SEDCAD 4

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for Windows 95/98/NT/2000/Me/XP

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Design Manual
And
User's Guide
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Dr. Richard C. Warner

University ofKentucky
Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Department
Cooperative Extension Service
Ms. Pamela J. Schwab
Civil Software Design

,....
Mr. Dennis J. Marshall, AlA

Information in chis document is subjecr ro change without notice. Names and

data used in examples are ficririous unless orherwise no red. The SEDeAD'""

sorrware has been copyrighred by Pamela]. Schwab, and rhe SEDCAD Design
Manual and User', Guide has been copyrighred by Richard C. Warner, .al.,
wirh all rights resc:cved. The software described in (his manual is furnished undee a license agreement oc nondisclosure agreement. A condirion of insralling

[he software is your agreement ro [he written license agreemenr, displayed during che installation procedure. Your righrs ro license che SEDeAD program
are limired [Q rhose expressly provided in che written license agreement. Uncier
copyright laws, neirher [he documenration flor the software may be copied,
phmocopied. reproduced, rranslated, oc reduced ro any electronic medium oc
machine readable form, in whole or in part, without the prior written consenr

of rhe author(s).
SEDCAD 4 for Windows Design Manual and User's Guide
Copyrighr 1998. Richard C. Warner, Pamela]. Schwab, and Dennis]. Marshall. AH righrs reserved.
SEDCAD 4 for Windows (compurer sofrware)
Copyrighr 1998-2010. Pamela]. Schwab. AlI righrs reserved
SEDCAD is a U.S. rrademark ofCivil Sofrware Design.
Microsoft Windows is a U.S. registered trademark ofMicrosoft 'Corporarion.

Civil Sorrware Design, Augusr 1998

2nd prinring - Ocrober 1998
3rd prinring - Augusr 1999
4rh prinring - April 2001
5rh prinring - ]anuary 2004
6rh prinring - November 2006
7th prinring - December 2008
8th prinring - Seprember 2010

Contents
r
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Acknowledgemenrs ................ ................................... .... ...... ...... 9

What's New? ......... ........................................ ..... 11

Installing SEDCAD 4 ........................................ 13
Lost Hardware Locks .............................................................. 13
!nstallation Troubleshooting ... ................................................ 13
UninstaIling SEDCAD 4 ...... .................................................. 14
Software Copying .................. ................................................. 14

How to Contact Us ............................................ 15

SEDCAD Update Version Support Policy .................... ... ..... ..: 16
Year 2000 (Y2K) Compliance Statement .................... ............ 16

How to Use Help ......... ............................. ... ...... 17

r
r

Peogram Navigation .................................. .. .... ..... ........ ........ ... 17

Table Navigation ......... ... ........................................................ 17

Getting Started ................... ............................... 19

File Menu ............... ..... ..... ...................................................... 19
Preferences .. .... ................. ............. ........... .... ... ........................ 20
Main Screen .. ......... ...... ............................. ....... .......... .... ..... ... 20
General Tab ...... ............................... ........................... .. .. 20
Designer box ..................................... .. ............... .... .. 20
Peoject Title box ..... ........................... .. ............. .... .... 20
Cornmeors box ...................................................... 20
Last Modified box ...... ... ....... ...... ........... .... .. ............ . 21
Design Tab ............. ....................................................... . 21
Resulrs Tab ........... ......... ...................... ... . ,...................... 21
0

,.....

Storm Information ........................ ..................... 23

Sroem Information .... .... .......................................... ..... .. .... .... 23
Storm Type ..... .............................. ..... .... .. ......... ..... ................. 23
NRCS Disrcibution Determination .. ......... .... ................. 23
49 pt or 241 pt NRCS Distribution - A Comparison ...... 24
Historical Perspective ............ ..... ..... .. ................. ... ... . 24
Peak Flow Considerations .................. ....................... 24
Implications of Distribution Selection ...................... 24
Effect of Distribution on Size of Control Strucrurc:s .. 25
Culven Design Assessment ............ ................... . 25
What does it all mean? ...................................... 26
Channel Design Assessmenr .............. .... ..... .. .... ........ 27
Pond Design Analysis ..... ............... ............ ............ ... 27
User-defined Rainfall Distribution ........... .... ................... 28
Input Storm Even!. ...... .... ............. ... ................. ........... ... 28

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Design Storm ............................................... .. ......... ....... .. ...... 29
Rainfall Deprh ... ..................................................................... 29
Graph Storm .... .... ..... .............. .. ... ............. ... ... ... ....... ............. 30
R Srorm ...... ............ ...................... ............. ......... ....... ...... ....... 31

