Explore wastewater storage, stormwater response and water-network performance. Change the inputs, replay the results and compare scenarios—right here.
Start at the source, balance the tank, then see how outlet capacity changes the result. This example does not simulate treatment chemistry.
This is a 24-hour mass-balance model with 15-minute steps, starting with empty available storage. Process wastewater is uniform over 08:00–16:00; sanitary flow follows a normalized illustrative daily pattern; infiltration/inflow is constant. Contributions must be separate to avoid double-counting.
Each step adds inflow, sends up to the entered outlet capacity to treatment, then stores the remainder. Any volume above the tank capacity is reported as simulated excess. Total inflow = volume sent to treatment + excess + final stored volume.
It does not calculate sewer hydraulics, pump controls, treatment performance, permit compliance or an actual discharge route. Real equalization design uses measured inflow and outflow profiles across representative days. EPA flow-equalization reference.
Event runoff volume = rainfall depth (mm) × catchment area (ha) × volumetric runoff fraction × 10. This is a volume calculation, not the Rational Method for peak flow. Rainfall is uniform during the entered storm.
Runoff passes through one linear reservoir, with routing time K: dS/dt = effective rainfall inflow − S/K. The reservoir is integrated analytically over each one-minute step, with the final rainfall step split at the exact end time. Routed runoff plus constant base inflow enters initially empty storage. A constant-capacity outlet removes available water; remaining volume above available storage is reported as excess.
Results stop after the longer of 4 hours or storm duration + 6K. Runoff remaining in the routing reservoir is included in the volume balance. For this interactive demonstration, duration is limited to 360 minutes and K to 180 minutes; those are tool limits, not design standards.
This is a lumped conceptual model. It does not calculate 1D pipe pressures, 2D flood depths/extents, backwater, infiltration physics, terrain-derived catchments or local design compliance. The terrain map is a separate data view and does not drive this example model. Runoff-volume method reference; use Ontario/local criteria for an actual project.
Change demand, add a hydrant flow, isolate a pipe, model a leak or adjust pump speed. Compare the calculated pressure, flow, chlorine and energy with the same network's baseline.
EPANET 2.3.5 via epanet-js · Example network, not municipal utility data. No login or upload required. This is an independent educational tool, not InfoWater Pro.
| Junction | Requested L/s |
Delivered* L/s |
Baseline pressure m |
Scenario pressure m |
Pressure change m |
Chlorine at 24 h mg/L |
|---|
*Delivered customer and fire demand excludes emitter leakage. Pressure-dependent demand can be lower than the requested withdrawal. Chlorine is a modeled single-species concentration using the assumptions below; it is not a laboratory result or a drinking-water safety assessment.
| Pipe direction | Status | Baseline flow L/s |
Scenario flow L/s |
Scenario velocity m/s |
|---|
Each row closes one pipe while holding the current demand, fire withdrawal, leak and pump speed fixed. The reference opens all pipes. Solved rows are sorted by lowest minimum pressure first; unresolved rows appear last and are not ranked. Your primary scenario is unchanged. This is a single-link outage screen, not a real valve-criticality assessment.
| Closed pipe | Minimum pressure m |
Change from all-open m |
Unmet demand L/s |
Pump energy, 24 h kWh |
Solver status |
|---|
Use the same example network and your current inputs to explore two linked decisions. Each analysis keeps the main scenario unchanged.
Explore Ontario · Real public observations
Locate river-monitoring stations, inspect terrain hillshade and replay the last 24 hours of available water-level or flow readings. No modelling-software login is needed.
Choose a region, then load the map. Data is fetched only when you request it.
Explore terrain and monitoring locations. Select a station to see its actual readings.
Terrain: Natural Resources Canada MRDEM hillshade under the Open Government Licence–Canada. Hillshade is a terrain backdrop, not a flood map or a surveyed engineering model. Optional street map: © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Recorded measurements, not a forecast or flood simulation.
Measured data and models serve different purposes. River observations and terrain imagery come from public agencies. The example catchment, treatment tank and water-distribution network use stated assumptions, not confidential Ontario utility models. Use them to explore sensitivity and prepare questions for a project-specific study.
01 / Start with the right source
Start with your municipality and watershed. Identify the responsible authority, then check the data and requirements for your project location.
