[GRASSLIST:4627] Re: Modeling water flux in canals...

Roger Miller roger at spinn.net
Thu Oct 3 08:01:12 EDT 2002


Andrea,

Your need is very specialized.  I don't know of any single software package 
that will do the whole job.  Your software needs actually vary a lot 
depending on the technical requirements of the job.

The underground water can be simulated with the USGS MODFLOW program and the
movement of pollutants in the ground water can be solved with MT3D or MT3DMS. 
Both MT3D and MT3DMS interface with MODFLOW.  You may be able to use less 
comprehensive programs, depending on the details of your problem.  GMS is one 
software package that gives a user interface for MODFLOW and MT3D.   

GMS is propriety software.  There are other options.  MODFLOW is public 
domain software available as source code.  MT3D or MT3DMS is freely available 
as source code, but I don't think it is covered by the GPL.

Flow in the canal system can be simulated with HEC or HEC-RAS, both of which 
are public domain software.  Those programs handle canal networks, but you 
may want to support them with a GIS.  Pollutant transport in the canal system 
is a little more difficult, depending on just how much detail you need.  If 
you just need a steady-state solution to where the pollutants go and don't 
have to worry a lot about the concentration of the pollutants then you can 
get that by manipulating data for the flows in the canal network in a 
spreadsheet program or database.  If you have to worry about transient flows, 
dispersion, adsorption and sedimentation and chemical reactions then your 
problem is a several orders of magnitude more difficult.   HEC6 and Phreeqc 
(both public domain) can be combined for everything but dispersion in the 
canal.  I think SWMS might work, and there are a few other proprietary 
solutions.  SWMS is not free or open source.


Roger Miller

On Thursday 03 October 2002 06:47, Andrea Aime wrote:
> I need to model a network of canals (irrigation draing, ditches, or
> whatever is
> the correct english term...) with a simulation software that can answer
> the following
> questions:
> - what happens if a pullutant in introduced in the network, where does
> it go,
>    in which quantity, what kind of underground drainage I can expect, ...
> - what happens if a lot of water is coming in (let's say the network is
>    connected with a river), where is it going
> - what happens if the topology of the network is modified, (maybe
>    because a dam has been closed)
> I know the question is quite vague, but what the heck, I'm only a software
> engineer ;-)
> Best regards and many thanks to anyone who will try to give an answer
> Andrea Aime
>
> PS: I'm interested in any kind of software, commercial or open source
> (of course I prefer the latter).



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