Is Autodesk an acceptable software for the National Flood Insurance Program????

[clemay]

I have a question for the experts of Autodesk Software if you can please help.  I work at a Civil Engineering Firm in New Orleans, and we have a few new projects that we are taking on and my boss wanted me to check and see if Autodesk (SSA) is an acceptable Model that Professional Engineers can use to perform engineering analysis and mapping for flood insurance studies for the Nationa Flood Insurance Program / FEMA.  I did some research and I am still unsure.  I have placed all my reference data below to help in receiving a solid answer.  because if Autodesk is not able to be used, then we will not be able to use the software, which would directly affect the sales in this common industry in the south.

The first list is from the SSA 2014 Help Menu.

Hydrology Modeling Capabilities

Autodesk Storm and Sanitary Analysis includes the following hydrology models to

determine drainage area runoff:

• USEPA SWMM 5.0 (also imports and exports XPSWMM models)
• NRCS (SCS) TR-55
• NRCS (SCS) TR-20
• US Army Corps HEC-1
• Rational Method
• Modified Rational Method
• UK Modified Rational (Wallingford Procedure)
• DeKalb Rational Method
• Santa Barbara Unit Hydrograph
• Delmarva Unit Hydrograph
• Long-Term Continuous Simulation
• Maricopa & Pima Counties (Arizona) Papadakis-Kazan methodology
• Harris County (Texas) Method

The data below is directly from the Fema website.  I have also placed a sentence from them in red, bold and underlined text that may help answer our question.  But I wanted to let the experts on this Forum help me with a definitive answer so I can inform my boss that we can use the Autodesk software for the project and ones to come.  Please help me with a good resolve for this topic.  I appreciate any input and please let me know if you need more information and/or details from my end and I will quickly provide you with your request.  Thanks,  Chris

Hydrologic Models Meeting the Minimum Requirement of National Flood Insurance Program

Main Content                

Current Nationally Accepted Hydrologic Models

• Hydrologic Models
• View More Locally Accepted Models
• Nationally Accepted Models
• Numerical Models No Longer Accepted

DISCLAIMERS

• This website lists models, where the compliance with the requirements of 44 CFR 65.6(a)(6) has been previously demonstrated for use in FEMA flood hazard studies and/or mapping efforts. The lists include models that Professional Engineers can use to perform engineering analysis and mapping for flood insurance studies, however a model’s inclusion on this list does not indicate whether its approval or certification is current as to any other governmental agency. Professional Engineers are ultimately responsible for the appropriate application and accuracy of the results.  
• FEMA is not responsible for technical support or accuracy of the results and has not evaluated the technical soundness of the models independently.

• This list cannot be used as a marketing tool explicitly or implicitly anywhere.  
• FEMA updates its list as necessary, however, the accuracy of this list is not guaranteed. It is highly recommended that model selection is discussed with FEMA before undertaking or initiating any analysis intended to be submitted to FEMA.  
• FEMA provides this list for reference only, and in doing so, does not endorse any non-federal products, companies, or services. If you believe that any information provided on this page is inaccurate, please contact FEMA at 1-877-FEMA MAP (1-877-336-2627).

Hydrologic ModelsHydrologic Models: Determination of Flood HydrographsPROGRAM DEVELOPED BY AVAILABLE FROM COMMENTS

