• InfoDrainage
  • Civil 3D

Designing ponds

Design a pond with customized parameters into your drainage system model.


00:03

Over the course of designing a drainage system,

00:05

there will come a point where you must incorporate a discharge control

00:09

point to limit the amount of water discharged into a receiving watercourse.

00:14

The discharge control device could be something like an orifice,

00:17

hydro brake or a pump.

00:21

Once a catchment is overlaid with concrete or tarmac,

00:25

it will create more and faster runoff.

00:28

A traditional solution to this problem is to

00:31

build a storage or attenuation structure i.

00:33

E. A pond upstream of the discharge point,

00:36

store the water there

00:38

and release it slowly into the receiving watercourse.

00:42

For this exercise, you will model upon with a base level of 30.343 m.

00:48

A top water level t. w. l

00:51

of 32.109

00:54

And a one in 4 side slope.

00:57

The amount of slope here is purely for safety concerns.

01:00

If someone falls into a pond,

01:02

a shallower slope gives them a better chance of escaping

01:07

notice that in this diagram the pond is designed with a 200 millimeter free board

01:12

as this will be important later

01:15

with an exercise already open

01:17

in the plan view zoom into the point of the model where the pond will be built

01:23

in this example double click pipe, 1.16.

01:27

To open the connections dialog and view its attributes.

01:32

Note that the upstream cover level of this pipe is 32.309.

01:38

The 200 millimeter free board we noted earlier

01:41

means water should not come within 200 millimeters of the upstream cover level.

01:46

Therefore the top water level in this case would be 32.109.

01:53

The base level of 30.434 m

01:56

comes from the pipes upstream invert level.

01:59

In other words, the pond's base level cannot be lower than the pipe

02:03

otherwise, water could not drain out of it

02:06

at this time you must determine the size of the pond.

02:09

First you load surface data. If you have not done so already

02:14

right click the surface node and select load

02:16

surface to open the surface data dialog,

02:20

click load from and then navigate to a folder

02:23

that holds an info drainage surface data file,

02:26

select the surface data file called import surface trimmed and click open

02:31

and then okay. In the surface data dialog

02:35

a notification appears asking if you want to update all or

02:39

keep all existing surface data or manually maintain specific levels.

02:45

Select the keep all option

02:47

and the surface data appears in the plan view.

02:50

You do not need to see the surface data for this exercise so

02:54

navigate to the tree view and toggle the visibility of the surface off.

02:59

This is also a good time to save the model if you have not already.

03:03

Now it is time to place the pond in the model

03:07

In this example

03:08

it will replace pipe 1.015

03:12

With the select tool click pipe 1.015 and press delete.

03:19

Now you can either use the stormwater controls objects from

03:22

the toolbox or you can import an existing pond design.

03:27

In this case,

03:28

you're going to import the outline of the pond as a cad

03:31

background and then create the pond Using the tools in the toolbox

03:37

in the tree view,

03:38

right click the cat data node and select import data

03:43

in the load cad wizard, click select

03:46

and navigate to the data folder,

03:48

highlight the pond outline file and click open

03:52

and then in the load cad wizard, click next

03:56

note that the imported data includes multiple layers.

03:59

Then click finish,

04:01

zoom back into the area where you deleted the pipe

04:04

and notice that a pond outline now appears there.

04:08

Click the plant tab and select the snap mode to enable it

04:12

in the toolbox,

04:13

expand the stormwater controls node

04:16

to see a list of control systems,

04:19

click and drag the pond option into the plan view

04:21

and drop it into the polygon representing the pond outline.

04:25

Notice that the cursor has now changed, meaning that at this point

04:29

you must trace the pond's outline to digitize it

04:33

zoom in if needed

04:34

and click each of the polygons, vortices,

04:37

then right, click anywhere inside the polygon to finish it.

04:41

It is best practice to then make sure the select tool

04:44

is active to avoid creating a series of ponds by accident.

04:49

Double click the pond icon to view its attributes in the pond dialogue.

04:53

This is where you will adjust the ponds dimensions

04:56

to match those established in the starting diagram

04:59

Set the ponds accidents level to 32.309,

05:04

which is the ponds top water level.