Sedimentology ................................................... 33
Particle Size Distribucion ... ...... .... ......................................... 33
Input Oprions ................ ...................... .......................... 33
Creare New burten ................................................... 33
Open Existing burron ............................................... 33
Add % Finer burton .......... ...... .................... ............. 33
Chango % Finer Name burton ......... ........................ 33
Graph burron ................. ............... .. ........ ... .... .......... 34
Partide Size Grid ............................................................ 34
Specific Graviry ........................................................ 34
Submerged Bulk Specific Graviry ............. ................. 34
Cornmenrs ......................... ........ ...... ............ .... .. .. .... 35
Partiele Size Disrriburion Laboratory Analysis ........ ......... 35
Partide Size C lassificarion ..................... .... .............................. 36
Toral Sedimenr and Serrleable Solids ..................... .................. 36
0

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Networking ........................................................ 39
Srrucrure Nerworking ............................................. ................ 39
Suuaure Linkage ..................................................... .............. 39
Srrucrure Numbering Example .................. ............................. 40
Inpur of Srrucrure Nerwork .............. .............................. 41

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Subwatershed Information ................................. 43

Suhwarershed Hydrology Inpur Informarion ........................... 43
Subwarershed Area ......................................................... 43
Time of Concentrarian ................. ............ ................. .. ... 43
Muskingum Routing ............ ............... .... ................. .... .. 44
Rouring Calculator ........ ... ............... ..... ............. ...... :45
Curve Number ............................................................... 45
Hydrologic Soil Group ........ ...... .. ............................. 46
Unir Hydrograph Response Shape ....... ........................... 47
TR-55 Emulator .......................... ............................ 47
Hydrograph and/or Sedimenrgraph Graph Burton .......... ....... .48
Hydrograph ..... .. ......... .................................................... 48
Sedimenrgraph ............................................................... 48
Subwarershed Sedimentology Input Informarion .................... 48
Erodibiliry (K) factor ...................................................... 49
Texrural Triangle ........................... .. .. ....................... 49
Wischm cicr Nomograph .......................................... 50
LS Factor ........................................................................ 50
L Facror .................................................................... 50

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5
Representative Slope Length - L ..... .. ................ 50
L for a Concave Slope ........................ ............... 51
L foe Transirions to Concentrated Flow ............. 52
L forTypical Slope Lengths ............................... 52
L Factor Accuracy and Sensitivity ...................... 52
S Factor .................................................................... 52
Representative Slope - S .................................... 53
C Factor ......................................................................... 53
C Factor tables in SEDCAD 4 .................................. 53
Canopy Elfects ......................................................... 53
Surface Cover Elfects ................................................ 53
Soil Surface Roughness ............................................. 54
P Factor .......... .... ........ ............ ........................................ 54

Structure Design ................................................ 55

Structure Types ..................................... ................................. . 55
PONO DESIGN .................... ... .... .. .... .. ............................ 57
Elevation - Area ...................................................................... 57
Stage Increment .............................................................. 58
Pond Spillways ........................................................................ 58
Pond Spillways, Orop Inlet ............................................. 59
Pond Spillway, Straight Pipe ........................................... 59
Pond Spillway, Perforated Riser ....................................... 60
Pond Spillway, Weirs ...................................................... 60

Broad-crested Weir ............. ...................................... 60

Sharp-crested Weir .............................. ..................... 61
Sidc-contracting Weir ............ ................................... 61
V-notch Weir ............................................................ 61
Pond Spillway, Siphons ................................................... 61
Fixed Siphons .......................... ..... .............. .............. 61
Floating Siphon ........... ............... ................. ............. 62
Pond Spillways, Emergency Spillway .............................. 62
Estimating Inirial Pond Spillway Elevations
and the Top ofOam ............................................. 62
Estimating rhe erest Length of an
Emergency Spillway ............................................. 63
Bottom Width and Sideslope Sizing
for Emergency Spillways ....................................... 63
Pond Spillways, User-defined ............................ .............. 63
Pond Sedimentology ............................................................... 64
Sediment Storage .......... .................................................. 64
Do Nat Reset Zero Stage .......................................... 64
R Annual Method .................................................... 64
Disturbed Acres Method ......................................... 65
Contributing Acres Methad ...................................... 65

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Inflow Sediment Tons Mernod ... ... ... ........................ 65
User-dcfined Sedimenr Storage .. ........ ........... .... ........ 65
Dead Space .... ....... ......... ... ....... ........ ......... .... .. .... ...... ...... 65
PON O D ESIGN EXAMPLE .. .. .. ... .......... ... .. .... .. .... . .. . ......... ..

