I am trying to use the stay dry KMZ from FEMA but it’s not working. And when I go to the website it’s down, is this a permanent change or is it down for maintenance?

I am doing my undergrad in environmental engineering and right now my professional interests reside in more hydrology/limnology (e.i., monitoring, water bodies development, watershed modeling, water chemistry and physical characterization). Even though a bachelor's in EE sets you up for water resources, which does overlap with hydrology, I feel that the EE degree doesn't go reach past water resources into hydrology. So I have been considering doing a master's in hydrology so I can develop a hydrology skill set (or at least show promise towards developing one) towards my aforementioned interests. Essentially, I wonder if a master's would help land me a job in that area, like at a environmental consulting firm, rather than doing wastewater treatment or a similar common entry-level EE job for +5 years. I understand that I could definitely build up to having a strong hydrology background through work, but I wonder if a master's would get me closer to a position that aligns with my interests sooner than if I just had an EE degree and a couple internships.

Hi! I am trying to set up an outdoor live water monitoring station. Our monitoring equipment is a HOBO MX800 Series logger that connects to an app via bluetooth. We are looking to broadcast its readouts on a screen that is durable enough to withstand the elements outside (so not an ipad or smart tv) that is capable of displaying the logger information. Does anybody know of something that would work for this? Or has anybody done anything similar? Thanks!

I posted this post on the QGIS reddit and some people were interested, and I think this might be useful for you hydrologists, so I thought it would be useful to post it here too.

Hello! I created a plugin to help QGIS users and meet an old demand, which is to create a graph/data with the elevation, area and volume relationship of a DEM. The plugin is called Surface Water Storage. It also calculates the flooded area, based on a parameter from the elevation-area-volume graph.

For more details, visit the plugin's github: https://github.com/JoaoVitorPimenta/qgis-plugin-surface-water-storageThe link to download the plugin from the official QGIS repository is: https://plugins.qgis.org/plugins/surface_water_storage/The plugin was created with the help of Plugin Builder and uses python libraries (which are already contained in QGIS), I strongly recommend reading the documentation. If you have any questions or opinions, I am at your disposal.

I am attempting to run a dam breach. The set up is very simple: a storage area and a 2D mesh connected by a SA/2D connection. The 2D mesh has been calculated to have 30 by 30 cells. There are no breaklines, refinement regions, or anything added to the 2D mesh. The SA/2D connection has a RC outline curve in the GIS editor.

I have inputted storage vs. elevation in the storage area and RC curve in the connection

I am trying to breach the connection. Here are the errors I am receiving:

Error completing geometry for computations:

Arithmetic operation resulted in an overflow.

Geometry Writer Failed

Error Processing Geometry

This is what I have tried/looked at:

- My terrain does not have nul values

- My 2D mesh is in my terrain

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thank you in advance for any information you can provide. Live downslope from a city tank. Water tests show 0.12 mg/l residual chlorine, 550,000 ug/l chloride, 212 ug/l of iron and 18.1 ug/l of manganese. Is this indicative of anything? Seems to be city source to me but I am a novice at this. Thanks again very much.

Hello. Plz bear with me. (Its interesting) I am a civil engineering working in hydrology filed. My question is related to the method used for runoff generation from rainfall for irrigation dams with no perennial flows. We take historic daily rainfall data and for each day we calculate runoff using the well known SCS CN formula. But as obvious, antecedent moisture conditions play role. For runoff generation for particular day, we look at previous 5 days rainfall. If this 5days rainfall, P<34mm we take CN 1, if 34<P<56mm we take CN 2, If P>56 we take CN 3. (applied hydrology ven te chow) However recently i was reading NEH Part 4 which says this method might not reflect actual field conditions ie the relation between CN and Antecedent moisture conditions is not straight forward

So whats the alternative.

1. what causes the formation of a crusty top on untouched snow?

2. if the air is cold and DRY enough can that crusty top reconvert to light powder?

Thanks

Hi there! I am working on developing flow exceedance probabilities for my ungaged project site.

I have a table of flow exceedance probabilities for a stream gage that is considerably upstream of my project location. Would it be statistically incorrect to prorate these exceedance values to my project site, based on the two drainage areas?

I know this is a standard practice for daily flow estimation for ungaged sites, but not sure if it can also be applied to statistics such as exceedance flows.

Ty in advance!

I am interviewing for jobs as either a Hydrogelogist or Water Resources Engineer but know that eventually the salary conversation will be had. I’m not sure if I fall within an entry level salary range or mid-level salary range.

