5.0.022 (04/21/11)

1. A code refactoring error in Build 5.0.019 that resulted in no

recovery of infiltration capacity during dry periods has been fixed.

See subcatch.c. Build 5.0.021 (09/30/10)

2. The pervious area adjustment used in 5.0.019 for evaporation and

infiltration to a subcatchment's groundwater zone was corrected.

See gwater.c. Build 5.0.021 (09/30/10)

4. The rainfall + runon used to compute infiltration is no longer

pre-adjusted by subtracting any evaporation loss. See subcatch.c.

Build 5.0.021 (09/30/10)

5. The rate for Green-Ampt infiltration is no longer allowed to be

less than the smaller of the saturated hydraulic conductivity and

the available surface moisture. See infil.c. Build 5.0.021 (09/30/10)

6. The available surface moisture for Green-Ampt infiltration is

considered 0 if its value is less than a small tolerance. See

infil.c. Build 5.0.021 (09/30/10)

4. Storage node losses from evaporation and infiltration are now computed

directly within the flow routing routines to produce better

conservation of mass. See objects.h, routing.c, dynwave.c and node.c.

Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

5. Under Curve Number infiltration, infiltration now stops when

the maximum capacity (initially equal to 1000/CN - 10 inches)

is completely used up. See infil.c. Build 5.0.017 (10/7/09)

6. The small tolerance used to determine how much ponded depth

in excess of depression storage is needed to initiate runoff

was removed. This produces a smoother runoff response for

some data sets. See subcatch.c. Build 5.0.017 (10/7/09)

1. Storage unit nodes have a new optional property named Infiltration

that can store Green-Ampt infiltration parameters for the unit and

thus allow it to serve as an infiltration basin. The Green-Ampt

infiltration model was modified to explicitly include the effect

of ponded water depth on infiltration rate. (See infil.c,

massbal.c, node.c, and objects.h). Build 5.0.015 (4/10/09)

Infiltration (infil.c)

3. The Green-Ampt infiltration rate was corrected for the case when

the surface becomes saturated part way through the current time step.

4. The saturated hydraulic conductivity is no longer needed by the

Curve Number method to compute a regeneration rate for infiltration

capacity. The latter is now set simply to the reciprocal of the user

supplied drying time. Thus the CN method now requires only two param-

eters (the CN and the drying time). 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

5. An optional monthly adjustment pattern can now be used to modify the

recovery rate of infiltration capacity by month of year. The name of

this pattern is specified as part of the Evaporation data. See the

Help file or the Users Manual for details. (This also affects files

climate.c, keywords.c, project.c, enums.h, objects.h, and text.h). 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

Climate Data Changes

4. Evaporation during wet time periods was including rainfall and

run-on as moisture available for evaporation when it should

only be the current ponded depth. See subcatch.c. Build 5.0.022 (04/21/11)

3. The accounting of evaporation loss from just the pervious area of a

subcatchment has been corrected. See subcatch.c. Build 5.0.021 (09/30/10)

7. Evaporation and infiltration losses from Storage nodes under

Kinematic Wave and Steady Flow routing are now accounted for

properly. See flowrout.c. Build 5.0.021 (09/30/10)

3. An option was added to allow evaporation of standing water to occur

only during periods with no precipitation (the default is the current

practice of allowing evaporation in both wet and dry periods). See

climate.c, enums.h, keywords.c, objects.h, project.c, subcatch.c,

and text.h. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

4. Storage node losses from evaporation and infiltration are now computed

directly within the flow routing routines to produce better

conservation of mass. See objects.h, routing.c, dynwave.c and node.c.

Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

19. The Ignore Snowmelt switch is now internally set to true whenever

there are no snow pack objects defined, so that precipitation is not

mistakenly converted to snow for a project with temperature data.

See gage.c and project.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

20. When reading min/max daily temperatures from a climate file, the

values are now swapped if the minimum is greater than the maximum.

See climate.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

21. When the Hargreaves method is used to compute an evaporation rate

from daily temperature values, negative rates are no longer allowed.