66

Problem Statemenr .................. .. .............. .. .... ... .... ........ ...... .... 66
Storm Inpu t ........ ..... ..... .. ... ........ .......... .. .......... .............. 66
Partide Size Distribuuon ......... .... ...... ........... .................. 66
Networking .. .............. ........ ............................................ 67
Subwatershed Information .... ...... ... ..... ....... .... ........... ...... 67
Subwatershed Hydrology Inpu" ... .............. .............. 67
Subwatershed Sedimentology Inpu" ........................ 70
Graphs ... ........ ......... .... .............. ....... ................. ....... 7 1
Structure #1 SWS Report ......................................... 71
Pond Inpu!5: Hydrology .. ... .. ... ..... ......................... .... ..... 72
Elevation-Area ................ .............. .................. ...... .... 72
Elevation-Diseharge .... ... .. ........ .... ... .. .................. ... .. 72
Pond npu,,: Sedimentology ..... ... .... ................ ............... 73
Results and D iscussion ............... ..... ........... ............ ..... ... 73
Conrrasring Permanent Pool and Passive Dewatering ...... ........ 74
Additional A1ternative Design ..... ........ ..... ........ .............. . 75
SILT FENCE DESIGN .. .. ................ .... .. .......... ..... ......... .....

76

Silt Fenee Design Example ............... ............ .. ... .......... ............ 76

Storm Input ..................... ...... ... .... ... .. .... ........................ 77
Parricle Size Distribution ................... ...................... .. ..... 77
Networking ................... ..... .. ... ..... ... ....... ........ ...... ... ....... 77
Subwatershed Informauon .............. .. .............. ............... . 77
Subwatershed Hydro logy and Sedimentology Inpu" 78
Graphs .. ..... ................................ ..... ................. .... .... 80
Silt Fence Design Paramerers ............ .......... ... .. .......... ............. 80
Silt Fence Flow Rate .. ................. .. ..... ........... .................. 80
Silt Fence Width Along rhe Contour ..... ............. ... ......... 80
Silt Fenee Heighr ................ .............. .. .......... ....... ........... 81
Silt Fence Upgradienr Land Slope ........ ......... ........... ....... 81
Silt Fence Tie-back Distante ..... ..................... ............. .... 81
Silt Fence Add irional Weirs ........ ... ... ... .... .. ....... ... .... .. .. .... 81
Silr Fence Design Res ul" .. ............. ...... ......... ............. .. ... 82
Silt Fence Design wirh Dedicared Sedimenr Srorage ........ 83
GRASS FILTER D ESIGN .. ......... . ..... ........... . . ... ..... ....... .. .. ...

84

Grass Filrer D esign Example .. .. .... .... .. .... ..... ................... .. ....... 84
Networking .. .. ... .. .......... .............................. ..... ......... .... . 84
Grass Filter Design nputs ........ .. ......... ................... ....... . 85
Grass Filree Roughness Coefficien.r ........................... 85
Grass Hydraulie Spacing .. ......................................... 86
Grass Stiffness Factor .... ....... .... .. ....... ... ............... ...... 86

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Grass Height ....... ............. .................................. ...... 86
Grass Filter Infiltratian Rate ..................................... 86
Grass Filter Dimensions ........................................... 86
Grass Filter Design Results ............................................. 87
Grass Filter Reports .................................................. 88
Structure Summary: ..... ...... ............... ................ 88

Silt Fence Reports: ............. ............................... 88

Grass Filter Reports: ...................................... .... 89
CHECK DAM DESIGN . ..... .... .. ......... . .... .. ......................

90

Check Dam Design Example ................ ... ............................... 90

Storm Input ............................ ............................... .... .... 90
Partic1e Size Distribution ................................................ 91
N etworking .................................................................... 91
Subwatershed Information ............ ................................. 91
Subwatershed Hydrology and Sedimelltology Inputs 92
Check Dam Design Inputs ............................................. 93
Porous Rock Check Dam Design Results ........................ 93
CHANNEL DESIGN .. ............. . .. . ......................................

,-

Channel Shape ...................................... ................................. 94

Freeboard ........................ ........... .......................................... .. 94
NONERODlBLE CHANNEL DESIGN ..... . .... .... ... ..................

95

Nonerodible Channel Example ........... ............................... ..... 95

ERODlBl.E CHANNEL DESIGN ......... . ..... ... ....... . ...... ..... .....

94

96

Erodible Channel Example ........................................ ............. 96

VEGETATED CHANNEL DESIGN . .......... .............. . ....... . .... .

98

Rerardance Class ............................. ....................................... . 98

Vegerated Channel Stability Analysis ............................ .......... 99
Vegetated Channel Capacity Analysis ...................................... 99
Vegetated Channel Example ........................................... ........ 99
ROCK RIPRAP CHANNEL DESIGN ......... . ................. ...... . .

