H&H Modeling

UC 2006 Tech Session

How Things Build Up

Database development
Data preparation
Terrain preparation
Watershed delineation
Watershed characterization
Parameterization

Generic

Semi-Generic

Model pre and post-processing

Model Specific

Topics Overview
Stream statistics
Hydrologic modeling (HEC-HMS, GeoHMS)
Hydraulic modeling (HEC-RAS, GeoRAS)
H&H integration considerations

Hydrology
Stream Statistics

Regression Equations
Used to estimate streamflow statistics, both high and low
flows, for ungaged sites (in uncontrolled flow
environment)
Relate streamflow statistics to measured basin
characteristics
Developed by all 48 USGS Districts on a State-by-State
basis through the cooperative program (usually
sponsored by DOT)
Often not used because of large efforts needed to
determine basin characteristics
Users often measure basin characteristics inaccurately

Example Regression Equation

Regression equations take the form:

Q100 = 0.471A0.715E0.827SH0.472
where:
A

is drainage area, in square

miles

is mean basin elevation, in feet

SH

is a shape factor, dimensionless

Basin Characteristics Used for Peak Flows

Basin characteristic
Drainage area or contributing drainage area (square miles)

# of States using
this (including PR)
51

Main-channel slope (feet per mile)

27

Mean annual precipitation (inches)

19

Surface water storage (Lakes, ponds, swamps)

16

Rainfall amount for a given duration (inches)

14

Elevation of watershed

13

Forest cover (percent)

Channel length (miles)

Minimum mean January temperature (degrees F)

Basin shape ((length) per drainage area)

Soils characteristics

Mean basin slope (feet per foot or feet per mile)

Mean annual snowfall (inches)

Area of stratified drift (percent)

Runoff coefficient

Drainage frequency (number of first order streams per sq. mi.)

Mean annual runoff (inches)

Normal daily May-March temp (degrees F)

Impervious Cover (percent)

Annual PET (inches)

and many others

Manually Determining Basin Characteristics

A 10-square mile basin takes an hour to a few days,
depending on characteristics measured and source
material
The required time increases exponentially with increasing
watershed area because of the increasing dendritic
patterns and logistical problems when matching between
map sheets
The manual process is not completely repeatable
The error introduced by determining basin characteristics
probably is as large as the uncertainty in the regression
models

Role of GIS

Role of GIS
Speedup the process (instead of hours minutes)
Provide a common (single) access to the methodology
(for users and maintenance)
Systematize methodology and datasets used in the
process (repeatability)
Provide better tools for deriving characteristics for
regression equation determination
Map-based user interface
WEB and desktop implementation based on Arc Hydro

Arc Hydro Tools Role

StreamStats fully implemented within Arc Hydro
environment
Terrain preprocessing
Local and global watershed delineation
Extracting local characteristics
Assembly of global characteristics

Characteristics developed for StreamStats are available

to wider audience (e.g. hydrologic modeling support)
Desktop and web implementations

WEB vs. Desktop Implementation

Tradeoffs in each implementation
WEB

Centralized location for data and software

End users do not need local software or data
Easy maintenance of the application and data but changes have global
scope
Complex hardware and software requirements
Difficult customization

Desktop

Easy local updates to the data (latest and greatest for local area)
Easy modification (GIS & equations)
Simpler hardware and software requirements
Can be local (i.e. only local data)
Integrated with other applications

Web Implementation

Main Site (ID)

Main Site - navigation

Need to zoom in before
watershed delineation tool
becomes active:
see the stream to snap on

Watershed Delineation - WEB

Results - WEB
Watershed delineation
20-30 seconds, not much
difference with respect to size
of the watershed

Parameter computations
10s 1 minute, depends on
the region (what parameters
to get) and somewhat on the
size

Careful with concurrent

user demand
wait and wait and

StreamStats Implementation Activities (8/2006)

Source: http://water.usgs.gov/osw/streamstats/ssonline.html

Interested in StreamStats for your state?