05:07

Also set the free board to 200.

05:11

If the water level in the pond exceeds 32.109 m

05:15

I. E. The free board.

05:17

The pond will be reported as flood risk in the simulation results

05:22

toggle on the depth field.

05:24

Now you can edit the previously grayed out base level field,

05:29

Enter a base level of 30.434.

05:33

You have the option to enter an initial depth value if you want

05:37

the pond to be partly filled at the start of the simulation.

05:41

But for the purposes of this exercise,

05:43

leave it set to zero.

05:46

You will now use the other part of the pond

05:48

dialogue to set some basic characteristics for the pond,

05:51

namely its volume.

05:53

By setting values for depth and area.

05:56

If the pond were perfectly cylindrical,

05:59

its surface area would remain constant no matter its depth.

06:03

However, because its sides are sloped,

06:05

the area will change in relation to its depth.

06:09

Leave the depth value in the first row set to zero

06:12

and enter a depth of 1.875.

06:15

The ponds exceeded its level minus its base level

06:18

into the second row.

06:20

Press enter,

06:22

Then

06:23

copy and paste the area value of 449.43 from the first row

06:28

into the 2nd row

06:29

and press enter again.

06:32

You will notice that in the preview area

06:34

the sides of the pond are vertical with its current depth and area values.

06:39

Now open the sizing calculator in the pond. Dialogue

06:44

in the method, drop down,

06:45

pick a side slope

06:48

Type in a side slope value of four

06:51

in the maintain drop down,

06:52

make sure top area is selected

06:54

and then click OK.

06:58

The preview area updates to reflect the ponds,

07:00

intended side slope with the base area reduced and the top area maintained,

07:06

click OK.

07:08

The pond updates in the plan view to include

07:11

a dashed line that represents its base area.

07:14

The last step is to apply a manning's roughness coefficient.

07:19

This is only used in the pond floods onto the surrounding surface,

07:23

but nevertheless

07:24

a value must be provided for the pond to pass validation,

07:28

double click the pond icon

07:30

and then the advanced tab,

07:33

Enter a value of 0.030.

07:36

And then click OK.

07:38

Your model now includes a pond

07:40

which plays a critical role in regulating the amount and

07:43

speed of runoff before it reaches a receiving watercourse.

Video transcript

00:03

Over the course of designing a drainage system,

00:05

there will come a point where you must incorporate a discharge control

00:09

point to limit the amount of water discharged into a receiving watercourse.

00:14

The discharge control device could be something like an orifice,

00:17

hydro brake or a pump.

00:21

Once a catchment is overlaid with concrete or tarmac,

00:25

it will create more and faster runoff.

00:28

A traditional solution to this problem is to

00:31

build a storage or attenuation structure i.

00:33

E. A pond upstream of the discharge point,

00:36

store the water there

00:38

and release it slowly into the receiving watercourse.

00:42

For this exercise, you will model upon with a base level of 30.343 m.

00:48

A top water level t. w. l

00:51

of 32.109

00:54

And a one in 4 side slope.

00:57

The amount of slope here is purely for safety concerns.

01:00

If someone falls into a pond,

01:02

a shallower slope gives them a better chance of escaping

01:07

notice that in this diagram the pond is designed with a 200 millimeter free board

01:12

as this will be important later

01:15

with an exercise already open

01:17

in the plan view zoom into the point of the model where the pond will be built

01:23

in this example double click pipe, 1.16.

01:27

To open the connections dialog and view its attributes.

01:32

Note that the upstream cover level of this pipe is 32.309.

01:38

The 200 millimeter free board we noted earlier

01:41

means water should not come within 200 millimeters of the upstream cover level.

01:46

Therefore the top water level in this case would be 32.109.

01:53

The base level of 30.434 m

01:56

comes from the pipes upstream invert level.

01:59

In other words, the pond's base level cannot be lower than the pipe

02:03

otherwise, water could not drain out of it

02:06

at this time you must determine the size of the pond.

02:09

First you load surface data. If you have not done so already

02:14

right click the surface node and select load

02:16

surface to open the surface data dialog,

02:20

click load from and then navigate to a folder

02:23

that holds an info drainage surface data file,

02:26

select the surface data file called import surface trimmed and click open

02:31

and then okay. In the surface data dialog

02:35

a notification appears asking if you want to update all or

02:39

keep all existing surface data or manually maintain specific levels.

