CHAPTER 2 – QUICK START TUTORIAL

This chapter provides a tutorial on how to use EPA SWMM. If you are not familiar with the
elements that comprise a drainage system, and how these are represented in a SWMM model,
you might want to review the material in Chapter 3 first.

2.1 Example Study Area

In this tutorial we will model the drainage system serving a 12-acre residential area. The system
layout is shown in Figure 2-1 and consists of subcatchment areas 3 S1 through S3, storm sewer
conduits C1 through C4, and conduit junctions J1 through J4. The system discharges to a creek
at the point labeled Out1. We will first go through the steps of creating the objects shown in this
diagram on SWMM's study area map and setting the various properties of these objects. Then we
will simulate the water quantity and quality response to a 3-inch, 6-hour rainfall event, as well as a
continuous, multi-year rainfall record.

Figure 2-1 Example study area

2.2 Project Setup

Our first task is to create a new SWMM project and make sure that certain default options are
selected. Using these defaults will simplify the data entry tasks later on.
1. Launch EPA SWMM if it is not already running and select File >> New from the Main
Menu bar to create a new project.
2. Select Project >> Defaults to open the Project Defaults dialog.

3 A subcatchment is an area of land containing a mix of pervious and impervious surfaces whose
runoff drains to a common outlet point, which could be either a node of the drainage network or
another subcatchment.

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3. On the ID Labels page of the dialog, set the ID Prefixes as shown in Figure 2-2. This will
make SWMM automatically label new objects with consecutive numbers following the
designated prefix.

Figure 2-2 Default ID labeling for tutorial example

4. On the Subcatchments page of the dialog set the following default values:
Area 4
Width 400
% Slope 0.5
% Imperv. 50
N-Imperv. 0.01
N-Perv. 0.10
Dstore-Imperv. 0.05
Dstore-Perv 0.05
%Zero-Imperv. 25
Infil. Model <click to edit>
- Method Modified Green-Ampt
- Suction Head 3.5
- Conductivity 0.5
- Initial Deficit 0.26

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 5. On the Nodes/Links page set the following default values:
Node Invert 0
Node Max. Depth 4
Node Ponded Area 0
Conduit Length 400
Conduit Geometry <click to edit>
- Barrels 1
- Shape Circular
- Max. Depth 1.0
Conduit Roughness 0.01
Flow Units CFS
Link Offsets DEPTH
Routing Model Kinematic Wave
6. Click OK to accept these choices and close the dialog. If you wanted to save these
choices for all future new projects you could check the Save box at the bottom of the form
before accepting it.

Next we will set some map display options so that ID labels and symbols will be displayed as we
add objects to the study area map, and links will have direction arrows.
1. Select Tools >> Map Display Options to bring up the Map Options dialog (see Figure 2-
3).
2. Select the Subcatchments page, set the Fill Style to Diagonal and the Symbol Size to 5.
3. Then select the Nodes page and set the Node Size to 5.
4. Select the Annotation page and check off the boxes that will display ID labels for
Subcatchments, Nodes, and Links. Leave the others un-checked.
5. Finally, select the Flow Arrows page, select the Filled arrow style, and set the arrow size
to 7.
6. Click the OK button to accept these choices and close the dialog.

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 Figure 2-3 Map options dialog

Before placing objects on the map we should set its dimensions.

1. Select View >> Dimensions to bring up the Map Dimensions dialog.
2. You can leave the dimensions at their default values for this example.

Finally, look in the status bar at the bottom of the main window and check that the Auto-Length
feature is off.

2.3 Drawing Objects

We are now ready to begin adding components to the Study Area Map 4. We will start with the
subcatchments.
1. Begin by selecting the Subcatchments category (under Hydrology) in the Project
Browser panel (on the left side of the main window).

4 Drawing objects on the map is just one way of creating a project. For large projects it might be
more convenient to first construct a SWMM project file external to the program. The project file is
a text file that describes each object in a specified format as described in Appendix D of this
manual. Data extracted from various sources, such as CAD drawings or GIS files, can be used to
create the project file.

