Technical Workshop: A Hands-on Workshop for the EPA Stormwater Management Model 

Sunday, May 18, 2025 | 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
(RSVP only | Lunch on own)

7.0 PDHs (due to hour lunch break)

The developers of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) at the Office of Research and Development (ORD) and partners are pleased to offer a hands-on workshop focused on the SWMM model at this year's ASCE conference. This full-day workshop is designed for students, engineers, researchers, and professionals in the field of stormwater/wastewater management who seek to deepen their understanding of SWMM and its applications in real-world scenarios.

The workshop will cover a broad range of topics, starting with an overview of EPA SWMM and a review of case studies that highlight its practical applications. Participants will engage in model setup exercises, focusing on simple open channel networks, and will explore SWMM5’s hydrology and hydraulics features in depth.

The workshop will also delve into stormwater management strategies for new developments, including green stormwater infrastructure and low-impact development modeling. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the latest features and future vision for EPA SWMM, and the day will conclude with a workshop wrap-up that ties together the key concepts and applications discussed. In addition to the core content, bonus material will be available for those interested in further exploration.

This includes lectures on water quality, model calibration, proposed pipe, and storage/pump improvements, as well as local demonstrations on rainfall and runoff analysis, long-term continuous simulation, and snowmelt and groundwater model setup. This workshop will be an informative and interactive experience, providing attendees with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively utilize SWMM in their future projects.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this abstract are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or the policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; therefore, no official endorsement should be inferred.

Technical Workshop: Water Hammer - Transient Modeling 

Sunday, May 18, 2025 | 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
(RSVP only)
Laptops Required for Participation

4.0 PDHs

Building on the foundational understanding of hydraulic transients and their potential risks to water systems, this session will delve deeper into advanced modeling techniques and practical surge protection strategies. Participants will revisit the numerical methods of transient modeling, exploring their application in more complex scenarios. The focus will shift towards enhancing model accuracy and overcoming the inherent challenges posed by system non-linearity and operational dynamics.

New case studies will be introduced, providing insight into the application of surge protection devices in diverse system configurations. Special attention will be given to optimizing the design and selection of protection strategies for both existing infrastructures and newly designed systems. Common pitfalls observed in previous transient simulations will be re-examined, with practical solutions offered to improve future modeling efforts.

Participants will engage in a new series of hands-on exercises using InfoSurge Pro. These tasks will not only reinforce theoretical concepts but also help users gain proficiency in navigating real-world transient scenarios, ultimately enhancing their ability to manage and mitigate hydraulic transients with increased confidence.

Technical Workshop: Extreme Precipitation Analysis for Hydrologic Design 

Sunday, May 18, 2025 | 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
(RSVP only)

4.0 PDHs

This workshop introduces advanced techniques for frequency analysis of extreme precipitation, with a focus on L-moments and non-stationarity. Participants will learn the fundamentals of frequency analysis, apply L-moments using R software, and critical issues related to non-stationarity in hydrologic events. By completing this workshop, attendees will gain a foundational understanding of advanced frequency analysis techniques and non-stationarity approaches, with insights into emerging challenges in hydrologic design.

Workshop Modules:
1. Introduction and background on frequency analysis
2. L-moments approach to regional frequency analysis
3. Hands-on L-moments analysis with R: Step-by-step application
4. Extreme hydrologic events and nonstationarity
5. Detection and statistical modeling of nonstationarities in extreme events
6. Return period and risk for nonstationary hydrologic events
7. Hydrologic design under non-stationarity

Technical Workshop: Post-Wildfire Hydrology & Flood Frequency

Sunday, May 18, 2025 | 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
(RSVP only)

4.0 PDHs

The Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is pleased to announce the enhancement of the Green and Ampt loss method in its HEC-HMS hydrologic modeling software, now equipped with specialized capabilities for post-wildfire hydrology analysis. This update addresses the unique challenges of post-wildfire hydrology and debris/sediment management, allowing for more precise modeling of hydrologic processes. Additionally, USACE and Desert Research Institute researchers recently developed a tool to accurately estimate wildfire impacts on flood frequency (e.g., 100-year flood).

This workshop is designed to equip participants with state-of-the-art techniques in post-wildfire hydrology modeling using HEC-HMS and in calculating the effects of wildfire on flood frequencies.

