Introducing EPA SWMM Page 1 of 3

Introducing EPA SWMM

The EPA Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) is a dynamic rainfall-runoff simulation model used for single event
or long-term (continuous) simulation of runoff quantity and quality from primarily urban areas. The runoff component of
SWMM operates on a collection of subcatchment areas that receive precipitation and generate runoff and pollutant
loads. The routing portion of SWMM transports this runoff through a system of pipes, channels, storage/treatment
devices, pumps, and regulators. SWMM tracks the quantity and quality of runoff generated within each subcatchment,
and the flow rate, flow depth, and quality of water in each pipe and channel during a simulation period comprised of
multiple time steps.

SWMM was first released in 1971 and has undergone several major upgrades since then. It continues to be widely used
throughout the world for planning, analysis and design related to storm water runoff, combined sewers, sanitary sewers,
and other drainage systems in urban areas, with many applications in non-urban areas as well. The current edition,
Version 5, is a complete re-write of the previous release. Running under Windows, SWMM 5 provides an integrated
environment for editing study area input data, running hydrologic, hydraulic and water quality 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.
Hydrologic Modeling Features
SWMM accounts for various hydrologic processes that produce runoff from land surfaces. These include:
· time-varying rainfall
· evaporation of standing surface water
· snow accumulation and melting
· rainfall interception from depression storage
· infiltration of rainfall into unsaturated soil layers
· percolation of infiltrated water into groundwater layers
· interflow between groundwater and the drainage system
· nonlinear reservoir routing of overland flow

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· rainfall-dependent infiltration and inflow (RDII) for sanitary sewersheds

· capture and retention of rainfall/runoff with various types of low impact development (LID) practices.

Spatial variability in all of these processes is achieved by dividing a study area into a collection of smaller, homogeneous
subcatchment areas, each containing its own fraction of pervious and impervious subareas. Overland flow can be routed
between subareas, between subcatchments, or between entry points of a drainage system.

Hydraulic Modeling Features

SWMM also contains a flexible set of hydraulic modeling capabilities used to route runoff and external inflows through a
drainage system network of pipes, channels, storage/treatment units and diversion structures. These include the ability
to:
· handle networks of unlimited size
· use a wide variety of standard closed and open conduit shapes as well as natural channels
· model special elements such as storage/treatment units, curb and gutter inlets, flow dividers, pumps, weirs, and
orifices
· apply external flows and water quality inputs from surface runoff, groundwater interflow, rainfall-dependent
infiltration and inflow, dry weather sanitary flow, and user-defined inflows
· utilize either kinematic wave or full dynamic wave flow routing methods
· model various flow regimes, such as backwater, surcharging, reverse flow, and surface ponding
· apply user-defined dynamic control rules to simulate the operation of pumps, orifice openings, and weir crest levels.

Water Quality Modeling Features

In addition to modeling the generation and transport of runoff flows, SWMM can also estimate the production of
pollutant loads associated with this runoff. The following processes can be modeled for any number of user-defined
water quality constituents:
· dry-weather pollutant buildup over different land uses
· pollutant washoff from specific land uses during storm events
· direct contribution of rainfall deposition
· reduction in dry-weather buildup due to street cleaning
· reduction in washoff load due to BMPs
· entry of dry weather sanitary flows and user-specified external inflows at any point in the drainage system
· routing of water quality constituents through the drainage system
· reduction in constituent concentration through treatment in storage units or by natural processes in pipes and
channels.

Typical Applications of SWMM

Since its inception, SWMM has been used in thousands of sewer and stormwater studies throughout the world. Typical
applications include:
· design and sizing of drainage system components for flood control
· sizing of detention facilities and their appurtenances for flood control and water quality protection
· flood plain mapping of natural channel systems
· designing control strategies for minimizing combined sewer overflows
· evaluating the impact of inflow and infiltration on sanitary sewer overflows
· generating non-point source pollutant loadings for waste load allocation studies
· evaluating the effectiveness of BMPs for reducing wet weather pollutant loadings.

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Steps in Using SWMM

One typically carries out the following steps when using EPA SWMM to model a study area:
1. Specify a default set of options and object properties to use (see Setting Project Defaults).
2. Draw a network representation of the physical components of the study area (see Adding Objects).
3. Edit the properties of the objects that make up the system (see Editing Objects).
4. Select a set of analysis options (see Setting Analysis Options).
5. Run a simulation (see Initiating a Run).
6. View the results of the simulation (see Viewing Results).

For larger systems it will be more convenient to replace Step 2 by collecting study area data from various sources, such
as CAD drawings or GIS files, and transferring these data into a SWMM input file whose format is described in the
SWMM 5 User's Manual.
What's New in Release 5.2.0
· An optional Welcome page has been added to the user interface.
· Support has been added for HEC-22 analysis of street and channel inlet drains. See the INLETS topic and the new Inlets
Tutorial for more details.
· A new STREET cross section shape has been introduced to support the HEC-22 analysis of street inlets.
· A STREET SUMMARY table that displays summary results for each Street conduit and Inlet has been added to the list of
Summary Reports .
· A new Type5 pump curve type has been added that is the same as a Type3 (head versus flow) curve except that its
pump's setting, which can be adjusted by Control Rules, is taken as a relative speed setting which alters the curve's
shape.
· Storage Curve options now include several pre-defined shapes (cylinders, paraboloids, cones and pyramids) whose
geometry is based on analytical formulas.
· Additional quantities, including past n-hour rainfall, were added to the properties that can appear in control rule
condition clauses.
· Control rules now support named variables and arithmetic expressions.
· The Status Report now includes a listing of the most frequent non-converging nodes for dynamic wave flow routing.
· Selected summary variables (such as peak runoff, hours flooded, maximum flow velocity, etc.) have been added as
themes that can viewed on the Study Area Map.
· Exponents used in arithmetic expressions can themselves be expressions instead of just constant numerical values.
· Support was added for the latest version of NOAA's Climate Data Online service where GHCN climate files can be
retrieved in either US or SI units.
· The LID Control Editor now accepts void ratios greater than 1 (i.e., porosities greater than 0.5) for LID storage layers.
· A new parameter was added to Rain Barrel LIDs indicating whether the rain barrel is covered or not.
· A new dialog form was added to help users select a Culvert Code number for conduits based on the culvert's shape and
inlet design.
· Pump Startup and Shutoff depths are now included in the properties that can be copied from one pump and pasted
into another.
· A set of keyboard shortcuts for common menu commands has been added.
· A number of bugs fixes have also been made.
Please consult the SWMM 5.2.0 Updates and Bug Fixes file for a complete listing of all program updates.

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