I have about 5 years of environmental consulting experience before I decided to go back to school and get my master’s in Hydroscience and Engineering - essentially a full career pivot. I am definitely not an entry level “worker” but can’t help but feel that the only jobs I can be qualified for are for entry level positions. Is this a justified worry?

If I am only qualified for entry level roles in terms of “hydrology/water resources engineering experience”, does my former consulting experience and Master’s degree allow me to ask for a salary beyond the listed range?

I live in Massachusetts and was thinking about negotiating for $105,000 but am feeling an intense amount of imposter syndrome. Would be grateful for any input.

Hello, I'm exploring the possibility of sourcing water from an untapped or underutilized natural spring in the U.S. for a new beverage business. I'm looking for guidance or potential consultations with experienced hydrologists, geologists, or anyone familiar with identifying and evaluating natural springs Specifically, I'd like advice on: • Effective methods or tools for locating potential springs (e.g., geological surveys satellite imaging, or remote sensing) • Areas in the U.S. that may still have untapped or underdeveloped natural springs. • How to evaluate a spring's sustainability and suitability for commercial use If anyone has experience in this area or can point me in the direction of relevant resources or experts, I'd greatly appreciate it. Feel free to comment here or ĐM me directly! Thanks in advance!

Selling a family home in Georgia and was shocked at the FirstStreet data, particular "100-year" map showing inundation of property. Now, I know that elsewhere this has been discussed, but I have a specific question about inundation and movement of water and, well, gravity. The attached graphic shows the property inundated with "3+" feet of water. But what I mainly found curious is that the water somehow climbs a 100 foot ravine to about 1411 ft without inundating lower elevations. Is this possible? Look at elevations in yellow. This graphic and the way FirstStreet presents its data is so incredibly misleading. The FEMA Zone A map shows the home on the property outside of flood zone and the home (which has always had a mortgage) has never require flood insurance. And, with 40 years of gnarly rain events, tropical storms and hurricanes has never even come closed to flooding. In any event, I'm mainly concerned as to whether I'm reading this graphic correctly and understanding gravity and the way water moves.

Image from FloodFactor on Zillow

Graphic shows location of actual home outside of FEMA Flood Zone A

Hi all,

I did my PhD in water and data analytics. I have started a consultancy/company in the same area. I have also worked in industry for last 2.5 y. I observed that there is a significant difference between research and the industry in hydrology. For example, consider the filed of non revenue water - one of the hot fields right now in industry but very rarely researchers are working on it.

According to you, what fields would be in demand like 🔥 in industry in the next 10 years? And do you think that researchers are working on the same?

Hi all hoping someone can help me narrow down the source of constant water on my lot. Chemical testing showed the following for metals. Is this the sign of a metal tank near the property or could it be something else. Really appreciate the help.

I am tasked with calculating the runoff coefficient for a rather large drainage area (50+ acres). Using Carlson Hydrology, I was able to create an index of all the HSGs and their respective coverages. My PM has requested that I adjust my calculations to account for the slope of the regions (i.e., 0-2%, 2-6%, 6%+).

I can easily create the slope zones. My concern, however, is that calculating the areas of the slope regions while ensuring they align with the correct HSGs is going to be very tedious.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

I'm encountering a discrepancy between real-world observations and my SWMM model results for a 30-acre site stormwater system. Here's the situation:

Real-world conditions:

• The site's maintenance supervisor confirms no flooding or ponding issues in the past 30 years
• Site is approximately 85% impervious
• Multiple subsystems are present

Model setup:

• Using SWMM with SCS loss method
• Over 30 sub-basins modeled
• Approximately 4,000 linear feet of conduits
• Model has been checked for errors and parameters verified

Issue: The model shows immediate conduit surcharging in certain areas and predicts ponding at multiple locations, which contradicts the documented site history. I've verified my model setup, but the discrepancy persists.

Has anyone encountered similar situations where SWMM predicts flooding in areas with no historical flooding issues? How did you resolve this disconnect between model results and site observations?

Thanks in advance.

[OBS: After careful adjustments and following the tips of the comments below, my model is working. Thank you!]

Hello folks, I don`t know if someone can help me...

Basically I`m modelling a project on HECRAS and the solver on unsteady conditions is diverging on finding a solution. On some crossections, the water level gets extremely high and then go back to a real acceptable level. Every time I run the model again, the crossections with instabilities (extremely high water level) changes (picture as example below)

My model has: one dam (inline structure) and one river (reach). Considerably difference of altitute (high slope, its in a mountain range). I`m not breaching the dam yet.