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 2. Then click the button on the toolbar underneath the object category listing in the
Project panel (or select Project | Add a New Subcatchment from the main menu).
Notice how the mouse cursor changes shape to a pencil when you move it over the map.
3. Move the mouse to the map location where one of the corners of subcatchment S1 lies
and left-click the mouse.
4. Do the same for the next three corners and then right-click the mouse (or hit the Enter
key) to close up the rectangle that represents subcatchment S1. You can press the Esc
key if instead you wanted to cancel your partially drawn subcatchment and start over
again. Don't worry if the shape or position of the object isn't quite right. We will go back
later and show how to fix this.
5. Repeat this process for subcatchments S2 and S3 5.
Observe how sequential ID labels are generated automatically as we add objects to the map.

Next we will add in the junction nodes and the outfall node that comprise part of the drainage
network.
1. To begin adding junctions, select the Junctions category from the Project Browser
(under Hydraulics -> Nodes) and click the button or select Project | Add a New
Junction from the main menu..
2. Move the mouse to the position of junction J1 and left-click it. Do the same for junctions
J2 through J4.

3. To add the outfall node, select Outfalls from the Project Browser, click the button or
select Project | Add a New Outfall from the main menu, move the mouse to the outfall's
location on the map, and left-click. Note how the outfall was automatically given the name
Out1.

At this point your map should look something like that shown in Figure 2-4.

Figure 2-4 Subcatchments and nodes for example study area

5If you right-click (or press Enter) after adding the first point of a subcatchment's outline, the
subcatchment will be shown as just a single point.

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Now we will add the storm sewer conduits that connect our drainage system nodes to one
another. (You must have created a link's end nodes as described previously before you can
create the link.) We will begin with conduit C1, which connects junction J1 to J2.
1. Select the Conduits from the Project Browser (under Hydraulics -> Links) and press the
button or select Project | Add a New Conduit from the main menu. The mouse
cursor will change shape to a cross hair when moved onto the map.
2. Left-click the mouse on junction J1. Note how the mouse cursor changes shape to a
pencil.
3. Move the mouse over to junction J2 (note how an outline of the conduit is drawn as you
move the mouse) and left-click to create the conduit. You could have cancelled the
operation by either right clicking or by hitting the <Esc> key.
4. Repeat this procedure for conduits C2 through C4.

Although all of our conduits were drawn as straight lines, it is possible to draw a curved link by
left-clicking at intermediate points where the direction of the link changes before clicking on the
end node.

To complete the construction of our study area schematic we need to add a rain gage.
1. Select the Rain Gages category from the Project Browser panel (under Hydrology) and
either click the button or select Project | Add a New Rain Gage from the main menu.
2. Move the mouse over the Study Area Map to where the gage should be located and left-
click the mouse.

At this point we have completed drawing the example study area. Your system should look like
the one in Figure 2-1. If a rain gage, subcatchment or node is out of position you can move it by
doing the following:

1. If the button on the Map Toolbar is not already depressed, click it to place the map in
Object Selection mode.
2. Click on the object to be moved.
3. Drag the object with the left mouse button held down to its new position.

To re-shape a subcatchment's outline:

1. With the map in Object Selection mode, click on the subcatchment's centroid (indicated
by a solid square within the subcatchment) to select it.

2. Then click the button on the Map Toolbar to put the map into Vertex Selection mode.
3. Select a vertex point on the subcatchment outline by clicking on it (note how the selected
vertex is indicated by a filled solid square).
4. Drag the vertex to its new position with the left mouse button held down.

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 5. If need be, vertices can be added or deleted from the outline by right-clicking the mouse
and selecting the appropriate option from the popup menu that appears.

6. When finished, click the button to return to Object Selection mode.

This same procedure can also be used to re-shape a link.

2.4 Setting Object Properties

As visual objects are added to our project, SWMM assigns them a default set of properties. To
change the value of a specific property for an object we must select the object into the Property
Editor (see Figure 2-5). There are several different ways to do this. If the Editor is already visible,
then you can simply click on the object or select it from the Project Browser. If the Editor is not
visible then you can make it appear by one of the following actions:
 double-click the object on the map,
 or right-click on the object and select Properties from the pop-up menu that appears,

 or select the object from the Project Browser and then click the Browser’s button.

Figure 2-5 Property editor window

Whenever the Property Editor has the focus you can press the F1 key to obtain a more detailed
description of the properties listed.

