user s manual - visualotthymo.comvisualotthymo.com/downloads/v5.0_usermanual.pdf · 1.3 about the...

VISUAL OTTHYMO

USER’S MANUAL

VERSION 5.0

Civica Infrastructure Inc. August 2017

iii

CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Welcome 1

1.2 What’s New in Version 5.0 1

1.3 About the User’s Manual 2

1.4 VO Help Support 2

1.4.1 Documentation 3

1.4.2 Program Help File 3

1.4.3 Help Search 3

1.4.4 Context-Sensitive Help (F1) 3

1.4.5 Seminars and Workshops 3

1.5 Customer Support 3

1.6 Software License Agreement 4

1.7 Installing Visual OTTHYMO 7

1.7.1 Hardware and Software Requirements 7

1.7.2 Licensing System 8

1.7.3 Installation VO 8

1.7.4 Running VO 11

1.7.5 Uninstall VO 12

2 QUICK START TUTORIAL 13

2.1 Example Study Area 13

2.2 Project Setup for Sigle-event Model 13

2.3 Creating Drainage Network on Canvas 14

2.4 Setting Hydrologic Object Properties 16

2.5 Adding Design Storm 17

2.6 Running Single-event Simulations 19

2.7 Viewing Single-event Simulation Outputs 20

2.8 Converting to Continuous OTTHYMO Model 22

iv

2.9 Adding Long-term Precipitation and Temperature 23

2.10 Running Continuous Simulations 23

2.11 Viewing Continuous Simulation Outputs 24

3 CONCEPTUAL MODEL 28

3.1 Introduction 28

3.2 Visual OTTHYMO Hydrologic Objects Overview 29

3.3 Common Parameters 31

3.4 Flow Generation Hydrologic Objects 32

3.4.1 StandHyd 32

3.4.2 NasHyd 34

3.4.3 WilHyd 35

3.4.4 ScsHyd 36

3.5 Flow Routing Hydrologic Objects 37

3.5.1 RouteChannel 37

3.5.2 MuskingumCunge 38

3.5.3 RoutePipe 39

3.5.4 RouteReservoir 40

3.5.5 ShiftHyd 40

3.6 Flow Separation Hydrologic Objects 41

3.6.1 DuHyd 41

3.6.2 DivertHyd 42

3.7 Flow Merging Hydrologic Objects 43

3.8 Other Hydrological Objects 43

3.8.1 ReadHyd 43

3.8.2 StoreHyd 43

4 VISUAL OTTHYMO MAIN WINDOW 44

4.1 Overview 44

4.2 Toolbox 45

4.3 Toolbar 46

4.4 Project Manager 51

v

4.5 Properties 53

4.5.1 Editing Simple Property 54

4.5.2 Editing Collection Data 55

4.5.3 Editing LOSS Routine of StandHyd 56

4.5.4 CN* Flag 57

4.6 Parameter Tables 57

4.7 Hydrograph Results / Water Balance Results 59

4.8 Error List 60

5 WORKING WITH PROJECTS AND SCENARIOS 61

5.1 Projects 61

5.1.1 Project Types 61

5.1.2 Creating a New Project 61

5.1.3 Opening an Existing Project 62

5.1.4 Saving a Project 62

5.2 Scenarios 62

5.2.1 Creating a New Scenario 63

5.2.2 Duplicating an Existing Scenario 63

5.2.3 Opening an Existing Scenario 64

5.2.4 Setting Default Scenario 64

5.2.5 Scenario Settings 64

5.3 Importing Scenarios From Model Data Files 65

5.3.1 Model Data Files Supported 65

5.3.2 Importing SWMM5 65

5.3.3 Importing Visual OTTHYMO v2.4 and Later 66

5.3.4 Importing Visual OTTHYMO v2.0 - v2.3 Data Files 66

5.3.5 Importing Classic OTTHYMO Data Files 67

6 WORKING WITH CANVAS 69

6.1 Adding Background 69

6.2 Adding Hydrologic Objects 70

6.3 Selecting Hydrologic Objects 71

6.4 Changing the location of Hydrologic Objects 73

vi

6.5 Linking Hydrologic Objects 74

6.6 Navigating Canvas 75

6.7 Creating Labels 75

6.8 Printing Model Schematic 77

7 WORKING WITH THE MAP 78

7.1 Map View Layout 79

7.2 Default Coordinate System 80

7.3 Using Layers 80

7.3.1 Layer Types 80

7.3.2 Hydrologic Object Layers 81

7.3.3 Support Layers 82

7.3.4 Layer Context Menu 82

7.3.5 Adding a Layer 83

7.3.6 Moving Layers 84

7.3.7 Removing Layers 84

7.3.8 Defining Layer Visibility 84

7.3.9 Defining Layer Symbol 85

7.3.10 Labelling Layer 87

7.4 Using the Map 88

7.4.1 Navigating the Map 88

7.4.2 Selecting Features on Map 89

7.4.3 Creating Hydrologic Objects Manually 90

7.4.4 Creating Hydrologic Objects with GIS Data 92

7.4.5 Linking Hydrologic objects 93

7.4.6 Assigning Geometry to Existing Hydrological Objects 95

7.4.7 Moving, Editing and Deleting Hydrologic objects 96

7.4.8 Cutting Polygon-hydrologic objects 98

7.5 Updating Hydrologic objects Location in Schematic View 99

7.6 Using GIS Tools 100

7.6.1 Calculating CN 100

7.6.2 Calculating Area Weighted 102

7.6.3 Distributed Rainfall Modeling Technique (DRMT) 103

vii

7.7 Turning Off Map Functions 106

8 WORKING WITH CLIMATE LIBRARY 108

8.1 Opening Climate Library 108

8.2 Toolbar 109

8.3 Library Explorer 109

8.3.1 Oder of Items 109

8.3.2 Icons 111

8.3.3 Context Menu 111

8.3.4 Drag and Drop 111

8.4 Main View 112

8.5 Adding New Items 112

8.5.1 Adding Group 113

8.5.2 Adding IDF Group 113

8.5.3 Adding IDF Curve 115

8.5.4 Adding Design Storm 115

8.5.5 Adding Rain Gauge, Temperature Gauge and Evaporation Gauge 118

8.5.6 Adding Precipitation, Temperature and Evaporation Data 119

8.6 Assigning IDF to Chicago Design Storm 120

8.6.1 Coping and Pasting A, B, C 120

8.6.2 Dragging and Dropping IDF Curve to Chicago Design Storm 121

8.7 Sharing 121

8.7.1 Exporting 122

8.7.2 Importing 122

8.8 Adding Climate Data to Model 123

9 RUNING A SIMULATION 126

9.1 Overview 126

9.2 Single-event Simulation 126

9.3 Continuous Simulation 127

9.3.1 Setting Simulation Engine 127

9.3.2 Creating and Running Simulations 130

viii

10 WORKING WITH OUTPUT 132

10.1 Overview of Output Features 132

10.2 Single-event Simulation Outputs 133

10.2.1 Summary Data 133

10.2.2 Hydrograph Data 135

10.2.3 Hydrograph Plot 136

10.2.4 Traditional Detailed and Summary Output 140

10.2.5 Reviewing Output 142

10.3 Continuous Simulation Outputs 143

10.3.1 Summary Data 143

10.3.2 Time Series Plot 145

11 VISUAL OTTHYMO FILES 149

11.1 Project Files 149

11.2 Climate Data Files 149

11.3 Calibration Files 151

11.4 Hydrograph Files 152

12 TROUBLESHOOTING 154

12.1 Error and Warning Messages 154

12.1.1 Interface File Messages 154

12.1.2 Output File Messages 154

12.2 Program Quits During Run Simulation 156

Appendix A Parameter Edit Tools 157

A.1 Convert to CN* 157

A.2 Batch Assign 158

A.3 Calibrate Commands 160

Civica Infrastructure Inc.

Visual OTTHYMO User’s Manual | Page 1

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 WELCOME

Welcome to Visual OTTHYMO v5.0 (VO5), the fifth version of the INTERHYMO-OTTHYMO hy-

drologic model simulation software package designed for Microsoft Windows OS.

OTTHYMO is a successful hydrologic management model that has been used for various simu-

lation analyses such as: Watershed Studies, Sub-watershed Studies, Master Drainage Plans,

Functional Stormwater Management Plans, Site Plans, and Stormwater Management Pond De-

signs.

1.2 WHAT’S NEW IN VERSION 5.0

With version 5.0, Visual OTTHYMO is extended from single-event simulation to continuous sim-

ulation to enable water balance analysis, erosion analysis and flow forecasting. Changes have

been made to adapt to continuous simulations as summarized below.

1. A new project type is added for continuous simulation. Existing single-event project could

be easily converted to a continuous project. With current version, the continuous model

supports five (5) hydrologic objects (NasHyd, StandHyd, AddHyd, RouteChannel and

RouteReservoir). Others will be added in later versions.

2. The Storm Library is extended to Climate Library. Long-term precipitation, temperature

and evaporation data could be added for continuous simulation.

3. The Project Manager is also extended to add temperature and evaporation data. Same

as the rainfall data, it’s added from the Climate Library and used in the simulation.

4. A Simulation Engine window is added for continuous simulation to change global settings

for the simulation run, e.g. snow melt base temperature. The simulate time step is also a

global parameter.

5. A new Batch Run window is created for continuous simulation. A simulation run will have

a name, a precipitation, the starting and ending time and optionally the temperature and

evaporation data.

6. The Hydrograph Results window is changed to Water Balance Results window for con-

tinuous simulation. The water balance components and peak flow is shown in the table.

7. The Water Balance menu is added to the canvas context menu to show the yearly and

monthly water balance summary.

8. The water balance summary results are available for labels in canvas.

9. The Plot Results button is added to Simulation tab to view the various time series data

with given time intervals.

10. Several single-event output tools, e.g. Summary Output, Detail Output, Cross Scenario

Plot, Hydrograph Result and Flow Data is removed for continuous simulation.



1.3 ABOUT THE USER’S MANUAL

The manual is divided into chapters and does not necessarily have to be read from start to finish.

Users that are familiar with previous releases of Visual OTTHYMO can probably learn how to

navigate around the model on their own and need only refer to the guide for new additional fea-

tures. The User’s Manual is organized as follows:

TABLE 1-1: USER’S MANUAL OUTLINE

Chapter Description

Chapter 1 - Introduction

This chapter gives an introduction to the model including new fea-

tures and how the Help System and documentation is organized,

how to install and uninstall the program.

Chapter 1 – Quick Start Tuto-

rial

This chapter provides a tutorial to help new users to understand the

basin steps to create and run a model.

Chapter 3 – Conceptual Model This chapter explains the conceptual model used in Visual OT-

THYMO and describes all hydrologic objects.

Chapter 4 – Visual OTTHYMO

Main Window

This chapter introduces the layout of the main interface and de-

scribes some of the windows.

Chapter 5 – Working with Pro-

jects and Scenarios

This chapter introduces the concept of project and scenario and de-

scribes how to manage them in Visual OTTHYMO.

Chapter 6 - Working with Can-

vas

This chapter describes the usage of the canvas to create a model in

Schematic View.

Chapter 7 – Working with the

Map

This chapter describes the usage of the map to create a model in

Map View.

Chapter 8 – Working with Cli-

mate Library

This chapter describes the concept and usage of Climate Library. It’s

the hub for climate data.

Chapter 9 – Running a Simu-

lation

This chapter guides users to change simulation engine parameter

and then create and run simulations.

Chapter 10 – Working with

Output

This chapter guides users to view simulation outputs with various

tools.

Chapter 11 – Visual OT-

THYMO Files

This chapter covers all the files used in Visual OTTHYMO including

importing from previous versions.

Chapter 12 - Troubleshooting This chapter guides users through some common troubleshooting sit-

uations.

1.4 VO HELP SUPPORT

VO has a comprehensive Help System and supporting documentation that will assist both begin-

ners as well as advanced users. One of the main goals in designing this Help System was to

empower the user with the tools and information so that almost every question could be answered

in a timely manner, without having to call for technical support. Should a question arise that is not

addressed in the user manual, please contact technical support at [email protected].

mailto:[email protected]



1.4.1 DOCUMENTATION

Two separate documents are accessible for VO, which include a User’s Manual and a Reference

Manual. This current document, the User’s Manual contains information on how to use the pro-

gram with a complete description of all the features. This manual does not concern the back-

ground theory. An online copy of the User’s Manual can be accessed online at http://visu-

alotthymo.com/downloads/v5.0_usermanual.pdf. The Reference Manual contains all of the hy-

drologic theory behind the program and gives guidance for users on how to select or measure

object parameter. The history of the development of the model is also addressed for advanced

users who need to know “why” and from “where”.

1.4.2 PROGRAM HELP FILE

To access the program’s help files, click the Help button at the top right corner or press F1.

You can use the Contents tab to jump to topics that tell you how to use VO, or to get quick access

to key reference topics.

1.4.3 HELP SEARCH

The fastest way to find a particular topic in Help is to use the Search dialog box (Index Tab). To

display the Search dialog box choose the Help Topics button on any Help topic screen and

choose the Index tab. To begin a search of the available topics (Index tab), type the first few

letters of the topic you are looking for, or make a selection from the list by scrolling up or down,

and then click Display. Alternatively, to search for a specific word in the Help topics, use the

Search tab. To begin a search for a specific word, type the first few letters of the word you are

looking for, or select matching words to narrow your search, and then choose one of the topics

where the word was found and click Display.

1.4.4 CONTEXT-SENSITIVE HELP (F1)

Many parts of VO are context-sensitive. Context-sensitive means you can get Help on these parts

directly without having to go through the Help menu. For example, to get Help on Climate Library

in VO, press F1 while Climate Library is opend. You can press F1 from any context-sensitive

part of the VO interface to display Help information about that part.

1.4.5 SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS

Civica infrastructure Inc. (Civica Infrastructure) hosts seminars and workshops that allow the user

an opportunity to learn the basics of VO and to learn to use all its features to its full potential.

Seminars and workshops are organized by need. You can find more information from our website.

1.5 CUSTOMER SUPPORT

Users requiring support should first consult the User’s Manual and Reference Manual to try to

answer their question. Should a question not be addressed or further assistance is required, users

should contact Civica Infrastructure’s VO Technical Support [email protected] or +1 (905) 417-

9792. Live technical support is also available for all registered users regarding program installa-

tion and troubleshooting. Users requiring technical support pertaining to the use of the model in

an engineering application will be charged a nominal fee.

http://visualotthymo.com/downloads/v5.0_usermanual.pdf

http://visualotthymo.com/downloads/v5.0_usermanual.pdf

http://civi.ca/software/vo5-single-event-and-continuous-hydrological-modelling/training/

mailto:[email protected]



1.6 SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT

Before continuing with the installation and use of the Visual OTTHYMO™ software for stormwater

management, we suggest you read the following Software License Agreement and the inclusive

terms and conditions.

BY INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE, YOU ARE AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS

AND CONDITIONS OF THIS LICENSE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE, DO NOT ACCEPT OR USE

THE SOFTWARE.

This End User License Agreement (“EULA”) is a legal agreement between you (either an individ-

ual or a single entity) and Civica Infrastructure Inc. (“Civica”) for access to the CIVICA software

application (“Software”) that accompanies this EULA, which may include associated media,

printed materials, “online” or electronic documentation, and Internet-based services.

GENERAL: CIVICA grants the user a license to use the Software under the terms and conditions

set forth in this EULA, provided that you comply with all such terms and conditions. The Software

is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws and treaties. CIVICA owns the title,

copyright, and other intellectual property rights to the Software. CIVICA reserves all rights not

expressly granted to you in this EULA. The Software is licensed, not sold.

LICENSE: The software and the related documentation are licensed to you by Civica Infrastruc-

ture Inc. ("LICENSOR") as owner and also as distributor ("DISTRIBUTOR"). You will own the

media on which the Software is stored and provided to you herewith, but LICENSOR retains all

rights, including the copyright, in the Software and the related documentation. You may install

and maintain the Software (the "Installed Copy") on either a: (i) single computer for use by one

person at a time (without sharing); or (ii) network server for use on an internal network, provided

that the number of users concurrently using or sharing the Software does not exceed the number

of valid licenses of the Software you have purchased from the LICENSOR. You may not assign

or otherwise transfer any of your rights under this License to any third party. YOU AGREE TO

ENSURE THAT ANYONE WHO USES THE SOFTWARE DOES SO ONLY FOR YOUR AU-

THORIZED USE AND COMPLIES WITH THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT.

TERM: This License is effective until terminated. You may terminate this License at any time by

destroying all copies (in any format and including the Installed Copy) of the Software and related

documentation. This License will terminate immediately, without notice from the LICENSOR, if

you fail to comply with any provision of this License. Upon termination, you must destroy all

copies (in any format and including the Installed Copy) of the Software and related documentation,

and you must notify LICENSOR in writing that all such copies have been destroyed.

RESTRICTIONS: The Software contains copyrighted material, trade secrets and other proprie-

tary material. Accordingly, YOU MUST NOT TRANSLATE, DECOMPILE, REVERSE ENGI-

NEER, DISASSEMBLE, MODIFY, ENHANCE, UPDATE, OR CREATE DERIVATIVE WORKS

BASED UPON OR INCORPORATING, THE SOFTWARE, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, UNLESS

AUTHORIZED IN WRITING BY LICENSOR. OTHER THAN AS EXPRESSLY PERMITTED

HEREIN, YOU MUST NOT USE OR COPY THE SOFTWARE OR RELATED DOCUMENTA-



TION. YOU MUST NOT NETWORK, RENT, LEASE, LOAN, OR DISTRIBUTE, THE SOFT-

WARE, IN WHOLE OR IN PART.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: You expressly acknowledge and agree that use of the Software

is at your sole risk. Although the SOFTWARE has been thoroughly tested and LICENSOR has

endeavored to make this program error free, the SOFTWARE is not and cannot be warranted as

infallible, and there remains the possibility of program errors. Further, the SOFTWARE is com-

plex, requiring professional engineering expertise and professional engineering judgment to input

information into the SOFTWARE and to interpret the information generated thereby. Therefore,

LICENSOR and DISTRIBUTOR can make no warranty either implicit or explicit as to the correct

performance or accuracy of the SOFTWARE to process or implement the information required.

THE SOFTWARE AND RELATED DOCUMENTATION ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT

WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,

ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR

PURPOSE. LICENSOR AND DISTRIBUTOR DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SOFTWARE

WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, OR THAT THE OPERATION OF THE SOFTWARE WILL

BE INTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE SOFTWARE WILL BE

CORRECTED. Furthermore, LICENSOR and DISTRIBUTOR do not warrant or make any repre-

sentations regarding the use or the results of the use of the Software or related materials in terms

of their correctness, accuracy, reliability or otherwise.

No oral or written information or advice given by LICENSOR or DISTRIBUTOR shall create a

warranty or in any way increase the scope of the warranty contained in this License.

CONFIDENTIALITY: “Confidential Information” means any information or data (including without

limitation any formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, or process) that

is disclosed by one party (a “disclosing party”) to the other party (a “receiving party”) pursuant to

this Agreement. Confidential Information of CIVICA includes, but is not limited to, the terms of this

Agreement; the Software, as well as the structure, organization, design, algorithms, methods,

templates, data models, data structures, flow charts, logic flow, and screen displays associated

with such Software. Confidential Information does not include information that: (a) is or becomes

publicly known or available without breach of this Agreement; (b) is received by a receiving party

from a third party without breach of any obligation of confidentiality; or (c) was previously known

by the receiving party as shown by its written records.

A receiving party agrees: (a) to hold the disclosing party’s Confidential Information in strict confi-

dence; and (b) except as expressly authorized by this Agreement, not to, directly or indirectly,

use, disclose, copy, transfer or allow access to the Confidential Information. In addition, without

limiting the foregoing, CIVICA agrees to use, and to require its contractors to use, reasonable

procedures and mechanisms to maintain the security of and to prevent the unauthorized access

to the computer systems on which End User’s Confidential Information resides. Notwithstanding

the foregoing, a receiving party may disclose Confidential Information of the disclosing party as

required by law or court order; in such event, such party shall use its best efforts to inform the

other party prior to any such required disclosure.



SUBSCRIPTION: Upon the expiration of the initial one year subscription period, Licensee may

continue to receive access to the SOFTWARE and maintenance support for successive twelve

(12) month periods. The charge for such continual subscription fees shall be the LICENSOR’s

regular list price for the SOFTWARE as published from time to time by LICENSOR. Licensee shall

notify LICENSOR in writing its intent to receive optional maintenance. If Licensee fails to renew

optional maintenance and later elects to receive it, LICENSOR reserves the right to charge Licen-

see its subscription fees for the period(s) of the lapsed maintenance. Should the Licensee allow

a lapse in maintenance, the Licensee forfeits access to technical support, updates and upgrades

that may be available for the SOFTWARE. LICENSOR may elect to discontinue maintenance at

any time upon written notice to Licensee.

MEDIA WARRANTY: LICENSOR warrants that the software provided to you by LICENSOR on

which the Software is stored, shall be free from defects in materials and workmanship under nor-

mal use for ninety (90) days from the date of delivery to you.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE,

SHALL LICENSOR OR DISTRIBUTOR BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PARTY FOR ANY

INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES THAT RESULT FROM THE USE

OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE OR RELATED DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF LICEN-

SOR OR DISTRIBUTOR HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

IN NO EVENT SHALL LICENSOR'S OR DISTRIBUTOR'S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL

DAMAGES, LOSSES, AND CAUSES OF ACTION (WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUD-

ING NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE) EXCEED THE AMOUNT PAID TO LICENSOR OR DIS-

TRIBUTOR TO LICENSE THE SOFTWARE HEREUNDER.

CONTROLLING LAW AND SEVERABILITY: This License shall be governed by and construed

in accordance with the laws of the province of Ontario and adjudicated in a court of that province.

If, for any reason, a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of the License, or portion

thereof, to be unenforceable, that provision of the License shall be enforced to the maximum

extent permissible in order to affect the intention of the parties, and the remainder of this License

shall continue in full force and effect.

