Description
The Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) is designed to simulate complete hydrologic processes in dendritic watershed systems. The software includes many traditional hydrological analysis procedures such as event infiltration, unit hydrographs, and hydrological routing. HEC-HMS also incorporates procedures necessary for continuous simulation, including evapotranspiration, snowmelt, and soil moisture accounting. Furthermore, it provides advanced capabilities for grid-based runoff simulation using the quasi-distributed linear runoff transformation (ModClark). Additional analysis tools are available for model optimization, streamflow forecasting, area-depth reduction, model uncertainty assessment, erosion and sediment transport, and water quality evaluation.
Application in education
Additionally, HEC-HMS serves as an educational resource, assisting university professors in teaching hydrologic modeling and analysis concepts.
Functionalities
- Calculates direct runoff, baseflow, and the evolution of the hydrograph over time.
- It can connect to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) such as ArcGIS.
- Generates global and element-specific summary tables, including information on maximum flow and total volume.
- Allows the user to select different methods for calculating losses, hydrographs, and channel routing.
- It can perform simulations as individual events or continuously.
Advantages
- It is a versatile tool used to simulate hydrological processes in watersheds. It can be applied in various contexts such as water availability studies, urban drainage, flow forecasting, and flood damage reduction.
- It features a user-friendly graphical interface, which facilitates model configuration and result visualization.
- It can connect to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) such as ArcGIS. This allows integration of spatial data and enhances the accuracy of simulations.
- The tool calculates direct runoff, baseflow, and the evolution of the hydrograph over time. This provides a comprehensive view of hydrological processes in a watershed.