02:45

Select the keep all option

02:47

and the surface data appears in the plan view.

02:50

You do not need to see the surface data for this exercise so

02:54

navigate to the tree view and toggle the visibility of the surface off.

02:59

This is also a good time to save the model if you have not already.

03:03

Now it is time to place the pond in the model

03:07

In this example

03:08

it will replace pipe 1.015

03:12

With the select tool click pipe 1.015 and press delete.

03:19

Now you can either use the stormwater controls objects from

03:22

the toolbox or you can import an existing pond design.

03:27

In this case,

03:28

you're going to import the outline of the pond as a cad

03:31

background and then create the pond Using the tools in the toolbox

03:37

in the tree view,

03:38

right click the cat data node and select import data

03:43

in the load cad wizard, click select

03:46

and navigate to the data folder,

03:48

highlight the pond outline file and click open

03:52

and then in the load cad wizard, click next

03:56

note that the imported data includes multiple layers.

03:59

Then click finish,

04:01

zoom back into the area where you deleted the pipe

04:04

and notice that a pond outline now appears there.

04:08

Click the plant tab and select the snap mode to enable it

04:12

in the toolbox,

04:13

expand the stormwater controls node

04:16

to see a list of control systems,

04:19

click and drag the pond option into the plan view

04:21

and drop it into the polygon representing the pond outline.

04:25

Notice that the cursor has now changed, meaning that at this point

04:29

you must trace the pond's outline to digitize it

04:33

zoom in if needed

04:34

and click each of the polygons, vortices,

04:37

then right, click anywhere inside the polygon to finish it.

04:41

It is best practice to then make sure the select tool

04:44

is active to avoid creating a series of ponds by accident.

04:49

Double click the pond icon to view its attributes in the pond dialogue.

04:53

This is where you will adjust the ponds dimensions

04:56

to match those established in the starting diagram

04:59

Set the ponds accidents level to 32.309,

05:04

which is the ponds top water level.

05:07

Also set the free board to 200.

05:11

If the water level in the pond exceeds 32.109 m

05:15

I. E. The free board.

05:17

The pond will be reported as flood risk in the simulation results

05:22

toggle on the depth field.

05:24

Now you can edit the previously grayed out base level field,

05:29

Enter a base level of 30.434.

05:33

You have the option to enter an initial depth value if you want

05:37

the pond to be partly filled at the start of the simulation.

05:41

But for the purposes of this exercise,

05:43

leave it set to zero.

05:46

You will now use the other part of the pond

05:48

dialogue to set some basic characteristics for the pond,

05:51

namely its volume.

05:53

By setting values for depth and area.

05:56

If the pond were perfectly cylindrical,

05:59

its surface area would remain constant no matter its depth.

06:03

However, because its sides are sloped,

06:05

the area will change in relation to its depth.

06:09

Leave the depth value in the first row set to zero

06:12

and enter a depth of 1.875.

06:15

The ponds exceeded its level minus its base level

06:18

into the second row.

06:20

Press enter,

06:22

Then

06:23

copy and paste the area value of 449.43 from the first row

06:28

into the 2nd row

06:29

and press enter again.

06:32

You will notice that in the preview area

06:34

the sides of the pond are vertical with its current depth and area values.

06:39

Now open the sizing calculator in the pond. Dialogue

06:44

in the method, drop down,

06:45

pick a side slope

06:48

Type in a side slope value of four

06:51

in the maintain drop down,

06:52

make sure top area is selected

06:54

and then click OK.

06:58

The preview area updates to reflect the ponds,

07:00

intended side slope with the base area reduced and the top area maintained,

07:06

click OK.

07:08

The pond updates in the plan view to include

07:11

a dashed line that represents its base area.

07:14

The last step is to apply a manning's roughness coefficient.

07:19

This is only used in the pond floods onto the surrounding surface,

07:23

but nevertheless

07:24

a value must be provided for the pond to pass validation,

07:28

double click the pond icon

07:30

and then the advanced tab,

07:33

Enter a value of 0.030.