INDEMNIFICATION: If a claim of copyright, patent, trade secret, or other intellectual property

rights violation is made against End User relating to the Software, End User agrees to immediately

notify CIVICA, allow CIVICA to control the litigation or settlement of such claim, and cooperate

with CIVICA in the investigation, defense, and/or settlement thereof. CIVICA agrees to take con-

trol of the litigation and indemnify the End User by paying any settlement approved by CIVICA, or

any judgment, costs, or attorneys’ fees finally awarded against the End User for such claim. End

User may participate at End User’s own expense. This indemnification obligation does not apply

to the extent the claim is based on a combination of Software with other software, or any modifi-

cation to the Software, if such claim would not have been made but for the combination or modi-

fication. If such a claim is made or, in CIVICA’s opinion, is likely to be made, CIVICA, at its sole

discretion, may modify the Software, obtain rights for the End User to continue using the Software,

or terminate the agreement for the Software.

THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE: Visual OTTHYMO Software may include software under license



from third parties (“Third Party Software” and “Third Party License”). Any Third-Party Software is

licensed to you is subject to the terms and conditions of the corresponding Third-Party License.

The Third-Party License(s) is located in the license.txt file. Please contact Visual OTTHYMO sup-

port if you cannot find a Third-Party License.

MISCELLANEOUS: Neither party shall be liable for any failure or delay in the performance of its

obligations due to causes beyond the reasonable control of the party affected, including but not

limited to war, sabotage, insurrection, riot or other act of civil disobedience, strikes or other labor

shortages, act of any government affecting the terms hereof, accident, fire, explosion, flood, hur-

ricane, severe weather or other act of God.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT: CIVICA shall provide e-mail technical and phone support to the End

User. CIVICA will attempt to respond to e-mail requests for technical support within one business

day (24 hours); phone response within working hours, 9am to 5pm. Monday thru Friday (excluding

public Canadian Holidays) Eastern Standard Time (EST).

PRIVACY POLICY: CIVICA protects your data. View CIVICA’s Privacy Policy online at this link

COMPLETE AGREEMENT: This License constitutes the entire agreement between the parties

with respect to the use of the Software and related materials, and supersedes all prior or contem-

poraneous understandings or agreements, written or oral, regarding such subject matter.

ACCEPTANCE: Acceptance of this license is deemed to have occurred by the instillation and

use of the software.

1.7 INSTALLING VISUAL OTTHYMO

1.7.1 HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

Before you install VO, make sure that your computer meets the minimum requirement listed be-

low. The minimum system requirements for all versions of the program are given in Table 1-2.

TABLE 1-2: SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Minimum Requirements:

Operating system: Microsoft Windows XP SP3/ Vista / 7 (32 or 64-bit)

Processor: Intel Pentium 4 1.5 GHz

RAM: 1.0 GB

Hard disk space: 500 MB

Recommended Requirements:

Operating system: Microsoft 7/10 (32 or 64-bit)

Processor: Intel Core i7 2.0 GHz

RAM: 1.5 GB

Hard disk space: 1 GB



1.7.2 LICENSING SYSTEM

VO has a simple yet effective cloud-based licensing protection system to ensure that users com-

ply with the terms of their license agreement. As set out in the license agreement, VO may be

installed in multiple computers, but only the computer securing an license from cloud will be able

to run the application.

A customer portal is provided to track the usage of all licenses. For more information, please refer

to Customer Portal for Cloud-based Licensing.

1.7.3 INSTALLATION VO

Before installing VO, make sure that you have closed all other programs and that any virus pro-

tection software is disabled. To install VO on your computer, please follow the directions below.

Step 1: Download the installation file from VO Download page. The download link is updated

once a new version is available.

Step 2: Click on the installation file and follow the instructions in the installation wizard as

seen below.

Step 3: Accept the License Agreement

http://visualotthymo.com/downloads/Customer%20Portal%20for%20Cloud-based%20Licensing.pdf

http://civi.ca/software/vo5-single-event-and-continuous-hydrological-modelling/downloads/



Step 4: By default, VO5 is installed on C:\Program Files (x86)\Visual OTTHYMO 5.0

Step 5: Setup will create a shortcut in the Start Menu folder

Step 6: Choose to Create a Desktop Icon AND UNCHECK USB Key License driver as we

now utilize a cloud based licensing system.



Step 7: Click Install

Step 8: To complete the installation, you need to restart your computer.

Step 9: To activate VO5, copy and paste VO cloud license file (vo.lic) into installation folder.

The default locations is C:\Program Files (x86)\Visual OTTHYMO 5.0.



1.7.4 RUNNING VO

To start VO, simply double-click on the VO desktop icon or find the VO item from your Start

menu. Once VO starts, you will first see the splash screen (Figure 1-1) and then the main window

(Figure 1-2).

FIGURE 1-1 VISUAL OTTHYMO SPLASH SCREEN

FIGURE 1-2 VISUAL OTTHYMO MAIN WINDOW



1.7.5 UNINSTALL VO

You may be required to uninstall VO in the future. The following procedure should be followed to

uninstall VO from your system:

1. Launch Control Panel and double-click Add/Remove Programs.

2. Scroll down the list until you find VO.

3. Select item and click OK button.

4. Re-boot computer.



2 QUICK START TUTORIAL

This Chapter provides a tutorial on how to use Visual OTTHYMO. By following along with this

chapter, you can quickly learn about the steps involved in building a model.

2.1 EXAMPLE STUDY AREA

In this tutorial, we will create a single-event VO model for the watershed shown below. It has two

urban catchments (1003 and 1005) and three rural catchments (1001, 1002 and 1004). Then we

will run the simulation with 2-100yr design storms. The model is then converted to a continuous

model and run the simulation with 10-year precipitation and temperature data.

FIGURE 2-1 EXAMPLE STUDY AREA

2.2 PROJECT SETUP FOR SIGLE-EVENT MODEL

To create a single-event OTTHYMO project, select File -> New Project -> New Otthymo Pro-

ject.

FIGURE 2-2 NEW OTTHYMO PROJECT MENU

To have a reference to place the hydrologic objects, a background picture could be added to the

canvas. To add the background, switch to Schematic View and choose Background -> Change

Background… from the context menu. Change the position of the background with mouse.



FIGURE 2-3 BACKGROUND IN CANVAS

2.3 CREATING DRAINAGE NETWORK ON CANVAS

All available hydrologic objects are list in Tool Box on the left. To add one hydrologic object on

canvas in Schematic View, drag and drop it on canvas. Then it can be moved to any location.

FIGURE 2-4 ADDING HYDROLOGIC OBJECTS TO CANVA

The study area has two urban catchments, three rural catchments, three channels and two con-

fluence points. They could be modeled with StandHyd , NasHyd , RouteChannel and

AddHyd respectively. Drag and drop them from Tool Box to Canvas and move them to the

proper location based on the background. At this point your canvas should look like the one shown



below. Note that the ID of each command is labeled at the bottom and few hydrologic object icons

have red outlines indicating errors.

FIGURE 2-5 SINGLE-EVENT MODEL BEFORE ALL HYDROLOGIC OBJECTS ARE CONNECTED

Then the drainage system components (hydrologic objects) will be connected to form a connected

system. The connection between hydrologic objects tells where the flow come from and where

the flow will go. On canvas. it’s represented by an arrow line pointing from the source to the

destination.

In the example study area, the flow generated at catchment 1003 flows to channel 2002. The

relationship is represented by a connection (or link) from StandHyd 1003 to RouteChannel 2002.

To create this connection, move the cursor on top of the 1003. Notice that the curve changes to

a cross. Then hold the left mouse button, move to 2002 and release the left mouse button.

The connection between other hydrologic objects could also be created. At this point your canvas

should look like that shown below. Note that the red outline disappears



FIGURE 2-6 SAMPLE SINGLE-EVENT MODEL

2.4 SETTING HYDROLOGIC OBJECT PROPERTIES

Default parameter values are used for newly created hydrologic objects, which may need to be

changed to represent the working project. Parameters could be edited with the Properties win-

dow or the Parameters Tables window.

The Properties window is used to edit the parameters of selected objects. If more than one ob-

jects are selected, only the common parameters are editable and changes will be applied to all

selected objects.

The Parameter Tables windows shows all parameters of each type of objects in a table. The

table could be sorted by any columns. Besides editing single parameter value, data could be

copied from a spreadsheet software as along as the columns are in the same order.

To edit the value for a property, select the hydrologic object(s) on the canvas and find the property

in Properties window or Parameter Tables window. Type in the new value in the text box or

select proper options from the combo box.



FIGURE 2-7 PARAMETER TABLES AND PROPERTIES WINDOW

2.5 ADDING DESIGN STORM

The design storm is added from Climate Library to Project Manager and then used in the sim-

ulation.

Climate Library

The Climate Library is a library of climate data including design storm and long-term measured

precipitation data. The climate data for the model simulation should be first added to the Climate

Library before it could be used in model simulation.

To open the Climate Library, click Climate Library button in Simulation tab. Some design

storms and reginal storms used in TRCA are shipped with VO, which could be good starting point.

If the required climate data is not available in the library, it could be added from different sources.

Properties

Parameter Tables



FIGURE 2-8 CLIMATE LIBRARY WITH DESIGN STORM

Project Manager

Project Manager is where the scenarios and climate data is managed. It’s located at the right

side of the main window.

FIGURE 2-9 PROJECT MANAGER FOR SINGLE-EVENT MODEL

Adding Design Storm from Climate Library to Project Manager

To add a design storm to the project, drag and drop the design storm node from Library Explorer

to the Rain Data section in Project Manager. A new rain group will be added in Project Manager.

Design storms for other return period could be added with the same method. Note that design

storms of different return periods should be added to different rain groups.



FIGURE 2-10 ADDING DESIGN STROM FROM CLIMATE LIBRARY TO PROJECT MANAGER

2.6 RUNNING SINGLE-EVENT SIMULATIONS

A simulation is to apply a rainfall to a drainage network to calculate hydrograph. A simulation run

could be created by combining the rainfall (design storm) and drainage network (scenario).

To create a simulation, click the Run button located at the Simulation tab to open the Batch

Run window. A default simulation has been created with the default rain group (a Chicago design

storm). The simulation could be renamed and changed to use another rain group. New simulation

could be added by clicking the Add button in the toolbar.

FIGURE 2-11 BATCH RUN WINDOW



To run simulations, check the simulations in the first column and then click the Run button at the

bottom. A window will appear to show the simulation run progress. The Batch Run window will

be closed after the simulation run is finished.

2.7 VIEWING SINGLE-EVENT SIMULATION OUTPUTS

The main output from a single-event simulation is hydrograph. The hydrographs could be dis-

played in graph, table and summary.

Graph

To plot hydrographs with rainfall, select the hydrologic objects and then click the Hydrograph

button in Simulation tab. The Hydrograph window will appear. The appearance of the plot

could be changed using the control panel on the left.

FIGURE 2-12 HDYROGRAPH WINDOW

Table

To view the hydrograph data in a table, click the Flow Data button in Simulation tab. The data

could be exported to a file.

FIGURE 2-13 HYDROGRAPH FLOW DATA



Summary

The summary of a hydrograph includes drainage area (AREA), peak flow (PKFW), time to peak

(TP), runoff volume (RV) and dry weather flow (DWF). To view the summary of all hydrographs,

use the Hydrograph Result window located at the bottom.

FIGURE 2-14 HYDROGRAPH RESULTS WINDOW

The summaries could be labeled on canvas besides the hydrologic objects as shown in Figure

2-15.

FIGURE 2-15 HYDROGRAPH SUMMARY LABEL

Text

The classic OTTHYMO detail and summary output is available through the Detail Output and

Summary Output button.

FIGURE 2-16 DETAIL OUTPUT (TEXT)



FIGURE 2-17 SUMMARY OUTPUT (TEXT)

2.8 CONVERTING TO CONTINUOUS OTTHYMO MODEL

The single-event OTTHYMO model could be convert to continuous OTTHYMO model to run con-

tinuous simulation. To do this, first create a Continuous OTTHYMO project using menu File ->

New Project -> New Continuous Otthymo Project.

FIGURE 2-18 NEW CONTINUOUS OTTHYMO PROJECT MENU

Then the single-event model could be imported to the Continuous project using the menu File ->

Import -> Import VH Scenario (Current Project). Extra parameters (e.g. land cover and soil

parameters) are added to hydrologic objects to enable continuous simulation.

FIGURE 2-19 IMPORT VH SCENARIO (CURRENT PROJECT) MENU



2.9 ADDING LONG-TERM PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE

Same as design storm, long-term precipitation and temperature could be added from Climate

Library to Project Manager by drag-and-drop.

FIGURE 2-20 ADDING TEMPERATURE DATA FROM CLIMATE LIBRARY TO PROJECT MANAGER

2.10 RUNNING CONTINUOUS SIMULATIONS

Besides rainfall data, a continuous simulation could also use temperature and evaporation data.

It’s also required to setup the starting and ending date.

To create a continuous simulation, click the Run button located at the Simulation tab to open

the Batch Run window. And then click the Add button in the toolbar to create a simulation. If

precipitation and/or temperature is available in Project Manager, it will be automatically selected

in the new simulation. The starting and ending date is also automatically based on the precipita-

tion and temperature data.

To run simulations, check the simulations in the first column and then click the Run button at the

bottom. A window will appear to show the simulation run progress. The Batch Run window will

be closed after the simulation run is finished.



FIGURE 2-21 BATCH RUN WINDOW FOR CONTINUOUS SIMULATION

Note that the default time step for a continuous simulation is 5 minutes. The simulation run may

take a while when the climate data covers long time period. To use a longer time step, change it

in the Simulation Engine window (Engine Options button in Simulation tab).

FIGURE 2-22 SIMULATION TIME STEP SETTING IN SIMULATING ENGINE WINDOW

2.11 VIEWING CONTINUOUS SIMULATION OUTPUTS

The continuous simulation models the water balance in snow pack and active soil zone. All the

water balance components are available as time-series data from the outputs. Similar with hydro-

graph summary, these water balance components are also summarized to help get the big pic-

ture.

Time Series

There are two days to plot the time series data. The Hydrograph button is similar with the one

for single-event simulation, which will open the Hydrograph window plotting flow versus precipi-

tation.



FIGURE 2-23 HYDROGRAPH WINDOW FOR CONTINUOUS SIMULATION

Another tool is Plot Results , which will plot all available water balance components from a

hydrological object. The time series data could be plotted with the original time interval or with

higher ones (year, month and week).

FIGURE 2-24 PLOT RESULT WINDOW FRO CONTINUOUS SIMULATION



Summary

The average annual summary of the water balance components is shown in the Water Balance

Results window located at the bottom.

FIGURE 2-25 WATER BALANCE RESULTS FOR CONTINUES SIMULATION

To view the yearly and monthly summary for each catchment, choose Water Balance from the

canvas context menu. The Water Balance window will appear.

FIGURE 2-26 WATER BALANCE WINDOW FOR CONTINUOUS SIMULATION



The average annual summaries could also be labeled on canvas.

FIGURE 2-27 WATER BALANCE SUMMARY LABEL



3 CONCEPTUAL MODEL

3.1 INTRODUCTION

Visual OTTHYMO models flows generated from rainfall (or snow melt) on a drainage system. The

drainage system first receive water from rainfall or snow melt and transform it to flow. The flow is

then routed from upstream to the outlet. Structures may exist to 1) merge multiple flows together

or 2) split one single flow to multiple parts.

Visual OTTHYMO conceptualized the drainage system as a collection of hydrologic processes. A

hydrologic process is a unit process to 1) generate flow from rainfall, 2) route flow, 3) merge flow

or 4) split flow. Each hydrologic process is modeled with a Hydrologic Object, a visual object

represented with an icon on canvas or a feature on map. The hydrologic objects are then con-

nected to simulate the sequence of hydrologic processes to simulate the whole drainage system.

FIGURE 3-1 THE CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF VISUAL OTTHYMO

An example of the conceptual model is given in Figure 3-1. The drainage system consists of five

(5) catchments, three (3) channels and two (2) confluence points. The system could be broken

(1) (2)

(3) (4)



down to five catchments, three channels and two confluence points where catchments transform

the rainfall to flow, channels route flow and confluence points merge flow. Each of the components

is a hydrologic process and could be represented with a Hydrologic Object (the icon at the right

bottom corner of each component). The drainage system could be simulated with these hydrologic

objects in Visual OTTHYMO by creating the hydrologic objects first and then linking them as a

connected system.

The behavior of a hydrologic process (e.g. flow generation) may be different. The behavior could

be characterized with parameters (e.g. area and slope) and algorithms (e.g. different unit hydro-

graph). Visual OTTHYMO use a different Hydrologic Object for different algorithms of same

hydrologic process. For example, the flow from a catchment could be calculated using the Nash

unit hydrograph or William unit hydrograph. So two different types of hydrologic objects, NasHyd

and WilHyd, are provided in Visual OTTHYMO. As different algorithms may require different pa-

rameters, the parameters of different hydrologic objects will also be different.

3.2 VISUAL OTTHYMO HYDROLOGIC OBJECTS OVERVIEW

The drainage system component and the corresponding Visual OTTHYMO hydrologic objects are

list in Table 3-1. The hydrologic process modelled is also given below each hydrologic object,

which are 1) flow generation, 2) flow routing, 3) flow separation and 4) flow merging. Each hydro-

logic object is represented with an unique icon.

Flow generation process generates flow from rainfall or snow melt. It happens on catchments.

Flow from a rural catchment and an urban catchment is quite different due to decreased infiltration

caused by urbanization. With same amount of rainfall, the hydrograph from an urban catchment

has larger and earlier peak flow and more runoff volume. Visual OTTHYMO provides one hydro-

logic object for urban catchments and three hydrologic objects for rural catchments. Often rural

hydrologic objects in existing condition needs to be converted to urban hydrologic objects for post-

development condition.

Flow routing process route flow through a certain structure. The hydrograph is usually changed

(delay and attenuation). The structures supported are channels, reservoirs (ponds) and pipes.

Ponds are important as it’s usually required for a new development to control the flow to the

allowable rates. Visual OTTHYMO can help size the ponds by determining the rating curve (stor-

age-discharge relationship).

Flow separation separates flow to multiple receiving structures. It happens at flow diversion or

catch basins. The latter is commonly used in new developments to have part of the runoff flow

into the sewer system. In planning stage, the number of catch basins could be estimated and

Visual OTTHYMO can model it with minimal parameters.

Flow merging merges flow from different sources to one single flow. It usually happens at the

confluence points. The outlet of the study area is usually a confluence point.



TABLE 3-1 DRAINAGE SYSTEM COMPONENT AND AVAILABLE

VISUAL OTTHYMO HYDROLOGIC OBJECTS

Drainage System

Component

VO Hydrologic

Object

Drainage System

Component

VO Hydrologic

Object

Urban Catchment

StandHyd

(Flow Generation)

Channel, River

RouteChannel

MuskingumCunge

ShiftHyd

(Flow Routing)

Rural Catchment

NasHyd

WilHyd

ScsHyd

(Flow Generation)

Reservoir, SWM Pond

RouteReservoir

(Flow Routing)

Pipe

RoutePipe

(Flow Routing)

Confluence

AddHyd

(Flow Merging)

Flow Diversion

DiverHyd

(Flow Separation)

Catch basin

DuHyd

(Flow Separation)



3.3 COMMON PARAMETERS

Some parameters are available for all or most of the hydrologic objects. These parameters are

given in Table 3-2.

TABLE 3-2 COMMON HYDROLOGIC OBJECT PARAMETERS

Parameter

Name Description Default Value

Applicable

Hydrologic Object

NHYD Hydrograph number Next available

number ALL

NAME A descriptive name

Hydrograph

object type

name and

NHYD

ALL

COMMENTS 1 Any text description Empty ALL



OUTLET The NHYD of downstream hydrologic ob-

ject Empty

ALL except ShiftHyd

and DuHyd

DWF A constant Dry Weather Flow or baseflow

(m3/s or ft3/s) 0

All flow generation

hydrologic objects

DT Simulation time step increment (min). 5

ALL except AddHyd,

ShiftHyd, DiverHyd,

DuHyd and ReadHyd

AREA Catchment area (ha or acre) 10

All flow generation

hydrologic objects

and StoreHyd

STORM

INDEX The index of the rainfall in the rain group 1

All flow generation

hydrologic objects

RAIN

Optional list of rainfall intersities (mm/hr or

in/hr) entered at the time steps equals to

DT. If the list is not given, the model will

use the rainfall data assigned by STORM

INDEX.

Empty All flow generation

hydrologic objects



3.4 FLOW GENERATION HYDROLOGIC OBJECTS

3.4.1 STANDHYD

StandHyd is used to simulate runoff flows from urban watersheds. Two parallel standard instan-

taneous unit hydrographs are used to convolute the effective rainfall intensity over the pervious

and impervious surfaces.

The losses over the pervious surfaces are calculated by one of three methods: 1) Horton’s soil

infiltration equation; 2) SCS modified CN procedure; or 3) Proportional Loss Coefficient.

A baseflow can also be added to the total simulated hydrograph.

To obtain adequate results, the hydrologic object should be applied to areas with impervious ratio

larger than 20%. For smaller impervious ratios, the watershed should be sub-divided into urban

and rural basins.

TABLE 3-3 STANDHYD PARAMETERS

Parameter


TIMP Ratio of total impervious area. The value must be in range of 0 to

1 and greater than or equal to XIMP. 0.50

XIMP

Ratio of total area directly connected impervious areas are those

form a continuous pathway from the point of runoff generation to

the outlet point. For example, the area directly connected to the

sewer system. The value must be in the range of 0 and 1.

0.35

LOSS

Rainfall loss method to be applied to the pervious area. It could be

Modified SCS Curve Method, Horton’s Equation or Propor-

tional Loss Method.

