xpstorm - Comprehensive Software Package for Dynamic Modeling of Urban Stormwater Systems and River Systems

xpstorm simulates natural rainfall-runoff processes and the hydraulic performance of drainage systems and floodplains. It allows integrated analysis of flow in engineered and natural systems including ponds, rivers, lakes, overland floodplains and interaction with groundwater.

Use xpstorm for fully integrated hydrologic and hydraulic stormwater modeling – from cloud to ocean! This comprehensive software will allow you to Model With Confidence.

xpstorm is a comprehensive hydrologic and hydraulic modeling environment. It is applied to a wide range of water resource management, design and emergency action planning issues every day by thousands of users.

Stormwater Management

• Stormwater master plan
• Major/Minor or dual-drainage dystems
• Watershed master plans
• 1D/2D Urban flooding
• Detention pond optimization
• Interconnected pond routing
• LID/WSUD and BMP design and analysis

Floodplain Management and River Systems

• 1D/2D river hydraulic performance
• Floodplain mapping and flood hazard analysis
• Interior drainage (levee-protected areas) analysis
• Culvert and bridge hydraulics
• Fully coupled urban and river drainage systems

Why XPSTORM?

Integrated Stormwater Modeling. Comprehensive hydrology and hydraulics in the same model. Don’t jump between two or three different stormwater packages to build a complete stormwater model. xpstorm offers the tools to perform fully integrated system modeling — channels, pipes, streets, inlets, ponds, weirs, pumps, catchments, groundwater table, overland floodplains, rain gardens, infiltration trenches and more.

Model the Real World. You need a model that accurately reflects the physical realities of your drainage system. Fully linked 1D and 2D modeling allows you to see the true behavior of stormwater flow in natural and engineered systems. Minimize the need for approximations and “modeling tricks” by using xpstorm!

Advanced Design. Automatically identify flow choke points and let xpstorm design solutions (pipe sizes, slopes). Use automated Detention Pond Optimization methods to configure storage. Fully dynamic hydraulic analysis will allow you to complete LID/WSUD design to maximize benefits at lower costs.

Localization. Your hydrology, your way. With over 15 hydrologic methods available and numerous ways to input real or synthetic rainfall data, xpstorm allows you to model the appropriate rainfall/runoff for your project.

Efficient Model Setup
Build a model representation of your conceptual plan or your existing drainage system quickly. Take advantage of a world of data.

GIS Integration. Dynamically link to almost any external database to build your model and populate model parameter fields. Streamlined linkage to ESRI and MapInfo databases allows you to take advantage of the GIS data without the limitations and cost of using a GIS software license.

Digital Terrain Model. Create or import land surfaces in xpstorm to allow generation of cross sections of open channels, assignment of 1D node elevations, or computation of overland flow depths/directions (2D hydraulics).

CAD Integration. Use CAD files of preliminary designs for drainage system analysis. Work with data from any DXF, DWG, LandXML, or 12D file. No need to redraw data in xpstorm.

Accurate Analysis
You want a model with power and versatility when you need answers. Have confidence with:

Dynamic Analysis. xpstorm solves the full St. Venant Equations. Dynamic modeling allows the effects of storage, flood backwater and hydrograph timing in your stormwater system.

1D/2D Flow. xpstorm can fully couple 1D network flow with 2D overland flow to accurately model interaction between flood waters and drainage systems, including underground pipes and natural channels. xp2D lets you model complex systems as they really are — wherever the water flows.

Stability. Power through complex analysis of varied flow regimes: sub-critical flow, super-critical flow, pressure flow in open channels, pipes, structures and overland. Stability and accuracy of the xpstorm engine will allow you to spend your time in scenario generation and design rather than troubleshooting stubborn numerical problems.

WSPG. Choose this engine as a solution option for simple, steady-state hydraulic analysis. Import older WSPG models, too!

Versatile Results
You need to view and understand model output easily. Your reputation as a modeler depends on those results.