Contact the USGS Water Resources District Chief for
your state:
http://water.usgs.gov/district_chief.html
Also, contact the StreamStats Team:
GS-W_StreamStats@usgs.gov
For more information, see
http://streamstats.usgs.gov/
For downloads, see
http://water.usgs.gov/software/nff.html

Source: Al Rea, USGS

Desktop Implementation

Interactive Calculator - Desktop

Excel implementation full flexibility

HEC-HMS Background

About HEC-HMS
HEC-HMS, NexGen successor
to HEC-1
Precipitation-runoff model
Lumped-link model (basinreaches)
Some pseudo-distributed
processes (ModClark)

Current release version 3.0.1

(recent major change)

Simplified HMS Watershed

Runoff Representation

HMS Components
Basin model
Watershed physical
description

Meteorologic model
Precipitation
Evapotranspiration
Snowmelt

Control specifications
Time control during
simulation

Hydrologic Elements
Subbasin: watershed
catchments
Reach: rivers and streams
Reservoir: dams and lakes
Junction: confluence
Diversion: bifurcations and
withdrawals
Source: springs and other
model sinks
Sink: outlets and terminal
lakes

Basin Model
Transform editor

Many input
forms
Baseflow method editor

Loss rate editor

Mathematical Model Choices

Many characteristics needed to compute model
parameters are spatially based
Area
Lengths/slopes
Average properties over an area (e.g. CN)
Precipitation

HMS Meteorologic Model

Grid-based precipitation
Specify DSS pathname parts

HMS Control Specifications Model

Time window
Time related specifications

HMS Model

Calibration Results

HMS Results
Hydrographs at points of interest (DSS)

HEC-GeoHMS Overview

About GeoHMS
HEC-GeoHMS companion product to HMS
ArcGIS version (ESRI for HEC under CRADA)
I/O support through HMS (ASCII, XML)
Beta expected in April

History
HEC-PrePro (UT, 1997), CRWR-PrePro, PrePro 2003,
Watershed Delineator (ESRI, 1997)
ArcView 3.* versions (ESRI for HEC, 2001-04)

Development philosophy
Build on top of Arc Hydro tools
Automate GIS feasible functionality

GeoHMS Functionality
HEC-GeoHMS
DEM preprocessing parent definition (main view)
Watershed delineation on baby models (project view)
Topographic characteristics extraction
Hydrologic parameter computations
Model schematization
Model input preparation (ASCII XML, SDF)

Other GIS processing

Rainfall distribution/interpolation
LU/soils
runoff coefficient mapping

GeoHMS Functionality (cont.)

HEC-GeoHMS and Arc Hydro tools are tightly linked
GeoHMS computes as many Arc Hydro attributes as possible (e.g.
NextDownID, JunctionID, DrainID)
DEM preprocessing (main view) is done using Arc Hydro tools
Topographic characteristics extraction is based on Arc Hydro tools
Arc Hydro tools operate on both main and project views

Option to change stream definition threshold when

extracting the project view (one threshold for the main
view and different thresholds for different project views)

DEM Preprocessing (parent definition)

Hydrologically correct DEM
Flow direction (D8 method)
Flow accumulation
Stream definition and segmentation
Watershed pre-delineation
Project (baby) data extraction

DEM Preprocessing (cont.)

Stream definition and
segmentation
Threshold (performance)

Watershed predelineation
At stream confluences

DEM Preprocessing (cont.)

Project (baby) data
extraction
Extract specific area of
interest by defining the
outlet and inlets

Watershed Delineation
Flexible addition and removal of basin outlets
Merge existing basins
Split basin anywhere on the stream
Add an outlet anywhere (trace the outlet stream to an existing
stream)
Profile

Interactive or batch processing

Understanding of basin character

Watershed Delineation (cont.)

