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Rainfall Generator Dialog

The Rainfall Generator dialog allows the editing of parameters needed to generate a design rainfall event.

The dialog is displayed when a design rainfall is created:

  1. Right-click a Model Group and select New InfoWorksRainfall event or New SWMMRainfall event from the popup menu.
  2. Enter a name for the event.
  3. Ensure the Generated Design Rainfall box is checked.
  4. Click OK. This displays the Select From List dialog.
  5. Select the generator required.
  6. Click OK. The chosen rainfall generator dialog is displayed. The parameters used to create the event can be edited.

The layout of the dialog varies according to the type of design rainfall being generated.

The Initial Conditions fields displayed are the same for all rainfall generators. All other fields displayed are specific to the selected rainfall generator.

Initial Conditions

Applicable to InfoWorks networks only.

The initial conditions define the moisture content of the catchment surface before the storm event begins.

Each runoff volume model represents the initial moisture content of the catchment differently.

Initial Conditions Fields

Initial Condition Description Runoff Volume Model

Antecedent Depth

This is the depth of rainfall (in mm) which has fallen in the hour immediately prior to this storm. The maximum depth allowed is 10mm.

For design storms, this field is typically set to 10mm to ensure that any initial loss volume is already filled before the storm commences (worst case)

Any
Evaporation Rate of evaporation Any

UCWI

Urban Catchment Wetness Index, defining the antecedent wetness of the catchment.

Figures 9.7 and 9.8 in Volume 1 of the Wallingford Procedure provide a curve of UCWI against annual average rainfall (SAAR) and values for SAAR across the UK. These can be used to provide a design value of UCWI for the catchment location.

Wallingford
NAPI Initial value of NAPI - 30-day API with evapotranspiration and initial losses subtracted from rainfall.

New PR (New UK)/UKWIR

Horton SMS The Soil Moisture Store representing the initial wetness of the catchment. Horton
Green-Ampt SMD (%)

The soil (initial) moisture deficit is the fraction difference between the soil porosity and actual moisture content, expressed as a percentage.

Green-Ampt
Wetness Index

Defines the catchment wetness for use with the SCS runoff model.

Value

Description

1

Dry Catchment

2

Average Catchment

3

Wet Catchment

SCS
For ReFH Rainfall Design only
ReFH(2) Cini

Initial soil moisture content. Choose one of the following options from the dropdown list:

  • ReFH: Uses the original rainfall runoff model to calculate the initial soil moisture content.
  • ReFH2: Uses the new version of the rainfall runoff model to calculate the initial soil moisture content.
  • User: Enables the field, allowing you to specify the initial soil moisture content.
ReFH
ReFH (2) catchment BF0 (m3/s)

Initial baseflow (BF0). Choose one of the following options from the dropdown list:

  • ReFH: Uses the original rainfall runoff model to calculate the initial baseflow. This option is only available when generating an ReFH rainfall event.
  • ReFH2: Uses the new version of rainfall runoff model to calculate the initial baseflow.
  • Note: When ReFH or ReFH2 is selected for the calculation of the initial baseflow, the value calculated applies to the area specified for the catchment in the Catchments grid in this dialog. This value is then scaled linearly to the subcatchment area when performing a simulation.
  • User (catchment): Enables the field, allowing you to specify the initial baseflow. During a simulation, this baseflow is multiplied by the ratio of the subcatchment area (in the network) to the catchment area (in the rainfall profile). For example, if you specify a base flow of 12, and the size of the catchment is 6 ha of which there are 3 subcatchments of 1, 2 and 3 ha, then when the simulation is run, the baseflow used will be 2 (1/6 x 12) for the 1 ha subcatchment, 4 (2/6 x 12) for the 2 ha subcatchment and 6 (3/6 x 12) for the 3 ha subcatchment.
  • User (areal): Enables the field and changes its label from ReFH (2) catchment BF0 (m3/s to ReFH (2) areal BF0 (m3/s/ha), allowing you to specify the initial baseflow. During a simulation, this baseflow is multiplied relative to the subcatchment area. For example, if you specify a base flow of 12, and the size of the catchment is 6 ha of which there are 3 subcatchments of 1, 2 and 3 ha, then when the simulation is run, the baseflow used will be 12 (1 x 12) for the 1 ha subcatchment, 24 (2 x 12) for the 2 ha subcatchment and 36 (3 x12) for the 3 ha subcatchment.
Note: A user specified initial baseflow can be specified for each individual subcatchment using the ReFH Subcatchment tab on the Rainfall Event Editor. Any value specified on the ReFH Subcatchment tab takes precedence over any user value specified in the ReFH (2) catchment BF0 / ReFH (2) areal BF0 field.
ReFH
Country

Can be set to:

  • England, Wales and Northern Ireland
  • Scotland

If set to Scotland, the ReFH2 parameter alpha is not invoked.

