SWMM quick guide

Analysis of sewer networks

S. Soares‐Frazão, Y. Zech, M. Ebrahimi

To download SWMM:
[Link]
Version 5.2 is installed in the computer rooms. SWMM is a Windows‐based desktop program. It is open source public
software and is free for use worldwide. SWMM 5 was produced in a joint development effort with CDM Smith Inc., a global
consulting, engineering, construction, and operations firm.

SWMM is used for single event or long‐term simulations of water runoff quantity and quality in primarily urban areas—
although there are also many applications that can be used for drainage systems in non‐urban areas. SWMM provides an
integrated environment for editing study area input data, running hydrologic, hydraulic and water quality simulations, and
viewing the results in a variety of formats. These include color‐coded drainage area and conveyance system maps, time
series graphs and tables, profile plots, and statistical frequency analyses.

2
 Open a project file
Open the *.inp file

If asked, select the

background map image
from the appropriate folder

Check the settings:

Set the Flow Units to CMS
Set Offsets to Elevation
Set Auto‐Length to On

The user guide can be

accessed through Help from
the menu bar

3
 Identify the elements of the network
From the View menu, select
the layers that should
appear on the screen

4
 Identify the elements of the network
The left panel allows to
access the details of the
model elements

Rain Gage
Links

Subcatchment

Nodes

5
 Subcatchments
Double‐click on a catchment
to see its properties. The
key parameters to define
are highlighted in red

6
 Subcatchments
Rain Gage: the name of the rain gage that describes the rain in the catchment
Outlet: identification of the outlet node of the subcatchment
Area: area of the catchment,calculated automatically (if Auto Length properly set)
Width: For each subcatchment, you can determine an average distance Ls to the nearest
sewer of the secondary network that should be maximum 150 m (for longer distances,
surface runoff is considered to turn into small streams). The width W is thus the ratio
between the subcatchment area A and the distance Ls: W  A Ls
% Slope: average subcatchment slope
% Imperv: percentage of the subcatchement area covered by impervious ground
N‐Imperv (N‐Perv): Manning coefficient n representative for the flow over the Impervious
(typically n=0.01) (Pervious) area (typically n=0.1)
Infiltration Data: choice of the infiltration model (here Curve Number)

The other parameters can be left with default values. Clicking on a parameter shows a short
description in the lower part of the window
7
 Infiltration data
Adjust the Curve Number
value according to the soil
group and land use
The other parameters can be
left with default values

Click on Help to access the CN

tables if needed

8
 Nodes
Double‐click on a node to see
its properties. The nodes
are the junctions or outfalls
of the system. The key Outfall
parameters to define are
highlighted in red

Junction

9
 Nodes
Junctions : usually correspond to manholes in the network
Invert El.: elevation of the bottom of the manhole
Max. Depth: depth of the manhole below the ground

Outfalls: terminal nod of the drainage system

It allows to fix the downstream boundary conditions: here it is a
fixed stage, the value corresponds to the downstream water
level

The other parameters can be left with default values. Clicking

on a parameter shows a short description in the lower part of
the window

10
 Links
Double‐click on a link to see
its properties. The links are
the conduits of the system,
linking two nodes. The key
parameters to define are
highlighted in red

11
 Links
Inlet and Outlet nodes: these are the nodes that are connected by the conduit, and it defines
the positive flow direction (from inlet to outlet)
Shape: you can select different shapes, we use circular here
Max. Depth: maximum water depth allowed in the sewer (for a circular conduit, it is the
diameter)
Length: conduit length, calculated automatically with Auto Length
Roughness: Manning’s roughness coefficient

The other parameters can be left with default values. Clicking on a parameter shows a short
description in the lower part of the window

12
 Rain gages
Double‐click on a gage to see
its properties. The key
parameters to define are
highlighted in red

13
 Rain gage
Set the rain gage parameters
Coordinates: can be left blank if actuel rain gage is out of the study area, or can be set to
arbitrary coordinates to see the rain gage on the map
Rain Format, Time Interval and Rain Units: to be set according to your data file. Here,
synthetic hyetographs are provided with volumes every 5 minutes, expressed in mm
Series Name: identification of the time series (see data format in the next slide)

The other parameters can be left with default values. Clicking on a parameter shows a short
description in the lower part of the window

14
 Rain data
Check the time series and
visualise the synthetic
hyethographs

Units in the table correspond

to what is described in the
rain gage data

15
 Set the simulation options
Select the general options as
indicated.

Routing models:
Steady Flow: the flow is
transferred instantaneously
through the model,
without any consideration
of possible delays.
Kinematic Wave: accounts
only partially for the flow
dynamics.
Dynamic Wave: the dynamics
of the flow is fully
accounted for, allowing to
consider the travel time
through the conduits.
16
 Set the simulation options
Select the Dynamic Wave
options as indicated. Leave
othet parameters with the
defaults values

17
 Set the simulation options
Select the Time Step options
Reporting step: to define the
output of the results, should
not be longer than the time
steps of the hyetograph, for
an accurate output
Runoff step: for the
computation of runoff flow
Routing step: for the
computation of flow routing
through the conduits

if the computation time steps

are too large, the computation
may become unstable, if it is
too small, problems of
accuracy can occur
18
 Run a simulation
Launch the simulation

A status report is issued giving

you some feedback about the
success (or not) of the
simulation

19
 Visualise the results
Several visualisation tools are
available from the menu bar.
Three main outputs are
described in the next slides.

Time series plots at

selected locations
Status report
Summary results Profile plots
along a conduit

20
 Summary results
From the Summary Results, you
can check several outputs,
selecting the appropriate
information from the menu
The runoff coefficient resulting
from the application of the
infiltration model can be
accessed through the
Subcatchment Runoff results

Equivalent runoff coefiicient

You can also access results
through the Report menu

21
 Profile plot
Introduce the Start Node and
End Node, then find the path
(links) between these nodes

22
 Profile plot
Using the Map view, you can
visualize the time evolution of
selected data

Note: when working with a

single subcathment, there is Ground elevation
no flow in the conduits, as the
runoff water directly flows to
the subcatchment outlet
Manholes

Conduit invert
(bottom elevation)

23
 Time series plot
Add Data Series to the plot:
select the Object Type and the
Variable

Results can be combined using

the left and right axes for
different types of data

24
 Time series plot
Adjust the properties by left‐
clicking on the plot to access
the Graph Options window

25
 Add new elements to the network
Subcatchments
Click on the sign in the
Subcatchment menu, and
draw the limits on the screen
using the pencil
Left‐click adds a vertex, right‐
click closes the outline
Set the subcatchment
properties:
• With Auto‐Length On, the area is
calculated automatically
• Name and other parameters
have to be defined manually

Refer to the user guide for other New subcatchment outline

elements that can added to
the network (nodes, links,
gages, time series, …) 26