Topographic Characteristic Extraction

Well defined topographic descriptors
Longest flowpath, basin centroid, stream slope, centroidal length,
CN, etc. (others planned)

Hydrologic (Model) Parameter Extraction

Loss rate method (SCS CN)
Basin CN

Direct runoff method (SCS UH)

Basin lag (TR55, SCS CN)

Reach routing
Muskingum-Cunge standard channel parameters

Precipitation
Weighted gage (standard SCS type II, 24 hour, 100 year design
distribution)
Nexrad/DSS

Model Schematization
Upstream/downstream connectivity
Development of lumped-link schema

Model Input Preparation

Native HMS ASCII input files (hms, basin, geometry, met,
dss, gage, control)

Selected
HEC-GeoHMS Details

HMS Project Setup

Define outlet and sources
Extract applicable GIS data for ProjView

GeoHMS: Project View

Basin and Reach Manipulation

Basin Merge
Rules
The subbasins must share a confluence OR
The subbasins must be adjacent in an upstream and downstream
manner
More than 2 subbasins are permitted.

 Select the two subbasins using the selection tool or any other selection method
Basin
Merge

Basin Merge

Basin Subdivision

Method 1 - Subdivide an existing subbasin

Method 2 - Delineate a new subbasin
Method 3 - Delineate on a tributary branch where the
stream does not exist

Basin Subdivision - Method 1

Method 1 - An existing
basin can be subdivided
into two basins at an
existing stream.

River Profile

Subdivide at grade break

click on the desired point on the profile, and that point is transferred
onto the map and the basin is subdivided at that point

Batch Subbasin Delineation

Rule - The point should be located within the grid cell that
has an existing stream.
Import Batch Points
Places all selected points in the map into the batch point file. Id
source feature classes have Name and Description attributes,
they area assigned to the batch points

Delineate Batch Points

Takes points from batch point feature class and uses them to do
basin subdivision.
BatchDone and SnapOn attributes to control snapping

Extraction of Physical
Characteristics

River Length and Slope

Z unit is obtained from the spatial reference of the data. If
that is not found, the spatial reference of the map is used
for unit conversion.
Added characteristics

Basin Centroid
Method 1 - Bounding Box
Method 2 - Flow Path
Method 3 - User specified location (out of box ArcGIS)

Longest Flow Path

From ArcHydro Tools

Attributes of subbasin

Additional Subbasin Attributes

Utilize Arc Hydro characteristic extraction
CN
Impervious area
Basin slope
User defineable

Assembling Data for HMS

Outline
Develop HMS inputs from GeoHMS
HMS Schematic
Basin Model
Background Map File
Grid Cell Parameter File

Assemble an HMS model

Unit Conversion
Convert Map units to HMS units (unit
conversion defined in configuration
file)
Additional attributes can be
managed by editing the
configuration file

Development of HMS Schematic

Run HMS Schematic from HMS menu

Develop Lumped Basin Model

Run Lumped Basin File
from HMS menu
ASCII (.basin) format as
well as XML format

Developing HMS Model

Hydrologic Analysis (HEC-HMS)

Basin import
Geometry (background) import
Hydrologic (model) parameters complete the model for the
parameters not defined through GeoHMS
Basin (precipitation-runoff transformation)
Reach (routing)

Precipitation
Calibration
Final run (hydrographs as results)
None of the results are sent back to GIS at this time
Use of DSS for time series storage and exchange with RAS

Model Results (DSS)

Basin

Summary

HEC-RAS Background

About HEC-RAS
HEC-RAS, NexGen successor to HEC-2
1-Dimensional hydraulic program
Steady and Unsteady Flow
Compute water surface from channel geometry and flow
Current release version 3.1.3
Flow

Water depth?