Modified SCS

Curve Method

CN Soil’s SCS or Modified Curve Number for the pervious area. Avail-

able when LOSS is set to Modified SCS Curve Method. 85

IA Initial Abstraction (mm or in). Available when LOSS is set to Mod-

ified SCS Curve Method or Proportional Loss Method. 1.5

Fo Initial infiltration rate (mm/hr or in/hr). Available when LOSS is set

to Horton’s Equation. 50

Fc Final infiltration rate (mm/hr or in/hr). Available when LOSS is set

to Horton’s Equation. 7.5

DCAY Decay constant (1/hr). Available when LOSS is set to Horton’s

Equation. 2

F Accumulated moisture in the soil at the beginning of the storm

(mm or in). Available when LOSS is set to Horton’s Equation. 0

DPSP Depression storage available over the pervious area (mm or in).

Available when LOSS is set to Horton’s Equation. 1.5



Parameter


C Proportional loss coefficient ration (between 0 and 1). Available

when LOSS is set to Proportional Loss Method. 0.5

SLPP Average slope of the pervious area (%). Value must be greater

than 0.0. 2

LGP Overland flow length of the pervious area (m or ft) 40

MNP

Manning’s roughness coefficient for pervious surfaces. Note that

coefficient should be selected based on sheet flow, not channel

flow.

0.25

SCP Storage coefficient for the linear reservoir of the pervious area

(hr). Enter 0 to allow the program to internally select the value. 0

DPSI Available depression storage over the impervious area (mm or in). 1

SLPI Average slope of impervious area (%) 1

LGI Type

LGI calculation method. It could be Auto and Manual. Auto will

calculate the LGI from AREA assuming AREA = 1.5(LGI)2. Man-

ual will read the LGI value from user input.

Auto

LGI The overland flow length of impervious area (m or ft) Calculated from

AREA

MNI

Manning’s roughness coefficient for pervious surfaces. Note that

coefficient should be selected based on channel flow (i.e. sewer

and/or road flow).

0.013

SCI Storage coefficient for the linear reservoir of the impervious area

(hr). Enter 0 to allow the program to internally select the value. 0



3.4.2 NASHYD

NasHyd is used to simulate runoff flows with Nash instantaneous unit hydrograph. This hydro-

graph is made of cascade of “N” linear reservoirs. The command is mainly used for rural areas

but can also be used for very large urban watersheds and to simulate the effects of infiltration/in-

flow in sanitary sewers. Rainfall losses can be computed by a SCS modified CN procedure or

Proportional Loss Coefficient.

TABLE 3-4 NASHYD PARAMETERS

Parameter

Name Description

Default

Value

CN SCS Modified Curve Number or Proportional Loss Coefficient (if

negative value between 0 and -1 entered). 80

IA

Initial abstraction (mm or in). If IA is negative, the program uses the

SCS method where IA = 0.2 × S and S is a function of Curve Num-

ber.

5

N Number of linear reservoir used for the derivations of Nash Unit Hy-

drograph. 3

TP Unit Hydrograph time to peak (hr). It is approximately equal to (N-

1)/N × TC where TC is the Time of Concentration. 0.2



3.4.3 WILHYD

WilHyd is used to Simulate hydrographs from rural watersheds with long recession periods. The

program uses the Williams and Hann’s unit hydrographs developed in the original HYMO program

and the modified SCS Curve Number procedure to calculate the rainfall losses.

TABLE 3-5 WILHYD PARAMETERS

Parameter

Name Description

Default

Value

AA/DWF

Printout parameter or if less than 0, to enter a constant Dry Weather

Flow or baseflow (m3/s or ft3/s). If AA is positive, the unit hydrograph

will be printed. If AA is 0, neither happens.

0

BB Printout parameter. If BB is positive the rainfall excess ordinates will

be printed. If BB is 0, excess ordinates will not be printed. 3

CN SCS Modified Curve Number 80

IA

Initial abstraction (mm or in). If IA is negative, the program uses the

SCS method where IA = 0.2 × S and S is a function of Curve Num-

ber.

5

K Recession constant in the William and Hann unit hydrograph equa-

tion (hr) 4

TP Unit hydrograph time to peak (hr). The time step DT should be

smaller than TP. 0.2



3.4.4 SCSHYD

ScsHyd is essentially the same as the NasHyd with exception that it uses parameters for the SCS

procedure (i.e. initial abstraction is a function of the SCS Curve Number and the number of linear

reservoir “N” is set to 5). This command can be used when the SCS procedure is required by

agencies or for comparison with other options.

TABLE 3-6 SCSHYD PARAMETERS

Parameter

Name Description

Default

Value

CN SCS Modified Curve Number. The initial abstraction is calculated as

0.2 × S, and S is a function of Curve Number. 80

TP

Unit Hydrograph time to peak (hr). It is approximately equal to (N-

1)/N × TC where TC is the Time of Concentration. DT should be

smaller than TP.

0.2



3.5 FLOW ROUTING HYDROLOGIC OBJECTS

3.5.1 ROUTECHANNEL

RouteChannel is used to route hydrographs through typical channel cross-sections using the var-

iable storage coefficient (VSC) method. The open channel cross-sections is described with X and

Y co-ordinates. Other inputs are the average longitudinal slope and the variation of Manning’s

roughness coefficient across the width. The hydrologic object computes a rating curve and travel

time prior to routing with the VSC method.

Parameter


CHLGTH Length of channel reach (m or ft) 500

CHSLOPE Average longitudinal channel slope (%) 0.2

FPSLOPE Average flood plain slope (%) 0.2

VSN Valley Section Number used for identification and printing purposes. 1.1

NSEG

Number of segments in the channel cross-section with constant

Manning’s roughness coefficients. A maximum of six across the

section are permitted. NOTE: The Manning’s roughness coefficient

that describes the main channel, must be entered as a negative

(e.g. –0.025)

3

ROUGH,

SEGDIST

Paired values describing the roughness over the segment distance

(X co-ordinate). Each roughness value, ROUGH, is applied over the

distance specified by SEGDIST which should also be one of the

distance co-ordinates found in DIST/ELEV. SEGDIST has units (m

or ft).

1.5, 0.050

4.5, -0.03

6.5, 0.050

DIST/ELEV Co-ordinates describing the shape of the cross section as (X, Y). A

maximum of 100 points can be entered. Units area (mm or ft).

0.0, 101.5

1.0, 100.7

1.5, 100.5

2.0, 99.50

3.5, 99.60

4.5, 100.65

6.0, 101.45



3.5.2 MUSKINGUMCUNGE

MuskingumCunge is used to route hydrographs through typical channel cross-sections using the

Muskingum-Cunge routing method. This method is based on the continuity equation and he stor-

age-discharge relation. The open channel cross-sections is described with X and Y co-ordinates.

Other inputs are the average longitudinal slope, the variation of Manning’s roughness coefficient

across the width and a constant, Beta, of the stage-discharge curve and is also a function of the

kinematic wave celerity.

MuskingumCunge shares same parameters as RouteChannel except for BETA. BETA is a func-

tion of the kinematic wave celerity and is a constant of the stage-discharge curve. Beta is reflec-

tion of the channel shape. Beta has an upper limit of 1.67 and a lower limit of 1. Beta equals 1.67

for natural and wide rectangular channels, 1.5 for trapezoidal channels, 1.33 for triangular chan-

nels, 1.5 for rectangular channels.



3.5.3 ROUTEPIPE

RoutePipe is used to route hydrographs in circular or rectangular pipes. It uses a simplified form

of the RouteChannel input.

Only the pipe diameter or width and heights are required and only one Manning’s roughness

coefficient is allowed.

The hydrologic object automatically resizes the pipe cross-section if the dimensions entered are

not sufficient to accommodate the peak flow without surcharging.

TABLE 3-7 ROUTEPIPE PARAMETERS

Parameter


PIPE Pipe identifier used for identification and printing purposes. 1

PLENGTH The length of the pipe (m or ft) 500

ROUGH The Manning’s roughness coefficient 0.013

PSLOPE The average slope of the pipe (m/m or ft/ft) 0.005

TYPE The pipe section type. It could be Circular or Rectangular. Circular

DIAM The pipe diameter (mm or in). Used when TYPE is Circular. 1650

WIDTH,

HEIGHT

The width and height of the pipe (mm or in). Use when TYPE is

Rectangular. 2400, 1200



3.5.4 ROUTERESERVOIR

Routereservoir is used to route hydrographs through reservoirs using the storage-indication

method.

RouteReservoir has only one parameter: the discharge-storage curve (Rating Curve). It has pairs

of discharge-storage values to describe the Discharge-Storage relationship of the reservoir (m3/s

& ha.m. or ft3/s & ac.ft.). A maximum of 20 co-ordinates can be entered.

3.5.5 SHIFTHYD

ShiftHyd is used as an alternate routing method when the peak flow attenuation expected is neg-

ligible. The command shifts the entire hydrograph forward to the nearest equal number of time

steps specified by user-entered time shift, TLAG (min).



3.6 FLOW SEPARATION HYDROLOGIC OBJECTS

3.6.1 DUHYD

DuHyd is used to separate the major (street flow) and the minor (pipe flow) hydrographs from a

total hydrograph.

TABLE 3-8 DUHYD PARAMETERS

Parameter


Major NHYD of major system connection Empty

Minor NHYD of minor system connection Empty

CINLET The peak flow capture rate per inlet (m3/s or ft3/s) 0.06

NINLET

The number of inlets in the drainage system which have the capture

rate of CINLET. Note: The maximum minor system capture equals

CINLET × NINLET.

10



3.6.2 DIVERTHYD

DiverHyd can be used to simulate diversion channels and multi-outlet structures. By entering a

table of inflow-outflow relationships the hydrologic object can split a hydrograph into a maximum

number of five hydrographs. The five hydrographs must add up to the original inflow hydrographs.

The inflow-outflow relationship is defined with FLOW TABLE. As shown in Table 3-9, maximum

20 values could be defined for the inflow and each outflow. And all outflows should add up to the

total inflow.

TABLE 3-9 DIVERHYD FLOW TABLE

Total Inflow 1st Outflow 2nd Outflow 3rd Outflow 4th Outflow 5th Outflow

QTOTAL(1) Q1(1) Q2(1) Q3(1) Q4(1) Q5(1)

QTOTAL(2) Q1(2) Q2(2) Q3(2) Q4(2) Q5(2)

… … … … … …

QTOTAL(20) Q1(20) Q2(20) Q3(20) Q4(20) Q5(20)



3.7 FLOW MERGING HYDROLOGIC OBJECTS

AddHyd is used to add any number of hydrographs. There is no parameter associated with

AddHyd.

3.8 OTHER HYDROLOGICAL OBJECTS

3.8.1 READHYD

ReadHyd is used to read a previously saved hydrograph from a file. The parameter FILEPN is

the file name of the save hydrograph. For file format, see 11.4.

3.8.2 STOREHYD

StoreHyd is used to enter ordinates of a hydrograph directly.

TABLE 3-10 STOREHYD PARAMETERS

Parameter


AREA The watershed area from which the hydrograph was derived (ha or

acre) 30

HYD POINTS A list of hydrograph ordinates, entered at time steps equals to DT.

Up to 2000 values can be entered (m3/s or ft3/s) Empty



4 VISUAL OTTHYMO MAIN WINDOW

4.1 OVERVIEW

The interface has been designed to provide plenty of working space for the schematic and map

model while maintaining easy access to the hydrologic objects and their associated parameters.

The layout consists of various regions as explained in the text below. Most of the windows are

dockable windows which could be docked to selected location. In case a window is closed, it could

be re-opened through the Windows drop-down list in Home tab.

FIGURE 4-1 LAYOUT OF MAIN INTERFACE

The Toolbox gives the user access to all the hydrologic objects (e.g. Hydrographs, Routing Rou-

tines) for the respective project type. Each object is categorized for ease of access, and repre-

sented by an icon in the Toolbox.

The Toolbar provides easy access to common program features found in all Windows programs

(e.g. New, Open, Save, etc) as well as the VO’s own program features (e.g. Climate Library,

Hydrograph, etc.). Here, there can be up to three ribbon tabs (Home, GIS and Simulation).

The Project Manager shows the user the names of all the hydrologic scenarios within the open

project. This window also provides a simple way of modifying those scenarios (e.g. Add, Delete).

It also holds the climate data used in the simulation.

The Properties window provides the user with the main form for inputting hydrologic object pa-

rameters (e.g. catchment area, slope, length). This window is where the bulk of the data entry

takes place.

Toolbox

Toolbar

Project Manager

Schematic View

Map View

Properties

Parameter Tables / Hydrograph Results / Error List



The Schematic View is where the user builds their model schematic from the hydrologic objects

in the Toolbox. Objects are dragged from the Toolbox and dropped on the Designer Canvas.

Links are generated by dragging the centre of a glyph to the centre of another. For more infor-

mation, please refer to Chapter 6.

The Map View is the geospatial representation of the same model. Each hydrological object is

assigned to a geometry either from manual drawing or from existing GIS data. Hydrological ob-

jects of different type are in different layers. For more information, please refer to Chapter 7.

The Parameter Tables lists all parameter values in tables. It provides a spreadsheet-like envi-

ronment for data editing.

The simulation results are summarized in Hydrograph Results / Water Balance Results. For

single-event simulation, it has peak flow and runoff volume. For continuous simulation, average

annual water balance components are summarized.

The model is checked against established rules. Violations are categorized to warnings and er-

rors, which will be shows in Error List window. Models with errors can’t run a simulation.

4.2 TOOLBOX

The following tables list the hydrologic objects from the Toolbox and their name. Hydrologic ob-

jects with bold font could be used in both single-event and continuous simulation. Users of previ-

ous versions of Visual OTTHYMO and OTTHYMO will recognize these commands. For a more

detailed description of each command, refer to Chapter 3.

TABLE 4-1 OTTHYMO COMMANDS

Generate Hydrograph Objects

STANDHYD SCSHYD

NASHYD WILHYD

Route Hydrograph Objects

ROUTE CHANNEL ROUTE MUSK-CUNGE

ROUTE PIPE ROUTE RESERVOIR

Flow Manipulation Hydrograph Objects

ADDHYD SHIFT HYD



DIVERT HYD DUHYD

Manual Input Hydrograph Objects

READ HYD STORE HYD

4.3 TOOLBAR

The following tables lists the icons from the Toolbar and their name. There are three (3) tabs in

total: Home, GIS and Simulation. A brief description of the contents of these tabs are given in to

Table 4-3 Table 4-5. For a more detailed description of each Toolbar item, please refer to the

Help System within the program.

TABLE 4-2 FILE MENU

Icon Command Icon Command

New Project

Creates a new project

Open Project

Opens an existing project

Save Project

Saves the current project

Save Project As

Saves the current project under a

different name

Import

Import scenarios

Export

Export the current scenario

Copy to Clipboard

Copy select objects to clipboard

Print

Print the canvas



TABLE 4-3 HOME TAB


New Project

Creates a new project

Delete

Deletes selection

Open Project

Opens an existing project

Undo

Removes the latest action

Save Project

Saves the current project

Redo

Repeats the last action

Save Project As

Saves the current project under

a different name

Edit History

Displays list of actions performed

by the modeler(s)

Copy

Copies the selection to the clip-

board

Find

Locates a specific object by ID or

name

Cut

Extracts the selection to the clip-

board

Windows

Provides dropdown for selection of

windows to be displayed

Paste

Pastes copied or cut hydrologic

objects

Options

Accesses window to define gen-

eral settings details such as Unit

and Precision, etc.



TABLE 4-4 GIS TAB


Add Layer

Provides Dropdown to add an

imported GIS layer, Group Map

layer or Base Map Layer into the

Map View.

Find Feature

Locates a specific object or

specific text in the Map.

Attribute Table

Accesses Attributes Table of se-

lected feature.

Pan

Allows to pan around the map.

Zoom In

Zooms into the selected area.

Zoom Out

Zooms out from selected area.

Fixed Zoom In

Zooms in on the map at a pre-

set scale, usually into the center

of the Map.

Fixed Zoom Out

Zooms out on the map at a pre-set

scale usually from the center of

the Map.

Last Extent

Brings the user back to the last

extent view.

Next Extent

Brings back to current extent if the

Last Extent was used to view per-

vious extent.

Zoom Pan

Zoom in/out depending on pan-

ning up or down.

Full Extent

Shows the full extent of the map.

Select Feature

Select features on the Map.

Identify

Identifies the selected features

and displays all the attributes of it.

Add Vertex

When in editing mode (double

click a focused feature) allows to

add a new vertex along an exist-

ing polyline or polygon shape.

Remove Vertex

When in editing mode deletes any

existing vertex from a project ob-

ject




Edit Tool

Select features on map to edit

Add Link

Create the link between two hydro-

logic objects on map

Point

Allows to snap to a point.

MidPoint

Allows to snap to a vertex when

required

Vertex

Allows to snap to the vertex.

Intersection

Allows to snap to the intersection

Edge

Allows to snap along the edge of

polyline or polygon.

EndPoint

Allows to snap to the end point of


Assign Geometry

Assign geometry to hydrologic

objects

Calculate CN

Calculate CN based on soil and

landuse layer and assign to

NasHyd or StandHyd

Calculate Area Weighted

Calculate the parameter values

with given layer using area-

weighted method



TABLE 4-5 SIMULATION TAB


Run

Runs simulation

Hydrograph

Displays hydrograph window

Detail Output

Displays the detail text output

for selected objects

Summary Output

Displays the summary text output

for selected objects

Cross Scenario Plot

Plots hydrograph for objects

from different scenarios

Hydrograph Result

Display the hydrograph summary

in a table

Flow Data

Displays the hydrograph time-

series in a table

Climate Library

Displays the Climate Library win-

dow

Convert to CN*

Converts the CN to CN*

Batch Assign

Assigns parameter value of se-

lected parameter to given val-

ues

Calibrate Commands

Changes parameter values with

given percentage

Plot Calibration

Plots calculated and observed hy-

drograph

Export Channel Roughness

Export the channel roughness to

a file

Export Channel Cross Sections

Export the channel cross sections

to a file



4.4 PROJECT MANAGER

The Project Manager is to manage the scenarios and climate data in the project. By default, it’s

located on the right-hand side besides the Properties window.

The Project Manager in Continuous OTTHYMO project has two more sections (Temperature

Data and Evaporation Data) than the one in Single-event OTTHYMO project as shown in Figure

4-2. The two more sections enable to have long-term temperature and evaporation data for the

model simulation.

FIGURE 4-2 PROJEC MANAGER

On the top of Project Manager is the tool bar. The buttons are described in Table 4-6.

TABLE 4-6 PROJECT MANAGER TOOLBAR


Add

Add Scenario or Open Climate

Library

Duplicate

Duplicate Selected Item

Delete

Delete Selected Item

Climate Library

Open Climate Library

Below the toolbar is a tree view of scenarios and climate data. Items are represented with icons

described in Table 4-7. Some of the sections would open the detail information window by double-

click, which is also described in Table 4-7. For example, the Rain Group Viewer (Figure 4-3) will

be opened by double-clicking on Rain Group section.

Single-event Continuous



TABLE 4-7 ICONS IN PROJECT MANAGER TREE VIEW

Icon Item Icon Item

Scenario Section

Scenario

Open Scenario

Rain Data Section

Rain Group

Open Rain Group Viewer for Sin-

gle-event Simulation

Rain Data

Open Storm Viewer Temperature Data Section

Temperature Group

Temperature Data

Open Temperature Data Viewer

Evaporation Data Section

Evaporation Group

Evaporation Data

Open Evaporation Data Viewer

FIGURE 4-3 RAIN GROUP VIEWER

Context menus are also available in the tree view as shown in Figure 4-4. If one menu item is not

applied to current item, it will be greyed out. For example, the Set as Default Scenario menu is

only applied to scenario. All the menus are described in Table 4-8.



FIGURE 4-4 PROJECT MANAGER CONTEXT MENU

TABLE 4-8 CONTEXT MENU IN PROJECT MANAGER TREE VIEW

Menu Command Applicable Items

Set as Default Scenario Set selected scenario as default scenario

Add… Add Scenario or Open Climate Library

Edit… Open Scenario or Data Viewer

Rename Rename the selected item

Delete Delete Selected Item

Duplicate Duplicate Selected Item

4.5 PROPERTIES

Properties window (Figure 4-5) shows all properties of selected hydrologic object(s) or current

scenario. To use Properties window:

▪ Select single hydrologic object in Map View or Schematic View to view and edit all prop-

erties of the object;

▪ Select multiple hydrologic objects in Map View or Schematic View to view and edit com-

mon properties;

▪ Deselect all hydrologic objects to view and edit scenario properties.



FIGURE 4-5 PROPERTIES WINDOW

Categories

Properties are usually grouped in different categories to be easily located.

Tooltip

Tooltip is given for each property to give more detailed information (Figure 4-5). This is useful for

users that are not familiar with OTTHYMO model.

Search

The search bar is located at the top. It will filter properties to only display those with given string.

Editing Property Value

The property value could be edited using the text box, combo box or button at the right-hand side

of the property name.

4.5.1 EDITING SIMPLE PROPERTY

For simple property, a text box is given to enter the new value. The change will take effect by

using ENTER key or switching to other properties.

Combo box is available for properties with limited options, e.g. LGI Type of StandHyd as shown

in Figure 4-6. The property value could be changed by choosing a different option from the list.

Other property values may also be affected by the change.



FIGURE 4-6 COMBO BOX IN PROPERTIES WINDOW

4.5.2 EDITING COLLECTION DATA

Some properties are a collection of data values, e.g. DIST/ELEV of RouteChannel and Rating

Curve of RouteReservoir as shown in Figure 4-7. A text box and a button is usually given to this

type of property. The text box shows the number of rows in the collection data and is read-only.

To change the collection data, click the button on the right to open the corresponding editor win-

dow (Figure 4-8, Figure 4-9 and Figure 4-10).

FIGURE 4-7 EDIT BUTTON IN PROPERTIES WINDOW

The collection editor window usually has two parts. One the left is the data table to list all the data

records and the data plot is one the right. Data could be edited directly in the table or pasted from

a spreadsheet software. Context menus (Figure 4-10) are provided to help basic edit operations.