I set up the boundary conditions as:
First River Station (upstream): Flow Hydrograph (data that I have already)
Inline Structure River Station (middlestream): T.S Gate Openings (gates opens quickly (in 3 hours) and the keeps opened)
Last River Station (downstream): Normal Depth (slope 0.0002, it`s plain on the end)

The solver shows the following status:
Minimum error exceeds allowable tolerance at 31DEC2024 00:30:00

Dam_1 Reach 1 406

***** Warning! Extrapolated above Cross Section Table at: *****

(The extrapolation may have been caused by model instability)

Reach 1 R.S. 1363

Overall Volume Accounting Error in 1000 m^3: 3989529.

Overall Volume Accounting Error as percentage: 307886.

Unsteady Flow Simulation Terminated

Reading Unsteady Data for Post Process...

Simulation went unstable at: 31DEC2024 00:31:00

In this run, crossections 1363, 1441, 1510, 1580 and 1671 had problems and extreme water levels. But if I run again, it will change which and how many cross sections will break and get instabilities.

Any help will be  tremendously appreciated.

Estoy intentando hacer la modelacion hidraulica de un río con el ras mapper, usando un modelo digital del terreno obtenido en paginas oficiales de españa y que ya he usado antes, y alli parece estar todo bien, pero cuando lo importo a editar geometría en hec ras me salen las junctions en otra ubicacion y las elevaciones de las cross section me salen sin sentido, en un terreno que varia entre los 600 y 700m, algunas partes de las cross section salen a 60.000m y a 6.000.000m

Currently doing a surface run-off analysis in a small watershed (for my thesis). Instead of Precipitation gage, I'm using ERA5 hourly data (Precip, Temp, Solar). But somehow my basin cells doesn't detect the precip data, all of them are missing data.So far my workflow for importing ERA5 are:

1. Import .nc4 or .grib2 data using import wizard or HEC-Vortex
2. .dss setting are > UTM50S (match my terrain data) > override data type to PER-CUM.
3. Create grid component > Then I validate grid data which return as valid. I also opened the .dss in HEC-DSS Vue which looks pretty normal
4. With other parameters are filled (Loss, transform, discr, etc), I created run using the same Met and Basin Model
5. The Run returned with errors that cells in subbasins cannot find the precipitation data. so far I have tried:
   • Clipped the .dss file with my subbasins.
   • Transpose the Met Model to match the clipped .dss storm center
   • Override the unit in .dss file4. Filling Part A (grid system) and Part B (watershed name) in import wizard
   • importing the nc4 with default setting as in SHG grid system and 2000 cell size
   • Forcing my terrain data using SHG or NAD83 / Albert Conus CRS reprojection (now somehow I can't delineate in HMS)If anyone can kindly answer or give reference (currently dwelling on HMS manual and Tim Nelson HMS Video)

Sorry if this is the wrong sub, I’ve posted in civil engineering as well. This might be niche but I am looking to move to Copenhagen and civil engineers are in Denmarks positives list.

I have about 4 years experience and have a CFM certification, in a few months I’ll be PE certified but I know that doesn’t mean as much over there.

A question I have is 1) what is the proper term for this job/position type? I’ve seen a few options but I am mostly skilled in the storm water, flood study, SSA modeling realm involving surface water. Is there a more specified role for this type of work I should be searching for? Would I be Miljøingeniør ? Or civilingeniør? Or does it even matter/both apply? I was in land development 3 years before I switch about a year ago if that matters or helps things, meaning I know both the straight civil and WR side of the industry.

Additionally since I’m not seeing salaries posted on everything, what is the proper salary expectation of someone with my experience having 4 years living in Copenhagen proper?

Is there anything recommended that could make me stand out? For example, if I’m in the midst of getting my masters, does that count for something or does it only matter once the degree is complete? Are there any good websites that have job postings with better interfaces/less volume than LinkedIn? (I only know English and I do not have an EU passport which I obviously know is a set back and huge limiting factor as I’ll require sponsorship. I know there are hardships getting employed as an immigrant abroad, not knowing the language, etc. I’m not an idiot and know the hurdles and want to give it a try considering the type of job is on the positives list and fulfill a sincere dream of living abroad in my 20s.)

Anyways any tips advice appreciated!

If anyone has any experience being a an American WR/Civil working abroad, please comment or DM your experiences. I’d love to chat.