101

Simons/OSM Method ................................ .......................... 101

Ripr.p Channel Example - Simons/OSM .......... ..... ...... 102
PADER Method ................................................................... 102
Riprap Channel Example - PADER .............................. 103
CULVERT DESIGN ............... . ......................... . ... ... ........ .

104

Culvert/Str.ight Pipe Flow Regimes ............. ...... ... .......... ...... 104
Culvert Design Example ............................ ........................... 105
Culvert Design ............................................................ . 105
PLUNGE POOL DESIGN .... .. ..... . ... .......... ... .......... .. .........

108

PI unge Pool Design Example ................................................ 108

Reports ...... ...... ...... .. ........ .. ..... .............. .. ......... 111

Report Vie\ver ............. ............ _.. .............. ...... ..................... 112

Troubleshooting ................................ .... ... ........ 115

Installation Questions .. ... ...................... ........... .. .. ................. 115
Prinng Questions ...................... .. .. ...................................... 116

Appendix -

Maps ......... ....................... ...... ..... 117

I SOERODENT (R ANNUAL) MAr OF EASTERN U.S ........... 117
I soERoDENT (R ANNUAL) MAr OF WESTERN U.S ......... 118
IsoERoDENT (R ANNUAL) MAp OF CAIlFORNIA ............. 119
I SOERODENT (R ANNUAL) MAr OF OREGON AND
WASHINGTON .................................. .. ................... . ..

120

References ......................... ...... .............. ........... 121

Acknowledgements
We continually Icarn from oue lisees. Through OUT rechnica1 support program
cf one-on-one consultation and shon courses, you provide liS with yOlle
requirements nceded ca salve more diverse and complex problems. SEDeAD
version 4 for Windows 95 and NT (SEDCAD 4) was design ed to meet your
needs of increased productivity and ease Df use. Allhough ir is perhaps unusual
to acknowledge sofrware lisers, ir is each of you who has taken me time to caH
US, who shared ideas oc real-world problems. who needed more capabilidesi ir
is you rhar ereared rhe form of version 4. We appreeiare and thank you for
yOlle advice and extensive feedback.

--

Government agencies mar design and review stormwater, eros ion and sediment
control programs have beeo essential to providing insights te regulatory needs.
The Omee of Surfaee Mining (OSM) Western, Mid-eonrinenral and Eastern
Coordination Centecs have becn acrive parricipants in rhe design and review of
program capabilities. They have been especially instrumental in providing
guidance in the format of output options thar facilitare a thorough and rapid
review of permits. The Technical Information Processing System (TIPS) of m e
Offiee of Surfaee Mining has beeo espeeially helpful in providing us wim rhe
opportunity to tesr Beta vc:rsions of SEDeAD 4 through in-house short
courses. OSM provides SEDCAD to me 24 states wirh primacy under rhe
Surfaee Mining Control and Reclamatioo Aet of 1977 (SMCRA) for use in
permir review and in the design of Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) reclamation projecrs and remediarion plans for bond forfeitUJ;e sires. OSM uses
SEDCAD ro review permit applieations from indust~y. OSM also urilizes
SEDCAD in prepara tia n of Cumulative Hydrologie Impaet Assessmenrs
(CHIA's) ro determine me eumulative hydrologie effeers of multiple mining
operarions on adjacent lands and warersheds during and a&er mining.
Consultants, indusrry and government agencies are using SEDCAD to design
and evaluate stormwarer, erosion and scdiment control sysrems for highways,
utiliries, residentiaI and commercial developmenrs. wasre disposal facilities,
silviculture operarions and in rhe dcvelopment of environmental impacr
assessments as mandated by the National Environmenral Policy Aer (NEPA) .
Feedback from rhis wide diversity of users and applicarions has enabled us t
furrner our development of SEDeAD 4 ro cncompass cross-fertilization of
ideas generared by our users.
Dr. Bruce Wilson has provided us wirh rhe framework equarions and numerous algorirnms thar he developed while ar rhe Universiry of Kenrucky. W e are
always grareful ro Bruee for his insighrs inro sediment control proeesses and
especially his pioneering research in predicring [he performance of sedimenr
basins.
Dr. Benjamin C. Dysart JII continues to be Richard's mentor. Ben's insi ghes
on how ro view aspccrs of rh e world , eh ereby creating rhe opportuniry for

10
constructive change, are again gratefulIy acknowledged. Through Richard,
Ben's counscl and influence continues ro expand and has posirively touched rhe
lives ofPam, Derrns, and many ofRichard's current and former srudents.
Qur spouses, Beth and Chuck, and oue children Stephen, Brian, and Lauren,
conrinually pur our lives in perspective. SEDeAD 4 js only one of our
drearos .