ReFH
For FEH2013 and FEH2022 Rainfall Design only
ReFH2 Cini

Initial soil moisture content. Choose one of the following options from the dropdown list:

  • ReFH2: Uses the ReFH2 version of the rainfall runoff model to calculate the initial soil moisture content.
  • User: Enables the field, allowing you to specify the initial soil moisture content.
ReFH
ReFH2 catchment BF0 (m3/s)

Initial baseflow (BF0). Choose one of the following options from the dropdown list:

  • ReFH2: Uses the ReFH2 version of rainfall runoff model to calculate the initial baseflow.
  • Note: When ReFH or ReFH2 is selected for the calculation of the initial baseflow, the value calculated applies to the area specified for the catchment in the Catchments grid in this dialog. This value is then scaled linearly to the subcatchment area when performing a simulation.
  • User (catchment): Enables the field, allowing you to specify the initial baseflow. During a simulation, this baseflow is multiplied by the ratio of the subcatchment area (in the network) to the catchment area (in the rainfall profile). For example, if you specify a base flow of 12, and the size of the catchment is 6 ha of which there are 3 subcatchments of 1, 2 and 3 ha, then when the simulation is run, the baseflow used will be 2 (1/6 x 12) for the 1 ha subcatchment, 4 (2/6 x 12) for the 2 ha subcatchment and 6 (3/6 x 12) for the 3 ha subcatchment.
  • User (areal): Enables the field and changes its label from ReFH (2) catchment BF0 (m3/s to ReFH (2) areal BF0 (m3/s/ha), allowing you to specify the initial baseflow. During a simulation, this baseflow is multiplied relative to the subcatchment area. For example, if you specify a base flow of 12, and the size of the catchment is 6 ha of which there are 3 subcatchments of 1, 2 and 3 ha, then when the simulation is run, the baseflow used will be 12 (1 x 12) for the 1 ha subcatchment, 24 (2 x 12) for the 2 ha subcatchment and 36 (3 x12) for the 3 ha subcatchment.
Note: A user specified initial baseflow can be specified for each individual subcatchment using the ReFH Subcatchment tab on the Rainfall Event Editor. Any value specified on the ReFH Subcatchment tab takes precedence over any user value specified in the ReFH (2) catchment BF0 / ReFH (2) areal BF0 field.
ReFH
Country

Can be set to:

  • England, Wales and Northern Ireland
  • Scotland

If set to Scotland, the ReFH2 parameter alpha is not invoked.

ReFH
For all other Rainfall Design
ReFH Cini

Initial soil moisture content.

ReFH
ReFH BF0 (m3/s)

Initial baseflow (BF0).

ReFH
Note: To use ReFH2 in InfoWorks ICM, the ReFH2 software must be installed on the same machine as InfoWorks ICM, and a licence must have been obtained from Wallingford HydroSolutions (WHS). If you are generating FEH2022 design rainfall, you must use ReFH2 version 4.0.860 or newer. The ReFH2 software must be available when the relevant calculations are performed for rainfall events. However, the ReFH2 software does not have to be installed on the machine that is running the simulation.
Warning: Due to incompatibility, it is not possible to generate FEH2013 rainfall hyetographs if you are using ReFH2 software version 4.0.8560 (or newer) with a version of ICM that is earlier than 2024.2. If you try to do so, a message will be displayed informing you that the ReFH2 calculation failed and that the ReFH2 hyetograph data is incomplete/invalid.

Rainfall Generator Specific Fields

Click on the rainfall generators listed below to display details of the fields specific to each generator.

Australian Rainfall 1987

The fields specific to the Australian Rainfall Generator are listed below. For further details see the Australian Rainfall and Runoff, volume 2 reference book (Engineers Australia, National Committee for Water Engineering, 1987. Reprinted 1998).

Note: Please use metric units and not imperial units as these are not suitable for this model.
Data Field Description

Rainfall intensities

Rainfall intensities are required for the following average recurrence intervals (ARI) and rainfall durations:

2i 1 2 years ARI, 1 hour duration

2i 12 2 years ARI, 12 hour duration

2i 72 2 years ARI, 72 hour duration

50i 1 50 years ARI, 1 hour duration

50i 12 50 years ARI, 12 hour duration

50i 72 50 years ARI, 72 hour duration

The valid range for these intensities is 0.0 to 200.0 .

Coefficient of skewness

G, average coefficient of skewness (unitless). The valid range for this parameter is 0.0 – 0.8.

Zone number

The zone number is required in applying the temporal pattern. Select a value between 1 and 8. Please refer to Book 2, Volume 2 of Australian Rainfall and Runoff (Inst. Engrs Aust., 1987. Reprinted 1998) which contains a series of maps of design rainfall isopleths for the 8 regions of Australia.

Geographical factors

There are two factors :

F2 (Geographical factor, 2 years, 6 minute duration. Valid range 3.68 – 5.0)

F50 (Geographical factor, 50 years, 6 minute duration. Valid range 13.5 – 18.5).

Note: These factors are only to be used for durations of less than one hour. If the user only requires durations of more than one hour, no value should be entered in the Geographical Factors frame.

If durations of less than one hour are required, you can:

- Let the software calculate the F2 and F50 parameters by clicking the Calculate using latitude and longitude check box and typing in the longitude and latitude values in degrees in the Longitudeand Latitude boxes, or

- Type in directly the F2 and F50 values if these are known (Do not click the Calculate using latitude and longitude check box)

ARI (years)

Average Recurrence Interval (ARI) or return period (in years). You can select one or more known return periods from the list. Permitted values are : 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 100 years. There is no option to type in user specific ARIs.
Duration

Enter the storm duration in minutes or hours. You can select one or more durations. Permitted values are :10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 45 mins and 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4.5, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 48, 72 hours. There is no option to type in user specific durations.

Multiplying Factor Multiplying factor applied as the Areal Reduction Factor.