I'm asking here, since UNR seems like an important school for hydrology, and hopefully someone here can answer these.

My friend applied and got a PhD opportunity in Hydrology, desert research institute (DRI). They would like to know a few things:

1. Do they allow rotation (working under different profs for few weeks to choose one)
2. Can they switch their advisor if there's a problem?
3. How is the work-life balance, and pace of work there? Are students forced to work off-hours and on weekends all the time?

Thank you in advance!

How does this community view flood maps and ratings from First Street? I've noticed some properties are not in FEMA flood zones, but First Street's flood ratings are high.

How accurate is First Street? More accurate than FEMA? Do you see more companies and agencies putting more weight on First Street in the future?

Hello everyone,

I have a hydrogeological map, but I’m completely unfamiliar with how to read it. I would really appreciate it if someone could help me understand whether any specific areas might be a potential source of water contamination based on the currents and flow patterns shown on the map.

I am not looking for a detailed analysis, just a general understanding of whether there could be risks related to water pollution based on the map’s information.

If anyone has experience with hydrogeological maps or could point me in the right direction, I would be incredibly grateful!

On the left side of the map, there’s a black dot which indicates a potential contamination source, while on the right side, there’s a water source. I’m looking for guidance on whether the currents shown suggest that the contamination might affect the water source.

Thank you in advance!

The pin is possibly a home that I am looking to buy. It is right next to a creek and 7/10 flood risk on Zillow. Can someone help me understand this FEMA flood map? Thank you

https://preview.redd.it/dovlp3nz62ee1.png?width=1774&format=png&auto=webp&s=01a4a4a46f407bb8c6f4461e328087739cef89e0

Hi Guys!

I'm working on a river model for turbidity and sediment transport on Rstudio, and I've been struggling to get my mass balance to work. The goal is to compare the inflow, outflow, and storage over time, but the numbers just don't add up. I'm wondering if anyone can spot what's wrong with my calculations or suggest a better approach.

#Here's the code I'm using for the mass balance check:
# Mass balance check
delta_t <- diff(times)[1]
inflow <- sum(sapply(times, upCfct) * segment_discharge * delta_t)
outflow <- sum(out[nrow(out), ncol(out)-1] * segment_discharge * delta_t)
store <- sum(out[nrow(out), -ncol(out)] * segment_lengths[-length(segment_lengths)] * A)

cat("Inflow:", inflow, "\nOutflow + Storage:", outflow + store, "\n")

out being a dataframe showing sediment concentration for each time step and river segment id. upCfct is giving a concentration at each time step as in input upstream.

For example, inflow is 194.9779, but (outflow + storage) is 194697.1. And that is for segment_discharge and segment_velocity consistent over the river network, so A (which is the cross-sectional area) is also the same for each river segment (and segment_lengths, also the same).

Could anyone point out what might be going wrong, or offer suggestions for how to fix it? I would greatly appreciate any insights or ideas on how to approach this!

Thanks in advance!

Elo :)

Hey guys has anybody used mod-flow on mac os using parallels or a virtual windows machine? If yes how it was it?

Hi, I am using shapefiles to create reaches and subbasins as I haven't had any success with the delineating tool. This is my first time using HecHMS, and I am not sure if I draw all the creeks in the catchment or do you just draw the main ones?

Was flying my drone during the recent snowfall and I didn't notice the patterns on my Radio Control. But I did notice when I got back home and started editing. Can anyone tell me what caused these?

Any suggestions for a beginner? I.e. particular YouTube videos, manuals, etc

Thank you!

I'm an undergraduate senior majoring in environmental science but I'm especially interested in hydrology and remote sensing. This subreddit has been a great source for information so far, but my concern is that not having a formal engineering degree bars me from many of the entry-level jobs as a hydrologist.

My relevant skillset includes a combination of Python (mostly automating workflows, data visualization), GIS, Excel, hydrologic fieldwork (administering cross-section and stream speed measurements), and HEC-HMS. I'm also very familiar with websites like ModelMyWatershed NOAA Atlas 14. I'm wondering if entry-level positions which use these skills exist, or if this is exclusively open to experienced professionals.

Is it realistic for me to continue searching for entry-level positions in hydrology with the goal of eventually getting a master's in hydrology or environmental/civil engineering? As I said, I don't have a formal education in engineering or hydrology, but more broad coursework covering geology, remote sensing, surficial processes, and hydrology. I have a very good advisor with lots of connections and experience in the field, but I'm interested in second opinions regardless.