11

WHAT'S

N EW?

Welcome to SEDCAD 4 for Windows!

Whatwe did ...
Prograrnmed foc speed utilizing a 32-bit processor

Re-derived equauons and wrote new algorirnms

Stripped all code to basic equations
Created the foundaran foc rapid future developments

Results ...

Windows 95 and NT program

PulIy implements Windows 95 and NT using standards of
graphical user interface (GUI) design
Use ofWindows printer drivers provides sophisticated report and
extensive graphing capabilities
Networlcing is virtually unlimitedand unrestricted
"Junction and branch" nomenclature is no longer used
Structures can be placed at any location and in any sequence

Large mines, subdivisions and landfilIs can be modeled in a single

dynamic mn

Dynamic design mode implemented

The calculations are always running in background fiode

Once subwatershed parameters are entered, the peak flow, peak

sediment concentration, hydrograph and sedimentgraph are
irnmediately available ro design the structure

Addidelete/change Structures and Subwatersheds with a click

Structures can be inserted anywhere
The impact of alternative structures can be readily evaluated

Rapid Full Sereen Editing

Simply point-and-click

to

move ro the desired input screen

Silt Fence designs

Determine the ,ediment trap efliciency and effiuent concentration

N RCS (SCS) TR-55 emulator
Emulate the TR-55 unir hydrograph and obrain a peak flow which
closely matches TR-55

12

Graphical viewing and outputs

Zoom in capabilicy on all graphics

Print graphics using Windows printer drivers

Save graphic file (.bmp, .eps, .wmf)
... And much more!

Extensive Help rabies, figures and guidance

New 'e hcrocs' and mining spoi! erodibility 'K hctors'
Curve Num~r tables available with a click
Semicircular ~n d circular nonerodible channcls

Save and fecall erodiblc parride size distributions

Save and recalI utilines
SEDeAD 4 Repon Viewer
All of this and the (opcional) SEDeAD-AutoeAD interface!
We hope you enjoy lhe program!

13

INSTALLING

SEDeAD 4

To install SEDCAD 4 for Windows, use lhe SETUP.EXE program on lhe CD

or disk #l.
Plug lhe hardware lock inlO lhe parallel port on your computer. A
printer may lhen be plugged inlO me lock. Be sure no' 'o plug me lock
into a serial port! The end wilh ,he prongs on ,he lock (male) will go lO
thc computer.

Start Windows 95 oc NT. As a precauaon. shut clown anyapplications

rhar may be currently running.
losen rhe CD into rhe drive on your system.
If you have Aurorun enabled on youe system, che setup routine should
automatically srart afier a few moments. If ir does nor, select "Run"
from lhe "Slart" menu. Entet "D:\SETUP" in ,he dialog box (teplace
D: wi,h yoUt CD-ROM drive) and click OK.
Follow rhe instructions 00 rhe screen ro verify where ro install rhe programo
You will need lO restart your computer afrer loading SEDCAD 4.
The first ,ime you run SED CAD 4, ,he program will ask you for your setial
number. This is located on the sticker on rhe CD sleeve. Once this number is

enrered, ir should Dor be needed again unless you install the software Doto
anorher machine. Be sure ro keep rhe CD. serial number, and hardware
lock(s) in a safe place!

Lost Hardware Locks

Lost hardware lock(s) are replaced a' ,he additional copy ptice, applicable at
rhe time of arder. Ir is therefore very important that you keep track of the
hardware locks issued with your purchase.

Installation Troubleshooting
If, after you install the program, the computer does not recognize the hardware
lock, it is usually a network drive that has conflicted with the installation. To
remedy, do me foIlowing:
Remove the local machine from the network by logging off (this is
,emporaryJ).
Select "Run" from ,he "S'art" burton. Type into lhe dialog box:
C:\SEDCAD4IHWKEY\SETUP IQ4
and click OK.

14
This should being up che Senrinel Deivee Serup Progeam window. Pull
clown [he Funcrons menu, dick on "Insral! Sentinel Driver".
The program will derecr what operating system yOil are running. Ir wU
ask foe the appropeiate path. The path will be either:
C:\SEDCAD4\HWKEY\WIN_95 (Windows 95)
Oe
C:\SEDCAD4\HWKEY\Wm_NT \l386 (Windows NT)
(assuming C: is che hard deive lerrer, aod SEDCAD4 is che subdireetory
oame)
Cliek 00 OK ro load the driver. You should get a message iodicaciog the
driver was installed and thar yOil should restart yOU! system.