Full Results Output Document. This comprehensive text file allows you to review complete model data, computational details and complete results.

XP Tables. View and edit model input/output data in a user-customizable spreadsheet environment.

Profile/Cross Section Plots with Animation. View HGL, water surface elevation and data tables in a customizable plot window.

Flood Mapping. Create color-coded flood depth maps, floodplain boundary maps, flood hazard maps, and base flood elevation (BFE) contour maps.

Animations. Create/watch movies of flow progression over time. See it like it will happen in the real world.

Value Optioneering
How will a new design or a different flow input affect your system? How can you rapidly assess your options?

Scenario Manager. Examine multiple “what if” scenarios within a single project with full tracking of changes. Run multiple storms automatically. Compare scenario results graphically and in tables.

Flood Encroachment. Calculation of acceptable encroachment into a floodplain can be a very time-consuming, iterative process. xpstorm provides automated encroachment station calculation, leaving you with more time to evaluate options.

LID/BMP/WSUD. Evaluate the impact of various configurations of low impact development (LID) schemes and water-sensitive urban design practices. Whether restoring an area to a more natural condition or minimizing the impact of new development, modeling the sustainability of a stormwater system will help you meet clients’ and regulators’ environmental impact requirements.

Deliver your Model
Deliver your model to clients and/or regulators easily and with the confidence that they will see the value in your analysis or design.

xpviewer Encryptor and Free Reader. Your clients and regulators don’t have to own xpstorm to view and approve your model. Simply encrypt a model with the xpviewer module so that your clients can review it with the free reader software which includes all the powerful tools used to build, optimize and visualize the model.

FEMA Approved. xpstorm is approved by the US Federal Emergency Management Authority (FEMA), meeting NFIP criteria for hydraulic or hydrologic projects (DFIRM, CLOMR, LOMR). Countless other stormwater regulators are familiar with xpstorm and prefer modeling performed with its powerful tools.

Model Export. xpstorm model data input and results may be output to various formats that may be preferred for submission/review by your clients including GIS files, graphics, text or tabular data, maps and more.

Expand the functionality of your xpstorm package by adding the following optional components:

Digital Terrain Model
The DTM module for xpstorm (which is an add-on for the base package) allows the graphical interface to create and contain an embedded digital terrain model (DTM) or surface model. The embedded triangular irregular network (TIN) can be created from manhole elevations, a file containing a series of X Y Z and (optional) string data or directly read from popular terrain modeling packages.

With the surface model incorporated into the project the user can create perspective views, drape geo-referenced images, obtain ground elevations automatically for nodes, cut cross sections for natural channels and view flooded results in 3D.

DTM Module for xpstorm allows the following:

• Import 12d TIN and triangulate X Y Z input
• Shade the TIN to graphically show elevation
• Adjust the TIN transparency and show contours
• Adds elevation to the status bar, tracks the easting, northing and elevation of the mouse location
• Displays a cross section profile by drawing a polyline
• Automatic calculation of natural channel cross sections for links
• Automatic calculation of node ground elevations and inverts
• Automatic generation of 2D grid elevation (requires the xp2d Module)
• Adds terrain to the 3D perspective view tool

Water Quality
This module for xpstorm adds the ability to generate both point and non-point pollutant loads, and to route these pollutants through the drainage network.

This drainage network can also include the river system and therefore allows the user to analyze the effect of SSO’s and CSO’s on the water quality of the natural receiving water system.

The water quality modules also allows the routing of these pollutants in the Runoff or the Hydraulics layer with the latter coupling the full Dynamic Wave solution and pollutant transport by convection.

xp2D for Overland Flow
xp2D gives you the power to analyze and predict potential flood extents, depth and velocity and accurately model the interaction of surface and underground systems in an integrated 1D/2D modeling environment. The software can also be effectively used to simulate and analyze tidal surges, dam breaks and breaches on sewer networks.

xp2D simulates the complex hydrodynamics of floods and tides using the full 1D St. Venant equations and the full 2D free-surface shallow water equations.

