Introducing event data

Step-by-step guide

In InfoWorks ICM, the data for simulations comes from events, either individually or as combinations of events.

An event contains a single set of hydrological or hydraulic data that varies with time, such as a rainfall record or a prediction of domestic wastewater inflow.

Event data can occur in either upstream or downstream boundary conditions. Upstream boundaries commonly consist of inflows into the network, either directly through an inflow event or indirectly through rainfall events applied to subcatchments. Downstream boundaries control how the flow leaves the model.

These are the event types supported in InfoWorks ICM:

• Rainfall - rainfall intensities for a particular storm and associated data, whether designed or observed
• Level - level hydrographs applied to outfalls or 2D Boundaries
• Inflow - inflow hydrographs
• Pollutograph - time-varying pollutant and sediment concentration and potency profiles for inflows
• Waste Water - 24-hour domestic wastewater profiles based on per-capita flow
• Trade Waste - 24-hour trade profiles
• Ground Infiltration - time-varying infiltration values for groundwater storage level to be included in the Ground Infiltration Model
• Regulator - time-varying profiles used to control regulator structures

Events can be added manually, imported from a variety of data sources, or in some cases, generated using a hydrologic boundary model, built into InfoWorks ICM, such as a design rainfall generator. Event data can also be exported to InfoWorks or CSV formats.

To create an event:

1. In the Explorer window, right-click the Model Group and select New InfoWorks.
2. In the flyout, select an event type, such as Rainfall event.

Event data can also be imported from a variety of formats, such as spreadsheets or CSV files:

3. Right-click the Model Group and for this example, select Import InfoWorks > Rainfall event > from InfoWorks format CSV file.
4. In the Open dialog box, select a file to import—here, 2001 Typical Year_Evap.csv.
5. Click Open.
6. Once an event has been created or imported, in the Explorer window, right-click the event and choose Open to open the appropriate editor for the event type.

For some event types, choosing Open as > Graph opens a graphical representation of the event data.

7. From the Event Editor, view and edit event data, if needed.
8. Right-click a cell for more options, such as opening Profile Properties or here, Sub-Event Properties.

A sub-event is a single occurrence that can be isolated in time. A sub-event is made up of one or more profiles—a series of time-varying data values applicable to a particular measurement point.

Once the model network and model event data are set up with network and boundary conditions, models can be run to analyze the results.