Uninstalling SEDCAD 4
To uoiostall SEDCAD 4 for Wiodows, use the Add/Remove ieoo 00 the
Control Panel. From (he Seart ButtDO on the Desktop, go ro Setngs>Control
Panel. Double-cliek 00 d,e Add/Remove Programs icono Cliek 00 SEDCAD
4 [rom [he lower list, then press Remove.
All SEDCAD 4 progeams aod registry serriogs will be removed. Geoerated
files aod folders (e.g. *.se4 aod *.srp) are not removed.
If, duriog the Uninstall, you eeeeive che message that a particular file (usually a
*.dll) is llor used by omer programs and should you remove, yOil may answer
safely "No to All", ro keep che file io the System folder. This does oot affeet
youe machine at aH. If yOil choose ro rernove [he file, yOU! machine will
probably funcrion fine, bue [hefe is a chance char if sorne orher program char is
nor registered in [he Windows registry uses [he file, [har program would
become unusable and would need [O be installed again.

Software Copying
Unauchorized eopying of software is iIlegal.
No marter how easy it is to .copy a file from a diskette OI CD-ROM to yOlle
PC, no manee how infrequendy you plan ro use the software, no mattee if you
promise to buy ir afteI yOll try ir out, no mattee how good yOllr imentions unauthorized copying of software is llegal.

Who is Responsible?
If you make an unauchoeized (illegal) copy of a software applieatioo, you are
considered personally eesponsible for any damages. This peesonalliability

could eosr you $25,000 or moee foe eaeh iilegal eopy you make aod for e.eh
time you use the copy_

15

How IO

CONIACI

Us

We strive to develop a continuing relationship between our clients and ourselves. Your input and advice is very important to uso Many of OUt enhancements directly address youe needs foc more capabilities, ease of use, and further

ineceases in productivity.

SEDCAD is one of the very few software packages where you actua!ly talk ro
the developers when you cal! for assistance. Since 1987, we have been fortunare to help thousands of callers with a wide variety of applications. We
believe that we also can help you with ene-on-ane consultation.

T mast efficiendy use your time we recornmend thar you use chis guide in
contacting che program developers.

Website: www.mysedcad.com
Start hefe foc most of yoU! needs. The sire has information, downloadable updates and arder forms, FAQ's and contact information .

Pam Schwab, Civil Software Design

P.O. Box 706, Ames, IA 50010
Phone and FAX: (515) 292-4115
email: pschwab@mysedcad.com

Ordering SEDCAD 4 for Windows

Pelee Informatian
Accounts/Billing
Promotiona! Literature

Windows questions

Suspect Erroes
Hardware questions

Rlchard Warner

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Universiry of Kentucky

128 Agricultura! Engineering Building
Lexingron, KY 40546-0276
Phone:
(859) 257-3000 ext. 217 (oflice)
FAX:
(859) 257-5671
email:
rwarner@mysedcad.com and/or rwarner@bae.uky.edu
Overview of SEDeAD 4 capabilities
Orre-on-ane consultation
Description Df methodologies
New application requirements
Reference materials

Short Course Scheduling

Eroded particle size analyses and questions

16
Dennis MarshaU
2725 Nonh Anthony
Fort Wayne. IN 46805
Phone:
(219) 373-1945
email:
marshald@ipfW.cdu
SEDCAD4 - AutoCAD Interface Questions
AutoCAD File Transfers

SEDCAD Update Version Support Policy

In excess of95% of our users upgrade within 6 monms of me release date of a
ncw version. Upgrades significantly nerease case of use. add subsrantial
neceases in capabilities, and vastly nereases productivity. AH users are
encouraged ro rake advantage of these features.
To bcucr serve Que clienrs Que policy is [Q supporr me newes[ release.
SEDCAD versio n 3 suppon (primarily free disk swaps and/or reset codes) will
be discontinued 6 months afrer the release ofSEDCAD 4 for Windows 95 and
NT.

Year 2000 (Y2K) Compliance Statement

SEDCAD 4 for Windows is compliant with the year 2000. It has been
tested under Windows 95 & Windows NT 4.0 with a system date greater than
12/31/1999. No pan of this product uses the hardware or system date for any
purpose, other than for display or informational purposes. Where a date is
displayed, it is displayed with the full century (i.e. 01/0112000).

17

How TO USE HELP

Extensive Help rabIes, figures. and guidance have beeo entcred ioto
SEDeAD 4. There are several ways to view topies of interest:
Click che Contents tah to browse by category
Click rhe Index tah ro see a list of index enteies: either type rhe word
you're looking foc oc scrotl through the lis!

me

Click
Find [ah ro search foc words oc phrases [har may be contained
in a Help topic

Program Navigation

Table Navigation

To move from box to box in chis program, you use standard Windows navigacion rechniques. Generally, the TAB key will move ro [he next field, oc you
may always left-click on the desired field with che mouse.