These links open the source organisations. Check each dataset's date, coverage, units and permitted use. A current river reading, a design rainfall statistic and a modelled floodplain describe different things.
8 resources
Find intensity–duration–frequency tables and station information for rainfall inputs.
Design statistics, not live rainfall. Record the station, period of record and release; confirm locally accepted inputs and climate allowances.
Open ECCC rainfall data ↗Find Ontario gauges, recent observations, historical records and station metadata.
Recent readings can be provisional. Keep observation time, units, datum and quality flags. Observations are not forecasts.
Find a water-monitoring station ↗Locate a conservation authority and follow its links to floodplain information and project guidance.
Use the authority for your watershed. Where no conservation authority covers the site, confirm the responsible office with the municipality or province.
Find a conservation authority ↗Explore mapped river floodplains within Toronto and Region Conservation Authority watersheds.
Limited to TRCA coverage and riverine flooding. It does not show every urban drainage problem or define all regulated areas.
Open the TRCA viewer ↗Find Ontario's lidar-derived Digital Terrain Model for catchment and surface-model preparation.
Check local coverage, acquisition date, resolution and vertical datum. Terrain alone does not provide surveyed pipes, culverts or channels.
Explore Ontario terrain data ↗Read the Stormwater Management Planning and Design Manual for runoff, water-quality and facility-planning context.
Published in 2003. Confirm current municipal and conservation-authority criteria; this reference does not establish every project's requirements.
Read the Ontario manual ↗Explore Ontario's design guidance for drinking-water infrastructure, including distribution systems.
Published in 2008. Municipal or regional criteria may be more stringent. Confirm project-specific pressure and fire-flow requirements.
Read drinking-water guidelines ↗See London's consultant resources for water-distribution, sewer and stormwater design documents.
These requirements apply to London. Obtain the equivalent current documents from the municipality where your project is located.
Open London consultant resources ↗02 / Understand operating cost
Compare two efficiency assumptions at the same flow, head and operating hours. The starting values are illustrative, including the electricity rate.
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Energy charges only. Excludes demand and fixed charges, taxes and equipment costs. A comparison is not a guaranteed saving.
For water at density 1,000 kg/m³ and gravity 9.81 m/s²:
Electrical kW = 0.00981 × flow (L/s) × total dynamic head (m) ÷ combined efficiency (as a decimal)
Annual kWh = electrical kW × operating hours
Annual energy cost = annual kWh × CAD/kWh
This assumes one constant operating point. Variable demand, speed changes, multiple pumps and varying tariffs need a time-based assessment. Shutoff operation is outside this method; a pump at zero flow can still consume electricity. An efficiency of 100% is theoretical.
This tool does not select a pump, establish fire-flow capacity, calculate network pressures or optimise a system. Reference: U.S. Department of Energy pumping-system sourcebook; EPA guidance on pumping efficiency.
03 / Turn a model into a decision
Integrated catchment modelling can connect underground drainage, surface flow, rivers and floodplains. Compare storage, pipe upgrades and runoff controls under consistent scenarios.
Pressure-network modelling can assess pressure and available fire flow using network geometry, demands, operating rules and locally agreed criteria.
Valve criticality and pipe-break scenarios can show service disruption and hydraulic consequences. They do not, by themselves, predict the date a pipe will fail.
Water-age, disinfectant, pump-energy and system-curve analyses can help compare operational options. Conclusions depend on suitable data and a model checked against field observations.
Tools behind the work: InfoWorks ICM supports integrated catchment modelling. InfoWater Pro works within ArcGIS Pro for water-distribution analysis. EPANET and SWMM provide publicly available modelling software and documentation. The water-network tab runs EPANET for its stated example network. The stormwater tab uses the documented conceptual model; it does not run ICM or SWMM.
04 / Prepare a useful project brief
Check what is available. Missing items help define the survey, monitoring and modelling work needed. Use the items relevant to your project; completing this list does not validate a model.
0 of 12 items marked available
No files or network details are uploaded by this checklist or calculator. Checklist selections reset when the page is reloaded. Agree on a suitable secure transfer method before sharing utility data.
Also working in the United States?
NOAA precipitation-frequency data provides rainfall-frequency resources, and USGS Water Data for the Nation provides water observations. Confirm the applicable dataset version and state or local criteria for the project.
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