07:36

And then click OK.

07:38

Your model now includes a pond

07:40

which plays a critical role in regulating the amount and

07:43

speed of runoff before it reaches a receiving watercourse.

Step-by-step:

When a catchment is overlaid with an impermeable surface, such as concrete or tarmac, it will create more (and faster) runoff. A traditional solution to this problem is to build a storage or attenuation structure (i.e., a pond) upstream of the discharge point, store the water there, and release it slowly into the receiving watercourse.

  1. In the model, double-click pipe 016 to open the Connections dialog box and view its attributes.
  2. Note the Upstream Cover Elevation for the selected pipe.
    A closeup of the Connections dialog with the Upstream Cover Elevation column highlighted, and the last value, called out for later use.
  3. Close the Connections dialog box.
  4. In the Tree View, right-click the Surface node and select Load Surface.
  5. In the Surface Data dialog box, click Load From.
  6. Select the surface data file import surface trimmed.iddx and click Open.
  7. A notification appears, asking if you want to update all or keep all existing surface data, or manually maintain specific levels. Select Keep All.
  8. In the Tree View, toggle the visibility of the Surface node.
    The Tree View, with the Surface node checkbox highlighted as being blank because it has been turned off.
  9. To remove the pipe where the pond is to be located, in the model, with the Select tool active, click pipe 015.
    The InfoDrainage interface, with the pipe that is being replaced with the pond called out in the Plan View.
  10. Press DELETE to delete the pipe.
  11. To import the CAD drawing of the pond, in the Tree View, right-click the CAD Data node and select Import Data.
  12. In the Load CAD Wizard, click Select.
  13. Select the file pond outline.dwg and open it.
    The Open dialog box showing the CAD file, Pond outline.dwg being selected for import into the model.
  14. In the Load CAD Wizard, click Next. Note that the imported data includes multiple layers.

The Load CAD Wizard showing a preview of the pond outline as it will appear in the InfoDrainage model once it is imported, and the Finish button called out.

  1. Click Finish.
  2. On the ribbon, click the Plan tab and select Snap mode to enable it.
  3. In the Toolbox, expand the Stormwater Controls node to see a list of control systems.
  4. Click and drag the Pond option into the Plan View and drop it into the polygon representing the pond outline.
  5. Click each of the polygon’s vertices, then right-click anywhere inside the polygon to finish it.
    The InfoDrainage interface, showing the imported pond outline in the model with the InfoDrainage pond object icon showing in it in the Plan View.
  6. In the model, double-click the Pond icon to view its attributes in the Pond dialog box.
    A closeup image of the Pond icon for selection. Opening it gives access to the pond's attributes for configuration.
  7. In the Pond dialog box, set the pond’s Exceedance level to 32.309 (the Upstream Cover Elevation from step 2.)
  8. Set the Freeboard to 200 mm.
  9. Toggle ON the Depth field.
  10. Enter a Base Level (Elevation) of 30.434.
  11. In the Depth (m) column, enter a depth of 1.875 (the pond’s exceedance level minus its base level) into the second row, and press ENTER.
  12. Copy and paste the Area value of 449.43 from the first row into the second row and press ENTER.
    The Pond dialog box, with the attributes configured for the new pond.
  13. Open the Sizing Calculator.
  14. Expand the Method drop-down and click Side Slope.
  15. Enter a Side Slope value of 4.
  16. In the Maintain drop-down, ensure Top Area is selected.
  17. Click OK to close the Sizing Calculator.
    The Pond dialog box in the background, with the Sizing Calculator in the foreground being used to calculate the size of the pond feature.
  18. Click OK to close the Pond dialog box.

The pond updates in the Plan View to include a dashed line that represents its base area.

  • The Plan View showing an updated image of the pond, with a dashed line around the inside that represents its base area.
  1. Double-click the Pond icon to reopen the Pond dialog box.
  2. Click the Advanced tab.
  3. Enter a Manning’s n value of 0.030.
    The InfoDrainage interface, with the Pond dialog box open to the Advanced tab and the Manning's n value entered.
  4. Click OK to close the Pond dialog box.
Was this information helpful?