Aquaveo & Water Resources Engineering News

Datasets in SMS can be rendered as either scalar or vector data. Furthermore, SMS allows you to convert datasets between scalar and vector using either a right-click menu command or the Dataset Toolbox.

In the Project Explorer, the icon next to the dataset will show if it is a scalar or a vector dataset. In SMS, scalar datasets typically represent water surface elevation, depth, and magnitude. Vector datasets typically represent flow velocities and observed wind fields in the area.

When converting a scalar dataset to a vector dataset, two scalar datasets are needed. The scalar datasets need to be either magnitude and direction data, or x and y components. When converting vector data to scalar data, the result will be one or more datasets.

Converting Datasets with the Right-Click Menu

To convert a vector dataset to a scalar dataset, do the following:

1. Right-click on the desired vector dataset in the Project Explorer.
2. Select Vector to Scalars.
3. After the dialog appears, options are available for the specification of either magnitude and direction or x and y components for the resulting scalar datasets.

To convert scalar dataset to a vector dataset, do the following:

1. Select two scalar datasets: either magnitude and direction or x and y components.
2. Right-click and select Scalars to Vectors.
3. In the dialog that appears, confirm that the components have been assigned correctly.

Note that if only one scalar dataset is selected, another dialog will appear asking you to select the second scalar dataset.

Converting Datasets with the Dataset Toolbox

The Dataset Toolbox can also be used to convert scalar datasets into vector datasets or vector datasets to scalar datasets. To do this:

1. Click on the dataset in the Project Explorer to make it active.
2. Select Data | Dataset Toolbox... This will bring up the Dataset Toolbox where options will be made available that are relative to the altering of the dataset.
3. Navigate to the Tools section of the dialog and select either Scalar to Vector or Vector to Scalar.
4. For the Scalar to Vector tool, select the dataset components to use.
5. For the Vector to Scalar tool, select whether you want the dataset to be magnitude and velocity, or x and y components in the Options section of the dialog.

The Dataset Toolbox also contains many other tools. Try them out in SMS today!

CityWater allows managing your water distribution network models. As an online application, it allows individuals across the organization to visualize, reference, and analyze existing models in a familiar map-based browser environment while maintaining the data integrity of the model.

When viewing the project details, the Export tab allows three different files to be exported for your use in other applications: a Report Map Shapefile, a Network Map Shapefile, and an EPANET Input File.

The Report Map Shapefile allows you to select the Variable and Time options to include in the file. For Variable, you can select from head, pressure, quality (links), quality (nodes), demand, pressure swing, velocity, or headloss. The time options include average, minimum, or maximum. Based on the selections, a shapefile with those options will be exported when you click the Export Report Map button.

The Export Network Map button under the Network Map Shapefile option will export a shapefile of the network map, including all the links/pipes, nodes/junctions, and other features. This can then be imported into WMS or any other application that works with distribution networks.

The final option, EPANET Input File, creates an EPANET input file that can be used in any application that can import it. This plain text file contains all the pipe networks information, including pipes, nodes (junctions), pumps, valves, storage tanks, and reservoirs. It also contains additional project and preference information used by the EPANET desktop application.

An additional option allows you to save the current view when in the Map view:

1. Adjust the map view to how you want it
2. Right-click anywhere on the map and select Save image as…

This will automatically save the current map view as “download.png” in your downloads location on your computer.

Try out these export features today by logging in at https://portal.aquaveo.com/. If you don’t have an account, use "trycitywater" as the username and password to see an example project.

You can also learn more about using CityWater by watching our tutorial videos.

As many of us work in a collaborative environment, sharing projects becomes essential. When sharing a GMS project, it is not as simple as sending over just the GMS project group file (*.gpr) project file. GMS projects are stored in multiple separate files that work together. When sharing a GMS project, it is important to include all of the necessary files.

GMS projects are saved as a project group file (*.gpr). This file saves feature objects, projection data, data objects and other general settings. However, it only references many other aspects of a project that are contained in separate files. It will reference the location of all external files such as shapefiles (*.shp, *.dbf, *.prj, etc.), images, CAD files, grid files, etc. When sharing a GPR file, the file needs to be able to locate these external files. Ideally, these files should be located in the same folder as the GPR file. This is why it is recommended to zip all the project files together before you send it out to be shared.

When your project contains a MODFLOW model, it is important to know that GMS saves the MODFLOW project in separate files. For example, each package saved as a different file. Rivers (*.riv), drains (*.drn), wells (*.wel), streams (*.str), recharge (.rch), etc. are all different packages with different file extensions. Sending over just the package file, such as only sending a wells file, is not much use as GMS will likely be unable to open it.

Along with the MODFLOW package files, GMS will need the MODFLOW name file (*.mfn). This file allows GMS to build the MODFLOW project when it is imported. All other input and output MODFLOW files should be included when sharing your GMS project.

Note that many files will be saved in a folder created next to the GPR file. Files in the folder should be left there and the entire folder should be moved with the GPR file. GMS saves the relative location of files included in the project.

When sharing your GMS project, keeping all of the necessary files together can save the person receiving the project a lot of frustration. For more about GMS file formats, be sure to check out the GMS articles on the XMSWiki and start sharing your GMS projects today!

After creating a mesh in SMS, you may want to share the data in the mesh as a raster file. For example, you might want to convert the water elevation or velocity dataset from a model run into a raster. Raster files can be opened by many programs and can contain a lot of useful information.

While a raster cannot be created directly from the Mesh module, it can be created from other modules, so the mesh data will need to be converted. To do this:

1. In the Project Explorer, select the mesh you want to convert to a raster.
2. Right-click and select Convert | Mesh to 2D Scatter.
3. In the Convert Mesh to Scatter Points dialog, use the Convert only corner nodes option and give the scatter set a name.

After the mesh has been converted to a scatter set, a couple more things have to be done. The datasets, except for the elevation set, will need to then be interpolated over to the scatter set.

1. In the Project Explorer, right-click on the mesh and select Interpolate to command.
2. In the Interpolation Options dialog, select the datasets to interpolate over to the scatter set generated from the Mesh.

Once the mesh and datasets have been converted to the Scatter module, they can be converted to a raster by doing the following:

1. Select the dataset and time step to be converted.
2. In the Project Explorer, right-click and select Convert | Scatter to Raster.
3. Select raster options in the Interpolate Scatter to Raster dialog.
4. Give the raster a file name and save it as a GeoTIFF.

When going through this process, the active dataset and the active time step at the time of the conversion will be the information saved to the GeoTIFF file.

Feel free to try out the above process of converting a mesh dataset to a raster file in SMS today!