Introduction to USEPA

SWMM
CE 572 - Analysis of Urban Water Systems
Fall 2008

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Topics to Be Covered

 SWMM’s Capabilities
 Old SWMM v. New SWMM
 SWMM’s Data Objects
 SWMM’s Process Models
 Additional Resources

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 What Is SWMM?

SWMM is a distributed, dynamic rainfall-runoff simulation

model used for single event or long-term (continuous)
simulation of runoff quantity and quality from primarily
urban areas. 3
SWMM’s Process Models

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 Hydrologic Modeling Features
 Spatially and time varying rainfall
 Evaporation of standing surface water
 Snow accumulation and melting
 Interception from depression storage
 Infiltration into soil layers
 Percolation into shallow groundwater
 Interflow between groundwater & channels
 Nonlinear routing of overland flow

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 Hydraulic Modeling Features
 Handles drainage networks of any size
 Accommodates various conduit shapes as well as
irregular natural channels
 Models pumps, regulators, storage units
 Allows external inflows from runoff, groundwater,
RDII, sanitary, DWF, and user-supplied time series
 Uses flexible rule-based controls for pumps and
regulators
 Models various flow regimes, such as backwater,
surcharging, reverse flow, and surface ponding
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Water Quality Modeling Features

 Pollutant buildup over different land uses

 Pollutant washoff during runoff events
 Reduction in buildup from street cleaning
 Reduction in washoff from BMPs
 Inflows from user-defined sources and
sanitary DWF
 WQ routing through the drainage network
 User-defined treatment functions

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 Typical Applications of SWMM

 Design and sizing of drainage system components

including detention facilities
 Flood plain mapping of natural channel systems
 Control of combined and sanitary sewer overflows
 Generating non-point source pollutant loadings for
wasteload allocation studies
 Evaluating BMPs and LIDs for sustainability goals

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 Limitations of SWMM
 Not applicable to large-scale, non-urban
watersheds
 Not applicable to forested areas or
irrigated cropland
 Cannot be used with highly aggregated
(e.g., daily) rainfall data
 Its an analysis tool, not an automated
design tool

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 SWMM Chronology
 1971 - SWMM I (M&E, UF, WRE)
 1975 - SWMM II (UF)
 1981 - SWMM 3 (UF & CDM)
 1983 - SWMM 3.3 (PC Version)
 1988 - SWMM 4 (UF & CDM)
 2005 – SWMM 5 (EPA & CDM)

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Old SWMM Structure

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Structure of SWMM 5

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SWMM 5’s Visual Objects

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 Flow Routing Algorithms in
SWMM5
 Steady Flow
 simple hydrograph translation
 applicable only to branched networks

 Kinematic Wave
 gravity force balanced by friction force
 attenuated & delayed outflow due to channel storage
 applicable only to branched networks

 Dynamic Wave
 solves full St. Venant eqns.
 accounts for channel storage, backwater effects,
pressurized flow, and reverse flow
 applicable to any network layout
 requires smaller time step

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 Flow Routing Algorithms in
SWMM5
 Steady Flow Routing
 Actually just sums instantaneous subcatchment runoff
for all subcatchments upstream of the selected channel
 Kinematic Wave
 Uniform, unsteady flow
 No backwater, no surcharge, tree branch systems only
unless flow splits are input
 Dynamic Wave
 Non-uniform, unsteady flow
 Backwater, surcharge, looped or parallel sewers, street
routing of flooded sewer manholes
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General Conceptual ModelFor
Dynamic Wave

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Link and Node Properties

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 Hydraulic Boundary Condition
at Nodes

Grelev(NN,1)

Grelev(NN,2)

Conduit
(N )

JN
JN+1 18
Node Flooding Options

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 Surface Routing of Flood Flows
Surface Gutter
( NN)

Zp(NN,1)

Zp(NN,2)

Conduit
(N )

JN
JN+1 20
Conceptual Representation of the
Dynamic Routing Algorithm

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Basic Flow Equation

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Continuity Equation

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Flow Cases Covered in Dynamic
Routing Algorithm

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Flow Cases Covered in Dynamic
Routing Algorithm

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Flow Cases Covered in Dynamic
Routing Algorithm

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Conceptual Representation of
Storage in SWMM

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Orifices and Weirs

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Representation of Weirs

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Representation of Pump

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 EPA SWMM Web Site
http://www.epa.gov/ednnrmrl/swmm/

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 The SWMM-USERS List Server
List servers provide a means for subscribers to get quick answers to
questions and participate in discussions relating to the list server topics.
Subscription is free, and subscribers receive all the e-mail that is sent to
the list and can in turn send e-mail to the list.

The SWMM-USERS list server is a forum for users of the public-domain

USEPA SWMM program to share ideas and ask questions on issues
related to stormwater management modeling. A searchable archive of
past questions and answers is available through our SWMM Q&A
database.

To subscribe to a list, send an email to listserv@listserv.uoguelph.ca. Do

not put anything in the subject line and, in the body of the message,
include the following line (with NO other text and no brackets):

SUBSCRIBE SWMM-USERS [first name] [last name]

For example,

SUBSCRIBE SWMM-USERS JANE DOE

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SWMM Wrappers With GIS
Interfaces
 XP SWMM – XP Software (
www.xpsoftware.com)

 Mike SWMM – DHI (

www.dhisoftware.com)

 InfoSWMM - MWH Soft

(www.mwhsoft.com)

 PC SWMM – CHI
(www.computationalhydraulics.com)

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 Homework

1. Download SWMM5 from the EPA Website

http://www.epa.gov/ednnrmrl/models/swmm/index.htm
2. Download the User’s Manual
3. Page through the Users Manual so you are
familiar with it
4. Look at the tutorial and be prepared to run
it in class on Thursday

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