The following shortcut keys work when navigating rabIes (e.g. Partide Size,
Stage-Arca-Capacity, etc.):
To move ro:
... next column
.. .las! column
... rhe previous colurno
... the first colurnn on current row
... the next row 00 current colurno
... the tast row aod tast colurno
... (he curreot colurnn in previous row

... (he first colurnn io the first row

Press:

TAB, or RlGHT ARROW

END
SHIFT +TAB, or LEFT ARROW
HOME
DOWNARROW
CTRL+END
UPARROW
CTRL+HOME

18

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.....1

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19

GETTING STARTED
When you sran SEDCAD 4, me Maio Screen wiU be (he nitial startup screen.
Ir contains all dIe menus and cornmands nceded [O ruo a programo
The first time you ruo (he program, it is a good idea to go to [he
FilelPreferences menu. and enter (he default informatioo foc design storms and
direcrory locaricos. The defauJts may be overridden in the program, as weII.

Te evaluare a design storm and structure ncrwork, everything necessary foe

resul" will he entered from tbe Design Tah. Storm information, eroded
partide siZe distributioos, structure networking, and watershed and strucrure
design parameters will aH he accessed from tbe D esign Tah.

File Menu
New Project
Open Project...
Save
Save As ...

Clear aH work in progress. No filename is specified.

Retrieve fIle from disk
Save current informatioo ro rhe file currently specmed. If
no file is specified, this acts the same as Save ru.
Save file ro disk under a new filen ame.

ReportView

Print a saved report using the SEDeAD Report Viewer

program

Preferences

View and change program preferences

receor files

List of [he 4 mos[ recently accessed files

Exit

C lose and exit program

20

Preferences
Ger ro [he preference screen by pressing FilejPreferences. The screen allow5

default values ro be specified.

p",,.,> ~

..

------------------------

Defaulr storm type, distribution, and associated rainfalI

depchs
Default file locations

Change Designer lisr

Defaule measurement sysrem

Defaulr company information

for display on caver page

Main Screen
This screen is yOlle majn poinr of
navigarion through rhe programo
There are a series of pull-down
menus at
rop. and also (he main
index rabs.

me

~c-= ; "'"

' _r- -,

_.
-.
..!:

,-~ ,

'-~..!r1- ,)
...-... =.~~

~!~:'l'_

---..J

'__, __"!-":-.'

General Tab
This (ab holds general adminisrrative
information .

Designer box
type in yOlle name, oc

click on che drop-down button and pick ic from che Jisr

Once you have encered your name, ir will auromaricalJy be added ro che dropdown Iisr for all future runs,

Project Title box

Anything emered hece will appear as che citle on che caver page of che reporto

Comments box
DecaiJed comments may be made here, These will also appear on che cover
page of che report,

21
Informational yellow background boxes - boxes with a yellow background are not editable or changeable. They contain information that has
either been calculated or determined from somewhere else.
For example. che file Dame is shown when [he current run infarmarion has

beeo saved to a file. The file Dame can be entered anytime during (he entry of
input data. To save to a file, c1ick 00 (he FilelSave As menu located at (he
upper left of che screen.
You may also open an existing file by clicking FilelOpen or one of the
filenames from [he recen t files lise.
The ftlename will chen appear in che box.

--

Last Modified box

This box shows lhe dale and lime thal the file was lasl modified.

Design Tab
The Design Tab is where you launch mast of youe design screens. There are
three (3) main areas:
Stoem Informarion

Sedimentology
Structure Networking and Design

Results Tab
The Results Tab is where you will formar and view youe reports.

22

23

STORM INFORMATION
Storm Information
This is where you en ter rhe design storm
for rhe runo If you have specified values
in the preferences screen, youe

derault

values will automatically be entered.

Storm Type
Click on me drop down bunon ro obtain a listing of available rypes of rainfal!
distributions. Thc geographic bounds ror rhe Natural Resources Conservaran
Service (NRCS), (formerly Soil Conservation Service, SCS) are shown:

The NRCS Srorm Type Distriburions are considered very conservative - .c.
the peak flow predicnons based on these Type Distribunons will be higher man
almost any actual measured storm.
Two other options are available -

User-defined distribution and rainfall

evento

NRCS Distribution Determination

A very simplified description of the memodology

rioos follows:

10

determine NRCS distribu-

Assume rbar the incremental rainfall values are known for 10 years of storms
throughout the applicable regioo Df a Type Distribution. Fer example, foc rhe
Type II distribunon data would be available from par" or a11 of 40-plus states.
The enrire record is scanned to determine rhe highest 3-minutc rainfall
intensiry. Similarly ,he highest 5, 10, 15, 30 minute values are determined for
the entire geographical area. Also. the highest 1, 2, 3 ... hour rainfall intensi~
ties are Usted. These obscrved highest intensities are rhen placed in a rainfall

24
distrihution by putting me most incense value
at a given temporallocation of che design
storm, then proceeding to place che next
highest ooto the right, aod theo 00 the left,
chen 00 (he righr, ctc.

irmililiHII!
Uo

\O .2 "

:11 2l'

:o 1

-....