Source: HEC

HEC-RAS Components
Graphical User Interface
Data storage/management
Graphics, Tabular Output & Reporting
GeoRAS GIS pre and postprocessor

Source: HEC

Geometric Data

Cross Sections
Detailed Bridge Analysis
Detailed Culvert Analysis (9 shapes)
Multiple openings (bridge, culverts, conveyance)
Inline Weirs/Spillways, Gated Structures
Lateral Weirs/Spillways, Gated Structures
Storage Areas and Hydraulic Connections
Rating Curves
Data importers: HEC-2, UNET, Mike11, GIS, Survey
Data
Source: HEC

RAS Schematic

Source: HEC

Cross Sections

Source: HEC

Flow Data and Boundary Conditions

Steady flow data - peak flows or time lines
Unsteady flow data - hydrographs
Boundary Conditions
Stage and/or flow hydrographs
Rating Curves
Normal or critical depth
Lateral and uniform lateral inflow hydrographs
Groundwater interflow
Time series of gate openings
Elevation controlled gates

Source: HEC

Analyses Types

FEMA Floodway Analysis

Channel Modifications
Split Flow Optimization steady flow
Bridge Scour Analysis
Detailed Flow Distribution
Mixed Flow Regime in Unsteady Flow
Subcritical and Supercritical flow, draw downs, and hydraulic jumps

Dam Break Analysis

Levee Breaching and Overtopping
Pump Stations multiple pumps, on and off elevations
Navigation Dams Dam and hinge point control

Source: HEC

Viewing Results
Graphics

Cross sections
Water surface profiles
Stage and flow hydrographs
XYZ Plot
Rating Curves
Generic plots Any variable in profile, rating
Animation (cross section, profile, 3D plots)

Tabular Output
Pre-defined detailed and summary tables
User-define output tables

Source: HEC

HEC-GeoRAS

About HEC-GeoRAS
HEC-GeoRAS companion product to RAS
ArcGIS version (ESRI for HEC under CRADA)
I/O support through RAS (ASCII, XML)
Beta released (in pre-beta for almost 2 years)

History
ARC/HEC2 (UT, 1992)
Philadelphia COE (ARC/INFO solution)
ArcView version (ESRI) AVRas 2.2
ARC/INFO and ArcView 3.* versions (HEC/ESRI)

Development philosophy
Automate boring tasks
Provide tools for involved tasks, otherwise standard ArcGIS

GeoRAS Functionality
HEC-GeoRAS
Preprocessing

Layer construction
Data entry utilities
Characteristics extraction (stream and cross-section properties)
Model input preparation (ASCII)

Postprocessing
Import of RAS results into a geodatabase
Generation of water depth and floodplain extent

Other GIS processing

Mapping
Visualization

HEC-GeoRAS
Preprocessing

GeoRAS Data Layers - Required

Terrain Model representation
of both the main channel and
adjacent floodplain area
TIN or GRID
tiled or monolith

Stream Centerline
Cross Section Cut Lines

GeoRAS Data Layers Optional

Flow paths
Stream banks
Land use
Ineffective areas
Levee alignments
Storage areas
Blocked obstructions
Bridge/culverts

Contours, images,
orthophotos, (visualization)

GeoRAS Database Generation

Through code
Create RAS Layers function in
GeoRAS UI
Each function will generate
layers/attributes as needed

ArcCatalog
From geodatabase schema
Careful with spatial reference

Careful with SDE

implementation (write
access)

GIS Data Layer Terrain

Terrain
TIN or GRID
Used to:
Provide elevation values
Georeference GIS layers !

Contours can be created and

used for visualization only
Assists in stream centerline and
cross section layout

GIS Data Layer Stream Centerline

Terrain
Stream Centerline
Establishes cross-sectional river
stationing
Created in the direction of flow from upstream to downstream
Each reach must have a unique
river-reach name

GIS Data Layer Cross Sections

Contours
Stream Centerline
Stream Banks
Flow Paths
Cross Sections
XS locations (cut lines) are
oriented from the left to right
bank
Perpendicular to flow

River Stationing
Cross-sectional station
calculated from intersection
of Stream Centerline and XS
Cut Lines

Downstream Reach Lengths

Calculated at the intersection
of Cross-sectional Cut Lines
and Flow Path Centerlines
themes
Reach lengths are calculated
as the length between cut
lines

Station-elevation Data
Elevation data extracted from
intersection of Crosssectional Cut Line theme
with the terrain