Two key properties of our subcatchments that need to be set are the rain gage that supplies
rainfall data to the subcatchment and the node of the drainage system that receives runoff from

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the subcatchment. Since all of our subcatchments utilize the same rain gage, Gage1, we can use
a shortcut method to set this property for all subcatchments at once:
1. From the main menu select Edit >>Select All.
2. Then select Edit >> Group Edit to make a Group Editor dialog appear (see Figure 2-6).
3. Select Subcatchment as the type of object to edit, Rain Gage as the property to edit, and
type in Gage1 as the new value.
4. Click OK to change the rain gage of all subcatchments to Gage1. A confirmation dialog
will appear noting that 3 subcatchments have changed. Select “No” when asked to
continue editing.

Figure 2-6 Group editor dialog

To set the outlet node of our subcatchments we have to proceed one by one, since these vary by
subcatchment:
1. Double click on subcatchment S1 or select it from the Project Browser and click the
Browser's button to bring up the Property Editor.
2. Type J1 in the Outlet field and press Enter. Note how a dotted line is drawn between the
subcatchment and the node.
3. Click on subcatchment S2 and enter J2 as its Outlet.
4. Click on subcatchment S3 and enter J3 as its Outlet.
We also wish to represent area S3 as being less developed than the others. Select S3 into the
Property Editor and set its % Imperviousness to 25.

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The junctions and outfall of our drainage system need to have invert elevations assigned to them.
As we did with the subcatchments, select each junction individually into the Property Editor and
set its Invert Elevation to the value shown below 6.

Node Invert
J1 96
J2 90
J3 93
J4 88
Out1 85

Only one of the conduits in our example system has a non-default property value. This is conduit
C4, the outlet pipe, whose diameter should be 1.5 instead of 1 ft. To change its diameter, select
conduit C4 into the Property Editor and set the Max. Depth value to 1.5.

In order to provide a source of rainfall input to our project we need to set the rain gage’s
properties. Select Gage1 into the Property Editor and set the following properties:

Rain Format INTENSITY

Rain Interval 1:00
Data Source TIMESERIES
Series Name TS1

As mentioned earlier, we want to simulate the response of our study area to a 3-inch, 6-hour
design storm. A time series named TS1 will contain the hourly rainfall intensities that make up this
storm. Thus we need to create a time series object and populate it with data. To do this:
1. From the Project Browser select the Time Series category of objects.

2. Click the button on the Browser to bring up the Time Series Editor dialog (see Figure
2-7) 7.
3. Enter TS1 in the Time Series Name field.
4. Enter the values shown in Figure 2-7 into the Time and Value columns of the data entry
grid (leave the Date column blank 8).
5. You can click the View button on the dialog to see a graph of the time series values.
Click the OK button to accept the new time series.

6 An alternative way to move from one object of a given type to the next in order (or to the
previous one) in the Property Editor is to hit the Page Down (or Page Up) key.
7 The Time Series Editor can also be launched directly from the Rain Gage Property Editor by

selecting the editor's Series Name field and double clicking on it.
8 Leaving off the dates for a time series means that SWMM will interpret the time values as hours

from the start of the simulation. Otherwise, the time series follows the date/time values specified
by the user.

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 Figure 2-7 Time series editor

Having completed the initial design of our example project it is a good idea to give it a title and
save our work to a file at this point. To do this:

1. Select the Title/Notes category from the Project Browser and click the button.

2. In the Project Title/Notes dialog that appears (see Figure 2-8), enter “Tutorial Example”
as the title of our project and click the OK button to close the dialog.
3. From the File menu select the Save As option.

4. In the Save As dialog that appears, select a folder and file name under which to save this
project. We suggest naming the file [Link]. (An extension of .inp will be added to
the file name if one is not supplied.)
5. Click Save to save the project to file.

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 Figure 2-8 Title/Notes editor

The project data are saved to the file in a readable text format. You can view what the file looks
like by selecting Project >> Details from the main menu. To open our project at some later time,
you would select the Open command from the File menu.

2.5 Running a Simulation

Setting Simulation Options

Before analyzing the performance of our example drainage system we need to set some options
that determine how the analysis will be carried out. To do this:

1. From the Project Browser, select the Options category and click the button.
2. On the General page of the Simulation Options dialog that appears (see Figure 2-9),
select Kinematic Wave as the flow routing method. The infiltration method should
already be set to Modified Green-Ampt. The Allow Ponding option should be
unchecked.
3. On the Dates page of the dialog, set the End Analysis time to 12:00:00.
4. On the Time Steps page, set the Routing Time Step to 60 seconds.
5. Click OK to close the Simulation Options dialog.

