Available stormwater models and selecting a model
This site is currently undergoing revision. For more information, open this link.
This site is under construction. Anticipated completion date is June, 2015.
This site is under construction. Anticipated completion date is June, 2015.
Information: several proprietray software models are included in this discussion. Inclusion of these models does not represent an endorsement by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)
Hydrologic, hydraulic, and water quality models all have different purposes and will provide different information. The tables below summarize some of the commonly used modeling software and modeling functions and the main purpose for which they were developed. The tables show the relative levels of complexity of necessary input data, indicates whether the model can complete a continuous analysis or is event based, lists whether the model is in the public domain, and for hydraulic models indicates whether unsteady flow calculations can be conducted. For water quality models, the tables indicate whether the model is a receiving waters model, a loading model, or a BMP analysis model. The following definitions apply to the model functions.
- Rainfall-Runoff Calculation Tool: peak flow, runoff volume, and hydrograph functions, only. More complex modeling should utilize hydrologic modeling which incorporate rainfall-runoff functions.
- Hydrologic: includes rainfall-runoff simulation plus reservoir/channel routing.
- Hydraulic: water surface profiles, flow rates, and flow velocities through waterways, structures and pipes. Models that include Green Infrastructure typically also assess how the BMPs managage the water through inflow, infiltration, evapotranspiration, storage and discharge.
- Combined Hydrologic & Hydraulic: rainfall-runoff results become input into hydraulic calculations.
- Water Quality: pollutant loading to surface waters or pollutant removal in a BMP.
- BMP Calculators: spreadsheets that predict BMP performance, only.
This table classifies common models by type of model. The information in this table can be download as an Excel file. Reference or links to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, service mark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Link to this table.
Summary of general information for models. The information in this table can be download as an Excel file (Note the links are not updated in the Excel file)
Link to this table.
| Model or tool | Input complexity | Simulation type(s) | Public domain | Unsteady flow | Type of water quality model | Built-in BMPs | TP | TSS | Volume | Comment on use | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TR-55 | Low | Event | Yes | Rainfall-Runoff Calculation Tools | None | No | No | Replaced by WinTR-55 | |||
| Rational method (equation) | Low | Event | Yes | Rainfall-Runoff Calculation Tools | None | No | No | ||||
| HEC-1 | Medium | Yes | Hydrologic Models | None | Replaced by HEC-HMS | ||||||
| HEC-HMS | Medium | Event or continuous | Yes | Hydrologic Models | None | No | No | ||||
| Win TR-55 (or TR-20 DOS version) | Medium | Event | Yes | Hydrologic Models | None | No | No | Propose to delete the TR-20 DOS version from the list | |||
| Win TR-55 | Low | Event | Yes | Hydrologic Models | None | No | No | ||||
| HydroCAD | Medium | Event | No | Hydrologic Models | Detention ponds and storage chambers | Yes | Yes | No | It appears that HydroCAD can model ponds/storage and assess pollutant loadings, but not removal by BMPs | ||
| HEC-RAS | Medium | Event or continuous | Yes | Yes | Receiving water, Hydraulic Models | None | Yes | No | |||
| HEC-2 | Medium | Yes | No | Hydraulic Models | None | No | No | Replaced by HEC-RAS | |||
| WSPRO | Medium | Yes | No | Hydraulic Models | None | No | No | This is an old model and likely no longer used | |||
| CulvertMaster | Low | Event | No | No | Hydraulic Models | None | No | No | |||
| Flow Master | Low | Event | No | No | Hydraulic Models | None | No | No | |||
| PondPack | Medium | Event | No | No | Detention ponds. PondPack can calculate first-flush volume and aid in designing for minimum drain time, but does not model pollutants | No | No | No | |||
| EPA SWMM | Medium/High | Event or continuous | Yes | Yes | Loading, Receiving Water (limited to first order decay) | Low impact development BMPs including rain barrels, permeable pavers, vegetative swales, bioretention cells, infiltration trenches; traditional BMPs including detention basins, infiltration practices, wetlands, ponds. | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| PC SWMM | Medium/High | Event or continuous | No | Yes | Loading, Receiving Water (limited to first order decay) | Low impact development BMPs including rain barrels, permeable pavers, vegetative swales, bioretention cells, infiltration trenches; traditional BMPs including detention basins, infiltration practices, wetlands, ponds. | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Info SWMM | Medium/High | Event or continuous | No | Yes | Loading, Receiving Water (limited to first order decay) | Low impact development BMPs including rain barrels, permeable pavers, vegetative swales, bioretention cells, infiltration trenches; traditional BMPs including detention basins, infiltration practices, wetlands, ponds. | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| XPSWMM | Medium/High | Event or continuous | No | Yes | Loading, Receiving Water (limited to first order decay) | Rain gardens, green roofs, rain barrels, street sweeping, infiltration trenches, dry detention basins, wet ponds, swales, porous pavement, filter strips | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| MIKE URBAN (SWMM or MOUSE) | Medium/High | Event or continuous | No | Yes | Loading, Receiving Water (limited to first order decay) | Low impact development BMPs including rain barrels, permeable pavers, vegetative swales, bioretention cells, infiltration trenches; traditional BMPs including detention basins, infiltration practices, wetlands, ponds. | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| ICPR | Medium | Event | No | Ponds | No | No | No | Not believed to be a widely used model for stormwater/pollutant modeling | |||