Australian Rainfall 2016

The ARR Storm Generator enables you to generate ensembles of design rainfall based on the ARR (2016) guidance including obtaining data from the ARR website as well as design rainfall from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) website for use in InfoWorks ICM. The generated data will appear in the grid, and you can then select individual design events or construct an ensemble of AEPs and Durations to be used within the simulation.

Data can also be imported from XPX files.

Contact Innovyze for further information about importing or generating Australian Rainfall 2016.

The fields specific to the Australian Rainfall Generator 2016 are listed below.

Data Field Description

Storm

Grid

The fields in the grid are automatically populated when rainfall data is generated or imported.

A check in the box in the first grid column indicates that the rainfall data contained in the row will be included in a simulation. Remove the check to exclude any data from a simulation.

The other columns in the grid are described below:

Column

Description

Storm name A read-only field that contains the name of the storm.
AEP A read-only field that contains the Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) for this storm.
Override multiplier

A check in this box indicates that the Multiplier, provided by the ARR storm generator, has been overwritten by a user. Removing the check causes the multiplier to return to the ARR-supplied value.

If a user-specified multiplier has been previously specified but has since reverted back to the ARR-supplied value (by removing the check), then adding a check in this box will revert the ARR-supplied multiplier back to the previous user-specified override one.

Multiplier The multiplier (the storm depth in mm) for this storm. This is initially supplied by the ARR storm generator but can be overwritten if required. A check will be added to the adjacent Override multiplier box when the ARR-supplied value is changed.
Ensemble name A read-only field that contains the name of ensemble for this storm.

Enable all Clicking Enable all includes all the data, details of which are currently displayed on the storm grid, in a simulation. A check will appear in the first column of every row in the grid.
Disable all

Clicking Disable all excludes all the data, details of which are currently displayed on the storm grid, from a simulation. Any checks displayed in the first column of the grid will be removed.

Remove disabled storms

Clicking Remove disabled storms deletes the data for all storms which have a check displayed in the first column of the grid.

Constant infiltration loss

A read-only field which displays the constant infiltration loss, if specified.

ARR Storm Generator

Opens the ARR Storm Generator window.

Contact Innovyze if you require further information about generating Australian Rainfall 2016.

Note that a NET Framework 4.8 or newer is required to install a standalone ARR Storm Generator.

Import XPX file Displays a standard Windows Open window from which you can select the XPX file you want to import.
OK Saves any changes made to the information in the dialog and closes the window.
Cancel Discards any changes made to the information in the dialog and closes the window.

Chicago Rainfall

The fields specific to the Chicago Rainfall Generator are listed below.

Data Field Description
Coefficient a Equation constant. See the Chicago Rainfall Generator for further information.
Coefficient b Equation constant. See the Chicago Rainfall Generator for further information.
Coefficient c Equation constant. See the Chicago Rainfall Generator for further information.
Peak timing ratio r

The portion of the duration of the event that occurs before the peak.

This must be a value between 0 and 1

Return period

Period, in years, between events of the same intensity or of a greater intensity than this storm.

Multiple return periods can be specified, using commas to separate the return period values.

Duration

Duration of the rainfall event in minutes.

Storms with different durations can be specified, using commas to separate the durations.

Timestep Interval between timesteps in minutes.

Chinese Rainfall

The fields specific to the Chinese Rainfall Generator are listed below.

Data Field Description
Peak timing ratio r The portion of the duration of the event occurring before the peak.
Calculation of A

Select method of specifying value for A:

  • Calculated - A is calculated from a, C and Return period values

  • User - A is user defined
A (Calculated)

Read-only field set when Calculation of A is set to Calculated.

A is calculated as:

a(1 + Clog10P)

where P is return period

A (User) Enabled when Calculation of A is set to User

User defined equation constant.

a Equation constant, used in calculation of A when Calculation of A is set to Calculated.
C Equation constant, used in calculation of A when Calculation of A is set to Calculated.
Return period

Period, in years, between events of the same intensity or of a greater intensity than this storm.

Multiple return periods can be specified, using commas to separate the return period values.

Duration (mins)

Duration of the rainfall event in minutes.

Storms with different durations can be specified, using commas to separate the durations.

b User defined equation constant
n User defined equation constant
Timestep (mins) Interval between timesteps in minutes.
Multiplying Factor Multiplying factor applied as the Areal Reduction Factor.

FEH Rainfall

The fields specific to the FEH Rainfall Generator are listed below. For further details see the Flood Estimation Handbook (1999).

Data Field Description
Catchments grid

Catchment descriptor parameters:

Field Description
ID

Catchment identifier

When used in a SWMM simulation, this ID should be used to link the catchment to a rainfall profile to a rain gage.

C, D1, D2, D3, E, F Catchment descriptor parameters required for the FEH method Depth Duration Frequency (DDF) model.
Catchment Area Contributing catchment area in hectares
Gauge data Boundary data of rainfall area (optional).

Load

Clicking this button loads catchment descriptors from a CSV or XML file(s). The descriptors must have already been exported from the FEH CD application or downloaded from the FEH web service.

See Importing Catchment Parameters from the FEH CD or Web Service for more details.

Return Period

This indicates the period, in years, between events of the same intensity or of a greater intensity than this storm.

F or a valid DDF model, the storm return period must be greater than one year when using the Annual Maximum return period scale. Shorter return periods are allowed for the Peaks Over Threshold return period scale.