Single Event
HEC-1 4.0.1 and up 1 (May 1991)	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers	Water Resources Support Center  Corps of Engineers Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) 609 Second Street Davis, CA 95616-4687	Flood hydrographs at different locations along streams. Calibration runs preferred to determine model parameters. Public Domain: Yes
HEC-HMS 1.1 and up (Mar 1998)	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers  Hydrologic Engineering Center 609 Second Street Davis, CA 95616-4687	The Hydrologic Modeling System provides a variety of options for simulating precipitation-runoff processes. It now includes snowmelt and interior pond capabilities, plus enhanced reservoir options. Calibration runs should be used wherever possible to determine model parameters. Public Domain: Yes
TR-20 Win 1.00 (Jan 2005)	U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service	U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service	The TR-20 computer model has been revised and completely rewritten as a Windows based program. It is storm event surface water hydrologic model applied at a watershed scale that can generate, route, and combine hydrographs at points within a watershed. Calibration runs preferred to determine model parameters. Public Domain: Yes
WinTR-55 1.0.08 (Jan 2005 )	U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service	U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service	The new WinTR-55 uses the WinTR-20 program as the driving engine for analysis of the hydrology of the small watershed system being studied. Public Domain: Yes
SWMM 5 Version 5.0.005 (May 2005) and up	U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	Water Supply and Water Resources Division  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	SWMM 5 provides an integrated environment for editing study area input data, running hydrologic simulations, and viewing the results in a variety of formats. These include color-coded drainage area and conveyance system maps, time series graphs and tables, profile plots, and statistical frequency analyses. Calibration or verification to the actual flood events highly recommended. Public Domain: Yes
MIKE 11 (2009 SP4)	DHI Water and Environment	DHI, Inc.  319 SW Washington St. Suite 614 Portland, OR 97204	Simulates flood hydrographs at different locations along streams using unit hydrograph techniques. Three methods are available for calculating infiltration losses and three methods for converting rainfall excess to runoff, including SCS Unit hydrograph method. Calibration or verification to the actual flood events highly recommended. Public Domain: No
PondPack v.8 (May 2002) and up	Bentley Systems	Bentley Systems  685 Stockton Drive Exton, PA 19341	The program is for analyzing watershed networks and aiding in sizing detention or retention ponds. Only the NRCS Unit Hydrograph method and NRCS Tc calculation formulas are acceptable. Other hydrograph generation methods or Tc formulas approved by State agencies in charge of flood control or floodplain management are acceptable for use within the subject State. Calibration or verification to the actual flood events highly recommended. Public Domain: No
XP-SWMM 8.52 and up	XP Solutions	XP Solutions 5415 SW Westgate Dr. Suite 150 Portland, OR 97221 XPSolutions.com	Model must be calibrated to observed flows, or discharge per unit area must be shown to be reasonable in comparison to nearby gage data, regression equations, or other accepted standards for 1% annual chance events. Calibration or verification to the actual flood events highly recommended. Public Domain: No
Xpstorm 10.0 (May 2006)	XP Solutions	XP Solutions 5415 SW Westgate Dr. Suite 150 Portland, OR 97221 XPSolutions.com	Xpstorm has the same stormwater modeling capability as the XP-SWMM program. Calibration or verification to the actual flood events highly recommended.
Gridded Surface Subsurface Hydrologic Analysis (GSSHA) Version 1.43 and up (Sept. 2006)	USACE	US Army Engineering Research and Development Center, Coastal & Hydraulics Laboratory 3909 Halls Ferry Rd Vicksburg, MS 39180 http://gsshawiki.com	GSSHA is a spatially explicit, physics based hydrologic model that can simulate a wide range of runoff mechanisms, including infiltration-excess and saturation-excess runoff, snow melt, storm and tile drains, groundwater exfiltration and discharge, lakes (including non-draining lakes such as prairie potholes), detention basins, culverts and weirs. GSSHA also includes the ability to simulate time and space varying head boundary conditions, making it suitable in many coastal watershed applications. GSSHA has been applied from jungle rainforests to the permafrost basins of Alaska, from the desert southwest to the Florida Everglades as well as in urban storm surge flooding simulations in New Orleans and New York City. More information can be found at http://chl.erdc.usace.army.mil/gssha Public Domain: Yes
Continuous Simulation
HSPF 10.10 and up (Dec 1993)	U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey	Center for Exposure Assessment Modeling U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development Environmental Research Laboratory 960 College Station Road Athens, GA 30605-2720	Calibration to actual flood events required. Water Resources Application Software Public Domain: Yes
HEC-HMS 3.0 and up (Dec 2005)	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Hydrologic Engineering Center 609 Second Street Davis, CA 95616-4687	The Hydrologic Modeling System (HMS) includes two different soil moisture models suitable for continuous modeling, one with five layers and one with a single layer. Two approaches to evapotranspiration are provided and snowmelt is available. Calibration to actual flood events is required. Public Domain: Yes
MIKE 11 RR (2009 SP4)	DHI Water and Environment	DHI, Inc. 319 SW Washington St. Suite 614 Portland, OR 97204	The Rainfall-Runoff Module is a lumped-parameter hydrologic model capable of continuously accounting for water storage in surface and sub-surface zones. Flood hydrographs are estimated at different locations along streams. Calibration to actual flood events is required. MIKE 11 River Modeling  Public Domain: No
PRMS Version 2.1 (Jan 1996)	U.S. Geological Survey	U.S. Geological Survey 12201 Sunshine Valley Drive Reston, VA 22092 U.S. Geological Survey P.O. Box 25046, Mail Stop 412 Denver Federal Center Lakewood, CO 80225-0046	PRMS is a modular-designed, deterministic, distributed-parameter modeling system that can be used to estimate flood peaks and volumes for floodplain mapping studies. Calibration to actual flood events required. The program can be implemented within the Modular Modeling System that facilitates the user interface with PRMS, input and output of data, graphical display of the data, and an interface with GIS. Public Domain: Yes
Gridded Surface Subsurface Hydrologic Analysis (GSSHA) Version 1.43 and up (Sept. 2006)	USACE	US Army Engineering Research and Development Center, Coastal & Hydraulics Laboratory 3909 Halls Ferry Rd Vicksburg, MS 39180 http://gsshawiki.com	GSSHA is a spatially explicit, physics based hydrologic model that can simulate a wide range of runoff mechanisms, including infiltration-excess and saturation-excess runoff, snow melt, storm and tile drains, groundwater exfiltration and discharge, lakes (including non-draining lakes such as prairie potholes), detention basins, culverts and weirs. GSSHA also includes the ability to simulate time and space varying head boundary conditions, making it suitable in many coastal watershed applications. GSSHA has been applied from jungle rainforests to the permafrost basins of Alaska, from the desert southwest to the Florida Everglades as well as in urban storm surge flooding simulations in New Orleans and New York City. More information can be found at http://chl.erdc.usace.army.mil/gssha Public Domain: Yes