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 Figure 2-9 Simulation options dialog

Starting a Simulation

We are now ready to run the simulation. To do so, select Project >> Run Simulation (or click the
button). If there was a problem with the simulation, a Status Report will appear describing
what errors occurred. Upon successfully completing a run, there are numerous ways in which to
view the results of the simulation. We will illustrate just a few here.

Viewing the Status Report

The Status Report contains useful information about the quality of a simulation run, including a
mass balance on rainfall, infiltration, evaporation, runoff, and inflow/outflow for the conveyance
system. To view the report select Report >> Status (or click the button on the Standard
Toolbar and then select Status Report from the drop down menu). A portion of the report for the
system just analyzed is shown in Figure 2-10.

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 EPA STORM WATER MANAGEMENT MODEL - VERSION 5.1 (Build 5.1.010)
--------------------------------------------------------------

Tutorial Example

*********************************************************
NOTE: The summary statistics displayed in this report are
based on results found at every computational time step,
not just on results from each reporting time step.
*********************************************************

****************
Analysis Options
****************
Flow Units ............... CFS
Process Models:
Rainfall/Runoff ........ YES
RDII ................... NO
Snowmelt ............... NO
Groundwater ............ NO
Flow Routing ........... YES
Ponding Allowed ........ NO
Water Quality .......... NO
Infiltration Method ...... MODIFIED_GREEN_AMPT
Flow Routing Method ...... KINWAVE
Starting Date ............ JUN-27-2002 00:00:00
Ending Date .............. JUN-27-2002 12:00:00
Antecedent Dry Days ...... 0.0
Report Time Step ......... 00:15:00
Wet Time Step ............ 00:15:00
Dry Time Step ............ 01:00:00
Routing Time Step ........ 60.00 sec

************************** Volume Depth

Runoff Quantity Continuity acre-feet inches
************************** --------- -------
Total Precipitation ...... 3.000 3.000
Evaporation Loss ......... 0.000 0.000
Infiltration Loss ........ 1.750 1.750
Surface Runoff ........... 1.246 1.246
Final Storage ............ 0.016 0.016
Continuity Error (%) ..... -0.386

************************** Volume Volume

Flow Routing Continuity acre-feet 10^6 gal
************************** --------- ---------
Dry Weather Inflow ....... 0.000 0.000
Wet Weather Inflow ....... 1.246 0.406
Groundwater Inflow ....... 0.000 0.000

Figure 2-10 Portion of a Status Report

For the system we just analyzed the report indicates the quality of the simulation is quite good,
with negligible mass balance continuity errors for both runoff and routing (-0.39% and 0.03%,

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respectively, if all data were entered correctly). Also, of the 3 inches of rain that fell on the study
area, 1.75 infiltrated into the ground and essentially the remainder became runoff.

Viewing the Summary Report

The Summary Report contains tables listing summary results for each subcatchment, node and
link in the drainage system. Total rainfall, total runoff, and peak runoff for each subcatchment,
peak depth and hours flooded for each node, and peak flow, velocity, and depth for each conduit
are just some of the outcomes included in the summary report.

To view the Summary Report select Report | Summary from the main menu (or click the
button on the Standard Toolbar and then select Summary Report from the drop down menu).
The report's window has a drop down list from which you select a particular report to view. For
our example, the Node Flooding Summary table (Figure 2-11) indicates there was internal
flooding in the system at node J2. Note. The Conduit Surcharge Summary table (Figure 2-12)
shows that Conduit C2, just downstream of node J2, was at full capacity and therefore appears to
be slightly undersized.

In SWMM flooding will occur whenever the water surface at a node exceeds the maximum
assigned depth. Normally such water will be lost from the system. The option also exists to have
this water pond atop the node and be re-introduced into the drainage system when capacity
exists to do so.