To set a return period of less than 1 year when using the Peaks Over Threshold return period scale, you enter the reciprocal of the return period as a negative number. For example:

1 in 6 month storm = 2 in 1 year storm. Enter -2

1 in 3 month storm = 4 in 1 year storm. Enter -4

1 in 1 month storm = 12 in 1 year storm. Enter -12

Return periods greater than 10000 years are not recommended.

The parameters were based on observations of return periods no greater than 1000 years.

Duration

The duration of the rainfall event in minutes. The duration must be between 15 and 15840 minutes (11 days)

The storm duration to be used depends on the size of the catchment.

  • Short storms: have higher peak intensities and so will be more critical for small catchments or for local areas of large catchments.
  • Long storms: have larger total rainfall depths and so will be more critical for large catchments.

To identify all the problems in a catchment, you must analyse storms with a range of durations from about 15 minutes up to twice the time of concentration of the catchment.

Profile

Choose the Summer profile, the Winter profile or the Synthetic profile

The profile shape defines how high the peak intensities are for a given rainfall depth:

  • 50 percentile summer profile : This has high peak intensities. We recommend this for urban areas.
  • 75 percentile winter profile : Lower peak and more drawn out. For rural areas.

Return Period Type

Flood data series type:

  • Annual Maximum
  • Peaks-over-threshold

Multiplying Factor

Factor allowing percentage increase of design rainfall. The Multiplying Factor is applied to the Areal Reduction Factor (ARF) calculated from the UK Rainfall (FEH) Generator input parameters.

Profile ARF = calculated ARF * Multiplying Factor

FEH2013 Rainfall and FEH2022 Rainfall

The fields specific to the FEH2013 and FEH2022 Rainfall Generators are listed below.

To use ReFH2 in InfoWorks ICM, the ReFH2 software must be installed on the same machine as InfoWorks ICM, and a licence must have been obtained from Wallingford HydroSolutions (WHS). If you are generating FEH2022 design rainfall, you must use ReFH2 version 4.0.8560 or newer. The ReFH2 software must be available when the relevant calculations are performed for rainfall events. However, the ReFH2 software does not have to be installed on the machine that is running the simulation.

Warning: Due to incompatibility, it is not possible to generate FEH2013 rainfall hyetographs if you are using ReFH2 software version 4.0.8560 (or newer) with a version of ICM that is earlier than 2024.2. If you try to do so, a message will be displayed informing you that the ReFH2 calculation failed and that the ReFH2 hyetograph data is incomplete/invalid.
Data Field Description
Catchments grid

Displays the catchment descriptor parameters and/or the point descriptor parameters which have been loaded from XML catchment files or XML point files respectively.

Field Description
ID

Catchment identifier.

If point descriptors have been imported, this field is editable. It is read-only for catchment descriptors.

When used in a SWMM simulation, this ID should be used to link the catchment to a rainfall profile to a rain gage.

C, D1, D2, D3, E, F

Read-only field.

Catchment descriptor parameters required for the FEH13 or FEH22 model.

These parameters are set to 0 if point descriptors have been imported as they are not included in the XML point data file.

Catchment Area

Contributing catchment area in hectares.

This field is read-only for catchment descriptors.

If point data has been imported, this field is editable. If no catchment area is included in the XML point file, a default value of 100 ha (1 km2) is used. The minimum allowed value is 0.001 ha (0.00001 km2) as required by ReFH2.

Gage data

Read-only field.

Boundary data of rainfall area.

For a catchment descriptor, this is the grid location (X,Y) for the catchment centroid in the XML catchment file.

For a point descriptor, this is the grid location (X,Y) of the point descriptors from the XML point data file.

SAAR

Read-only field.

Standard-period average annual rainfall.

BFIHOST

Read-only field.

Baseflow index.

PROPWET

Read-only field.

Proportion of time the catchment soil moisture deficit was below 6mm.

Point data

An X in the box indicates that this row contains point descriptor parameters.

If the box is empty, then the row contains catchment descriptor parameters.

Although some of the fields in the grid are read-only, you can still delete rows from it. Highlight the row you want to delete and then press the Delete key.

Load

Loads the catchment descriptors or point descriptors from XML files. The files must have already been downloaded from the FEH web service.

A standard Windows Open file dialog is displayed from which you can select the required XML file.

Return period

This indicates the period, in years, between events of the same intensity or of a greater intensity than this storm. The Return period must be between 2 and 10000 years.

Duration

The duration of the rainfall event in minutes. The Duration must be between 15 and 9000 minutes. If multiple Timesteps are to be used, then a duration must be specified for each timestep. Multiple durations must be separated by a comma.

Timestep

The interval between timesteps in either in sec (seconds) or % (percentage) depending on which unit is selected in the adjacent dropdown box.

Multiple timestep intervals can also be specified, each of which must be separated by a comma. Note that each timestep must have a corresponding Duration.

For each timestep (in seconds) specified, ensure that the corresponding Duration (in seconds) divided by the timestep (in seconds) is less than 480:

Duration Timestep Equation

If you are using percentages rather than seconds, each Timestep (in seconds) can be calculated as follows:

Timestep Percentage Equation where % value is the specified percentage interval between the timesteps.

If no timestep is specified, a default timestep of 60 seconds is used. However, if the default timestep is invalid for the specified Duration, the default timestep is multiplied by 2 until it becomes valid.