Data copy and paste could also be done by using CTRL+C and CTRL+V key. The data plot win-

dow will update automatically once the data value is changed in the table.



FIGURE 4-8 CHANNEL ROUGHNESS SEGMENT AND RAINFALL EDITOR

FIGURE 4-9 CHANNEL DISTANCE ELEVATION EDITOR

FIGURE 4-10 RESERVOIR DISCHARGE STORAGE RATING CURVE EDITOR

4.5.3 EDITING LOSS ROUTINE OF STANDHYD

The LOSS property of StandHyd is to change the loss routine for pervious area. As different

parameters are used in these routines, it needs to be edited in a separate editor. To open this

editor, the LOSS property is similar with the one for collection data to have a text box and a button.

To edit the loss routine, click on the button to open the LOSS Editor where the loss routine type

and corresponding parameters could be changed.



FIGURE 4-11 LOSS PROPERTY AND LOSS EDITOR

4.5.4 CN* FLAG

When SCS equation is used to calculate the rainfall excess in pervious area, the Curve Number

(CN) is the most important parameter. From the early research of OTTHYMO, it has been recom-

mended to use the modified CN, i.e. CN*. VO has provided a tool (Convert to CN*) to convert

the CNII to CN*. To indicate the conversion has been conducted, a check box is given on the right

of the CN property as shown in Figure 4-12. The sole purpose of this check box is to tell the CNII

has been converted to CN* to avoid repeating the conversion. It’s not recommended to manually

uncheck or check it although it doesn’t affect the CN value.

FIGURE 4-12 CN* CHECK BOX IN PROPERTIES WINDOW

4.6 PARAMETER TABLES

Parameter Tables window provides a spreadsheet environment for parameter editing. By default,

it’s located at the bottom of the main interface.



Parameters of each type of hydrologic object is displayed in the same table and sorted by NHYD.

These tables are arranged in different tabs. The name of the tab is the hydrologic object name

and the number of the hydrologic object in current scenario. To view the data table of another

type of hydrologic object, click on the corresponding tab.

The data record in the data table is connected to the hydrologic object. Double-click the one data

record would flash and zoon to the hydrologic object in Canvas.

The value of simple parameters could be edited directly in the table. For parameters that are

collection data, it’s greyed out and needs to be edited in the Properties window.

The data table could be sorted by any data column. It’s useful to find abnormal values for some

parameters, e.g. slope and curve number.

The data in the data table could be copied using CTRL+C or Copy menu in context menu. Data

from other sources could also be pasted using CTRL+V or Paste menu in context menu. When a

data table is pasted, the first data value will be pasted to current cell and other data values will be

pasted to cells after the current cells in horizontal and vertical direction. It’s important to make

sure the parameter values in the source is same as the one in the data table before paste.

FIGURE 4-13 PARAMETER TABLES WINDOW

The parameter values could also be changed by using the Field Calculator opening by choosing

the Calculate Field… from the context menu. It’s used to change the parameter value by per-

centage or fixed value (replace). In Field Calculator window, all available parameters are giving

on the left and the formula for property change is on the right. By default, the parameter (data

column) highlighted in the data table is added to the formula. It could be changed to implement

the changes as shown in Figure 4-14. Click OK button to make the change.



FIGURE 4-14 FIELD CALCULATOR WINDOW

4.7 HYDROGRAPH RESULTS / WATER BALANCE RESULTS

The Hydrograph Results and Water Balance Results window is the same window appearing

differently for single-event simulation and continuous simulation. By default, this window is at the

bottom of the main interface. It’s used to show the summary results of each hydrologic object.

FIGURE 4-15 HYDROGRAPH RESULTS WINDOW FOR SINGLE-EVENT SIMULATION

FIGURE 4-16 WATER BALANCE RESULTS WINDOW FOR CONTINUOUS SIMULATION

For single-event simulation, the summary is the peak flow and runoff volume of the hydrograph.

For continuous simulation, it’s the peak flow and average annual amount of each water balance

component. The summaries are shown in a data table for each available hydrological object. Data

could be sorted by any column.

In case there are multiple simulation runs, only summary results of select run (selected in scenario

property) is shown in the table. To switch to another run, select the run from the drop-down list



above the data table. It’s possible to show summary results of all runs by click the Show All Runs

button.

Same as Parameter Tables window, the hydrologic object could be zoomed to by double-clicking

on the data record.

4.8 ERROR LIST

The Error List window shows the errors and warnings in the model. By default, it’s located at the

bottom of the main interface.

Certain rules apply to an OTTHYMO model. If these rules are not met, a warning or an error will

show in the Error List window. A model with error can’t run. The error and warning information is

shown in a data table with the error type, hydrologic object ID and name, hydrologic object type

and error message. An error will be shown as and a warning will be . Same as Parameter

Tables window and Hydrograph Results window, the hydrologic object could be zoomed to by

double-clicking on the data record in the table. Note that, a read outline is added to the object

icon if an error is found. For example, a RouteChannel without source link will be shown as

in canvas.

FIGURE 4-17 ERROR LIST WINDOW

The data table could be filtered to only show errors or warnings. The three buttons on the top is

to switch each message on and off. By default, all errors and warning are shown in the table.



5 WORKING WITH PROJECTS AND SCENARIOS

This chapter discusses how to use projects and scenarios to manage multiple models, e.g. mod-

els for existing and post-development condition.

To the user, a project may represent a specific type of work which consists of multiple hydrologic

models. Each model in a project is a scenario. In VO, a scenario is an independent drainage

network. A common practice for a modelling project is to create a project with multiple scenarios.

At the beginning of the project, a base scenario is usually created first for the based scenario

(existing condition). After that, new scenarios (post-development) are created by modifying the

base scenario.

5.1 PROJECTS

5.1.1 PROJECT TYPES

There are two project types available in VO5:

▪ Classic Single-event OTTHYMO – For single-event simulation with design storms. It’s

usually used for quantify control purpose.

▪ Continuous OTTHYMO – For continuous simulation with long-term climate data. It could

be used for water balance analysis and flow forecasting.

These two project types share same hydrologic objects and can be converted to each other. Users

should use the proper project type based on the project requirements.

5.1.2 CREATING A NEW PROJECT

A new project is created automatically when VO is opened. The project type of this default project

could be specified in the Options window. By default, it’s set as Single-event OTTHYMO.

FIGURE 5-1 DEFAULT PROJECT TYPE IN OPTIONS WINDOW

To create a new project, use one of the three options (Figure 5-2):

▪ New Project button and sub-menus in Home tab (Figure 5-2, a)

▪ New Project button and sub-menus in Quick Access Toolbar (Figure 5-2, b)

▪ New Project menu and sub-menus in File menu (Figure 5-2, c).



FIGURE 5-2 THREE OPTIONS TO CREATE A NEW PROJECT

Similar options are also available for Open Project, Save Project and Save Project As.

5.1.3 OPENING AN EXISTING PROJECT

To open an existing project, click the Open Project button or menu in Home tab, Quick

Access Toolbar or File Menu. The Open window will appear to browse VO project files (*.voprj).

VO maintains a recent project file list. When a project is opened at the first time, it will be added

to the list. To open it again, simply select it from the Recent Files list in File Menu.

FIGURE 5-3 RECENT PROJECT FILE LIST

A project file could also be opened by double-clicking on the project file in File Explorer. The

project file (*.voprj) has been registered with VO and appears with icon in File Explorer.

5.1.4 SAVING A PROJECT

All changes made to a project is temporary until they are saved. To save changes to the project

file, click the Save Project button or menu in Home tab, Quick Access Toolbar or File Menu.

The working project could also be saved to another location with the Save Project As button

or menu in Home tab, Quick Access Toolbar or File Menu.

Note that the imported layers are not saved in the project file. You should make sure the file

sources are valid.

5.2 SCENARIOS

In VO, a scenario is an independent drainage network. It includes all hydrological objects and the

links between them. It could be displayed in Map View and Schematic View. All scenarios are

list in Project Manager.

(a) (b) (c)



FIGURE 5-4 SCENAIOS IN PROJECT MANAGER

5.2.1 CREATING A NEW SCENARIO

To create an empty scenario, click the Add button at the top of the Project Manager or select

Add menu from the context menu. The Scenario Create window will appear (Figure 5-5). Enter

the name and description and click OK button to create the scenario. The new scenario will be

opened immediately in Schematic View and/or Map View.

FIGURE 5-5 SCENARIO CREATE WINDOW

5.2.2 DUPLICATING AN EXISTING SCENARIO

In often cases, a new scenario is created by copying an existing scenario and then make changes.

To do this:

1. Select an existing scenario in Project Manager and then click the Duplicate button at

the top of the Project Manager or select Duplicate menu from the context menu.

2. The Duplicate Scenario window will appear (Figure 5-6)

3. Enter the name of the new scenario.

4. Options are available to duplicate both Commands and Runs. Always keep the Com-

mands checked. If different climate data will be used in the new scenario, uncheck the

Runs.

5. Click the Duplicate button at the bottom to create the new scenario.

FIGURE 5-6 DUPLICATE SCENARIO WINDOW



5.2.3 OPENING AN EXISTING SCENARIO

If a scenario is not displayed in Schematic View and/or Map View, double-click it in the Project

Manager. A new tab is created with scenario name and the scenario is displayed in the Sche-

matic View and/or Map View.

FIGURE 5-7 OPENING AN EXISTING SCENARIO

5.2.4 SETTING DEFAULT SCENARIO

A default scenario is the scenario that will be opened when a project is opened. It’s not necessary

to open all scenarios at the beginning. To set an existing scenario to the default scenario, select

Set as Default Scenario menu from the context menu. The selected scenario will be opened

when the project file is opened next time.

5.2.5 SCENARIO SETTINGS

Scenarios settings are available in Properties window. To show the scenario properties, open

the scenario and deselect all objects.

FIGURE 5-8 SCENARIO SETTINGS



The settings are described in the table below.

TABLE 5-1 SCENARIO SETTINGS

Setting Description

Name The name of the scenario

Description The description of the scenario

Type The type of the view. It can’t be changed.

Run # The active simulation run.

Show Background If the background will be displayed in Schematic View.

Width The width of the background in point.

Height The height of the background in point.

5.3 IMPORTING SCENARIOS FROM MODEL DATA FILES

A scenario could be created by importing from model data files. This is useful when 1) the model

is in another model platform (e.g. SWMM) or in older VO data files and 2) there is need to integrate

a scenario to current project.

5.3.1 MODEL DATA FILES SUPPORTED

VO5 supports the following data input files:

▪ SWMM5 (*.inp)

▪ Visual OTTHYMO v2.4 and higher (*.voprj)

▪ Visual OTTHYMO v2.0 – v2.3 (*.sce)

▪ Visual OTTHYMO v1.0.x (*.ott)

▪ OTTHYMO-89/INTERHYMO (*.ott, *.dat)

▪ OTTHYMO-83 (*.ott, *.dat)

Please note that while every attempt has been made to verify that the import routine works in

everyday cases, there may be some data files that will have errors upon import (or may not even

import). As a precaution, users should verify that the data files actually run in the previous model

version, prior to import.

5.3.2 IMPORTING SWMM5

The catchment and channel systems in SWMM could be imported to VO. The subcatchments are

converted to either NasHyd or StandHyd based on the imperviousness and the open channel is

converted to RouteChannel. It’s not recommended to import models with detailed sewer networks.

The SWMM5 import function is available for single-event simulation. To import from a SWMM5

input file (*.inp), select File -> Import -> Import SWMM to open the Import SWMM to Otthymo

window. Browse the SWMM input file by clicking the button below the exit button on the top right

corner. Click OK to start the import. The imported model will be added as a new scenario to the

current project.



FIGURE 5-9 IMPORT SWMM TO OTTHYMO MODEL

5.3.3 IMPORTING VISUAL OTTHYMO V2.4 AND LATER

Importing a Visual OTTHYMO v2.4 and higher project file (*.voprj) is necessary when you want

to bring an existing scenario into your current project. This may be necessary if you are combining

projects or if you want to use an existing model scenario to build a new model.

Once you have your project open, select File -> Import -> Import VH Scenario (Current Project)

menu to browse the VO project file and open the Import Scenarios window as follows. All sce-

nario in the project is list in the window. You may want to only select the scenarios that you want

to import. Click Import Selected button at the bottom and the selected scenarios are added to

current project.

Before running your new scenario, you should check that the storm files and any external files

(e.g. READ HYD) are referenced to the proper location on your system.

FIGURE 5-10 IMPORT SCENARIO WINDOW

5.3.4 IMPORTING VISUAL OTTHYMO V2.0 - V2.3 DATA FILES

Scenarios in Visual OTTHYMO v2.0 – v2.3 are saved in separated files (*.sce). They could be

imported to current project with menu File -> Import -> Import VO2 Scenario (Current Project).

The scenario will be added to current project immediately after the import. Rain data will also be

imported.



FIGURE 5-11 IMPORTING VO2 SCENARIO FILE

5.3.5 IMPORTING CLASSIC OTTHYMO DATA FILES

The model file used in Visual OTTHYMO v1.0.x, OTTHYMO-89/INTERHYMO and OTTHYMO-

83 is in similar text file format. It may have the extension of ott, dat or txt. These files could be

imported as a new scenario to current project with menu File -> Import -> Import Scenario (Ot-

thymo 89). As the location of the hydrologic objects are not specified in the model file, the objects

will be arranged from top to bottom. The most upstream objects will be located on the top. Their

locations could be changed later to represent the shape of the drainage network.

Any commands that are not included in VO5 are ignored during the import. These commands

may include COMPUTE VOLUME, PRINT HYD, PLOT HYD, SAVE HYD and ERROR ANALY-

SIS.



FIGURE 5-12 IMPORTING CLASSIC OTTHYMO MODEL FILE



6 WORKING WITH CANVAS

Canvas is where the hydrologic objects could be visually created and connected with icons. Ini-

tially introduced in version 1, it has transformed the way to create a OTTHYMO model, from text

file editing to LEGO-like structure building. The time spent on model creation has been signifi-

cantly reduced. And the need to remember format of various commands has been removed.

Building a model with VO is enjoyable.

6.1 ADDING BACKGROUND

A background showing the study area helps the modelers to place the hydrologic objects and the

reviewers to quickly understand the model structure.

To add the background:

1. Select the Background -> Change Background… menu from the Canvas context menu.

2. Select the background picture file in the Select an Image window. It supports JPEG, PNG

and BMP format.

3. Click Open button to add the selected picture file as the Canvas background.

4. Use the navigation functions to Pan, Zoom In or Zoom Out the Canvas until the back-

ground is in desired location.

5. Change the width and height of the background in the scenario properties window if nec-

essary. Note that the aspect ratio is not locked.

FIGURE 6-1 ADDING BACKGROUND

To remove background, select the Background -> Remove Background menu in Canvas con-

text menu.



To hide background, uncheck the Show Background in the scenario properties window. Note

that this is different from removing background. The background is still in the scenario.

6.2 ADDING HYDROLOGIC OBJECTS

Hydrologic objects are added to the Canvas by dragging the hydrologic objects icons from the

Toolbox and then dropping on the canvas.

FIGURE 6-2 ADDING HYDROGLOC OBJECTS ON CANVAS

New hydrologic objects could also be created by copying existing objects. To do this:

1. Select the objects to be copied. Multiple objects could be copied at the same time.

2. Copy the selected objects with either of the three options:

a. Copy button in Home Tab

b. Copy menu in the context menu

c. CTRL + C keys.

3. Similarly, paste the copied objects with one of the three options:

a. Paste button in Home Table

b. Paste menu in the context menu

c. CTRL + V keys.



FIGURE 6-3 COPYING AND PASTING HYDROLOGIC OBJECT ON CANVAS

6.3 SELECTING HYDROLOGIC OBJECTS

An individual hydrologic object is selected by moving the mouse curse on top of the object icon

and press the left button. A blue outline will be added to the object icon.

FIGURE 6-4 INDIVIDUAL OBJECT SELECTION ON CANVAS

Multiple objects are selected by holding the CTRL or SHIFT key and then selecting each object.



FIGURE 6-5 MULTIPLE OBJECTS SELECTION ON CANVAS

Adjacent objects could also be selected by dragging a rectangle covering all the objects. There is

no difference on how the rectangle is created (e.g. from left top corner to right bottom corner).

FIGURE 6-6 MUTIPLE OBJETS SELECTION WITH RECTANGLE

FIGURE 6-7 SELECTION FUNCTIONS IN CANVAS CONTEXT MENU



All objects could be selected using CTRL+A keys. Various other selection functions are available

from the context menu (Figure 6-7). These menus are described in Table 6-1.

TABLE 6-1 SELECTION CONTEXT MENUS

Menu Command

Select All Select all objects

Invert Selection Select objects that are currently not selected and deselect the se-

lected objects

Select Upstream Select objects located upstream of selected objects. The selection

could be all objects or given types.

Select Downstream Select objects located downstream of selected objects. The selection

could be all objects or given types.

6.4 CHANGING THE LOCATION OF HYDROLOGIC OBJECTS

Once objects are on the canvas it can be moved by selecting it and holding the left mouse button

to drag it to the desired location. Multiple objects could be moved at the same time.

The location of objects could be also adjusted with various Align and Distribute tools in the

Canvas context menu. To use these tools:

1. Select the objects whose locations needs to be adjusted. More than one object should be

selected.

2. Select the desired Align or Distribute tools from context menu.

FIGURE 6-8 OBJECT ALIGN AND DISTRIBUTE TOOLS



The available Align or Distribute tools are described in Table 6-2.

TABLE 6-2 OBJECT ALIGN AND DISTRIBUTE TOOLS


Align Left

Align to the far left of all selected

objects

Align Top

Align to the top of all selected ob-

jects

Align Center

Align to the center (from far left

to far right) of all selected ob-

jects

Align Middle

Align to the middle (from top to

bottom) of all selected objects

Align Right

Align to the far right of all se-

lected objects

Align Bottom

Align to the bottom of all selected

objects

Distribute Horizontally

Distribute selected objects to

have same horizontal distance

Distribute Vertically

Distribute selected objects to have

same vertical distance

Note that the location change on canvas doesn’t has impact on its geospatial location in Map

View and vice versa.

6.5 LINKING HYDROLOGIC OBJECTS

The hydrologic objects and its immediate downstream objects are presented with an arrow point-

ing to the downstream objects. The arrow is called link in VO. To create a link on canvas:

1. Move the mouse cursor on top of the source object icon.

2. Keep left button pressed and move the mouse cursor on top of the downstream object

icon.

3. Release left button and the link will be created.

Some rules and guidelines for linking objects are given in Table 6-3. The link will not be added if

the number of input or output links reaches the limit.



TABLE 6-3 RULES FOR HYDROLOGIC OBJECT LINKS

Hydrologic Object # of Input Links # of Output Links Color

0 1 Black

1 1 Black

unlimited 1 Black

1 1 Black

1 5 Black

1 2

Minor: Red

Major: Black

0 1 Black

6.6 NAVIGATING CANVAS

The canvas could be easily navigated. Available navigation functions are described below.

1. Zoom In – Scroll the mouse wheel up.

2. Zoom Out – Scroll the mouse wheel down.

3. Pan – Move the canvas any direction. Available as the first context menu.

4. Zoom Extent – Zoom the canvas to show all object on the canvas (context menu).

5. Zoom to Selected – Zoom to selected objects (context menu).

6.7 CREATING LABELS

There are two type of labels on Canvas:

1. System label – The NHYD is label below each object icon which can’t be turned off.

2. Customized label – Certain properties and result summary could be labeled at the right

side of the object icon. The label content and content could be customized. It can also be

turned off.



FIGURE 6-9 TWO TYPES OF LABEL

To setup the customized label:

1. Select the objects you wish to create a label for.

2. Right-click and select the Set Labels from the context menu to open the Label Editor

window, which lists all available label items. Depending on the project and object type, the

available label items are different.

3. Drag and drop the label items from Available Properties list on the left to Selected Prop-

erties list on the right.

4. Change the label background color with the color picker at the bottom.

5. Click OK to create the label.

6. To show the labels on canvas, select Show Labels from the context menu.

Note that the result summary value is empty if the output is not available.

FIGURE 6-10 CREATING CUSTOMISED LABEL

Customized Label System Label



6.8 PRINTING MODEL SCHEMATIC

The mode schematic (including the background and labels) could be copied to clipboard or printed

directly. This is useful for project report.

To copy the schematic to clipboard, click the Copy to Clipboard button in File menu. Then it

could be pasted to a third-party software application. Note that only the selected objects will be

copied if the selection is not empty.

To print the mode schematic directly, click the Print button in File menu. The print preview

window will appear where it could be viewed and printed. The schematic was zoomed to have all

objects displayed and the selection doesn’t have impact.

FIGURE 6-11 PRINTE PREVIEW WINDOW



7 WORKING WITH THE MAP

Map is another way to create, parameterize and present an VO model. It adds geospatial location

information to each hydrological object and shows the model drainage network on the map. Sev-

eral benefits from using the map are:

1. Easier model creation with existing GIS data. For watershed and sub-watershed study,

various GIS data is usually available, which may include catchment, stream and output

layers. With Map View, the model drainage network could be created directly from these

layers without the need to create hydrologic objects one by one from scratch.

2. Reduced time for model parametrization. The geometry-based parameters (e.g. Area,

Length, etc.) are usually obtained from a third-party software and then entered in the

model. With geo-spatial location information, these parameters could be automatically cal-

culated. Tools are provided to calculate area weighted CN and Imperviousness.

3. Easier to understand. The model schematic may be difficult to understand without know-

ing the study area. This is improved with map by providing viewers the spatial context.

In VO, a scenario could be viewed in both the Schematic View (canvas) and the Map View

(Figure 7-1). By default, only one view is visible. To have them side-by-side (split view), drag Map

or Schematic tab to the desired location (Figure 7-2). Note that the Map View and GIS tab will

not be available if an ArcGIS license is not found.