Figure 2-11 Node flooding summary table

Figure 2-12 Conduit surcharge summary table

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Viewing Results on the Map

Simulation results (as well as some design parameters, such as subcatchment area, node invert
elevation, and link maximum depth) can be viewed in color-coded fashion on the study area map.
To view a particular variable in this fashion:
1. Select the Map page of the Browser panel.
2. Select the variables to view for Subcatchments, Nodes, and Links from the dropdown
combo boxes appearing in the Themes panel. In Figure 2-13, subcatchment runoff and
link flow have been selected for viewing.

Figure 2-13 Viewing color-coded results on the Study Area Map

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 3. The color-coding used for a particular variable is displayed with a legend on the study
area map. To toggle the display of a legend, select View >> Legends.

4. To move a legend to another location, drag it with the left mouse button held down.
5. To change the color-coding and the breakpoint values for different colors, select View >>
Legends >> Modify and then the pertinent class of object (or if the legend is already
visible, simply right-click on it). To view numerical values for the variables being displayed
on the map, select Tools >> Map Display Options and then select the Annotation page
of the Map Options dialog. Use the check boxes for Subcatchment Values, Node Values,
and Link Values to specify what kind of annotation to add.
6. The Date / Time of Day / Elapsed Time controls on the Map Browser can be used to
move through the simulation results in time. Figure 2-13 depicts results at 5 hours and 45
minutes into the simulation.
7. You can use the controls in the Animator panel of the Map Browser (see Figure 2-13) to
animate the map display through time. For example, pressing the button will run the
animation forward in time.

Viewing a Time Series Plot

To generate a time series plot of a simulation result:

1. Select Report >> Graph >> Time Series or simply click on the Standard Toolbar.
2. A Time Series Plot Selection dialog will appear. It is used to select the objects and
variables to be plotted.

For our example, the Time Series Plot Selection dialog can be used to graph the flow in conduits
C1 and C2 as follows (refer to Figure 2-14a):
1. Click the Add button on the dialog to view the Data Series Selection dialog (Figure 2-
14(b).
2. Select conduit C1 (either on the map or in the Project Browser) and select Flow as the
variable to be plotted. Click the Accept button to return to the Time Series Plot Selection
dialog.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for conduit C2.
4. Press OK to create the plot which should look like the graph in Figure 2-15.

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 (a) (b)

Figure 2-14 Time series plot dialogs

Figure 2-15 Time series plot of link flows

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After a plot is created you can:

 customize its appearance by selecting Report >> Customize or by clicking the

button on the Standard Toolbar or by simply right clicking on the plot,
 copy it to the clipboard and paste it into another application by selecting Edit >> Copy To
or clicking on the Standard Toolbar
 print it by selecting File >> Print or File >> Print Preview (use File >> Page Setup first
to set margins, orientation, etc.).

Viewing a Profile Plot

SWMM can generate profile plots showing how water surface depth varies across a path of
connected nodes and links. Let's create such a plot for the conduits connecting junction J1 to the
outfall Out1 of our example drainage system. To do this:

1. Select Report >> Graph >> Profile on the main menu or simply click on the Standard
Toolbar.
2. Either enter J1 in the Start Node field of the Profile Plot Selection dialog that appears
(see Figure 2-16) or select it on the map or from the Project Browser and click the
button next to the field.

Figure 2-16 Profile plot dialog

3. Do the same for node Out1 in the End Node field of the dialog.

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 4. Click the Find Path button. An ordered list of the links forming a connected path between
the specified Start and End nodes will be displayed in the Links in Profile box. You can
edit the entries in this box if need be.
5. Click the OK button to create the plot, showing the water surface profile as it exists at the
simulation time currently selected in the Map Browser (see Figure 2-17 for hour 02:45).

Figure 2-17 Example profile plot

As you move through time using the Map Browser or with the Animator control, the water depth
profile on the plot will be updated. Observe how node J2 becomes flooded between hours 2 and
3 of the storm event. A Profile Plot’s appearance can be customized and it can be copied or
printed using the same procedures as for a Time Series Plot.

Running a Full Dynamic Wave Analysis

In the analysis just run we chose to use the Kinematic Wave method of routing flows through our
drainage system. This is an efficient but simplified approach that cannot deal with such
phenomena as backwater effects, pressurized flow, flow reversal, and non-dendritic layouts.
SWMM also includes a Dynamic Wave routing procedure that can represent these conditions.
This procedure, however, requires more computation time, due to the need for smaller time steps
to maintain numerical stability.

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