Return period type

Flood data series type:

  • Annual Maximum
  • Peaks-over-threshold

ReFH2 version

Read-only

The version number of the ReFH2 software last used to calculate any of the following fields:

  • ReFH2 Cini
  • ReFH2 catchment BF0 (m3/s)
  • Alpha coefficient
  • Areal reduction factor
  • Seasonal correction factor

If ReFH2 was not used to calculate the above fields, this field is blank.

Profile

The profile shape defines how high the peak intensities are for a given rainfall depth:

  • Summer: 50 percentile summer profile - high peak intensities
  • Winter: 75 percentile winter profile - lower peak and more drawn out

Multiplying factor

Factor allowing percentage increase of design rainfall. The Multiplying Factor is applied to the Areal Reduction Factor (ARF) calculated from the UK Rainfall (FEH) Generator input parameters.

Profile ARF = calculated ARF * Multiplying Factor

Alpha coefficient

An alpha adjustment coefficient. Choose one of the following options from the dropdown list:

  • ReFH2: Uses the ReFH2 version of the rainfall runoff model to calculate the alpha coefficient.
  • User: Enables the field, allowing you to specify the alpha coefficient.
Areal reduction factor

Factor to convert point rainfall to catchment average rainfall:

  • ReFH2: Uses the ReFH2 version of the rainfall runoff model to calculate the areal reduction factor.
  • User: Enables the field, allowing you to specify the real reduction factor .
Seasonal correction factor

Factor used to convert annual maximum rainfall to seasonal rainfall:

  • ReFH2: Uses the ReFH2 version of the rainfall runoff model to calculate the seasonal correction factor.
  • User: Enables the field, allowing you to specify the the seasonal correction factor.
OK

Performs the following checks:

  • The Return period is within the permitted range.
  • The Duration is within the permitted range.
  • The total number of timesteps per duration is an odd number. The total number of timesteps will be automatically adjusted to ensure that an odd number is used, as required by ReFH2.

A suitable message is displayed if any of the checks are unsuccessful.

If the checks are successful, InfoWorks ICM saves the generated rainfall data and closes the dialog.

For new events, the ReFH2 application now generates the rainfall hyetograph.

For existing events, the ReFH2 application checks the data for any changes, and updates the rainfall hyetograph accordingly.

If the ReFH2 application cannot be found, fails to start, or returns an error, then a suitable message is displayed. In such cases, the event will still be saved but without generating/updating the rainfall hyetograph.

Cancel Discards any changes and closes the dialog.

French Rainfall (Desbordes)

The fields specific to the French Rainfall (Desbordes) Generator are listed below.

Data Field Description

Return Period(s)

Indicates the period, in years, between events of the same intensity or of a greater intensity than this storm.

Peak Duration

Peak Position

Location

A list of standard regions

Multiplying Factor allowing percentage increase of design rainfall.
User-defined parameters a, b Defined according to one of three standards regions of France.

Euler Type II Rainfall

The fields specific to the Euler Type II Rainfall Generator are listed below.

Data Field Description
Catchments grid

Catchment descriptor parameters.

Field Description
ID

An obligatory parameter used to identify this catchment

When used in a SWMM simulation, this ID should be used to link the catchment to a rainfall profile to a rain gage.

Easting The easting of the location that the rainfall data applies to (see Note below)
Northing The northing of the location that the rainfall data applies to (see Note below)

H 15, 1

Depth of 15 minute duration 1 year return period storm

H 60, 1

Depth of 60 minute duration 1 year return period storm

H 1440, 1

Depth of 1440 minute duration 1 year return period storm
H 4320, 1 Depth of 4320 minute duration 1 year return period storm
H 15, 100 Depth of 15 minute duration 100 year return period storm
H 60, 100 Depth of 60 minute duration 100 year return period storm
H 1440, 100 Depth of 1440 minute duration 100 year return period storm
H 4320, 100 Depth of 4320 minute duration 100 year return period storm
Gauge data Boundary data (in the format Easting, Northing) of rainfall area
Note: The region for which 'H' values data is defined corresponds to the boundary of Germany in projection ETRS 1989, Lambert Conformal Conic, EPSG:3034. The coordinates of the upper left corner of the bounding rectangle are (3710675.00m, 3149247.90m) and its lower right corner coordinates are (4354525.00m, 2271847.90m).

Generate

Generates the rainfall data.

For each row in the Catchments grid with an Easting and a Northing set (i.e. not zero), the 'H' columns are populated with values found for that location. For these rows, the Gauge data column is also populated with the row's easting and northing in the format, Easting, Northing.

A message will be displayed listing the IDs of any catchments with an Easting / Northing for which no 'H' data is defined.

Return period

This indicates the period, in years, between events of the same intensity or of a greater intensity than this rainfall event.

The Return period must be between 1 and 100 years when Return period type is set to Annual maximum.

If the Return period type is set to Peaks-over-threshold, then the Return period must be between 1 and 99 or -12 and -1. Negative return periods are used to represent fractional values, for example, -4 corresponds to 1/4.

The default return period is 5 years.

Duration

The duration of the rainfall event in minutes. The duration must be between 15 and 4320 minutes (3 days). The default is 30 minutes.

Note: The duration must be an exact multiple, and at least twice the length, of the selected Timestep
Timestep

Interval between timesteps in minutes. This can be set to 5 (default), 10, 15, 20, 30, 60, 180, 240, 360, 720 or 1440 minutes.