FIGURE 7-1 DEFAULT LAYOUT OF MAP VIEW AND SCHEMATIC VIEW

Only Map View is visible



FIGURE 7-2 MAP VIEW AND SCHEMATIC VIEW SIDE-BY-SIDE

7.1 MAP VIEW LAYOUT

There are three components in the map view:

1. Table of Content – A tree view of all GIS layers. It controls the appearance of the layers.

2. Map – The main working space to display and edit hydrologic objects. The features could

be created, edited and selected.

3. Status Bar – Showing the coordinates.

FIGURE 7-3 MAP VIEW LAYOUT

Split View

Table of Content

Map

Status Bar



7.2 DEFAULT COORDINATE SYSTEM

The default coordinate system of the map and layers is NAD_1983_UTM_Zone_17N. To change

it:

1. Click the Options button in Home tab. The Options window will appear.

2. Switch to GIS tab and select the desired the coordinate system from the Default

coordinate system list. Note that the GIS tab is not available without an valid ArcGIS

license.

3. Click OK button to save the option. The new default coordinate system would take affect

for next new project. It won’t change the coordinate system of current project.

FIGURE 7-4 DEFAULT COORDINATE SYSTEM IN OPTIONS WINDOW

7.3 USING LAYERS

A map usually has multiple layers. The content shown on the map depends on the data in each

layer and the order in Table of Content. Layers on top will cover the one on the bottom. VO

utilizes various layers to represent the model and calculate model parameters. Users will has

option to add, edit and remove layers.

7.3.1 LAYER TYPES

Layers used in VO could be grouped to four (4) different types:

1. Hydrologic Object Layers – Layers that are used to store and display hydrologic objects.

2. Support Layers – Layers that provides support functions.

3. Base Map Layers – Layers that provides background map data.

4. Imported Layers – Layers added by users.

Both the Hydrologic Object Layers and Support Layers are system layers and are saved in

the project file. They can’t be removed from Table of Content.



7.3.2 HYDROLOGIC OBJECT LAYERS

Hydrologic object layers are the geospatial representation of hydrologic objects. Each type of

hydrologic object has one corresponding layer as shown in Figure 7-5. These layers have the

same name of hydrologic objects and are grouped in the same way as they are grouped in the

toolbox. The geometry type (polygon, polyline or point) of each layer is given in Table 7-1.

FIGURE 7-5 HYDROLOGIC OBJECT LAYERS

TABLE 7-1 THE GEOMETRY TYPE OF HYDROLOGIC OBJECT LAYERS

Category Hydrologic

object Geometry

Type Category

Hydrologic object

Geometry Type

Hydrograph

Polygon

Operation

Point

Polygon

Point

Polygon

Point

Polygon

Point

Route

Polyline

Utility

Point

Polyline

Point

Polyline

Point



7.3.3 SUPPORT LAYERS

Support layers are added to help define rain gauges (Raingauge), display the type of hydrologic

objects (Command) and display connections between hydrologic objects (Connector and

CatchmentLine).

1. The Raingauge layer displays rain gauge on the map. It’s used in DRMT (7.6.3) to define

the location of rain gauges.

2. The Command layer shows hydrologic object icons on top of GIS features as shown in

Figure 7-6. Users may find it helpful when differentiating hydrologic objects. For polygon-

hydrologic objects, the icon is shown at the centroid of the polygon. For polyline-hydrologic

objects, the icon is shown at the middle point of the polyline.

3. The Connector and CatchmentLine layer is the virtual connection line to represent the

connection between certain hydrologic objects, which is similar to the link in Schematic

View. The CatchmentLine layer represents the connection starting from a catchment. All

other connections are represented by the Connector layer. The connections are

represented with a straight line as shown in Figure 7-6.

FIGURE 7-6 SUPPORT LAYERS

7.3.4 LAYER CONTEXT MENU

Context menus are available for each layer in Table of Content. These menus are described in

Table 7-2. The availability of the menus is depending on type and status of the layer.



TABLE 7-2 LAYER CONTEXT MENU

Menu Command

Attribute Table Open the attribute table of the layer

Remove Layer Remove the layer from map. Not available for hydrologic object layers and

support layers.

Move Layer Up Move the layer up one level

Move Layer Down Move the layer down one level

Layer Selectable Make the features selectable. Not available if it’s already selectable.

Layer Unselectable Make the feature un-selectable. Not available if it’s already un-selectable.

Zoom To Layer Change the map extent to show all features in the layer.

Deselect all but this Turn off all other layers but turn on current layer.

Select all but this Turn on all other layers but turn off current layer.

Show/Hide Arrows Show or hide arrows for polyline layer.

Export as Shape File Export current layer to shapefile

Export as CSV Export the attribute table to CSV file

File Source Display the file source.

Layer Properties Open the Layer Properties window.

7.3.5 ADDING A LAYER

To add a layer, using following button from Add Layer sub-menus in GIS tab:

▪ Feature Layer button to add any supported GIS data files.

▪ Group Layer button to add a new group layer.

▪ Basemap Layer button to add the base map layer.

The new layer will be added to the bottom of Table of Content. For feature layers, multiple layers

could be added at the same time.



7.3.6 MOVING LAYERS

The order of layers in Table of Content would affect how the features would show on map. Fea-

tures in top layers would cover features in bottom layers. It’s generally recommended to put point

and polyline layers on top of polygon layers to avoid any cover-up.

To move the layers in Table of Content, select the layer first and drag it to the new location.

Moving a group layer will also move all children layers.

FIGURE 7-7 MOVE LAYER IN TABLE OF CONTENT

Layers could all be moved by using the Move Layer Up and Move Layer Down context menu.

Layers in a group layer could only be moved inside that group.

7.3.7 REMOVING LAYERS

Base map layer and imported layers could be removed from Table of Content by selecting Re-

move Layer menu from the context menu. The hydrologic object layers and support layers can’t

be removed.

7.3.8 DEFINING LAYER VISIBILITY

The visibility of a layer could be defined using the check box in Table of Content and the Scale

Range setting in Layer Properties window.

Unchecking the check box would hide all features in that layer. For a group layer, it also hides

features belong to its children layers.

FIGURE 7-8 HIDE LAYER FEATURES

A scale range is the upper and lower scale limit when the features could be displayed on map.

It’s necessary to define the range when certain layer is not useful when the map is zoomed in or

out. To set up the scale range:

1. Select the Layer Properties menu from layer context menu. The Layer Properties win-

dow will appear.

2. Click on Scale Range tab. By default, the Show layer at all scales is checked, which

indicates that features in this layer would display at any scale.



3. Select Don’t show layer when zoomed and give a value for the Minimum Scale and

Maximum Scale.

4. Current map scale could be used by using the Use current scale as the minimum scale

and Use current scale as the maximum scale button.

5. Click OK button to save the changes.

In the example shown in Figure 7-9, the features in the layer would only display when scale is

between 1:50,000 and 1:250,000. If scale goes beyond this range, all features would be hidden

and the check box beside the layer in Table of Content becomes grey to indicate the status.

FIGURE 7-9 SCALE RANGE IN LAYERS PROPERTIES WINDOW

7.3.9 DEFINING LAYER SYMBOL

The appearance of features on map are defined using symbols. For an empty project, a default

symbol is generated for each layer. To change the symbol:

1. Select the Layer Properties menu from layer context menu. The Layer Properties

window will appear.

2. Click on Symbology tab. Depending on type of data and existing symbol, the look of the

window may be different (Figure 7-10). Two types of symbol could be defined for a vector

layer:

a. Simple Single Symbol – This symbol type defines only one symbol for all features

in the layers. With this symbol, all features in the layers would look the same. It’s

usually used to differentiate the layers with other.

b. Categories symbol – This symbol type defines multiple symbols with different

shape, color or size for features with different attribute value, which could

effectively describe the spatial distribution of features against selected attribute.

3. For Simple Single Symbol, select Features in the list on the left and click the button in

Symbol group to change the symbol type, color and size.

4. For Categories Symbol, select Categories in the list on the left. The right side will be

changed the categories symbol view (Figure 7-11). In this view, select the field name from

the Field List and click the Add Values button to generate the symbol for each unique

value of the selected field.



5. For raster data, simply select the color ramp from the list.

6. Click OK button to save the changes.

The symbols will be saved in project file. It will be restored when the project is opened.

FIGURE 7-10 SYMBOLOGY OF LAYERS

FIGURE 7-11 CATEGORIES SYMOBEL FOR NASHYD

Point Polyline

Polygon Raster



7.3.10 LABELLING LAYER

Attribute values could be displayed on top of features on the map. To create the label:

1. Select the Layer Properties menu from layer context menu. The Layer Properties

window will appear.

2. Click on Label tab.

3. Check the Display Label

4. Select a field from the attribute list to add the field into the expression string

5. Click the OK button.

FIGURE 7-12 LABEL TAB IN LAYER PROPERTIES WINDOW

The value of selected field will be labeled on top of the feature as shown below.

FIGURE 7-13 CN LABEL ON MAP



7.4 USING THE MAP

The model components and other helper information are displayed on the map. With the geospa-

tial information, the model is easier to understand. Furth more, it enables to utilize existing GIS

layers to create the model structure and determine the parameter values.

7.4.1 NAVIGATING THE MAP

The map could be zoomed out/in by scrolling the mouse wheel up/down. More navigation tools

are available in GIS tab as show below. These tools are described in Table 4-4. The Pan tool is

also available from the context menu.

FIGURE 7-14 NAVIGATION TOOLS IN GIS TAB

The scale of the Map View and Schematic View is synchronized by default to zoom to same

hydrologic objects, which works best for the split view. The synchronization could be turned on/off

in Options window. Turning off the synchronization would improve performance for a model with

large number of hydrologic objects.

FIGURE 7-15 TURN OFF THE VIEW SYNCHRONIZATION

The two views could also be synchronized manually by choosing the Show Same Hydrologic

objects as in Schematic View in map context menu or the Show Same Hydrologic objects as

in Map View in schematic view context menu.



FIGURE 7-16 VIEW SYNCHRONIZATION MENU IN MAP AND SCHEMATIC CONTEXT MENU

Note that the views are not synchronized when it’s not in split view model even the synchronization

is turned on. Please use the manual synchronization context menu when switching to another

view.

7.4.2 SELECTING FEATURES ON MAP

Features could be selected on map. To select features:

1. Click the Select button in GIS tab.

2. Click the feature on the map. The outline of the selected feature will be changed.

3. To add other features to the selection, hold the CTRL key and click on the feature.

4. To select features in a rectangle, drag to draw the rectangle on the map.

Similar as in Schematic View, certain hydrologic objects could be selected by using the

Selection context menu. These menus are described in 6.3.

FIGURE 7-17 SELECTION MENUES IN MAP CONTEXT MENU

For hydrological object layers, the hydrologic objects are also selected if the corresponding fea-

tures are selected.



7.4.3 CREATING HYDROLOGIC OBJECTS MANUALLY

VO provides tools to create hydrologic objects on map. Different from the Schematic View, the

geometry needs to be digitized on map before the objects could be created. To create a hydro-

logical object on map:

1. Turn on the base map layer for reference.

2. Configure the snapping environment in the GIS tab to snap certain point on existing

shapes. Their usage is described in Table 7-3. It could be changed anytime during the

digitization process. Notice that only Vertex is selected by default.

TABLE 7-3 SNAPPING TOOLS


Point

Allows to snap to a point.

EndPoint

Allows to snap to the end point of


Vertex

Allows to snap to the vertex.

MidPoint

Allows to snap to the middle point

of a polyline

Edge

Allows to snap along the

edge of polyline or polygon.

Intersection

Allows to snap to intersection of

two geometries

3. Specify the type of new hydrologic object by:

a. Dragging and dropping the hydrologic object icon from the toolbox to Map View.



b. Selecting the type of hydrologic object from map context menu.

Notice that the cursor changes to a pencil shape indicating it’s ready to draw on map.

4. Start to draw the desire shape on the map by clicking on the map. For point-hydrologic

objects (e.g. AddHyd), the hydrologic object will be created immediately when a point is

created. For polygon-hydrologic objects and polyline-hydrologic objects, multiple points

are required. During digitalization, the context menu is shown below to allow delete the

sketch or finish the sketch. The sketch could also be deleted by pressing the ESC key.

Double-click would finish the sketch.

5. With the newly-created shape, a new feature is created in the corresponding layer. A

hydrologic object is also created and selected in both views.



7.4.4 CREATING HYDROLOGIC OBJECTS WITH GIS DATA

Existing GIS data could be utilized to define hydrologic objects. The data may be created from

DEM data using other hydrological analysis toolsets. These datasets usually have a catchment

layer, a stream layer and an outlet layer. They could be imported into VO and used to create

NasHyds/StandHyds, RouteChannels and AddHyds.

To create hydrologic objects from existing GIS layer:

1. Add existing GIS data using Add Feature Layer button in GIS tab. Move the layer on

top of base map layer and zoom to it using the Zoom to Layer context menu.

2. Select feature(s) in imported layers using the Select tool in GIS tab or map context

menu.

3. In map context menu, select the type of hydrologic object in Generate Selected

Geometry As menu. This is the type the new hydrologic object will be. Depending on the

type of selected features (point, polyline or polygon), some menu may be disabled as there

is no proper geometry for those hydrologic objects. In this case, no polyline feature is

selected, so RouteChannel, MuskingumCunge and RoutePipe is disabled.

4. A new hydrologic object will be created for each selected feature. The shape-based

parameters (e.g. area for catchments and length for channels) are automatically

calculated from the shape and all other parameters are using the default values.



7.4.5 LINKING HYDROLOGIC OBJECTS

Links between hydrologic objects could also be created in Map View. To create a link:

1. Click the Add Link button in GIS tab or choose the Add -> Link menu from the map

context menu. Notice the cursor changes to cross hair shape.

2. Move the cursor to the hydrologic object that will be the source of the link. Notice the

hydrologic object will flash with red color, which indicates the hydrologic object is eligible

as the link source. If the hydrologic object is not eligible, the hydrologic object won’t flash.

For example, a NasHyd which already has been linked to an AddHyd is not eligible as the

link source as it could only have one output link. The connection rules are given Table 6-3.

3. Click the desired hydrologic object to set it as the source of the link and move the cursor

to the hydrologic object it will be connected to. Notice that a red line will appear to connect

from the hydrologic object to the location of the cursor as shown below. This line

represents the link that will be added.



The starting point of the line is determined based on the shape of the hydrologic object.

For polygon-hydrologic object, the starting point will be the centroid of the polygon. For

polyline-hydrologic object, the starting point will be the middle point of the polyline. The

starting point of a point-hydrologic object will be where the point is located.

4. To select the destination object feature, move the cursor on top of that feature. If that

feature flashes, click to add the link. If the number of the input link of that hydrologic object

reaches the limitation, that hydrologic object won’t flash and the link can’t be added.

Same as the starting point, the ending point of the link is also determined by the shape of

that hydrologic object. Middle point is used for polylines.

A new feature is added to CatchmentLine layer for the new link as shown below. The

symbol may be different based on your settings.

Once the link is added, the output property of the starting hydrologic object is updated

automatically to the output hydrologic object and a link is also added in the schematic view

as shown blow.



5. To star over the process in the middle, press the ESC key. The starting point will be

cleared.

6. To remove the link, click the edit tool, select the link on map and press DELETE key. A

confirm window would appear as shown below. Click Yes to confirm the deletion. The link

in the schematic view will also be removed and the outlet property will be set to empty.

7.4.6 ASSIGNING GEOMETRY TO EXISTING HYDROLOGICAL OBJECTS

Hydrologic objects don’t have geospatial location information when 1) they are created on canvas

or 2) they are imported from and older model. To take advantage of GIS functions, the geospatial

location information could be assigned to hydrological objects. To do this:

1. Click the Assign Geometry button in the GIS tab. The Assign Geometry window will

appear. By default, the window lists all hydrologic objects that have no associated geometry.

It can also show all hydrologic objects by unchecking Filter Commands with Geometries.

2. To assign a manually-created geometry, click the Assign New Geometry button at bottom

and the cursor changes to a pencil. Follow the same procedure as in 4.2.1 to create the

geometry. Once the geometry is successfully created, it will be assigned to the selected hy-

drologic object.

3. To assign exiting geometry to selected hydrologic object, add the data layer first and select

the geometry on map. And then select the correct hydrologic object in the list and click Assign

Selected Geometry button at the bottom.



7.4.7 MOVING, EDITING AND DELETING HYDROLOGIC OBJECTS

The shape of the hydrologic object features could be edited and deleted on map. To do this:

1. Select Edit Tool in GIS tab or map context menu.

2. Select the hydrologic object feature on map.

3. To move a feature, move the cursor on top of the selected features and then hold the left

button to drag it to the new location. When the moving is underway, a new shape is shown

to represent what it will look like after the move. Release the left button to confirm the

move. Note that moving is not allowed when more than one hydrologic objects are

selected.

For polygon-hydrologic objects, the new shape may cover, cut or clip other hydrologic

objects. This is not allowed. If that happens, a warning message shows up and the new

shape will be rejected.



If the new shape clips other hydrologic objects like the one shown below, the behaviour is

defined in Options window. The default behaviour is Reject, which would reject the

change. If it’s set to Clip, the affected hydrologic objects would be clipped and the area is

updated. This setting also applies when a new polygon hydrologic object feature is created

and an existing polygon hydrologic object features is changed by moving, adding or

removing a vertex.

As moving a polygon-hydrologic objects may change other hydrologic objects, it’s

generally not recommended to do so.

4. To change the shape of the hydrologic object, double-click it on the map to show all the

vertices. Move cursor on top of one of them and drag it to a new location.



5. Vertices could be added or removed by using Add Vertex and Remove Vertex in

GIS tab. For Add Vertex, set the snapping properly to make the new vertex more accurate.

Click on the map, a new vertex is added at that location and the shape is changed

accordingly. For Remove Vertex, the vertex will be removed by clicking on it. Note that

these two tools are only available when a polygon or a polyline is selected using the Edit

tool.

6. To delete selected hydrologic object(s), press the DELETE key or choose Delete on map

context menu. A warning window appears to provide the opportunity to confirm the

deletion. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.

7.4.8 CUTTING POLYGON-HYDROLOGIC OBJECTS

In some cases, a polygon-hydrologic object needs to be split into several smaller ones, e.g. part

of NasHyd is developed and the imperviousness surpass 20%. To do this:

1. Select the polygon-hydrologic object first and select Cut from context menu. Notice the

cursor change to a pencil.

2. Setup the snapping environment if necessary to snap to desired points.

3. Draw the polyline that will be the boundary between new hydrologic objects and double

click to finish the sketch. If the polygon could be cut into pieces, new hydrologic objects

will be created.

If the polyline couldn’t cut the polygon into pieces, a warning window will appear.



7.5 UPDATING HYDROLOGIC OBJECTS LOCATION IN SCHEMATIC VIEW

The location of hydrologic objects in schematic view could be determined based on their geospa-

tial location on map. Doing so would make hydrologic objects locate in similar location in sche-

matic view, which would make comparison easier.

To update the location, choose the Update Schematic Position context menu and click Yes on

the confirmation window. The location of all hydrologic objects would be updated.

For some models with large number of hydrologic objects, the location of few hydrologic objects

may not that accurate. They need to be adjusted manually.



7.6 USING GIS TOOLS

GIS tools take advantage of GIS data to help on model parameterization and calibration. Three

tools are provided in this version.

▪ Calculate CN – To assign CNII to catchments based on landuse, soil layer and a built-

in lookup table.

▪ Calculate Area Weighted – To assign catchment parameters from exiting GIS layer.

▪ DRMT – To generate unique rainfall data for each catchment by interpolating the rain-

fall data from rain gauges.

7.6.1 CALCULATING CN

Curve Number (CN) is the most important parameter to determine surface runoff when SCS

equation is used. Its value varies for different soil types, land use and antecedent soil condition

(AMC). The CN for the average antecedent soil condition (CNII) is usually used. Lookup tables

have been established for landuse, soil hydrological group and CNII (Table 7-4).

TABLE 7-4 SAMPLE LANDUSE, SOIL AND CN LOOKUP TABLE

In often cases, CNII of each catchment is estimated with the landuse and soil information and

applicable lookup tables. If landuse and soil layers are available, GIS software are usually used

to conduct the calculation. For catchments covering more than one landuse or soil type, an area-

weighted CNII are usually calculated.

The Calculate CN tool makes the process easier. To use this tool:

1. Add soil and land use layers. Make sure the soil layer has the soil hydrologic group data

and the land use layer has the land use data.

2. Select catchments (StanHyd, NasHyd, WilHyd or ScsHyd) to be updated in Map View or

Schematic View. Note that the selected catchments must have been assigned to a

geometry.



3. Click the Calculate CN button in GIS tab. The Calculate CN window will appear. Notice

that the number of selected hydrologic objects available for CN calculation is shown on

the top of the window. The window has the left part for soil mapping and the right part for

the landuse mapping.

4. On the left part, choose the soil layer from the Soil Layer list and then choose the Soil

Group Field. The soil hydrologic group lookup table will become available, allowing the

user to define which hydrological group (A, B, C and D) will be mapped for each value of

the selected field. Define the soil group lookup table by selecting a proper hydrological

group from the drop-down list.

5. On the right-hand side, choose the Land Use Layer from the layer list and then choose

the Land Use Field. Define the land use lookup table by selecting from the dropdown list

for each land use type.

6. Click the Update CN button at the bottom to update the CN based on soil and land use

data. A message window will appear indicating that CN of selected hydrologic objects has

been updated.

7. To export the soil and land use layer mapping information, click the Export button at the

left bottom corner to save the mapping information to a file. The saved file could be

imported using the Import button.

8. The Clear button at the bottom could be used to clear all field mapping information and

start all over again.

9. To see the default CN lookup table, click the CN Lookup Table button. Note that the

lookup table is not editable. To use a different lookup table, please contact us.