See climate.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

26. A bug that caused the data in an evaporation time series to be out

of synch with the simulation time clock has been fixed. This only

affected evaporation data supplied from time series and not monthly

average data or data from climate files. See climate.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

6. The small tolerance used to determine how much ponded depth

in excess of depression storage is needed to initiate runoff

was removed. This produces a smoother runoff response for

some data sets. See subcatch.c. Build 5.0.017 (10/7/09)

1. A new option was added to compute daily evaporation from the

daily temperature values contained in a climate file using

Hargreaves' method. (See climate.c, enums.h, keywords.h, and

text.h). Build 5.0.016 (6/22/09)

1. Storage unit nodes have a new optional property named Infiltration

that can store Green-Ampt infiltration parameters for the unit and

thus allow it to serve as an infiltration basin. The Green-Ampt

infiltration model was modified to explicitly include the effect

of ponded water depth on infiltration rate. (See infil.c,

massbal.c, node.c, and objects.h). Build 5.0.015 (4/10/09)

Water Quality Changes

8. The Pollutant Loading summary tables in the Status Report now

lists results for all pollutants in a single table instead of

listing just 5 pollutants per table. See report.c. Build 5.0.021 (09/30/10)

2. Pollutant buildup over a given landuse can now be specified by a time

series instead of just a buildup function. Consult the Land Uses /

Buildup topic in the Help index for more details. See landuse.c and

keywords.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

27. The water quality mass balance now correctly accounts for any initial

mass in the system created by using a hot start file. See massbal.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

17. Requests to do internal routing of runoff between impervious and

pervious sub-areas of a subcatchment when only one type of sub-area

exists are now ignored. See subcatch.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

18. The check on the error condition of a node having both incoming and

outgoing dummy conduits was modified so as not to get fooled by

Outlet-type links. See toposort.c. Build 5.0.019 (07/30/10)

7. A default concentration for dry weather flow has been added

to the Pollutant object. It can be overriden for any specific

node by editing the node's Inflows property. See landuse.c,

routing.c, and objects.h. Build 5.0.017 (10/7/09)

8. For water quality routing, the simplified analytical

solution to the CSTR mixing equation was replaced with a

more robust finite difference approximation. This seems

to avoid numerical problems with high decay rates. See

qualrout.c. Build 5.0.017 (10/7/09)

9. First order decay was not being applied to pollutants

transported through conduits under Steady Flow routing. To

do this correctly required writing a special water quality

routine just for Steady Flow routing. See qualrout.c.

Build 5.0.017 (10/7/09)

10. A small minimum depth tolerance was introduced for treatment

to occur at nodes and to have non-zero concentrations in

conduits. See qualrout.c. Build 5.0.017 (10/7/09)

11. Large water quality mass balance errors in systems that

provide treatment at nodes were eliminated by correctly

accounting for both the inflow mass and mass in storage

when computing the mass lost to treatment. See treatmnt.c.

5.0.017 (10/7/09)

Pollutant Buildup/Washoff (subcatch.c, landuse.c, and consts.h)

23. Washoff of a user-specified initial buildup when there is no buildup

function specified now works correctly. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

24. The way that concentrations in runoff are combined with those

from runon and direct rainfall was modified so as to produce more

consistent results, especially when a BMP removal value is appled.

Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

Water Quality Routing (qualrout.c, routing.c, treatmnt.c)

25. For storage units, the finite difference form of the mass balance

equation was replaced with the analytical CSTR solution. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

26. An inflow rate adjustment was added when routing quality through

conduits under Dynamic Wave flow routing to help lower the mass

continuity error. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

27. The formula for updating the hydraulic residence time (HRT) in a

storage node was revised. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

28. Quality routing under Steady Flow routing is now treated as a

special case where the concentration within a conduit simply equals

that of the upstream node. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

29. Any reverse flow into the system that occurs at an Outfall node is

now treated as an external inflow with respect to water quality and

will therefore contain whatever pollutant concentration was specified

for external inflows at the node even if no external flow inflow was

defined. This feature can be used to model saltwater or contaminant

intrusion in tidally influenced channels. Build 5.0.014 (1/21/09)

Call for Papers Announced for 2012 Asia Pacific Water and Sewer Systems Modeling Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:13:00 +0000

Call for Papers Announced for 2012 Asia Pacific Water and Sewer Systems Modeling Conference

Major Industry Event to Unite Global Modeling Experts August 21-22, 2012, at Gold Coast, Australia
www.asiapacificwater.com

Broomfield, Colorado USA, January 10, 2012 — Innovyze, a leading global innovator of wet infrastructure modeling and simulation software and technologies, today announced the opening of registration and a call for papers for the fifth annual Asia Pacific Water and Sewer Systems Modeling Conference. The event, widely considered to be the most comprehensive and significant wet infrastructure modeling, design and management technology conference of its kind, will be held from August 21-22, 2012, at the Holiday Inn, Surfers Paradise on Australia’s Gold Coast.