Return period type

Flood data series type:

  • Annual maximum (default)
  • Peaks-over-threshold

Multiplying

Factor allowing percentage increase of design rainfall. This allows scenarios, such as a 10% increase in rainfall to be investigated.

OK

Performs the following checks:

  • The values displayed in the 'H' columns are the same as the generated 'H' values for the specified Easting and Northing
  • The Return period is within the permitted range
  • The Duration is within the permitted range
  • The Duration is an exact multiple of the selected timestep
  • The Duration is at least twice as long as the selected timestep

A suitable message is displayed if any of the checks are unsuccessful.

If the checks are successful, InfoWorks ICM saves the generated rainfall data and closes the dialog.

Cancel Discards any changes made to the information in the dialog and closes the window.

Hong Kong (5th edition)

The fields specific to the Hong Kong (5th edition) Rainfall Generator are listed below.

Data Field Description
Region

The region of Honk Kong that this rainfall applies to. The choices are:

  • HKO Headquaters
  • North District
  • Tai Mo Shan
  • West Lantau

Return Period

A list of known return periods from which the appropriate ones can be selected.

The selected return periods are used to determine which parameters should be used to calculate peak intensity of the storm and the intensity at each timestep on either side of the peak when generating the rainfall hyetographs.

Further information about these parameters can be found in the relevant 'Design Rainstorm Profile Intensity-Duration-Frequency Relationships' tables in the Stormwater Drainage Manual, Planning, Design and Management, Fifth Edition, January 2018 produced by the Drainage Services Department, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Duration

The storm duration in minutes.

Multiplying Factor

Multiplying factor applied as the Areal Reduction Factor.

Hong Kong (Historic)

The fields specific to the Hong Kong Rainfall Generator are listed below.

Data Field Description

Return Period

A list of known return periods from which the appropriate ones can be selected.

Alternatively, selecting the User option allows you to enter your own parameter values in the User Defined Parameters section of the dialog. These parameters are used to calculate peak intensity when generating the rainfall hyetograph.

If you select a known return period, this is used to look up the parameters in one of the tables reproduced in the Design Rainfall Generators topic. The table used depends on the choice you make in the Method field.

Duration

The storm duration in minutes.

Method

Select the method to use for generating the rainfall hyetograph. The choices are:

  • Gumbel
  • Jenkinson's 1955 solution
  • Jenkinson's maximum likelihood solution

In addition, there are two choices of data table for looking up the parameters used when calculating peak intensity.

  • Earlier analysis (used in the WALLRUS and SPIDA packages)
  • More recent analysis (1994) (first available in the HydroWorks package)

See Design Rainfall Generators for details on the tables and calculation method.

Multiplying Factor

Multiplying factor applied as the Areal Reduction Factor.

User Defined Parameters a, b, c

If you choose User in the Return Period box, you should enter the user defined values for a, b and c here. Any specified values will be rounded to 3 decimal places when the rainfall hyetograph is generated.

Malaysia

The fields specific to the Malaysian Rainfall Generator are listed below. For further details see The Urban Stormwater Management Manual for Malaysia (MSMA).

Data Field

Description

Catchment area

Used to determine areal reduction factor

2 year 24 hour rainfall depth

Taken from MSMA table 13.3, used to calculate the correction factor for short storms FD in equation 13.3

Location

East or West coast is used to determine which of the temporal patterns in tables 13.B1 or B2 of MSMA are used

ARI

The average return interval in years. For return intervals of less than 2 years, average intensity values are calculated by multiplying the 2 year return interval storm by the correction factors presented in equations 13.5a-d of MSMA

a,b,c,d

The four values used in equation 13.2 of MSMA.

Durations

Storms with different durations can be specified in one go, using commas to separate the durations

Multiplying Factor

This simple multiplying factor allows scenarios, such as a 10% increase in rainfall to be investigated

Malaysia HP1 (2015)

The fields specific to the Malaysian HP1 Rainfall Generator are listed below. For further details see the Hydrological Procedure No 1 (Revised and Updated 2015) from the Government of Malaysia, Department of Irrigation and Drainage.

Data Field

Description

Catchment area

The size of the area for which the design rainfall is generated.

Location

The region that the temporal pattern is to apply to.

Five regions, as shown in Figure 7.1 of the Hydrological Procedure No 1, are used to determine which of the temporal patterns, shown in Tables 8.6 to 8.10, are used.

ARF

Used to determine areal reduction factor. See Tables 9.1 and 9.2 in the Hydrological Procedure No 1.

Note that the minimum ARF area values will apply to any specified Catchment area that is smaller than the ARF minimum area, and the maximum ARF values will apply to any Catchment area that is larger than the maximum ARF area.

ARI

The average return interval.

An interval of 1, 2, 4 or 6 months or 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50 or 200 hours can be selected from the dropdown list.

λ Ƙ θ Ƞ

The four values to be used in the equation derived in section 3.6.1 of the Hydrological Procedure No 1.

The values for λ, Ƙ, θ and Ƞ can be found in Table 6.1 (a-d) and Table 6.2 (a-d) and also shown in the generalised isopleths maps in Appendix 1 (Figures 11.1 to 11.4).

The valid range for λ is between 0 and 200, while the valid ranges for Ƙ, θ and Ƞ are between 0 and 1.0

Duration

Storms with different durations can be specified in one go, using commas to separate the durations.