7.6.2 CALCULATING AREA WEIGHTED

In some cases, model parameters are available in GIS layers. The Calculate Area Weighted tool

reads the parameter values, calculate the area weighted value if necessary and then assign to

catchments. The imperviousness (TIMP and XIMP) and initial abstraction are two parameters that

could utilize this tool. To use this tool:

1. Add the GIS layer that has the parameter information.

2. Select catchments whose parameter will be updated.

3. Click the Calculate Area Weighted button located in the GIS tab. The Calculate Area

Weighted Parameter window will appear. Notice that the number of selected catchments

is shown at the top of the window.

4. Choose Parameter to Calculate from the drop-down menu. In this case, only StandHyd

parameters are shown here as only StanHyds are selected. We want to use Timp this

time.

5. Choose the Source Layer and the Source Field, where the parameter values will be

retrieved. The source layer should be a polygon layer and the source field could be any

type. In this case, we choose Percentimp, which is a numerical field indicating the

percentage of impervious area in the polygon.

6. Define the field mapping to map all the field values to the desired parameter value.

7. Click the Update button at the bottom of the window. A message window will appear,

indicating that the parameter of selected hydrologic objects has been updated.



8. Similar as the Calculate CN tool, the value mapping could be exported to a file and then

imported later using the Export and Import button at the bottom.

9. The Clear button at the bottom of the window can be used to clear the lookup table and

start all over again.

7.6.3 DISTRIBUTED RAINFALL MODELING TECHNIQUE (DRMT)

Rainfall data, an essential element of storm water management analyses, is recorded at and

collected from rain gauges. The location of the rain gauge is therefore important. The closer the

rain gauge is to the flow meter the better. However, this may not always be possible. Also, rainfall

data obtained and used for modeling from adjacent/closest rain gauge does not, in most cases,

best represent the sub-catchments. Often modellers have to use rain gauge data that are not truly

representative of the area where the flow is being recorded. The best rainfall data would be ones

that are recorded at the center of each sub-catchment, thereby capturing the true influence of rain

on that particular sub-catchment. In order to overcome this, the Distributed Rain Modeling Tech-

nique or DRMT was introduced. DRMT uses math interpolation on each actual live rain gauge

and interpolate the values of intensity at each time step to create a virtual rain gauge. The DRMT

takes data from rain gauges from multiple rain gauges, surrounding a site of interest or focus, and

interpolates to create rainfall ‘surfaces’ for each modeling time step at the centroid of each catch-

ment’s tributary area. This approach is helpful to account for temporal and spatial variability of

storm events over a relatively large drainage area and to interpret the observed flow and level

data. The interpolation technique currently used is Spline Interpolation.

DRMT tool is useful to calibrate models covering large areas with multiple rain gauges. The sim-

ulated hydrographs are more reasonable compared to the one without using DRMT.



7.6.3.1 ADDING RAIN GAUGES

To have a proper rainfall surface, minimum three rain gauges are required. Adding a rain gauge

is similar to adding other point hydrologic objects (e.g. AddHyd). To add rain gauges on map:

1. Select Add->Rainguage in map context menu.

2. Click on the map to add the rain gauge.

3. Set the storm index pointing to the rainfall data in a rain group. It’s recommended to use

same storm index in different rain groups to avoid changing the storm index after switch

between rain groups. In this context, the rain group is a collection of rainfalls happening

at the same time but at different locations. A good practise is to name the rain group with

the rainfall time range and name the rainfall data with rain gauge name.

7.6.3.2 USING DRMT TOOL

To use the DRMT tool interpolate the rainfall for each catchment:

1. Click the DRMT tool in GIS tab. The Generate DRMT window will appear. The number

of selected catchments is given at top of the window. If no catchment is selected, it will

apply to all catchments.

2. DRMT tool uses a two-dimensional minimum curvature spline technique to generate the

rainfall intensity surface. The parameters in Generate DRMT window are described in

following table. Most of the parameters have a default value.



Parameter Description

Input Rain Select the rain group as the hyetograph data source for rain

gauges.

Output cell size

The cell size (m) at which the output raster will be created.

By default, it is the shorter of the width or the height of the

extent of the selected rain gauges, divided by 250.

Spline Type

The type of spline to be used. It can be REGULARIZED or

TENSION. REGULARIZED yields a smooth surface and

smooth first derivatives. TENSION tunes the stiffness of the

interpolant according to the character of the modeled phe-

nomenon. By default, REGULARIZED is used.

Weight

Parameter influencing the character of the surface interpola-

tion. When the REGULARIZED option is used, it defines the

weight of the third derivatives of the surface in the curvature

minimization expression. If the TENSION option is used, it

defines the weight of tension. The default value is 0.1.

Number of points The number of points per region used for local approximation.

The default value is 12.

Intensity over catch-

ment

The method to calculate the rain fall intensity over catchment

using the rainfall surface. It can be centroid or catchment

average. Centroid uses the rain fall intensity at the catch-

ment polygon centroid. Catchment Average calculates the

average rain fall intensity over the catchment. The centroid

is the default value.

Rainfall raster output

path

Folder for generated rainfall surface raster data

Selected rain gauges Rain gauges whose location will be used for the interpolation.

All rain gauges are selected by default.

3. Choose the rain group from the Input Rain drop-down list and change other parameters

if necessary. If there are more than three rain gauges, some rain gauges could be removed

from the selected list by drag-and-drop.

4. Click OK button at the bottom. The GeoProcessing window appears to show the progress

and a message window appears once the process is done.



5. After the process finish, a new rain group is created. It has 5 hyetographs, which are

corresponding to the 5 selected subcatchments. As they are generated from the

interpolated surface, each hyetograph is unique. Notice that the icon for DRMT-generated

rain group is different with those created manually . A capital letter “D” appears on

the top right corner to represent DRMT. These rain groups are not editable.

6. The DRMT-generated rain groups could be used to run the simulation as other rain groups.

In Batch Run window through the Run button in Simulation tab, select the rain group

from the Rain drop down list as shown below. The corresponding hyetographs will be

automatically assigned to hydrograph commands.

7.7 TURNING OFF MAP FUNCTIONS

By default, VO will load map functions when an ArcGIS license is available. This could be changed

in Options window as shown in Figure 7-18. Uncheck the Use GIS option in General tab. Note



that this option only appear when ArcGIS license is available and the change will take effect after

the program is restarted.

FIGURE 7-18 TURNING OFF GIS IN OPTIONS WINDOW



8 WORKING WITH CLIMATE LIBRARY

Climate Library is a local climate data library with the ability to share with others. Shipped with

standard design and regional storm used in Toronto and Region Conversion Authority (TRCA), it

could be expanded with any project related climate data.

The climate data in Climate Library includes Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF), design storm,

regional storm, rain gauge, temperature gauge, evaporation gauge, precipitation time series, tem-

perature time series and evaporation time series. More climate data will be added in later ver-

sions.

The climate data is organized in a folder-like structure supporting unlimited levels. The Library

Explorer in the Climate Library provides similar functionality as the File Explorer in Windows

operation system.

With current version, the climate data is either entered or imported from a file. Database connec-

tion will be added in the later version to grab data from existing database.

Review agencies may find Climate Library is a good way to distribute the design storms required

in the development submissions. Modellers and engineers may find themselves save time by

avoiding using file-based climate files.

8.1 OPENING CLIMATE LIBRARY

To open Climate Library, use the Climate Library button in Simulation tab or the Project

Manager tool bar.

The Climate Library has three (3) components: Toolbar, Library Explorer and Main View. The

Toolbar is on the top where buttons are placed in different groups. The Library Explorer, a tree

view of all items in the library, is located on the left. Each item has a unique icon and context

menu. The Main View displays the information of selected item. It changes depending on the

type of the items.



FIGURE 8-1 OPENING CLIMATE LIBRARY

8.2 TOOLBAR

The buttons in the toolbar are described in Table 8-1. Most of them are also available through the

context menu in Library Explorer.

8.3 LIBRARY EXPLORER

The Library Explorer shows all items in a tree view structure.

8.3.1 ODER OF ITEMS

Items of different types in one group are organized in a certain order as described below. Items

with higher order will appear before items with lower order. Items of same type are arranged

alphabetically by name.

1. Sub-group

2. Rain Gauge

3. IDF Group

4. Manual Input Design Storm

5. Read-in Design Storm

6. Chicago Design Storm

7. Mass Design Storm



TABLE 8-1 CLIMATE LIBRARY TOOLBAR


Save

Save changes Save As

Save the library to another location

Export

Export selected item

Import

Import from a previously-exported da-

tabase to merge new data into library

Top Group

Create a new top group Sub Group

Create a new sub-group

IDF Group

Create a new IDF Group IDF Curve

Create a new IDF Curve

Manual Input

Create a new Manual Input design

storm

Read-in

Create a new Read-in design storm

Chicago

Create a new Chicago design

storm

MASS

Create a new Mass design storm

Rain Gauge

Create a new rain gauge Read-in

Read-in precipitation time series

Temperature Gauge

Create a new temperature gauge Read-in

Read-in temperature time series

Evaporation Gauge

Create a new evaporation gauge Read-in

Read-in temperature time series

Remove

Remove selected item Add to Model

Add selected item to current project

Help

Open help system



8.3.2 ICONS

In Library Explorer, icons are used to identify different items in the library as shown in Table 8-2.

TABLE 8-2 LIBRARY EXPLORER ICONS

Icon Data Type Icon Data Type

Group

IDF Group IDF Curve

Manual Input Design Storm Read-in Design Storm

Chicago Design Storm Mass Design Storm

SCS Type II Design Storm AES Design Storm

Rain Gauge Read-in Measured Storm

Temperature Gauge Temperature Data

Evaporation Gauge Evaporation Data

8.3.3 CONTEXT MENU

Context menus in Library Explorer is content-sensitive. An example is given below.

8.3.4 DRAG AND DROP

The items in Library Explorer supports drag-and-drop for various functions based on the type of

source and destination item. Examples are:

▪ Move item from one group to another

▪ Apply IDF to Chicago design storm

▪ Add design storm and temperature data to Project Manager.



8.4 MAIN VIEW

The items in Climate Library is displayed and edited in the Main View. The Main View changes

depending on the type of the item. The view for IDF group, Chicago design storm, MASS design

storm and temperature data is given below.

FIGURE 8-2 CLIMATE LIBRARY MAIN VIEW

8.5 ADDING NEW ITEMS

Items could be added to the library by using the buttons in the Toolbar or the context menu in

Library Explorer.

IDF Group Chicago Design Storm

MASS Design Storm Temperature Data



8.5.1 ADDING GROUP

There are two type of group. The top group is the group located at the top level and the sub-group

is the group located in another group.

To add a top group, click the Top Group button in Toolbar.

To add a sub-group in an existing group, select the parent group first in the Library Explorer and

then click the Sub Group button in the toolbar or choose Add New SubGroup in the context

menu.

8.5.2 ADDING IDF GROUP

An IDF group is group of IDF curves of various return periods (2-100 year) for same location or

area. To add an IDF group, first select the parent group and then click the IDF Group button

in the Toolbar or choose Add New IDF Group in the context menu, which will open the Add A

New IDF Group window as shown below.

FIGURE 8-3 ADD A NEW IDF GROUP WINDOW

The IDF curves in IDF group could be defined with either fitting parameter A, B, C or the duration-

intensity ordinates. For latter case, the A, B, C parameter will be automatically calculated. In most

cases, the A, B, C values will be provided. Please note that the rainfall intensity equation used is

i = A/(t+B)C. If a different format is used, the correct values should be used.

The new IDF group will be created by clicking the OK button. Note that the new IDF group is not

empty. 6 IDF curves are created for return period 2 year, 5 year, 10 year, 25 year, 50 year and

100 year respectively with data from Toronto City (published by Environment Canada on Decem-

ber 21, 2014).

Utilizing IDF Files from Environment Canada

IDF files are publicly available from website for various locations across Canada. There are four

(4) tables in the downloaded file and the table 2a and 2b (Figure 8-4) could be used to create the

IDF group.

To create the IDF group, follow the steps given below.

1. Copy table 2a or 2b to spreadsheet editor and convert it to a data table;

2. If table 2a is used, convert the rainfall amount to rainfall intensity (mm/hr);

3. If table 2b is used, remove the accuracy lines;

4. Transpose the data table to be in the format used in Climate Library;

ftp://ftp.tor.ec.gc.ca/Pub/Engineering_Climate_Dataset/IDF/



FIGURE 8-4 SAMPLE IDF FILE FROM ENVIRONMENT CANADA

5. Create a new IDF Group with the IDF Definition is set as Duration-Intensity Data Values

(Figure 8-3).

6. Copy the data table and paste into IDF Table (Figure 8-5). To paste the data correctly, select

the cell for 2-year return period and 5 min duration.

FIGURE 8-5 PASTING DURATION AND INTERNSITY DATA



8.5.3 ADDING IDF CURVE

It’s necessary to add a new IDF curve if the desired return period doesn’t present in the IDF group.

It’s could be added by clicking the IDF curve button in the Toolbar or choosing the Add New

IDF Curve menu in the IDF Group context menu. The return period of the new IDF curve is 0 and

needs to be edited later.

8.5.4 ADDING DESIGN STORM

There are four ways to create a design storm in Climate Library which are corresponding to

different scenarios.

1. Manual Input could be used for the case where the design storm will be created from

scratch. It gives the flexibility to add, insert, modify and delete the time series data directly.

Although it also supports copy-and-paste from other source, it's not recommended to use

manual input for that case. Read-in should be used instead.

2. Read-in is design for an existing design storm, which may be exported from another de-

sign storm tool or modelling software. Two file formats are supported (stm an csv).

3. Chicago is used to create a Chicago design storm based on given parameters including

IDF curve. It's often used for cases where model needs to run on Chicago design storms

from IDF curves with different return period. It's recommended to add the IDF information

into the library first and then create the design storm.

4. Mass is used when a mass curve file and total precipitation is available. Examples are

SCS Type II and AES design storms.

5. SCS Type II is used to create a 6-hr, 12-hr or 24-hr SCS Type II design storm.

6. AES is used to create a 1-hr AES design storm.

To create these design storms, click the corresponding button in toolbar or choose the corre-

sponding menu in the context menu as shown in Figure 8-6.

FIGURE 8-6 NEW DESIGN STORM BUTTON AND CONTEXT MENU



New manual input and Chicago design storms will be added immediately and set as the active

item. A window will appear for Read-in and MASS design storm for user to preview the data before

it’s added into the library.

Chicago, SCS Type II and AES design storms could also be created based-on IDF Group as

shown in Figure 8-7. The design storms are created for each return period in the IDF Group.

FIGURE 8-7 NEW DESIGNS STORMS CONTEXT MENU BASED-ON IDF GROUP

8.5.4.1 NEW READ-IN DESIGN STORM

The window for new read-in storm is shown in Figure 8-8. It allows to give a name and browse

the data file for preview.

Click the Browse… button in the window to browse the data file to display it in the Data Preview

area at the bottom as shown below. It supports the STM file and CSV file.

If Use File Name is checked, the file name will be set as the name of the new read-in design

storm. If you are satisfied with the data, click OK button to create the design storm in the library.



FIGURE 8-8 NEW READ-IN DESIGN STORM WINDOW

Multiple read-in design storms could be created from multiple storm files. It’s available from the

Group context menu as shown in (Figure 8-6). The new design storms will be added to the se-

lected Group without preview. It’s convenient when there are a few storms files.

8.5.4.2 NEW MASS DESIGN STORM

The window for new MASS design storm is shown in Figure 8-9. The window is similar as the one

for read-in design storm. The mass curve file SMT file is supported and the total precipitation

could be entered.

FIGURE 8-9 NEW MASS DESIGN STORM WINDOW

8.5.4.3 NEW DESIGN STORMS BASED ON IDF GROUP

Chicago, SCS Type II and AES design storms could be created using the IDF data. To create the

design storms,

1. Select the IDF Group and choose the corresponding context menu based on the type of

design storms to be created (Figure 8-7).

2. The parameter window will appear as shown in Figure 8-10. The available parameters are

different depending on the type of the design storms.



3. Once the parameter is entered, click the OK button to create the design storms. A new

folder is created with all new design storms as shown in Figure 8-11. The folder is named

with the name of the IDF Group and the type of the design storm. And the new design

storms are named will return period, duration, time step and type of design storm.

FIGURE 8-10 DESIGN STORM PARAMETER WINDOW

FIGURE 8-11 IDF GROUP AND NEWLY-CREATED SCS TYPE II DESIGN STORMS

8.5.5 ADDING RAIN GAUGE, TEMPERATURE GAUGE AND EVAPORATION GAUGE

For continuous simulation, the time series data usually comes from monitoring gauges. It’s nec-

essary to have the gauge information (e.g. ID and location) included in the Climate Library to

enable connect to monitoring database and apply distributed rainfall models. Each gauge may

have more than one time-series data which may have different time step or cover different time

range.

For evaporation, it may be a pan evaporation gauge or a general climate monitoring station where

the potential evapotranspiration could be calculated using various equations.

To add a new gauge, first select the parent group in the Library Explorer and then click the Rain

Gauge button , Temperature Gauge button or Evaporation Gauge button in the



Toolbar. For evaporation gauge, it’s necessary to specify the type of the data type. It could be

lake evaporation, pan evaporation or potential evapotranspiration.

FIGURE 8-12 EVAPORATION GAUGE VIEW

8.5.6 ADDING PRECIPITATION, TEMPERATURE AND EVAPORATION DATA

The monitoring precipitation, temperature and evaporation data is added to corresponding gauges

from a data file. To do this:

1. Select the gauge first and then click the proper Read-in button in the Toolbar.

2. In the New Monitored Data window, click the Browse… button in the window to browse

the data file to display it in the Data Preview area at the bottom. If Use File Name is

checked, the file name will be set as the name of the data item.

3. If you are satisfied with the data, click OK button to add the data item to the library.

The data file should be in a simple CSV file with first column as the time and the second column

as the data value. The first row is treated as the column name and will be ignored.

The data gap will be detected and filled. The precipitation will set as zero (0) and the temperature

and evaporation will be set as the one in previous time step.

Although data of any time step could be added to the library, the continuous simulation only sup-

ports certain time steps. For precipitation, it’s 5min, 10min, 15min, 20min, 1hr and 1day. For tem-

perature and evaporation, it’s 1day.



FIGURE 8-13 TEMPERATURE DATA PREVIEW WINDOW

8.6 ASSIGNING IDF TO CHICAGO DESIGN STORM

The Chicago design storm could use the information of any IDF curve in the library. There are

two ways to assign the IDF curve information to a Chicago design storm.

1. Copy and paste from the IDF curve;

2. Drag and drop the IDF curve to the Chicago design storm in Library Explorer.

8.6.1 COPING AND PASTING A, B, C

To copy and paste A, B, C from an IDF curve to a Chicago design storm:

1. Select the desired IDF curve in Library Explorer.

2. In the Main View, click the Copy A,B,C button to copy the A, B, C values. Note that if the

fitted A, B, C is invalid, the values couldn’t be copied.

3. Select the desired Chicago design storm in Library Explorer and click Paste A,B,C but-

ton in the A,B,C section. The A, B, C values are overwritten by values from the copied IDF

curve. Upon the change, the time series data table and graph is automatically updated to

use the new values. Note that the Paste A,B,C button is not available if no IDF curve is

copied.



FIGURE 8-14 COPY AND PAST IDF CURVE A, B, C

8.6.2 DRAGGING AND DROPPING IDF CURVE TO CHICAGO DESIGN STORM

To use drag-and-drop to assign the IDF curve information to a Chicago design storm:

1. Select the desired IDF curve in Library Explorer.

2. Keep the left mouse button pressed and drag it over the Chicago design storm in Library

Explorer. Notice that the mouse cursor changes to the one shown below, which indicates

the IDF curve information will be copied to the Chicago design storm.

3. Release the mouse button to assign A, B, C values to the Chicago design storm. Notice

the A, B, C values change and the time series are updated automatically.

FIGURE 8-15 DRAG-AND-DROP IDF CURVE TO CHICAGO DESIGN STORM

8.7 SHARING

Climate Library sharing is necessary to:

▪ Make sure the required IDF, design storm and time series data is used;

▪ Save time on prepare and import the data file.



Climate Library can share any part of the library. An item and its child items will be exported to

a separated database, which could be merged to other database with the structure unchanged.

Single items (e.g. design storm) could also be exported to data files.

8.7.1 EXPORTING

To export an item (and its children):

1. Select it in Library Explorer and click the Export button in the toolbar or choose the

Export menu in the context menu.

2. In the Save As window, change the default name and file format and then click Save. The

default output format is SQLite database.

Export function is used to export a branch of the library. To export the whole database, click the

Save As button in the toolbar and follow the same procedure.

8.7.2 IMPORTING

To import data from an exported database, click the Import button in the Toolbar. Browse the

right file in the Open window and click OK.

Importing merges the two databases together by only adding different items. Not all the data will

be imported into the local library. If the same structure with the same name already exists in the

same level, the existing item will be kept. For example, if a top group named Toronto exists in

both local library and the imported database, no new group is created and the existing one will be

used. These processes will be applied to all items in the imported library.

The process is demonstrated in Figure 8-16. A merged library is generated based on the local

library and the imported library. In this case, Group 1 and IDF Group 1 exists in both libraries. The

one in the local library will be kept without any change even the one in imported database is

different. Sub-group 2 and Design Storm 3 doesn't exist in local library and is added into the final

merged library.



FIGURE 8-16 CLIMATE LIBRARY MERGE DIAGRAM

8.8 ADDING CLIMATE DATA TO MODEL

Climate Library acts as the sole source of climate data for model. The climate data (rain, tem-

perature and evaporation) could be added to the working model by 1) using the Add to model

button/menu, 2) using Add All Design Storms to Project menu or 2) drag-and-drop.

To use the Add to model button/menu:

1. Select the climate data in the Library Explorer;

2. Click the Add to Model button in the toolbar or choose the Add to model… menu in

the context menu;

3. The Add Storm(s) to Rain Group window will appear. The first one allows to choose one

of the existing rain groups to add the design storm. The second one would create a new

rain group with the given name.