The program includes two key components:

1. Informative Lectures (1.5 hours): Participants will gain a foundational understanding of post-wildfire hydrology processes within watersheds. The lectures will address core topics, including post-wildfire hydrology dynamics and process-based flood frequency analysis.

2. Hands-On Training (2.5 hours): Attendees will engage in the practical development of a post-wildfire hydrology model. This session will cover parameter estimation, the integration of probability and wildfire impacts within the flood frequency analysis (FFA) framework, and real-world application of HEC-HMS.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be well-equipped with advanced knowledge and skills in post-wildfire hydrology and process-based flood frequency analysis, providing them a unique opportunity to stay at the forefront of post-wildfire hydrology and apply these methods in their work.

Technical Workshop: HEC River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) Next Generation Software, HEC-RAS 2025 

Sunday, May 18, 2025 | 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
(RSVP only)

4.0 PDHs

This half-day workshop will introduce participants to the future of HEC-RAS. The HEC-RAS team will introduce HEC-RAS 2025, a complete rewrite of the HEC-RAS software. The team will introduce alpha release capabilities and participants with have the opportunity use the new software. The workshop will familiarize users with the new RAS 2025 interface and prepare them to build a 2D model in the new software. Students will use the new streamlined tools to define projections, import terrain, plot base maps, and import land use data.

The workshop will also introduce some of the new capabilities in RAS 2025, not available in previous versions of RAS.

Highlights will include:

• Completely new meshing tools with a wide range of mesh development options that are more robust, repeatable, and improve mesh development dramatically.
• Simple cell-size sensitivity (2X/0.5X) tools.
• Updates to the computational engine, including an explicit, finite-volume solver.
• An opportunity to develop a mesh in RAS 2025 and export it to HEC-RAS 6.6, a feature that will allow modelers to utilize the new mesh capabilities of RAS 2025 with all the current features of RAS 6.6.
• "Quality-of-life" improvements like portable installation, software updates, base maps, example data sets, real-time results visualization, and model sharing tools.

There will also be time for questions and discussion on other features and the future of HEC-RAS.

Technical Workshop:  Remote Sensing for Water Resources and Water Quality Modeling Applications 

Sunday, May 18, 2025 | 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
(RSVP only)

4.0 PDHs

Satellite-based remotely sensed data has the potential to fill system-wide data gaps in ambient water quality monitoring and quantify pollutant sources and loads. However, such applications are scant and largely limited to the research domain.

This workshop organized by the Remote Sensing Applications for TMDL Modeling task committee will serve two primary purposes:

• Demystifying remote sensing tools and data sets for water quality managers and practitioners.
• Collecting information on the current understanding and use of remote sensing data sets in water quality management applications.

The interactive workshop will provide participants with an overview of the various remote sensing products of relevance to water quality applications and related characteristics, including spatial, temporal, and spectral scales. This will be achieved through a series of short talks by members of the task committee.

We will review data acquisition and processing approaches and demonstrate common platforms that can be used to view and download data sets. Following one or more talks within each theme, we will have interactive deliberations to advance the state-of-the-practice in applying remote sensing to water quality problems. The workshop will introduce Google Earth Engine and other tools that may be used for analyzing remotely sensed data. 

Technical Workshop: CFD Modeling in Water Infrastructure: Best Practices and Practical Applications

Sunday, May 18, 2025 | 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
(RSVP only)

3.0 PDHs

Objective: To advance the practice of using CFD modeling as an alternative or complementary approach to traditional empirical models to optimize the design of water infrastructure such as river intakes, spillways, outfalls, sediment traps, wastewater treatment plants, detention basins, and hydrodynamic separators.

The workshop will entitle discussion about two topics:

• An Introduction to CFD Modeling Best Practices:

An inadequately designed CFD model can result in non-convergence, and even generate poor and unreliable results. This workshop aims to showcase the minimum set of steps that need to be considered when developing and running a CFD model to ensure simulation results are accurate and reliable.

• A Showcase of Practical Applications Regarding:
  • Mixing Optimization in Wastewater Treatment Units
  • Development of Rating Curves for Dam Spillways
  • Sediment Trap Efficiency Optimization in Settling Tanks