1 The enhancement of the program in editing and graphical presentation can be obtained from several private companies.

The sentence directly above is the one I  was referring to that I changed to red, bold and underlined in case this had any part in answering the main question for this thread.

Below is a link to the Fema web page that shows the acceptable list for the National Flood Insurance Program.  I n case you wanted to have a look.

http://www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program-flood-hazard-mapping/hydrologic-models-meeting-...

I appreciate any feedback and suggestions.  Thanks Again Autodesk Community!

Chris

[wfberry]

Autodesk also offers "Autodesk River Analysis 2014" Extension.

However, it is only available by buying the "super-duper" Ultimate Suite (Not very sweet if you ask me.)

Looking for information on this program, not available through any TRIAL packages, is really difficult.

Bill

[Matt.Anderson · Accepted solution]

Chris;

I just want to point out the following from your post & the FEMA website's Disclaimer.

• Professional Engineers are ultimately responsible for the appropriate application and accuracy of the results.  

• It is highly recommended that model selection is discussed with FEMA before undertaking or initiating any analysis intended to be submitted to FEMA.

SSA performs a number of the same hydrology calculation engines (HEC-1, TR-55, TR-20, EPA SWMM) as well as the EPA SWMM hydraulic calculations.  EPA SWMM model export is also available.  Review each models limitations and accetable uses and follow those within SSA.

From experience prior to me joining Autodesk, will FEMA accept models not listed here.  Yes, they have in the past.  Is it indicative of their policy in the future? 

I would suggest a pre-call with FEMA to discuss the modeling you will be performing and the analysis that they will be reviewing so that you can discuss the model and the most appropriate application for those MAP changes.

If you need assistance, reach out.

[bittayem]

Chris,

I was curious as to what else you found beyond Matt's response.

I have a similar question.  Does anyone have knowledge of the way the XPSWMM swim exported files (from an SSA model execute in XPSWMM).   I do not have XPSWMM but I imported an XPSWMM file from a third party.  When I import it to SSA, I believe I lost some (or all) of analysis/project settings to the defaults in SSA.  I redefined these and model ran okay in SSA.  The problem I have is that my resulting HGL lines do compare quite reasonable to the ones sent with the XPSWMM model.

I would like to know if there a way (settings or so) to ensure that when I send a client an XPSWMM file it runs tolerably similar to SSA output we publish, and that it would be correct.  For example, I would to ensure the level of aggressiveness/ conservativeness between the models is comparable.  I will probably be getting access to XPSWMM to see for myself, but any suggestions will be highly appreciated?

Thanks

Respectfully,

Malick Bittaye

Graduate Engineer

[clemay]

The projects we have been working on for this SSA software have been starting new and attaching the dwg/image file and creating points, links, nodes and conveyance links in the program.  The same for the project settings.  I have almost completed a pipe network that I am going to import into SSA, but that result will not contribute to your question.  I can tell you that the software seems like it needs a lot of work.  And by a lot of work, I mean they need to incorporate more options in viewing, plotting, sharing, exporting and any other area that users like you or I do not have to do repeat work or new work in order to get to the same point.  I can tell you that it cannot read point files from an attached dwg file. All of that data needs to be explode at least until it reads as text.  Same with alignments.  Basically it can only view lines and text. It has a lot of issues with higher resolution imagery that needs to be revised to fit into the software to view properly.  While I didn't answer your question exactly, I hope others will read this and give some insight from their experience as well for other users to learn from.

[Matt.Anderson]

Malik -

Not sure why this email thread landed in my email box today.

SSA does an incomplete conversion to or from XPSWMM and is a number of versions behind in reading or writing to the XP format.  (even back in 2014)

I know it's been a few years - but did you compare the products?

Matthew Anderson, PE CFM

Product Manager

XP Solutions