Read more about xp2D here.

Multiple Domains for xp2D
The Multiple Domain add-on feature for xp2D allows several domains to be added to a single model. Each domain can have its own grid extents, time step, grid cell sizes and orientation. Separate domains are linked by 2D/2D interface lines.

Multiple 2D Domains are often used to reduce the number of cells in a 2D modeling project. Large cell sizes are used in areas where fine detail is not required or where a large area is to be modeled. Small grid sizes provide more detailed analysis of varying terrain, channels and urban areas. For example, a cell size of 1-2 meters could be used for the flow in a narrow channel of say 10m wide and then a separate 2D grid of 10 meters could be used for a rural floodplain. Flow from one 2D Domain can be joined to another with the new 2D/2D Interface polyline that exchanges flows between the two distinct 2D Grid Extents.

xpwspg
WSPG (Water Surface Profile Gradient) is a hydraulic analysis that computes uniform and non-uniform steady flow water surface profiles and pressure gradients in a network of open channels and closed conduits. This tool originally developed by Los Angeles County has been upgraded by XP Software and is available as an add-on module to xpstorm or as a separate standalone product called xpwspg.

Applications include engineered channel design, urban drainage analysis and minor hydraulic loss analysis.

After designing the model using the steady state WSPG solution the model can be switched to a full dynamic analysis in xpstorm. This combination of solutions allows the modeler to have confidence that the proposed design maintains the hydraulic grade line to acceptable levels and that storage facilities are sized correctly for major events.

Read more about xpwspg here.

EPA SWMM 5
This add-on module for xpstorm will allow you to export your xpstorm model to an EPA SWMM 5.0 model or inport an EPA SWMM 5.0 file into xpstorm. A file xx.inp will be created where xx = xpstorm file name in the same folder as the xpstorm file.

Users should be aware that an xpstorm model may contain features that the EPA SWMM 5.0 software does not support. In addition, the EPA SWMM calculation engine is different than the xpstorm calculation. Accordingly, it is unreasonable to expect that the EPA SWMM software will yield identical results as xpstorm.

Your xpstorm model can be calculated using the EPA SWMM 5.0 engine. The input file and output file are generated when this option is invoked. After solving xpstorm‘s time series graphic result tools are used to display results.

EPA SWMM 4.4 and 5.0 files may be converter to XPX files using the standalone EPA-SWMM Data File Reader.

Real Time Control
Real Time Control (RTC) elements such as regulators, bendable weirs, and telemetry-controlled pumps are part of xpstorm. These hydraulic elements allow changes to model elements in real time (evaluated at every time step) based on the depths of flow in any node in the model. By using a combination of rating curves and these RTC elements, many control strategies can be evaluated in the program. However, complex situations involving multiple sensors and Boolean logic are only possible by expanding xpstorm with our RTC add-on module. This powerful add-on module extends the existing depth-only RTC to a comprehensive management and design tool.

The RTC add-on module sensors can include any combination of velocity, flow and water levels and depths at nodes, conduits, pumps, orifices, and weirs. The values of the sensors can be compared to static values and with each other using typical Boolean logic and mathematical operators. For example, a control can be activated if the water level in location A is greater than location B by 2.3 feet.

Numerous hydraulic parameters depend on the type of object being controlled. The parameters that can be modified include: flow, roughness, diameter, water depths, pump on/off levels, well volume and speed factor, weir crest and surface elevation, discharge coefficient and length, and orifice area coefficient.

Additional control properties include Start and Stop time of the control, ramp times and maximum and minimum values. Operators can be concatenated with Boolean operators, and parameters can be compared with other sensors or with absolute values. Real time control can be activated during certain hours of the day, and control can turn on and/or off over a user-defined time period.