Station-elevation Data

Cross-sectional Cut Line

TIN

Resultant Cross Section

GIS Data Layer Other

Contours
Stream Centerline
Stream Banks
Flow Paths
Cross Sections
Land Use

Other
Levees
Ineffective flow areas
Blocked obstructions
Bridge/Culverts
Inline structures
Lateral structures
Storage areas

GIS Data Layer 3D Elements

Contours
Stream Centerline
Stream Banks
Flow Paths
Cross Sections
Land Use
Other

3D elements are
extracted from their 2D
counterparts and the
terrain
Cross sections
Stream centerline
Bridge/Culverts
Inline structures
Lateral structures
Storage areas

Geometric Import File (GIS

Content
Header Information
River Network Definition
Rivers, reaches, and junctions

Channel and Floodplain

Geometry

Station-elevation data
Bank stations
Downstream reach lengths
Mannings n values

Other
Storage areas

RAS)

Geometric Import File (cont.)

Format
sdf (RAS I/O ASCII
format)
XML

Completing HEC-RAS and

HEC-GeoRAS Postprocessing

Analysis Process Overview

(GIS data Development completed)

Import GIS data into HEC-RAS
Complete data entry
Geometry
Required information not covered by GIS

Modeling run
Initial and boundary conditions

Perform the computations

QC of results
Calibration

Export results to GIS (GeoRAS postprocessing)

Floodplain delineation
Water depth determination

Completing HEC-RAS Input

Imported Data
River system schematic
River, reach and junction labels

Cross-section data
River, reach, and river station labels
Cross section cut lines (x,y)
Cross section surface line (x,y,z)
Main channel banks stations (optional)
Downstream reach lengths (optional)
Mannings n values (optional)
Ineffective flow areas (optional)
Levees (optional)

Imported Data (cont.)

Storage areas
Structures (only 2 and 3D geometry and placement are
generated detailed structure characteristics are
currently not work in progress)
Bridge/culverts
Inline structures
Lateral structures

Data NOT Imported

Contraction and expansion coefficients
Optional cross-section properties
Ice, vertical n values, etc

Hydraulic structure survey data

Bridge and culvert openings, weir characteristics, etc...

Flow characteristics
Initial conditions
Boundary conditions

Completing the Data

GIS does not generate all required data. Some are
optional (e.g. Mannings n or bank stations) and some are
not supported (e.g. structure characteristics or flows).
In most cases, additional work will have to be done on
cross-sections
Banks
Mannings n
Simplification of cross-section points (weeding)

Completing the Data Flow Characteristics

Flow data

Boundary
conditions

Profile names

Performing Computations and Viewing Results

.065

620

.04

.09
Legend
EG 22FEB1999 0500

Elevation (ft)

600

WS 22FEB1999 0500
Crit 22FEB1999 0500

580

Ground
Levee

560

Ineff
Bank Sta

540

520

200

400

600

800

Station (ft)

1000

1200

1400

Exporting Results to GIS

From HEC-RAS File
menu select Export
GIS Data
Many options
Make sure that the
result requested in
RAS is matching GIS
export requirements
(e.g. velocities)

Post-processing in
HEC-GeoRAS

Floodplain Delineation Methods

Import of model results into GIS
Construction of GIS coverage through water surface as defined by
the hydraulic model (e.g. HEC-RAS).
fast, simple implementation
limited to solution at the cross-section - non-terrain based interpolation
between the cross-sections

Construction of GIS coverage by construction of a water TIN and

then intersection of the water and terrain TINs to produce the final
floodplain outline.
slow, complex implementation
needs conversion of TIN into lattice (A/I)
more precise interpolation

RAS GIS Export File

Inundation Processing
Multiple steps
Generate water surface TIN
Use cross-sections as breaklines with known water surface elevation
coming from RAS.
Use bounding polygon as TIN extent (clip water surface extent)

Convert water surface TIN into a water surface GRID

Rasterization cell is user defined (if terrain is in GRID format, it should
be terrains resolution)

Positive difference between the water surface and terrain GRID is

the water depth grid (negative values are discarded)
The perimeter of the water depth grid is the floodplain boundary

Inundation Processing (cont.)