| InfoWorks ICM | High | Event or continuous | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Mike 11 | Receiving water model | ||||||||||
| CivilStorm | Medium | Event | No | Yes | Ponds, low impact development controls | No | No | Yes | |||
| MODRET | Not believed to be a widely used model for stormwater/pollutant modeling | ||||||||||
| WINSLAMM | Medium | Event/continuous for BMPs | No | BMP, Loading | Grass swales, wet detention ponds, porous pavement, filter strips, cisterns and rain barrels, hydrodynamic settling devices, rain gardens/biofilters and street sweeping | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| P8 | Medium | Event or continuous | Yes | BMP, Loading | Detention ponds, infiltration basins, swales or buffer strips, and generalized devices | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| BASINS | Yes | BASINS is a user interface to set up models in WinHSPF, SWAT, SWMM, PLOAD, and GLWF-E. These models are listed here separately. | |||||||||
| QUAL2E/QUAL2K | Medium | Yes | Receiving water | None | Yes | Yes | Receiving water model | ||||
| WinHSPF | High | Event or continuous | Yes | Yes | Loading, receiving water | Nutrient management, Contouring, Terracing, Ponds, Wetlands; USEPA BMP Web Toolkit available to assist with implementing structural BMPs such as detention basins, or infiltration BMPs that represent source control facilities, which capture runoff from small impervious areas (e.g., parking lots or rooftops). | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| LSPC | High | Event or continuous | Yes | Yes | Loading, receiving water | Though developed for HSPF, the USEPA BMP Web Toolkit can be used with LSPC to model structural BMPs such as detention basins, or infiltration BMPs that represent source control facilities, which capture runoff from small impervious areas (e.g., parking lots or rooftops). | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| SWAT | Medium/High | Event or continuous | Yes | Yes | Loading | Model offers many agricultural BMPs and practices, but limited urban BMPs at this time. BMPs related to urban practices include detention basins, infiltration practices, vegetative filter strips, street sweeping, wetlands. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Limited use in urban areas | |
| PLOAD | Low | Event | Yes | Loading | User-defined practices with user-specified removal percentages | Yes | Yes | No | |||
| PondNet | Low | Event | Yes | Loading | Wet detention ponds | Yes | No | Yes | |||
| WASP | High | Event or continuous | Yes | Receiving water | None | Yes | Yes | No | Receiving water model | ||
| WMM | Not believed to be a widely used model for stormwater/pollutant modeling | ||||||||||
| WARMF | Event or continuous | Yes | Loading, receiving water | ||||||||
| SHSAM | Low | Event | No | BMP | Several flow-through structures including standard sumps, and proprietary systems such as CDS, Stormceptors, and Vortechs systems | No | Yes | No | |||
| SUSTAIN | Medium | Event or continuous | Yes | Bioretention, cisterns, constructed wetlands, dry/wet ponds, swales, green roofs, infiltration basins, infiltration trenches, porous pavement, rain barrels, sand filters, filter strips | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Virginia Runoff Reduction Method | Not believed to be a widely used model for stormwater/pollutant modeling | ||||||||||
| MapShed | Medium | Event | Yes | Loading, BMP | Detention basins, vegetated buffer strips, stabilized streambanks, infiltration/bioretention, constructed wetlands, street sweeping | Yes | Yes | Yes | Region-specific input data not available for Minnesota but user can create this data for any region. | ||
| MIDS calculator | Low | Event | Yes | Green roof, bioretention basin (with and without underdrain), infiltration basin, permeable pavement, infiltration trench/tree box, dry swale, wet swale, sand filter, wetland, stormwater pond, user defined | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| EPA National Stormwater Calculator | Low | Event or continuous | Yes | Disconnection, rain harvesting, rain gardens, green roofs, street planters, infiltration basins, porous pavement | No | No | Yes | ||||
| SELECT | Low | Event | Yes | Extended detention, bioretention, wetland basin, swale, permeable pavement, filter, and user-defined | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Center for Neighborhood Technology Green Values National Stormwater Management Calculator | Low | Event | Yes | Green roof, planter boxes, rain gardens, cisterns/rain barrels, native vegetation, filter strips, amended soil, swales, trees, permeable pavement | No | No | Yes | ||||
| Metropolitan Council Stormwater Reuse Guide Excel Spreadsheet | Low | Event | Yes | Computes storage volume for stormwater reuse systems | No | No | Yes | Uses 30-year precipitation data specific to Twin Cites region of Minnesota | |||
| MCWD/MWMO Stormwater Reuse Calculator | Low | Event | Yes | Computes storage volume for stormwater reuse systems | No | No | Yes | ||||
| North Carolina State University Rainwater Harvesting Model | Not believed to be a widely used model for stormwater/pollutant modeling | ||||||||||
| i-Tree Streets | Low | Event | Yes | Trees | No | No | Yes | ||||
| i-Tree Hydro | Low | Event | Yes | Trees, watershed scale | Yes | Yes | Yes | NOTE: Beta version | |||
| RECARGA | Low | Event or continuous | Yes | Bioretention/rain garden and infiltration facilities | No | No | Yes | ||||
| SELDM | Low | Yes | Stochastic | Yes | Not believed to be a widely used model for stormwater/pollutant modeling | ||||||
| MIDUSS | Not believed to be a widely used model for stormwater/pollutant modeling | ||||||||||
| QHM | Not believed to be a widely used model for stormwater/pollutant modeling | ||||||||||
| WWHM | Not believed to be a widely used model for stormwater/pollutant modeling | ||||||||||
| HY8 | Not believed to be a widely used model for stormwater/pollutant modeling | ||||||||||
| Hydraulic Toolbox | Not believed to be a widely used model for stormwater/pollutant modeling | ||||||||||
| SMS | Not believed to be a widely used model for stormwater/pollutant modeling | ||||||||||
| GWLF-E | Replaced by MapShed | ||||||||||
| EPD-RIV1 | Not believed to be a widely used model for stormwater/pollutant modeling | ||||||||||
| CE-QUAL-RIV2 | |||||||||||
| CE-QUAL-W2 | Receiving water model |