XP Viewer
With xpviewer, your clients and other stakeholders associated with your project will have the ability to view and interrogate an encrypted version of your xpstorm models. The xpviewer program allows all software functions except the ability to change, export and solve the model. Therefore your stakeholders can view model animations, query and print the model results and participate in the model development and approval process without being required to purchase a license from XP Software.

This is an excellent tool for those customers who wish to share their model with others within or without the organization who do not already own a license of the software, but wish to view the model(s) results. Since the model cannot be changed or resolved with xpviewer the integrity of the created model is preserved. Encryption of an xpstorm model is made possible by upgrading your license with this powerful add-on. The model author then forwards electronically or by CD the encrypted model and results to the third party. The xpviewer can be downloaded from our website by the third party or the installation program provided by the model author with the encrypted model.

How it Works

• A license holder of xpstorm purchases the xpviewer add-on module (encryptor) for their license.
• The modeler creates and runs their model to their satisfaction.
• The modeler then “encrypts” the model and sends appropriate encrypted files to the interested parties, along with xpviewer reader (download from this website is available). Please note that the xpviewer reader version sent should match the version of xpstorm that was used to create the model, including Service Packs.
• The receiving party installs the xpviewer reader (and necessary Service Packs). They can then open the model files sent to them and look at the model as if they have their own license.

The following includes basic technical information about xpstorm. For a full description of all aspects of the program, please see our full Technical Description.

Hydrology
xpstorm simulates the complete hydrologic cycle in rural and urban watersheds. Beginning with single or multiple rainfall events, it models flows through collection and conveyance systems to the final outfalls. All hydrologic processes including snowmelt, evaporation, infiltration, surface ponding and ground-surface water exchanges are included in the model.

Rainfall
Users may select either design or actual storm events. Rainfall hyetographs may be linked to a model using offline files or assigned from a global list to catchments. Continuous simulation can be used to evaluate Hydromodification and model catchment response to long term rainfall records while including multiple rainfall stations.

Design storms for any duration and return period may be created from a library of rainfall patterns that includes:

• SCS Types: I, IA, II, II Florida Modified, III, B
• Huff Distributions
• Chicago Storm
• AR&R temporal patterns
• UK Summer and Winter Storm Patterns
• Storms from localised templates
• User defined distributions

Each subcatchment can reference a separate hyetograph enabling the modeling of radar rainfall data, localized storm events or the timing of the hyetographs can be adjusted to simulate movement of a storm across a watershed.

Runoff
There are numerous methods available for computing storm runoff hydrographs for event or continuous simulations. These include:

• Non-linear Runoff Routing (US EPA Runoff Method)
• Laurenson’s Non Linear Runoff Routing (RAFTS)
• SCS Unit Hydrographs using a Curve Number with curvilinear or triangular hydrographs
• Kinematic Wave
• Clark Unit Hydrograph
• Snyder Unit Hydrograph
• Alameda County Snyder and Rational Methods
• Nash Unit Hydrograph
• Santa Barbara Urban Hydrograph
• Time Area
• Rational Method
• LA County Modified Rational Method
• Sacramento and Nolte Hydrograph Methods
• Colorado Urban Hydrograph Procedure (CUHP)
• EPA RTK Unit Hydrograph for RDII
• 5 UK Methods: Variable PR, Wallingford, ReFH, FEH and FSR

Non-Linear Runoff Routing
The primary runoff hydrograph generation method is the EPA SWMM non-linear runoff method. Overland flow hydrographs are generated by a routing procedure using Manning’s equation and a lumped continuity equation. Surface roughness and depression storage for pervious and impervious area parameters further describe the catchment. The subcatchment width parameter is related to the collection length of overland flow and is easily calculated based on the watershed area. Urban, suburban and rural areas of any size may be simulated using non-linear reservoir routing.

The unit hydrograph methods such as SCS, SBUH, Rational, etc. are primarily used for single event simulations. The SWMM runoff method is a deterministic hydrologic method suitable for comprehensive analysis and design including the simulation of LID (WSUD) using catchment surface redirection capabilities.