The duration(s) can be specified in minutes, hours or days.

The minimum duration that can be specified is 5 minutes while the maximum can be 4320 minutes, 72 hours or 3 days.

Multiplying factor

This simple multiplying factor allows scenarios, such as a 10% increase in rainfall to be investigated.

Climate change factor

The climate change factor (CCF) can be selected from the dropdown list.

The CCFs relevant to the selected Location will be applied when the rainfall is generated. See Tables 10.1 to 10.5 in the Hydrological Procedure No 1 for further information.

NOAA Rainfall

The NOAA ATLAS 14 Storm Generator enables you to generate design rainfall based on the NOAA ATLAS 14 rainfall intensities using NOAA ATLAS 14, NRCS Regional, Huff Distribution, Bulletin 75 or Alternating Block systems for temporal distribution for use in InfoWorks ICM. When the rainfall data is imported from the generator, you can choose which storm data is to be included in a simulation.

The fields specific to the NOAA Rainfall are listed below.

Data Field Description
Enable all Clicking Enable all includes all the data, details of which are currently displayed on the storm grid, in a simulation. A check will appear in the first column of every row in the grid.
Disable all

Clicking Disable all excludes all the data, details of which are currently displayed on the storm grid, from a simulation. Any checks displayed in the first column of the grid will be removed.

Remove disabled storms

Clicking Remove disabled storms deletes the data for all storms which have a check displayed in the first column of the grid.

Storm

grid

The fields in the grid are automatically populated when rainfall data is imported from the NOAA ATLAS 14 Storm Generator.

A check in the box in the first grid column indicates that the rainfall data contained in the row will be included in a simulation. Remove the check to exclude the rainfall data from a simulation.

The other columns in the grid are described below:

Column

Description

Name A read-only field that contains the name of this storm. The format for the name is: Q<quartile>_<ARI>yr_<duration>hr_<percent of occurrence>pct
ARI A read-only field that contains the Average Recurrence Interval (ARI) for this storm.
Override multiplier

A check in this box indicates that the Multiplier, provided via the NOAA ATLAS 14 storm generator, has been overwritten by a user. Removing the check causes the multiplier to return to the value supplied by the NOAA ATLAS 14 storm generator.

If a user-specified multiplier has been previously specified but has since reverted back to the NOAA generator-supplied value (by removing the check), then adding a check in this box will revert the NOAA generator-supplied multiplier back to the previous user-specified override one.

Multiplier The multiplier (the storm depth in mm) for this storm. This is initially supplied by the NOAA ATLAS 14 storm generator but can be overwritten if required. A check will be added to the adjacent Override multiplier box when the NOAA generator-supplied value is changed.
Ensemble name A read-only field that contains the name of ensemble for this storm. The format for the ensemble name is Q<quartile>_<ARI>yr_<duration>hr

NOAA ATLAS 14 Storm Generator Displays the NOAA ATLAS 14 Storm Generator that can be used to define the parameters for the storm to be generated and to import the applicable data to the Storm grid.
OK Saves any changes made to the information in the dialog and closes the window.
Cancel Discards any changes made to the information in the dialog and closes the window.

QM French Rainfall

The fields specific to the QM French Rainfall Generator are listed below.

Data Field

Description

Duration
Timestep
Profile
Peak duration
Peak rainfall
Peak position
Storm rainfall
Multiplying

ReFH Rainfall

The fields specific to the ReFH Rainfall Generator are listed below. For further details see the Revitalisation of the FSR/FEH Rainfall Runoff Method (2005) Technical Report.

Data Field

Description

Catchments grid

Catchment descriptor parameters:

Field Description
ID

Catchment identifier

When used in a SWMM simulation, this ID should be used to link the catchment to a rainfall profile to a rain gage.

C, D1, D2, D3, E, F Catchment descriptor parameters required for the FEH method Depth Duration Frequency (DDF) model.
Catchment Area Contributing catchment area in hectares
SAAR Standard -period average annual rainfall (1961-1990)
BFIHOST Baseflow index
PROPWET Proportion of time the catchment soil moisture deficit was below 6mm during the period 1961-1990
Gauge data Boundary data of rainfall area (optional).

Load

Clicking this button loads catchment descriptors from a CSV or XML file(s). The descriptors must have already been exported from the FEH CD-ROM or downloaded from the FEH web service.

See Importing Catchment Parameters from the FEH CD or Web Service or more details.

Return Period Period, in years, between events of the same intensity or of a greater intensity than this storm.
Duration

Duration of the rainfall event in minutes.

Return Period Type

Flood data series type:

  • Annual maximum
  • Peaks-over-threshold
ReFH2 version

Read-only

The version number of the ReFH2 software currently being run on the PC.

Profile

The profile shape defines how high the peak intensities are for a given rainfall depth:

  • Summer: 50 percentile summer profile - high peak intensities
  • Winter: 75 percentile winter profile - lower peak and more drawn out
Multiplying factor

Factor allowing percentage increase of design rainfall.

The multiplying factor is applied to the areal reduction factor (ARF) calculated from the ReFH generator input parameters.

