Pond Support

Minimum Software Version Requirements

Feature Minimum Version
Civil 3D® Pond support InfoDrainage for Civil 3D 2027.0

Overview

  • Ponds in InfoDrainage are represented in Civil 3D as native Civil 3D Pond objects (stormwater controls), not as surfaces or feature lines as other InfoDrainage stormwater controls are. See Stormwater Controls.
  • Import from InfoDrainage: When you import a design that contains Pond stormwater controls, each pond is created or updated in Civil 3D as a native Pond object. Any previous surface-based representation of that pond in Civil 3D is removed and replaced by the native Pond.
  • Export to InfoDrainage: When you export from Civil 3D to InfoDrainage, native Civil 3D Ponds that are connected to the pipe network are brought into InfoDrainage as Pond drainage systems.

Civil 3D Import from InfoDrainage

  • Each InfoDrainage Pond is created or updated in Civil 3D as a native Pond object.
  • The pond's contours (stage-storage geometry) are built from the InfoDrainage Depth-Area-Volume table; each depth step becomes a contour in the Civil 3D Pond.
  • Stage-storage in Civil 3D is set to use Conic approximation.
  • The following properties are written from InfoDrainage to the Civil 3D Pond and are visible in the Civil 3D UI where applicable:
    • Safety factor, Freeboard
    • Infiltration: enabled/disabled, type (Bottom / Side / Bottom and Side), Bottom and Side infiltration rates
    • Porosity, Velocity type (Manning / Colebrook-White), Velocity roughness
    • Initial depth
Note: Invalid contour geometry (e.g. self-intersecting or too few points) is skipped when building the Civil 3D Pond; remaining contours are still used.

Curved Outlines (Round-Trip)

  • If a pond is originally created in Civil 3D with arcs in its outline, the geometry is exported to InfoDrainage as an approximated outline composed of straight segments. A Depth-Area-Volume table is derived from the Civil 3D stage-storage data.
  • On a subsequent import from InfoDrainage, if the pond outline and stage-storage data have not been modified in InfoDrainage, the Civil 3D Pond's original curved contours are not overwritten and the original curved geometry preserved.

Warnings on Import

  • Overhang: If the Depth-Area-Volume table has an overhang (area increases with depth after decreasing), a warning is shown; the data is capped and the pond is still created.
  • Vertical sides: If the base area equals the largest area (vertical sides), a warning is shown; the top area may be increased slightly in Civil 3D to avoid invalid geometry.
  • Failed to create/update Pond: If Civil 3D cannot create or update the Pond (e.g. invalid contour geometry), the corresponding message is reported for that stormwater control.
  • Bypass connection from a Pond: If a connection is a bypass (e.g. the Civil 3D pipe starts from an inlet structure) and the source of that connection is a Pond, the pipe is converted to a regular outgoing connection connected to an outlet. A warning is shown on the connection, and an additional warning is shown on the Pond.
  • Reverse flow on a connection to a Pond: If a pipe connected to a Pond has flow direction opposite to the design (Civil 3D reports flow End-to-Start), a warning is shown on the Pond.
  • Unsupported outlet type: If a Pond uses an outlet type that Civil 3D does not support, the outlet is converted to Free discharge in Civil 3D and a warning is shown.

Export from Civil 3D to InfoDrainage

Native Civil 3D Ponds that are connected to the pipe network are exported to InfoDrainage.

Surface-Based Ponds in Civil 3D

In Civil 3D, a Pond can be surface-based (defined by a surface) or conceptual (defined by contours). When you export to InfoDrainage, surface-based ponds are brought in as Pond drainage systems and the geometry cannot be modified in InfoDrainage. Other characteristics of the Pond (inlets and outlets, for instance) can be modified if desired. InfoDrainage reads the pond's stage-storage data (depth, area, volume) and other properties from Civil 3D. If you later import from InfoDrainage back to Civil 3D, the surface-based pond's contours are not overwritten, so the existing surface definition in Civil 3D is preserved.

Note:

There may be very slight differences between the areas (and related values) reported in the Civil 3D stage-storage table and the InfoDrainage Depth-Area-Volume table. Such small discrepancies are expected and do not affect normal use.

For ponds with freeboard, reported total volumes may also differ slightly between Civil 3D and InfoDrainage. Each product may treat the volume above the design level (freeboard) or the upper limit of the stage-storage range differently, so the "storage" volume you see in one need not match the other exactly.

Connections and Networks

  • In Civil 3D, Pond objects are not part of the pipe network; they are stormwater controls that can be connected to pipes and structures.
  • InfoDrainage does not create inlets/outlets (null structures) for ponds in Civil 3D as it does for other stormwater control types; ponds are represented only as native Pond objects and their connections are managed by Civil 3D.
  • When exporting to InfoDrainage, only Civil 3D Ponds that are connected to the network are included.

Pond Inlet and Outlet Positions in Civil 3D

In InfoDrainage, a Pond has inlets and outlets with attachment points (positions where connections meet the pond). In Civil 3D, ponds do not have separate inlet or outlet structures; pipes connect directly to the native Pond object at connection points (connectors) on the Pond.

How Positions are Represented

  • In Civil 3D: The position where a pipe meets a Pond is the pipe's start point or end point (depending on flow direction). That point is determined by Civil 3D when the pipe is connected to the Pond. You can move the connection by editing the pipe or the Pond in Civil 3D; the connection point is then wherever Civil 3D places it.
  • On Import from InfoDrainage: Pipes are created and connected to the Pond. InfoDrainage does not create null structures at the pond's inlet/outlet locations. The pipe's end that connects to the Pond is placed by Civil 3D at the Pond's connector, so the exact XY (and Z) at the pond may follow Civil 3D's connector behaviour rather than the InfoDrainage attachment point exactly.
  • On Export to InfoDrainage: The inlet and outlet positions (attachment points) on the Pond in InfoDrainage are set from the pipe's start or end point where that pipe connects to the Pond in Civil 3D. So:
    • The inlet position comes from the pipe end that feeds into the pond (incoming pipe).
    • The outlet position comes from the pipe end that leaves the pond (outgoing pipe).
    • If you move the pipe connection to the Pond in Civil 3D (e.g. drag the pipe end or edit the Pond), the next Export to InfoDrainage updates the corresponding inlet or outlet attachment point in InfoDrainage to match the current Civil 3D position.
  • Multi-barrel connections: When a connection has multiple barrels (e.g. two or more pipes in parallel), Civil 3D has no separate structure at the pond to spread them. All barrels may therefore attach at the same location on the Pond-the single connector position-rather than being offset along the pond edge as they can be at a manhole or other structure. This is expected; in InfoDrainage the inlet or outlet still represents that connection, and the attachment point is the common connection position in Civil 3D.
Parent topic: InfoDrainage for Civil 3D