Hydraulics
The xpstorm hydraulics engine solves the complete St. Venant (Dynamic Flow) equations for gradually varied, one dimensional, unsteady flow throughout the drainage network. The calculation accurately models backwater effects, flow reversal, surcharging, pressure flow and tidal outfalls and interconnected ponds. The model allows for looped networks, multiple outfalls and accounts for storage in conduits. Flow can be routed u sing kinematic or diffusive wave methods.

xpstorm uses a proprietary dynamic wave routing procedure. The solution method is inherently stable and has a fast run time by using a self modifying time step. Throughout the simulation, the time step is adjusted to insure stability and flow balance. There are several techniques available to improve the performance of the calculation engine. Additional simulation parameters allow optimization of the solution. They include:

• Global settings for minor losses, flow multipliers, roughness factors
• Courant time step factors
• User defined fixed and relative tolerances
• MInimum time step
• Automatic modification of short conduits

EPA SWMM
With the EPA SWMM add-on module, your xpstorm model can be calculated using the EPA SWMM5 engine. The input file (.inp) and output file (.rpt) are generated when this option is invoked. After solving xpstorm‘s time series graphic result tools are used to display results. For compatibility with older EPA SWMM models the three Version 4 solutions are also available in xpstorm.

2D Engine
The 2D portion of xpstorm (xp2D) is based on the TUFLOW program developed by WBM Oceanics Australia and The University of Queensland. xp2D has incorporated the TUFLOW engine into a user-friendly graphical interface which walks the user through pre-processing of input data and the calculation of the model. Read more about xp2D.

Water Quality
xpstorm with the Water Quality module simulates the buildup and washoff of contaminants (non-point sources) in catchments, the direct entry of pollutants into sewers (point sources), transport through collection and conveyance systems and the treatment of stormwater and wastewater by natural processes and engineered devices.

Buildup and Washoff
The buildup of any pollutant in a subcatchment may be modeled using the US EPA time dependent Dust and Dirt model. Buildup parameters may be assigned for each pollutant and land use combination in the watershed.

Washoff during rainfall events may be modeled using:

• Event Mean Concentration (EMC)
• Exponential: dependent on flow and availability
• Rating curve: relates concentration to flow

Erosion
The erosion load can be modeled using the Modified Universal Soil Loss Equation (MUSLE). These results are then presented with the total washoff rate for constituents such as TSS.

Sediment in Pipes
Residual bottom sediment in the pipes may be scoured and deposited again due to the flushing action of the conduit velocity. Scout and deposition is simulated in all conduits in the system.

Water Quality Routing in Conduits
Quality routing is performed by advection and complete mixing in conduits. Each constituent may be subjected to first order decay during the routing process. The decay of one constituent has no effect on other constituents present.

Water Quality Modeling in Storage Units
Quality routing is performed as plug flow or complete mixing in storage units. Storage and treatment devices are simulated as a series and/or parallel network of units each with optional flow-storage routing using the modified Puls method.

The treatment simulation uses either user-defined removal equations or sedimentation theory coupled with particle size-specific gravity distribution for constituents. The user may enter any valid equation to describe the treatment of the various constituents and xpstorm will parse this equation and apply it to the simulation. This treatment train can be simulated in all the models allowing it to represent typical SuDS (BMP and LID) structures and practices.

BMP Analysis
Best Management Practices (BMPs) or Low Impact Development (LID) strategies may be simulated using the above procedures in xpstorm. The model will quantify the effect of the treatment technology in terms of reduced flow (peak or total volume) and contaminant load. Typical BMP and LID strategies simulated by xpstorm are:

• Rain gardens
• Green roofs
• Rain barrels
• Street sweeping
• Infiltration trenches
• Dry detention basins
• Wet ponds
• Swales
• Porous pavement
• Filter strips

In addressing sewer overflow problems, the software can identify the volume of spillage, flooding and the concentration of any pollutants or sediment build-up. The modeler may evaluate solutions such as storage, treatment and real-time control adjustments to prevent system failure.