Profile ARF = calc ARF x SCF x Multiplying Factor

Alpha coefficient

An alpha adjustment coefficient. Choose one of the following options from the list:

  • ReFH2: Uses the ReFH2 rainfall runoff model to calculate the alpha coefficient
  • User: Enables the field, allowing you to specify the alpha coefficient
Areal reduction factor

Factor to convert point rainfall to catchment average rainfall:

  • Design: Uses a factor calculated from the model
  • User: Enables the field, allowing you to specify the factor
Seasonal correction factor

Factor used to convert annual maximum rainfall to seasonal rainfall:

  • Design: Uses a factor calculated from the model
  • User: Enables the field, allowing you to specify the correction factor

SCS/NRC Rainfall

The fields specific to the SCS/NRC Rainfall Generator are listed below. For further details see the FHWA-NHI-02-001 HDS2 Highway Hydrology Technical Report.

Data Field Description

Duration

Duration of storm

Value

Description

24

Uses 24-hour SCS Intensity Pattern

6

Uses 6-hour SCS standard distribution

Intensity Pattern

24-hour rainfall distributions developed by the SCS from available National Weather Service duration frequency data or local storm data.

Only enabled when Duration is set to 24 hrs.

Value

Description

Type-I

24-hour rainfall distribution representing the Pacific maritime climate with wet winters and dry summers

Type-IA

See Type-I

Type-II

24-hour rainfall distribution representing the areas of the United States not covered by Types I, IA or III

Type-III

24-hour rainfall distribution representing the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coastal areas where tropical storms bring large 24-hour rainfall amounts

24hr / 6hr depth of design rainfall

Total depth of rainfall over the Duration of the storm

Timestep

Time interval between each intensity value

Multiplying factor

This simple multiplying factor allows scenarios, such as a 10% increase in rainfall to be investigated

United Kingdom Rainfall

The fields specific to the United Kingdom Rainfall Generator are listed below. For further details see Volume 1 of the Wallingford Procedure.

Data Field Description

5 year 1 hour rainfall (M5-60)

The rainfall depth (in mm) for a 5-year return period rainfall event of 1 hour duration. The value must be between 0 and 100. You can obtain the value for your catchment’s location from the map in Wallingford Procedure Volume 1 Fig. 6.1 (page 43), or the M5-60 map in Volume 3 of the Wallingford Procedure

One hour means any 60 minute period

Rainfall Ratio

The ratio of rainfall depths for a 5 year return period rainfall event of 1 hour duration and a 5 year return period rainfall event of 2 days duration. Ratios across the UK range from 0.12 to 0.46. A typical value for South East England is 0.4.

You can look up ratio values from Volume 1 of the Wallingford Procedure Fig. 6.2 (page 44), or from the map in Volume 3 of the Wallingford Procedure

Two days means a 48 hour period starting at 0900 GMT.

Catchment Area (Ha)

The total catchment area of the drainage system (in hectares).

The software uses this value to determine the areal reduction factor. This factor takes into account the reduction in total rainfall intensity as the storm passes over a catchment (that is, it does not rain at the same intensity on every part of a large catchment)

Location

Choose between England and Wales and Scotland and Northern Ireland, depending on the location of the system you are modelling

Series

Enabled if the Profile field is set to Synthetic. Choose between East and West.

Use the rainfall characteristics to choose whether to use the eastern or western series. Calculate the ratio YR for the catchment as:

YR = (SAAR / M5-60) * r

(1)

where:

SAAR is the annual average rainfall

M5-60 is the 5 year 60 minute rainfall

r is the rainfall ratio

Then choose which series is closest to this value, from the table below:

YR

West

15.9

East

12.5

For storms with a return period of greater than 1 year, the choice of series has little effect.

Return Period

This indicates the period, in years, between events of the same intensity or of a greater intensity than this storm.

If you choose to use the winter or summer profile, the return period must be between 1 and 100 years. If you choose to use the synthetic profile, you can define storms of less than a 1 year return period.

To request a return period of less than 1 year, enter the reciprocal of the return period as a negative number. For example:

1 in 6 month storm = 2 in 1 year storm. Enter -2

1 in 3 month storm = 4 in 1 year storm. Enter -4

1 in 1 week storm = 52 in 1 year storm. Enter -52

Duration

The duration of the rainfall event in minutes. The duration must be between 1 and 15840 minutes (11 days)

The storm duration to be used depends on the size of the catchment.

  • Short storms: have higher peak intensities and so will be more critical for small catchments or for local areas of large catchments.
  • Long storms: have larger total rainfall depths and so will be more critical for large catchments.

To identify all the problems in a catchment, you must analyse storms with a range of durations from about 15 minutes up to twice the time of concentration of the catchment.

Profile

Choose the Summer profile, the Winter profile or the Synthetic profile

The profile shape defines how high the peak intensities are for a given rainfall depth:

  • 50 percentile summer profile : This has high peak intensities. We recommend this for urban areas.
  • 75 percentile winter profile : Lower peak and more drawn out. For rural areas.
Multiplying Factor

Factor allowing percentage increase of design rainfall. The Multiplying Factor is applied to the Areal Reduction Factor (ARF) calculated from the UK Rainfall Generator input parameters.

Profile ARF = calculated ARF * Multiplying Factor

Multiple events

Multiple events may be created by rainfall generators that allow multiple Duration and Return Period values to be specified. For example, if the Return Period is 1,2,5 and the Duration is 15,30, six events will be created (the first for a Return Period of 1 year and Duration of 15 minutes; the second for 1 year and 30 minutes; the third for 2 years and 15 minutes; and so on).

A run created including the above design rainfall will result in six separate simulations; one for each event.

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