4. Click OK to add the design storm to the model. The new rain group will appear in Project

Manager.



To use Add All Design Storms to Project Menu

Design storms in a group could be added to a model at once. To do this, select the group in the

Library Explorer and choose the Add All Design Storm to Project from the context menu as

shown below. All the design storms will be added to the model and the run group is also created

for each design storm.

To use the drag-and-drop:

1. Make sure the Project Manager is visible and not covered by Climate Library window.

2. Select the desired climate data in the Library Explorer

3. To create a new climate data group, drag it to the corresponding section in Project Man-

ager:

• for design storm and long-term precipitation

• for temperature

• for evaporation.



4. To add the climate data to an existing climate date group, drag it to existing rain group

, temperature group or evaporation group in Project Manager;

5. The cursor would change to indicate the climate data could be added to current location.

6. Release mouse to finish the operation. The climate data will be added current location

and appears in Project Manager.

Certain rules apply when adding climate data to model:

1. The climate data to be added should have same time step and total duration as climate

data in the destination climate data group. If they don't match, the operation will be re-

jected as it would cause error in simulation. It also makes sense from practical point of

view.

2. The number of data points in the storm to be added couldn't exceed 2000 for single-

event model.

3. It's not recommended to mix design storm and measured storm in one rain group.

4. For rain groups with measured storms, it's recommended to use storm data with same

starting date and time.

Note that the last two rules are not enforced in VO. It's modeler’s responsibility to make sure

they are followed.



9 RUNING A SIMULATION

This chapters discusses the steps to create and run a simulation after the drainage network has

been created and climate data has been added.

9.1 OVERVIEW

A simulation run is a combination of drainage network and climate data. For single-event simula-

tion, the climate data may be design storm, reginal storm or observed rainfall event. For continu-

ous simulation, it may be long-term precipitation, temperature and evaporation time series data.

Essentially, creating a simulation run is to combine the drainage network (scenario) with right

climate data. For single-event simulation, it’s also possible to combine same drainage network

with various design storms.

In VO, the simulation run is always created for current working scenario. Therefore, there is no

need to specify the scenario for a simulation run. Setting up a simulation run is just to specify the

climate data.

Note that, to create the simulation run, the scenario must be free of error and the climate data is

already added to the Project Manager.

9.2 SINGLE-EVENT SIMULATION

To create a single-event simulation, click the Run button located at the Simulation tab to open

the Batch Run window (Figure 9-1), where all simulation runs are shown in a data table with three

columns.

▪ The first column is a check box to indicate if the simulation run will be run.

▪ The second column is the name of the simulation run which will be used in various place

to switch results. It’s recommended to use a recognizable name. To change the name,

double click it.

▪ The last column is the rain group used for the simulation run featuring a drop-down list to

have all available rain groups created in Project Manager.

A new project usually has a default simulation run using the default rain group (a Chicago design

storm). To add a new simulation could be added by clicking the Add button in the toolbar. A

simulation run could be deleted using the Delete button in the toolbar.



FIGURE 9-1 BATCH RUN WINDOW FOR SINGLE-EVENT SIMULATION

To run simulations, make sure the simulations is checked in the first column and then click the

Run button at the bottom. A window will appear to show the simulation run progress. The Batch

Run window will be closed after the simulation run is finished.

FIGURE 9-2 PROGRESS WINDOW AND INFORMATION WINDOW FOR SIMULATION RUN

The simulation results are saved in files. To delete these results file, click the Clear All Results

button at the left bottom corner.

9.3 CONTINUOUS SIMULATION

9.3.1 SETTING SIMULATION ENGINE

Before creating and running continuous simulations, it may be necessary to change the global

parameters. To change these parameters, click the Engine Options button in Simulation tab.

The Simulation Engine window will appear (Figure 9-3).

In Simulation Engine window, the parameters are grouped to four (4) categories generally based

on the hydrological process. Each group has a corresponding tab in the window. There is only

one parameter in Time Step group, which is the simulation time step in min. The default time step

is 5 minutes, which may need to be changed for long-term simulation. All other parameters are

described in Table 9-1, Table 9-2 and Table 9-3 for snow, initial abstraction and soil.



FIGURE 9-3 SIMULATION ENGINE WINDOW FOR CONTINUOUS SIMULATION

TABLE 9-1 SNOW PARAMETERS FOR CONTINUOUS SIMULATION

Parameter Unit Description Default

Value

Snowfall Temperature °C The dividing temperature for snowfall and

rainfall 0

Rel. Density vol/vol Relative density of new snow which varies

from 0.02 to 0.15 0.1

Fraction of Liquid Water N/A The fraction of liquid water in new snow 0

Compaction Coef. A N/A Compaction coefficient A used in

KC = B * EXP (-A * TAIR) 0.1

Compaction Coef. B N/A Compaction coefficient B used in

KC = B * EXP (-A * TAIR) 5

Max. Rel. Dry Density vol/vol The snow pack maximum relative dry density 0.35

Snowmelt Temperature °C The snowmelt base temperature -0.2

Snowmelt Factor mm/(day.°C) The monthly snowmelt factor N/A

Fraction Free Water

Capacity N/A

Irreducible water saturation fraction of total

pore volume 0.05

Rel. Density of Ice vol/vol The relative density of ice 0.92



TABLE 9-2 INITIAL ABSTRACTION PARAMETERS FOR CONTINUOUS SIMULATION


Value

Infiltration Ration in Per. N/A The infiltration ration in pervious area 0

Fraction Runoff

Indirectly Imp. to Per. N/A

The fraction of runoff from indirectly con-

nected area flow to pervious area 1

TABLE 9-3 SOIL PARAMETERS FOR CONTINUOUS SIMULATION


Value

Lake Evap. to Pan Eva.

Ratio N/A

Lake evaporation to pan evaporation ratio,

0.6 - 0.8 0.8

PET Reduction Ratio

Due to Rain N/A PET reduction ratio to account for rain 0.1

Soil Storage Capacity

Reduction Ratio Due to

Frozen Soil

N/A Soil storage capacity reduction ratio due to

frozen soil conditions 0.12

Monthly Evaporation mm/month Monthly evaporation N/A

Monthly Growth Index N/A Monthly growth index N/A

There snow parameters (Snowmelt Temperature, Snowmelt Factor and Max. Rel. Dry Den-

sity) are assumed to change in a year between a given minimum value and maximum value and

the minimum value appears in a given month. The change is described using a sinusoidal curve

as shown in Figure 9-4 for snowmelt factor. To edit the minimum, maximum value and the month

for the minimum value, click the button on the right side of each parameter. The preview curve

will be updated automatically once the values are changed. By default, a fixed value is used for

Snowmelt Temperature and Max. Rel. Dry Density but Snowmelt Factor changes.

FIGURE 9-4 SNOWMELT FACTOR EDITOR



To edit the monthly evaporation and growth index, click the Edit button after the parameter name

as shown in Figure 9-5. The monthly data editor will appear as shown in Figure 9-6. New values

could be entered in the table on the left and the plot will be automatically updated.

FIGURE 9-5 SOIL PARAMETERS IN SIMULATION ENGINE WINDOW

FIGURE 9-6 MONTHLY DATA EDITOR FOR EVAPORATION AND GROWTH INDEX

9.3.2 CREATING AND RUNNING SIMULATIONS

To create a continuous simulation, click the Run button located at the Simulation tab to open

the Batch Run window, whose layout is similar with the one for single-event simulation and has

more columns.

▪ The first and second column is same as the one for single-event simulation.

▪ The third to fifth column is to choose the rain group, temperature group and evaporation

group for the simulation, of which the temperature and evaporation is optional. If temper-

ature is left as empty, a fixe temperature (10 °C) will be used in the simulation and the

snow process will be ignored. If evaporation is left empty, the monthly evaporation in Sim-

ulation Engine window will be used. To appear in the drop-down list, the precipitation,

temperature and evaporation should be added to Project Manager first.

▪ The last two columns are to set the simulation starting and ending date. It will be set to

the minimum common time period based on the selection of the three climate data items

and can be changed by clicking on the calendar icon.



FIGURE 9-7 BATCH RUN WINDOW FOR CONTINUOUS SIMULATION

Different from single-event simulation, no default simulation is created (as there is no default pre-

cipitation data). To add a new simulation, click Add button in the toolbar. All other operations

are same as single-event simulation.

The Engine Options button is also available in the toolbar, which could be used to change

the global parameter before running the simulations.

Note that the continuous simulation run usually takes more time than single-event simulation. It’s

recommended to adjust the simulation time step if it takes too long.



10 WORKING WITH OUTPUT

This chapter discusses how to utilize the output features of VO. By becoming familiar with this

chapter, users will find that their modeling time decreases rapidly, since they will find the answer

they seek more quickly and efficiently.

10.1 OVERVIEW OF OUTPUT FEATURES

Different outputs are available for single-event simulation and continuous simulation.

Hydrograph is the main output from single-event simulation. The hydrograph is for only one event

covering few hours or days. VO provides five (5) different ways to view the hydrographs:

▪ Summary Data (table and label)

▪ Hydrograph Data

▪ Hydrograph Plot (single, cross scenario and plot calibration)

▪ Detailed Output

▪ Summary Output

Water balance is considered in the continuous simulation. The outputs are the long-term water

balance and flow. VO provides two (2) output feature to view continuous simulation outputs.

▪ Summary Data (table, pie chart and label)

▪ Time Series Plot (Single and Plot Calibration)

These output features can be found on the Simulation tab in the Output section. Access to these

output features will be enabled after a successful simulation is run. Users will find that each fea-

ture has its use and at least one output feature will meet their needs for viewing output. A short

description of each output feature is given as follows. More detailed information on each feature

is contained within subsequent sections.



TABLE 10-1: OUTPUT FEATURES

Simulation Type Output Feature Description

Single-event

Summary Data This gives a summary table of key output data, based on

objects selected by user.

Hydrograph Data This gives a summary table of actual hydrograph points

(time and flow) for the objects selected by the user.

Hydrograph Plot This shows a graphical plot of the hydrograph(s) and

run(s) as selected by the user.

Detailed Output This shows the user the detailed text output file, which is

familiar to previous users of OTTHYMO.

Summary Output This shows the summary text output file, which is familiar

to previous users of OTTHYMO.

Continuous

Summary Data This gives a summary of all water balance components.

Time Series Plot This shows a graphical plot of the time series data and

run(s) as selected by the user.

10.2 SINGLE-EVENT SIMULATION OUTPUTS

10.2.1 SUMMARY DATA

Users can view key output data (Table 10-2) at any location within their model. Summary data

can be viewed once a model simulation has been performed. The summary data could be viewed

in table or with label.

TABLE 10-2 SINGLE-EVENT SIMULATION SUMMARY DATA

Name Unit Description

NHYD - NHYD

DT hr Simulation Time Step

AREA ha Contribution Area

PKFW m3/s Peak Flow

TP hr Time to Peak

RV mm Runoff Volume

DWF m3/s Dry Weather Flow

10.2.1.1 VIEWING SUMMARY DATA IN TABLE

To view the summary data in table, use the Hydrograph Result window at the bottom besides

the Parameter Tables window. It shows the summary data of all objects in the model. On the top

of the window, there are two options to specify the run and switch to show all runs. By default,

only the summary data of the active run is displayed.



When there are large number of objects, it’s necessary to only show the summary data of few

objects. To do this, first select the object on map view or schematic view and then click the Hy-

drograph Result button in Simulation tab. A new window is created besides the Map View

and Schematic View.

FIGURE 10-1 HYDROGRAPH RESULT

10.2.1.2 VIEWING SUMMARY DATA IN LABEL

VO can provide labels for each object on Schematic View, on an individual basis or all command

basis. The label content includes the NHYD, Name and hydrograph summary data. To create

labels:

1. Select the objects you wish to create a label for.

2. Right-click and select the Set Labels from the context menu to open the Label Editor

window (Figure 10-2), which lists all available label items.

3. Drag and drop the label items from Available Properties list on the left to Selected Prop-

erties list on the right.

4. Change the label background color with the color picker at the bottom.

5. Click OK to create the label.

6. To show the labels on canvas, select Show Labels from the context menu.

Note that the summary data value is empty if the output is not available.



FIGURE 10-2 SUMMARY DATA LABEL

10.2.2 HYDROGRAPH DATA

This output feature allows the user to view the actual hydrograph numerical data, in terms of time

step and flow. Users can view an individual hydrograph, at a selected location within the model,

or multiple hydrographs. Users can also copy the desired values and paste them in Notepad or

Excel.

To view the hydrograph flow data, first select the objects in Map View or Schematic View and

then click the Flow Data button in Simulation tab. The Hydrograph Flow Data window will

appear where the hydrograph data is shown in a table. In case where more than one simulations

are available, the simulation run could be switched through the combo box at the top. To export

the data to a file, use the Export button on the top right corner.

FIGURE 10-3 HYDROGRAPH DATA



10.2.3 HYDROGRAPH PLOT

The Hydrograph Plot feature can be used to view hydrographs graphically without the need for a

third-party graphing application. This feature allows users to quickly view their hydrographs, com-

pare them, and make qualitative assessments about their model.

VO provides three (3) options to plot hydrographs for single-event simulation:

▪ Hydrograph tool – Plot hydrograph with rainfall data. It could be used to check the

hydrograph responses and compare the hydrographs from different objects in same sce-

nario.

▪ Cross Scenario Plot tool – Plot hydrographs from different scenarios (e.g. existing

and proposed). It could be used to compare hydrographs of same from different scenarios.

▪ Plot Calibration tool – Plot simulated and observed hydrograph. The comparison is

helpful for model calibration.

10.2.3.1 HYDROGRAPH

To view the hydrograph graph, first select the objects in Map View or Schematic View, then click

the Hydrograph button in Simulation tab. The Hydrograph window will appear.

FIGURE 10-4 HYDROGRAPH WINDOW

The hydrographs of selected objects are plotted at the bottom of the plotting area. Above is the

rainfall plot. These two plots have same time scale. To zoom in, simply scroll the mouse scroll

wheel up or draw a rectangle to the area of interest on the plot. To zoom out, scroll the mouse

wheel down or select the Un-Zoom or Undo All Zoom/Pan from the context menu. All graph

options available from the context menu are described in Table 10-3.



TABLE 10-3 GRAPH OPTIONS

Command Description

Copy Copies the graph

Save Image As… Saves the graphical image as the user-defined name

Page Setup… Allows user to modify the setup for the page

Print… Prints the hydrograph plot displayed

Show Point Values Graph will display the value that the cursor hovers

Un-Zoom Graph un-zooms the most recent zoom

Undo All Zoom/Pan Graph will return to its original scale

Panning Use the cursor to drag and pan the graph image

Zooming

Use the mouse scroll to zoom into and zoom out of the graph.

Enclose the specified area using the mouse to zoom into that

area.

The data source, visibility and color of the hydrographs could be changed with the controls on the

left side of the window. At the top is the simulation run selection box to switch to other simulation

runs. Below that are the controls for rainfall and hydrograph plots. Individual plots could be turned

off and changed to another color.

10.2.3.2 CROSS SCENARIO PLOT

The Cross Scenario Plot feature can be used to compare hydrographs from two different sce-

narios (e.g. existing and proposed) on the same graph. This is a good tool for quickly comparing

hydrographs at known locations, based on proposed modifications within the upstream catch-

ments.

To open the Cross Scenario Plot, click the Cross Scenario Plot button in the Simulation tab.

The Cross Scenario-Run Hydrograph Output window will appear (Figure 10-5). This window

has two parts with a tree view of all scenarios, simulations and objects on the left and the plot

area on the right.

No hydrograph is plotted when it’s first opened. To show the hydrographs, check the checkbox

on the left of the desired objects in the tree view. Although it’s possible to plot hydrographs of all

objects, it’s recommended to compare the hydrographs from the same objects.



FIGURE 10-5 CROSS SCENARIO PLOT WINDOW

10.2.3.3 PLOT CALIBRATION

It’s necessary to compare the observed and simulated hydrograph in model calibration. Plotting

the two hydrographs and the corresponding rainfall in the same plot is very helpful to guide the

calibration

Identifying the Gauge Objects

To compare to observed hydrograph, the location of the flow monitoring needs to be defined first.

This is done by selecting the object and then choosing Has Gauge Here from the context menu.

Importing Observed Data

To import the observed data and setup the comparison, click the Plot Calibration button . The

Compared to Observed Data window will appear. In this window, on the left is where the ob-

served data will be imported and the comparison could be configured on the right.



FIGURE 10-6 COMPARED TO OBSERVED DATA WINDOW

To add observed data, click the Add… button at the left bottom corner and select the observed

hydrograph data file. For file format, please refer to Chapter 11. The observed data will be added

to the Observed Data list. To remove it, select it in the list and click the Remove button at the

bottom.

Adding Result Comparison

There are three components in a result comparison: 1) observed data, 2) simulated data and 3)

corresponding rainfall. The observed data is added from the Observed Data list. The simulated

data is specified by selecting the simulation run and the corresponding hydrologic object. The

hydrograph from the specified object will be used to compare with the observed data. The corre-

sponding rainfall is the rainfall data that is responsible for the hydrograph response. It will be

plotted on the top of the hydrographs as a reference. It’s important to have this when analyzing

the observed and simulated hydrograph. If the observed hydrograph is not a clear response from

the rainfall, it may be necessary to check the rainfall data.

To create a result comparison, double-click an observed data in the Observed Data list or drag

it to the Comparison list on the right. A new result comparison will be added in the Comparison

list and the observed data is set to selected observed data. Once added, all the three components

could be changed by selecting desired items in the drop-down list. Note that Gauge Location

only lists the objects that has been set as a gauge using the Has Gauge Here context menu.

More than one comparison could be added using the same methods. This is useful for large

watersheds with multiple flow monitoring stations.

Viewing Observed and Simulated Plot

With results comparisons are created, it’s time to plot the observed and simulated hydrograph.

To view the plot, click the View button on the far-right side of each result comparison. The Ob-

served/Simulated Plot will appear (Figure 10-7).

The plot area is at the top where the rainfall is plotted above the observed and plotted hydrograph.

The observed hydrograph is in green and the simulated hydrograph is in red.



Below the plot area is the statistics of the two hydrographs including the minimum flow (m3/s),

maximum flow (m3/s), volume (m3) and relative difference of peak flow and volume. Often the

latter should be in an acceptable range for a calibrated model. For example, TRCA usually re-

quires the simulated volume should be +20% to -10% of the observed one and the simulated peak

flow should be +25% to -15% of the observed peak flow. The given relative difference in this

window would help determine if the simulated hydrograph is acceptable or not.

At the bottom is the control bar to navigate through multiple comparisons in cases where multiple

flow monitoring location are available. Click or to move the previous or next comparison

in the list. A summary information of current comparison is also shown between the two navigation

buttons.

FIGURE 10-7 OBSERVED/SIMULATED PLOT WINDOW

10.2.4 TRADITIONAL DETAILED AND SUMMARY OUTPUT

When a simulation is run successfully, VO generates traditional Summary Output and Detailed

Output and stores them in the project folder. For those new to OTTHYMO, the Summary Output

file is a text-based file that contains the key output data for each object during each storm simu-

lation. The Detailed Output file is a text-based file that contains all the output data for each object

during each storm simulation. Review agencies often require these text output files when review-

ing a model.



The detail output and summary output are available through the Detail Output button and

Summary Output button and their sub-menus in Simulation tab. The process to view and

export the detailed and summary output are similar. In this guide, only the detailed output is de-

scribed. You could easily follow the same steps for summary output.

Viewing Detailed Output

To view the detailed output of selected objects, first select the objects in Map View or Schematic

View, and then click the Detail Output button in Simulation tab. A new window will appear

besides the Schematic View tab. Note that the output of all simulation runs are listed. The infor-

mation in this view could be exported or copied to a file through the context menu.

FIGURE 10-8 DETAILED OUTPUT OF SELECTED OBJECTS (ALL SIMULATION RUNS)

To view the detailed output of all object in current simulation run, deselect all objects and click the

click the Detail Output button in Simulation tab. Similar to previous case, a new tab is created

besides the Schematic View to have all the information. To switch to another simulation run,

select it from the drop-down list above the Output button in Simulation tab.



FIGURE 10-9 DETAILED OUTPUT OF ALL OBJECTS (CURRENT SIMULATION RUN)

To view the detailed output of selected simulation runs, select View Selected runs detailed out-

put sub-menu by clicking the triangle sign on the right of the Detail Output button in Simula-

tion tab. The detailed output from selected simulation runs of all objects will be listed in a new tab

besides the Schematic View tab.

Exporting Detailed Output

The detailed output could be directly exported to files. To do this, use Save detailed output as…

or Save selected runs detailed output as… sub-menu by clicking the triangle sign on the right

of the Detail Output button in Simulation tab. They export the detailed output of all object in

Current simulation run or Selected simulation runs (the second one). Give a file name in the

Save As window and click Save button. The information is saved as a simple text file.

10.2.5 REVIEWING OUTPUT

Prior to printing and submitting your model for review, it is a good idea to review the Detailed

Output file and check for any Warning or Error messages. As with most computer programs, VO

will often run with improper input and yield some suspect results. It is for this reason that all users

should become accustomed to reviewing output files.

Warning messages such as “Warning: Incoming Hydrograph is dry” may not necessarily be a

problem, provided that the user intended it this way.

A common warning message for the STANDHYD commands is “Warning: Storage coeff. is

smaller than time step”. This message says that storage coefficient is smaller than the time step,

DT. This means that the time to peak of the unit hydrograph is greater than calculated time of



concentration which could result in an underestimation of the peak flow. Therefore, the user

should reduce the DT to an integer value less than the storage coefficient. Do not reduce DT less

than 1.0. This warning message can be safely ignored when DT is set to 1.0.

All routing commands should be checked to ensure that the input rating curves have not been

exceeded, which will result in erroneous results.