Data Use
xpstorm‘s graphical environment allows the modeler to create and modify the network interactively on the screen using a mouse and graphic tools. Convenient wizards guide the user through a range of required tasks such as importing external data. The internal knowledge-base “intelligently” reviews the input to prevent incorrect or inconsistent network structures or data from being created.

Background Layers
xpstorm allows the user to layout the network over a CAD (.DXF or .DWG) drawing or a GIS layer (.SHP or .MIF). The ability to include a background image also includes digital pictures such as .ECW, MrSID, .BMP, .JPG, .TIF files.

GIS Integration
xpstorm is streamlined to utilize GIS and CAD data for modeling. It has the ability to display raster and vector files as background images from commercial drawing and GIS applications without the purchase of additional software or runtime licenses.

With its integrated GIS link, xpstorm enables you to exchange data with other external databases such as ArcGIS, MapInfo, Asset Management Software, Access and Excel or any other ODBC compliant database.

xpstorm‘s layer control panel allows the management of geospatial data sets including visualization and direct import of geometric objects such as polygons, polylines and points to the appropriate layer.

CAD Connect
Both .DXF and .DWG CAD files may be added to any model and used as a spatial reference or for importing points, lines and polygons as xpstorm model objects. The display of any layer in the CAD file can be toggled on/off. Completed models can be exported as .DXF files. LandXML import can also be selected to create DTM and pipe networks from many CAD and GIS programs.

View Results

Animations
Model results for the entire simulation period may be viewed in any profile, plan or section view. The display of the animation is controlled by a set of DVR like buttons. At any time step the animation may be printed or exported as a graphic file. In the case of 2D animations the user can create .AVI videos of the network plan view to share with other stake holders.

Dynamic Plan Plotting
The results may also be replaced on the plan view with the size and color of the nodes and links changing to reflect changes in the flow, velocity and depth during the simulation period. Instantaneous direction of flow is also indicated and flooded nodes turn red and display water marks.

Scaled plan drawings, including the base map of information, may be generated and output to .DXF files, printers and plotters.

Dynamic Section Views
The results may also be replayed on a multi-panel view presenting a profile, cross sections and hydrographs. Dynamic Sections can be constructed for a single link or contiguous segment of the network.

Dynamic Long Section
A long section or profile for any contiguous segment of the network may be selected for animation of the HGL. The profile displays pipe, manhole geometry, maximum water levels and HGL over the course of the simulation. XP Tables can also be shown in conjunction with this view allowing data editing and results query. Multiple conduits can be shown when dual drainage is being modeled.

Spatial Reports
Spatial reports of model data and simulation results can be shown onscreen. A box, bracket or drop shadow attached to the link or node will show items such as the peak flow and conduit diameter (select from several hundred available fields). Model results may also be shown in conjunction with thematic plotting or graphical encoding in which the color and size of the links and nodes is dependent on the model data or results.

System Requirements

xpstorm is designed to work on your desktop PC. Requirements for computer power are dependent on the size and complexity of your model, length of simulation, time and other control settings. The following table should be used as a guide:

Minimum Requirements:
Processor: Pentium II
RAM: 512 MB
Operating System: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 (32 or 64 bit)
Hard Disk: 500MB
Display: 1024 x 768 24 bit color
Video card: 64 MB RAM, Vertex shader version 1.0 or greater. Pixel shader version 1.4 or greater. DirectX 9.0

Recommended:
Processor: Multi Core
RAM: 4GB
Operating System: Windows 7 (32 or 64 bit)
Hard Disk: 100+ GB Solid State Hard Drive
Display: 1920 x 1200 32 bit color
Video card: 512 MB RAM, Vertex shader version 1.0 or greater. Pixel shader version 2.0 or greater. DirectX 9.0