Terrain model and water
surface TIN are converted to
registered grids
Depth grid determined from
the difference of the water
surface and land surface

Inundation Processing (cont.)

Floodplain boundaries at the
intersection of the water
surface and land surface
grids
Floodplain polygon is
created in GeoRAS by
vectorizing the depth grid

Visualization

Modeling Feedback
Visual inspection/interpretation of results (or sooner) not
just a pretty picture
Terrain problems
Ineffective areas
Problematic cross-section location
Floodplain discontinuity
Short cross-sections

Problematic RAS auto cross-section interpolation

Floodplain Discontinuity

Floodplain Discontinuity (cont.)

Dry
Water surface
profile
Terrain
Cross-sections

Cross-section Interpolation
TIN interpolated
cross-sections

RAS interpolated
cross-sections

RAS assumed
terrain
Original crosssections

Terrain

H&H Integration Overview

(HMS-RAS focus)

Integration Approach
Mix of planning, GIS, and H&H modeling operations not
a push button operation.
Types of integration
Modeling support (preparing data for model input)
e.g. land use/soils/CN or rainfall processing Arc Hydro or general GIS
data processing

Linked
GeoHMS
GeoRAS

Integrated
DSS

Integration Approach (2)

Key steps:
Plan (roughly) hydrologic and hydraulic model layouts flow exchange
locations
e.g. location of HMS modeling elements and RAS cross-sections

Identify sources of precipitation input into the hydrologic model and

techniques for their incorporation into the dataset
e.g. Nexrad rainfall

Develop GeoHMS model (and precipitation sub model)

Finalize and run HMS model and generate results (DSS)
Develop GeoRAS model
Finalize and run RAS taking HMS results as input
Feedback between HMS and RAS is manual
e.g. modification of time of concentration or routing parameters

Integration Planning
Identify where outputs from one
model (HMS) become input to
the second one (RAS)
Place hydrologic elements
(subbasins, reaches, junctions) to
capture flows at points of interest
(confluences, structures)
Place hydraulic elements (crosssections) at points of interest
Identify/specify element naming
conventions between the two
models (persistent or transient
names)

Develop GeoHMS model

Follow all principles in development of
a hydrologic model
In addition, take into consideration
integration planning aspects
developed earlier
Placement of flow exchange points
Naming conventions

Incorporate precipitation submodel

Develop Arc Hydro time series for the final
subbasin delineation and export to DSS

Export to HMS

Finalize and Run HMS

Complete HMS
model with any
additional
parameters
including
meteorological
model and control
specifications
Follow all principles
in HMS model
development
(calibration, etc.)

Finalize and Run HMS (2)

Do the final run and
generate results
(DSS)
HMS View
DSS View

Develop GeoRAS model (pre-processing)

Follow all principles in
development of a hydraulic
model for element placement
(confluences, structures, )
In addition, take into
consideration integration
planning aspects developed
earlier
Naming conventions (add name of
the HMS element to the crosssection that will get the elements
flows)

Export to RAS

Finalize and Run RAS

Complete RAS
model with any
additional
parameters
including initial and
boundary conditions
Follow all principles
in RAS model
development
(calibration, etc.)

Finalize and Run RAS (2)

Do the final run
and generate
results (export to
sdf file)

Process RAS results in GeoRAS

Construct the floodplain
based on the results in
the sdf
Review the results with
respect to spatial integrity
(extents of cross-sections,
ineffective flow areas,
disconnected flood areas,
)
Clean results
Revisit RAS

GIS HMS RAS Feedback

At present it is manual and at discretion of modeler
GIS H&H interaction
H H interaction

Visualization in both pre and post-processing not just a

pretty picture
Fly-over in preprocessing (GeoHMS and GeoRAS)
Identification of data problems
Modeling element placement

Post-processing (GeoRAS)
Validity of element placement

Questions ???