10.3 CONTINUOUS SIMULATION OUTPUTS

There are two main difference between the output from continuous simulation and single-event

simulation.

1. The summary data is for the long-term time-series data including the water balance. Most

of the summary data is on average annual basis.

2. One hydrological object has multiple time series outputs.

10.3.1 SUMMARY DATA

The summary data in continuous simulation is listed in Table 10-4. Note that the average annual

summaries may not be the average annual values if the simulation time period doesn’t cover the

whole year.

TABLE 10-4 CONTINUOUS SIMULATION SUMMARY DATA

Name Unit Description

NHYD - NHYD

P mm Average Annual Precipitation

Rain mm Average Annual Rainfall

Snow mm Average Annual Snowfall

Snowmelt mm Average Annual Snowmelt

ET mm Average Annual Evapotranspiration

INFIL mm Average Annual Infiltration

GWI mm Average Annual Groundwater Infiltration

Runoff mm Average Annual Runoff

Runoff Coef - Average Annual Runoff Coefficient

Peak Flow m3/s Peak Flow

Peak Flow Time - The Time when Peak Flow Happens

Similar with single-event simulation, the summary data could be viewed in table or with label as

shown in Figure 10-10. For continuous simulation, the summary data window is changed to Water

Balance Result. Note that the water balance summary data is only available for catchments (i.e.

NasHyd and StandHyd).



FIGURE 10-10 CONTINUOUS SIMULATION SUMMARY DATA IN TABLE AND LABEL

The water balance could also be summarized on monthly and yearly basis. To view the monthly

and yearly water balance summary, choose the Water Balance menu from Schematic View con-

text menu. The Water Balance window will appear (Figure 10-11).

On the left is the yearly and monthly water balance summary table shown in two tabs. Besides

the summary data of each year and month, the average is also given at the bottom. For month

summary, a total summary is also available which basically is the average annual summary.

On the right side is a pie chart to highlight the three important water balance components: Infiltra-

tion, ET and Runoff. The chart is corresponding to the active summary data row in the summary

table. To change to another summary data, click on the desired row or use the arrow key to move

up and down. In this pie chart, default colors are used: green for ET, red for runoff and blue for

infiltration. Note that the percentage in the pie chart is the percentage of the total of the three

components. For runoff, it’s not the runoff coefficient.

The water balance summary table could be for individual catchment or for all catchments. To

show the summary table for individual catchment, select it before choosing the Water Balance

context menu. For all catchments, deselect all objects before choosing the Water Balance con-

text menu.



FIGURE 10-11 WATER BALANCE WINDOW

10.3.2 TIME SERIES PLOT

Multiple time series data are available for each hydrologic object. The available time series is

different depending on the type of the objects. The time series could be viewed using three tools:

1. Hydrograph - Plot the simulated flow data with precipitation data.

2. Plot Results - Plot selected time series data with given time interval.

3. Plot Calibration - Plot observed and simulated flow or water level.

10.3.2.1 HYDROGRAPH

Flow data is available from all hydrologic objects. To view the flow data, select the objects in Map

View or Schematic View, and then click the Hydrograph button in Simulation tab. The Hy-

drograph window will appear (Figure 10-12). This window is same as the single-event hydrograph

window. For more information, please see 10.2.3.1.



FIGURE 10-12 CONTINUOUS SIMULATION HYDROGRAPH WINDOW

10.3.2.2 PLOT RESULTS

To view other time series data, select the objects in Map View or Schematic View, and then click

the Plot Results button in Simulation tab. The Plot Results window will appear.

On the left side is the control panel to control the data source and appearance of the plots. From

the top to bottom, the options are:

1. Run – The simulation run.

2. Type – The type of objects. Objects of same type have similar time series.

3. Variables – The available time series.

4. Interval – The time interval the time series data will be summarized and displayed. The

options are Original, Day, Week, Month and Year. The original will use the simulation time

step. The line graph is used for Original, day and week. Month and Year will use the bar

chart.

Below the control panel is the list of selected objects where the plot visibility and color could be

changed. As continuous simulation tends to have large amount data in each time series data, it’s

not recommended to display many objects at the same time.

An example is shown in Figure 10-13. In the first screenshot, the flow is plotted with 5-min time

interval. The same time series is summarized on week basis and plotted in the second screen-

shot.

The time series data could be exported to a simple CSV file by clicking the Export button on

the top left corner.



FIGURE 10-13 CONTINUOUS SIMULATION PLOT RESULTS WINDOW

10.3.2.3 PLOT CALIBRATION

Similar to single-event simulation, it’s important to compare the observed and simulated time-

series data for model calibration. As there are more than one time-series data is available, it’s

necessary to specify the one used for the comparison. This is done by selecting the Observed



Data Type in the Result Comparison list as shown in Figure 10-14. The two options are Flow

and Water Level in current version.

FIGURE 10-14 COMPARED TO OBSERVED DATA WINDOW FOR CONTINUOUS SIMULATION

As the time series data may have multiple events, it’s not appropriate to use the event-based

statistical value to evaluate the agreement of the observed and simulated data. Instead, two other

statistical values are provided: R2 and Nash-Sutcliffe Coefficient (NSE). A value close to 1 indi-

cates a good match. These two statistic values updates automatically when the time range

changes when the plot area is zoomed in or out.

FIGURE 10-15 OBSERVED/SIMULATION PLOT FOR CONTINOUS SIMULATION



11 VISUAL OTTHYMO FILES

11.1 PROJECT FILES

The project files are used to save all project data, including:

▪ All hydrologic objects in each scenario

▪ All climate data

The locations (on map and on canvas), labels, links and symbols are all saved in the project file.

There are two project files in the project folder. The main project file has the extension of voprj

and the secondary one is vdata file. Both files use the same project name. To submit a VO5

model, it’s necessary to have both files.

11.2 CLIMATE DATA FILES

VO supports various climate files in Climate Library.

READ Storm File (*.stm)

This is the storm file used by OTTHYMO-89/INTERHYMO READ STORM command. In VO5, it’s

used to create a read-in design storm in Climate Library. The file format is described below.

1st line: 2 (1 indicates in/hr, 2 indicates mm/hr)

2nd line: comment line (up to 60 characters in length)

3rd line: 10 (storm time step, min)

4th line: 24 (number of rainfall increments)

5th line: 2.071 (1st rainfall intensity)

6th line: 2.266 (2nd rainfall intensity)

7th line: 2.524 (3rd rainfall intensity)

…th line: …

xth line: 2.135 (xth and last rainfall intensity, x corresponds to the number in the 4

th line)

last line: -1 (indicates the end of the file).



An example of a Storm data file (25mm4hr.stm) is as follows:

2

TWENTY-FIVE MM FOUR HOUR CHICAGO STORM

10

24

2.071

2.266

2.524

2.880

3.382

4.175

5.696

10.777

50.214

13.366

8.286

6.295

5.194

4.466

3.949

3.560

3.252

3.010

2.799

2.622

2.476

2.346

2.233

2.136

-1

MASS STORM File (*.mst)

This is the storm file used by OTTHYMO-89/INTERHYMO MASS STORM command. In VO5, it’s

used to create a MASS storm in Climate Library. The file format is described below. Note that

the ordinate is the fraction of the accumulated rainfall volume to total volume. So it starts from 0

and increases to 1.

1st line: comment line (up to 60 characters in length)

2nd line: 20 (the time increment between each ordinate, min)

3rd line: 13 (the # of ordinates used to describe the mass curve, max.=400)



4th line: 0.00 (the first ordinate of the mass curve)

5th line: 0.01 (the second ordinate of the mass curve)

6th line: 0.04 (the third ordinate of the mass curve)

…th line: …

xth line: 1.00 (xth and last ordinate of the mass curve)


An example of a MASS Storm data file (aesmass.mst) is as follows:

AES MASS CURVE DATA WITH TWENTY MINUTE TIME STEP

20

13

0.00

0.01

0.04

0.12

0.27

0.55

0.70

0.82

0.90

0.95

0.98

0.99

1.00

-1

Simple CSV

The simple CSV files are used to import the precipitation, temperature and evaporation data. Two

columns are required for precipitation and evaporation. The daily temperature file has three col-

umns with date time, minimum daily temperature and maximum daily temperature.

11.3 CALIBRATION FILES

The calibration files are used to import the observed time series data and compare to the simula-

tion outputs. Two file formats are supported: 1) SWMM format and 2) simple CSV format.

SWMM Format

The SWMM calibration file format is supported. From SWMM user’s manual, the format of the file

is as follows:



1. The name of the first object with calibration data is entered on a single line. This name will

be the observation data name in Plot Calibration tool.

2. Subsequent lines contain the following recorded measurements for the object:

▪ Measurement date (month/day/year, e.g. 6/21/2004). Note that the elapsed time

format is not supported.

▪ Measurement time (hours:minutes) on the measurement date or relative to the

number of elapsed days

▪ Measurement values

3. Follow the same sequence for any additional objects.

An excerpt from an example file is shown below. It contains flow at two locations FG02HC023

and FG02HC009. Note that a semicolon can be used to begin a comment.

Simple CSV Format

The simple CSV format has two columns: 1) measurement date and time column and 2) meas-

urement value. It’s assumed that the first row is the header and will be ignored.

11.4 HYDROGRAPH FILES

If the READ HYD object is used to read an external hydrograph file into the model, then the file

must be coded in the correct format. This format is in the same format as the hydrograph files

used in OTTHYMO-89/ITNERHYMO. Therefore, previously made hydrograph files (from SAVE

HYD command) may be used. The file format is described below.

1st line: 2 (1 indicates in/hr, 2 indicates mm/hr)

2nd line: comment line (up to 60 characters in length)

3rd line: 5 (storm time step, min)



4th line: 50 (the catchment area from which the hydrograph was obtained, ha or

acre)

5th line: 0.000 (1st hydrograph ordinate, m3/s or cfs)

6th line: 0.100 (2nd hydrograph ordinate, m3/s or cfs)

7th line: 0.200 (3rd hydrograph ordinate, m3/s or cfs)

…th line: …

xth line: 0.100 (xth and last hydrograph ordinate)


An example of a Hydrograph data file (test.hyd) is as follows:

2

HYDROGRAPH FROM OUR TEST CATCHMENT

5

50

0

0.000

0.100

0.200

0.300

1.000

1.200

4.500

8.150

10.000

9.500

5.450

2.000

1.000

0.500

0.300

0.100

-1



12 TROUBLESHOOTING

This Chapter has been written to aid users in resolving some of the more simple problems, warn-

ing messages, and error messages that might arise when using the model. These problems or

messages may be attributed to invalid input, using the model for situations where it was not de-

signed to be used, or not following a procedure properly as set out in the User’s Manual.

12.1 ERROR AND WARNING MESSAGES

Error and warning messages can appear within the interface and within the Detailed Output

Files. The messages stem from an input error or computational error, which is likely caused by

the input variables. This section outlines the more common messages and gives a brief descrip-

tion of their meaning.

12.1.1 INTERFACE FILE MESSAGES

Unable to save project: Project files can only be saved on a drive with a capacity of 10MB or

more (e.g. local hard-drive or network drive). It is recommended that you only run models from

local or network hard drives.

Multi-Instance is not allowed: You can only run one copy of VO on your machine at a time.

You have exceeded the maximum number of objects for this license,: The version of VO you

are running has a specific number of objects allowed, per project. This number has been ex-

ceeded. Either decrease the number of objects or upgrade your version.

12.1.2 OUTPUT FILE MESSAGES

ERROR: CHECK NUMBER OF RAINFALL INCREMENTS: This occurs in the old URBHYD com-

mand where the number of rainfall increments was an input variable. It therefore has to match

with the storm being simulated.

ERROR: CHECK THE STORAGE-DISCHARGE TABLE.: There is an error in the input variables

in the storage-discharge table.

ERROR: UNITS OF INPUT DATA NOT SPECIFIED: Either the scenario or project settings have

a conflict in the input units. Make sure the each is consistent (i.e. metric or imperial).

ERROR: SHIFT TO LARGE, RAIN ELIMINATED.: This error occurs with the SHIFT HYD com-

mand. If the shift is too large the rainfall may be eliminated past the 800 point time steps.

ERROR: TIME STEP = 0, COMMAND ABORTED.: A DT of 0 has been input and is unaccepta-

ble.

ERROR: RAINFALL INCREMENT = 0, COMMAND ABORTED.: The number of rainfall incre-

ments is zero, therefore runoff will not be calculated.



WARNING: A MINIMUM SURCHARGE OF (X) CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THE GIVEN PIPE.:

This is from the ROUTE PIPE command. The message indicates surcharge may occur due to

lack of conveyance capacity.

WARNING: AVERAGE OF EFFECTIVE RAINFALL INTENSITIES AS MADE (X) OVER A TIME

LARGER THAN THE DURATION OF THE STORM: Try reducing the DT of the hydrograph.

WARNING: CANNOT COMPUTE 1a WHEN USING PROPORTIONAL LOSS METHOD: The

initial abstraction cannot be calculated (i.e. cannot be -1) when using the proportional loss

method. It must be specified by the user.

WARNING: COMPUTATIONS FAILED TO CONVERGE.: The routing time step is too large, try

reducing it.

WARNING: FIRST OUTFLOW IS NOT ZERO.: The first point in a ROUTE RESERVOIR com-

mand must be 0,0.

WARNING: FOR AREAS WITH IMPERVIOUS RATIOS BELOW 20%, YOU SHOULD CON-

SIDER SPLITTING THE AREA.: This is a warning for STANDHYD. The STANDHYD command

was designed for areas with impervious ratios greater than or equal to 20%. When the ratio is

less than this value, the runoff may not be correct. The catchment should therefore be split into

impervious and pervious components.

WARNING: HYDROGRAPH PEAK WAS NOT REDUCED. CHECK OUTFLOW/ STORAGE TA-

BLE OR REDUCE DT.: The routing command did not reduce the peak flow. Reduce the DT,

check the input variables, or review the assumptions made with routing object.

WARNING: HYDROGRAPH WAS CUT. CHECK VOLUME.: This happens in routing commands

and may be cause by too large of a DT or too many points in the hydrograph (i.e. approaching

800). If the volume out is only marginally less than the volume in, then this may not be of concern.

WARNING: LENGTH OF STORM HAD TO BE CUT FROM (X) POINTS TO 800.: The maximum

number of hyetograph points is 800. The rest have been truncated. To include all points increase

the DT of the storm file and hydrographs computations as well.

WARNING: MINIMUM PIPE SIZE REQUIRED = (X) FOR FREE FLOW. THIS SIZE WAS USED

IN THE ROUTING.: Too small of a pipe size was input. The program automatically calculated a

new size and this was used in the routing calculations.

WARNING: N DID NOT CONVERGE AFTER 50 ITERATIONS.: This is from the WILHYD com-

mand. There was a problem calculating an internal number for the number of linear reservoirs.

Check the input parameters and re-run.

WARNING: SELECTED ROUTING TIME STEP DENIED.: The DT of the routing command is not

less than or equal to the DT of the incoming hydrograph. Change the input parameter for this

command.



WARNING: SLOPE <=0.0 (HYD WAS ONLY TRANSFERRED): This is from the ROUTE PIPE

Command. The pipe slope must be positive or there is no routing calculated.

WARNING: STORAGE COEFF. IS SMALLER THAN TIME STEP!: The peak flow may be un-

derestimated since the storage coefficient relates to the time-to-peak of the unit hydrograph. Us-

ers should manually decrease the DT of the hydrograph until the warning disappears or the DT is

as small as 1.0 minute.

WARNING: THE PERVIOUS AREA HAS NO FLOW.: This may happen for small storms where

the runoff volume is low, or in cases where the catchment imperviousness is high. Check the LGP

parameter as well. It could be too high.

WARNING: THE TABLE WAS EXTRAPOLATED FROM (X) TO THE END.: The rating curve

table has been extrapolated. Add more points to the rating curve.

WARNING: TRAVEL TIME TABLE EXCEEDED.: For a ROUTE CHANNEL command, the rating

curve table has been exceeded. Add more points to the channel geometry. Also this could result

from too large of a computation time step.

12.2 PROGRAM QUITS DURING RUN SIMULATION

The most common cause of the program quitting during a run simulation is due to incorrect input.

To isolate the suspect input, try the following:

1. After the program quits, open the Detailed Output file using a text editor. Make note of the

command (by NHYD) where the simulation appears to have stopped.

2. If there are Warning or Error messages refer to the previous section in this Manual for an

explanation on the message.

3. Re-open the Project and suspect scenario and view the parameters of the object in

question. Make any adjustments as required. If the scenario will not open then retrieve a

backup copy from the BACKUP folder located in the project folder.

4. If the object parameters are acceptable then the error could be from the rainfall

information. If using an external rainfall file, confirm that it is present and that the format is

correct (refer to Reference Manual for format). To see whether the rainfall file is where the

error occurs, try running the scenario with the default Chicago Storm.

5. Failing the above, try importing the scenario into a new project with only one scenario

contained in the project.



APPENDIX A PARAMETER EDIT TOOLS

As stated in Chapter 4, hydrologic object parameters could be edited directly in Properties win-

dow and Parameter Tables window. In some cases (e.g. model calibration), the parameter values

may needs to be changed by certain percentage. Tools has been provided to make these

changes.

There are three parameter-edit tools available for single-event model:

1. Convert to CN* – to convert the CNII to CN*

2. Batch Assign – to assign parameter with given values

3. Calibrate Commands – to change parameter values by given percentage

All these tools are in the Simulation tab.

A.1 CONVERT TO CN*

In the SCS runoff equation, it’s assumed that the initial abstraction equals to 0.2×S, where S is

the potential maximum retention. However, it has been found that it may underestimate the runoff

volume. To fix this problem, OTTHYMO allows user to assign the initial abstraction explicitly and

modify the CN accordingly. The modified CN is called CN* in OTTHYMO. For more information,

see Chapter 2 in Reference Manual.

The conversion could be done using the Convert to CN* tool. To covert CN to CN*:

1. Select hydrologic objects to be changed. It could be StandHyd, NasHyd or WilHyd.

2. Click the Covert to CN* button in Simulation tab.

3. The CN* Calculation window will appear.

4. Enter the precipitation volume in the text box on the top. The total volume of the 100-year

design storm is usually used.

5. Select the hydrologic object in the Commands list one the left. Change the IA (initial ab-

straction) on the right if necessary. Note that this would change the IA property.



6. Notice that values in the calculation will appear on the right and the CN2* will be the CN*

assigned to object. To see how each value is calculated, move cursor on top of the value

and the equation will appear in the Description box on the bottom.

7. Click OK button to assign the calculated CN2* to CN property. The CN* flag in properties

window will be checked. Note that the CN* flag can’t be used to convert CN back to its

original value.

A.2 BATCH ASSIGN

Parameter values may be available in another source. If these parameters are in the appropriate

order, they could be pasted in Parameter Tables window. If not, they could be assigned to hy-

drologic objects using the Batch Assign tool.

The Batch Assign tool use a NHYD-Value lookup table to find the hydrologic objects and assign

values. If the given NHYD doesn’t exist, the corresponding will not be used.

To use the Batch Assign tool:

1. Click the Batch Assign button in Simulation tab.

2. The Batch Assign Values window will appear.



3. Check the property to be changed on the left panel. The properties are listed based on

object type.

4. Copy the data from the source and past in the table on the right. The data should have

two columns. The first column could be NHYD or NAME, which will be used to search

hydrologic object by NHYD and NAME. To use NAME, check the Select command by

name instead of NHYD above the table. The second column is the parameter value to

assigned. In the example given below, the CN of NasHyd will be updated. And the

NasHyd with NHYD of 1 will be searched. If successful, its CN value will be assigned to

80.

5. Click Assign button on the right bottom corner to assign the values.



A.3 CALIBRATE COMMANDS

For model calibration, few sensitive parameter may need to be adjusted several times before a

good result could be achieved. The adjustment usually comes with percentage change. To assist

on this process, the Calibrate Commands tool could be used. It allows to change parameters of

different hydrologic objects at once.

The Calibrate Commands tool can select hydrologic objects in a sub-area. The sub-area could

be all hydrologic objects 1) upstream of a given object or 2) between several objects. This is very

useful in multi-site calibration when the watershed needs to be separated to sub-areas by flow

monitoring stations.

To use the Calibrate Commands tool:

1. Select appropriate hydrologic objects.

a. To only update selected hydrologic objects, select all of them;

b. To update hydrologic objects upstream of a certain point, select the hydrologic

object corresponding to that point, which is usually the AddHyd corresponding to

the flow monitoring station.

c. To update hydrologic objects between from one point to another, select the hydro-

logic object corresponding to the downstream point.

2. Click the Calibrate Commands button in Simulation tab.

3. The Command Calibration window will appear.

4. Set up the selection in the Selection portion on the top.

a. To only update selected hydrologic objects, choose Selected;

b. To update hydrologic objects upstream of a certain point, choose Upstream;

c. To update hydrologic objects between from one point to another, choose Up-

stream and enter the NHYD of the most upstream hydrologic objects in Stop at



Commands (Exclusive) text box. Multiple NHYDs should be separated by

comma.

For the model given below, the AddHyd 5 is selected. The updated hydrologic objects

with the three options are given below.

a. Only AddHyd 5 will be updated if Selected is used;

b. NasHyd 1&2, RouteChannel 3&4 and AddHyd 5 will be updated if Upstream is

used.

c. RouteChannel 3&4 and AddHyd 5 will be updated if Upstream is used and Stop

at Commands (Exclusive) is set to 3,4.

The number of updated hydrologic objects will be given at Selected Commands in Se-

lection section. Note it’s not always the number of selected hydrologic objects.

5. Specify the percentage change for RouteChannel, StandHyd and NasHyd in the three

sections below the Selection section. All common parameters are listed and the default

value is 100. To decrease the parameter values, enter a value smaller than 100 (e.g. 80).

Otherwise, enter a value larger than 100 (e.g. 120).

6. Click OK button to apply the changes.

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