This once-a-year learning opportunity is sponsored by major water utilities and associations in the region. It will feature keynote presentations from leaders in hydraulic and water quality modeling throughout Asia, Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. The conference also incorporates an annual gathering of Innovyze software users and their managers who want to sharpen their skills, expand their knowledge, and share best practices with their peers. The ultimate goals are to design, operate and manage better systems; protect the environment; and safeguard public health.

The forum will allow water, wastewater and stormwater professionals to explore new ways of using engineering GIS technology, advanced network modeling and simulation, and asset management applications. Participants will learn how they can leverage these tools to do their jobs better, easier, faster and more efficiently; maximize their return on software investments; and make their organizations more globally competitive. They will also earn valuable Chartered Professionals Continued Professional Development (CPD) hours.

“Potable water and sanitary sewer systems are essential for a healthy and vibrant community,” notes Paul Banfield, Business Development Manager for Innovyze and chairman of the conference organizing committee. “Proper management of water and wastewater assets plays a critical role in the provision of these vital services. This leading wet infrastructure focused conference is both fun and educational. I am confident that attendees will come away better positioned to provide their communities with reliable and cost-effective safe drinking water and sanitary sewer systems.”

To supplement the keynote presenters and speakers already confirmed, the organizing committee is seeking relevant and unique presentations. Key topics include:

Reducing network carbon footprint
Maximizing energy cost savings
Real-time operation and management of water distribution systems
Analyzing sewer collection and river systems
Optimizing capital improvement programs
Using surge/transient analysis for optimum system design and protection
Improving overflow management
Conducting vulnerability assessment and consequence management
Developing, calibrating and validating rigorous water quality models
Water temperature, variable speed pump and multi-species modeling
Designing, operating and retrofitting storage facilities to maintain water quality
Developing effective unidirectional flushing programs
Using network modeling for regulatory compliance
Protecting and securing infrastructure systems
Reducing inflow/infiltration
Integrated approaches to drainage modeling in urban areas
Improved business performance with GIS and asset management
Fire fighting and fire flow analysis
Priority Infrastructure Planning (PIP)
Pressure and leakage management
Hydrogen sulfide modeling and reduction

The agenda will also feature hands-on software demonstrations, discussions of business implementation and management issues, industry solutions presentations, key technology updates, and social and networking events.

Keynote speaker Paul F. Boulos, Ph.D., BCEEM, Hon.D.WRE, F.ASCE, President and Chief Operating Officer of Innovyze, will address the conference on the latest technologies in water, stormwater, and wastewater network modeling, capital planning and asset management. “This exceptionally fun and educational event is always guaranteed to energize and inspire,” said Boulos. “It provides a wonderful forum for sharing best practices and exploring the state of the art in water/wastewater infrastructure engineering, design and management solutions designed to help solve everyday challenges and problems. Attendees can carry this valuable knowledge back to their organizations, opening new avenues for increasing productivity and performance, enhancing project quality, maximizing return on their software investments, gaining a competitive edge on the future, advancing their careers, and improving the quality of life in their communities. They’ll leave restored, energized, and better prepared to accomplish great things. They’ll also play a significant a role in the future of Innovyze and our products, inspiring us and pushing us to build great products, a great company, and a great community.”

Abstract Submission
To have your abstract considered for oral presentation, please submit a not-to-exceed 250-word abstract with title and author information on any of the above topics. Abstracts should be submitted athttp://www.asiapacificwater.com as soon as possible and no later than March 31, 2011.

How to divide the Inflow at a Node in InfoSWMM

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Dickinson) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:40:00 +0000

Subject: How to Divide the Inflow at a Node in InfoSWMM

In SWMM 5 only the Kinematic Wave solution allows a flow divider at a node to divide the Inflow to node to two downstream links, but you can use the Inflow/Outflow Outlet type in InfoSWMM to divide the inflow based on a Inflow/Outflow Diversion Table (Figure 1). For example, in InfoSWMM it is possible to have two downstream links from a Node that are Outlet types Inflow/Outflow so that the low flow goes down one link and the high flow goes down the other link (Figure 2 and Figure 3). The low flow and the high flow link use different diversion tables in which the tables are constructed so that the flow is positive in one link and zero in the other to a dividing flow value and then zero and positive for the same two links after the dividing flow value ( 5 cfs in the example).

Figure 1. Types of OUTLETS in InfoSWMM and SWMM 5

Figure 2. Example low flow and high flow Outlet Links to divide the total inflow at the upstream node at 5 cfs.

Figure 3. The flow is divided into the low and high flow links at the dividing flow of 5 cfs.