49 pt or 241 pt NRCS Distribution - A Comparison

Historical Perspective
Mast regulations specify a design srocm. such as a 10 year-24 hour storm.
These regulations do not specify the required desigo distribution. SEDCAD 4
enables the usee ro specify various NRCS Type distributions oc enter a user~
defioed distributioo based 00 analysis of rainfall data for a geographical region.
Additiooally, SED CAD 4 provides [Wo options for fitting a NRCS distribu[ion, namely 49 poine and 241 paim disuibutions. The 49 point distribution
is traditionally used io textbooks and is used in SEDCAD versioo 3.1. The
SCS used the 49 point method io the 1975 versioo ofTR-55, aod appeared 10
change to the 241 point distributioo with the 1986 TR-55 versioo. lo 1986,
NRCS distciburions appear co have beeo curve-firred ro provide data at 0.1
hOllr increments, whereas, che 49 poine distrihution uses 0.5 houe incremenrs.
Both the 49 point and the 241 point disrributioos contain idenncal data poinrs
at 0.5 hour incremems. The only difference between rhese twa disrribuoons is
mar for rhe 49 p.aim distriburion. a linear interpolation between 0.5 hour
values was applied and for the 241 poim distribution curve fitting was used.

Peak Flow Considerations

The rype af distrihurion selected and rhe choice of number of points used in
fitting a disrriburion affects rhe peak flow. Using rhe 241 point distriburion
will result in a higher peak flow than usiog the 49 point distributioo. Other
factors that affect peak flow are curve number. time of concentrarion and the
shape of the dimensiooless unit hydrograph. SEDCAD 4 provides fout
dimensionless unir hydrograph shapes ro enable rhe user to moce c10sely
account foc the hydrologic response of a subwatershed. Obviously. when
dilfcrcnt parametcrs are sclected and dilfcrcm distributions or fit of di5tribu~
rions are chosen and diEFerent peak flows resulto rhe usee must decide which
parameters oc distribution selections are most appropriate for a given applica
tion.
p

Implications of Distribution Selection

Ar firsr a user may assumc rhar the 0.1 hour rime increment more c10sely
captures the rainfall intensiry and is rherefore more accurate. Oc it.could be
assumed that whatever distribucion, oc pacameters, creacing rhe highest peak

i,

25

flow is mast conservative and rherefore will provide [he highest leve! of
protection. The usee is cautioned ro al50 consider me made! being used, rhe
design storm frequency. gcomorphology of natural stream s and th e liability foc

downstream fIooding when selecring a disrribution oc distribution fit.

Natural srreams Oow a~ bankfull at a recurrence of berween 1.5 and 2 ycars
(Rosgen, 1996). Any storm with a reeurrenee interval gre.ter than 1.5 to 2
years will tempor.rily inundare the floodplain. A 10 ye.r-24 hour design
storm will flow mo the floodplain. be temporarily sroced, and then flow back
ro me stream. The temporary storage significantly attenuates [he peak flow.
With models sueh as HEC-2 or WSPRO, which require extensive surveyed
input data of the longitudinal profile of che stream and Dumemus crosssections of che stream and adjacent floodplain, ir would be appropriate ro use
the 241 poinc distribution fir. The higher prediered peak flow of rhe 241 poinc
fit. which occurs for approximately 6 minutes, is accounted for in [hese models
through modeling rhe floodplain and baekwarer effeces.
Models sueh as SEDCAD 4, TR-55 and HEC-I use simplified rouring
tcchniques mar do nor require such an exrensive srrcam inpur dacabase as rhe
HEC-2 programo These simplified stteam routing reehniq ues are eomplercly
juscified for mese cypes of modds. Since these models do noc account for
floodplain srorage, use of me 24 1 point distribucion will resulr in an overdesigll
of natural channels for storms with recurren ce intervals greater than 1.5 ro 2
years. This overdesign is based on a 6 minute interval when the highest peak
flow occurs.

Effect of Distribution on Size of Control Structures

Culvert Design Assessment
The design of eulvem has traditionally been aecomplished by passing rhe peak
flow without completing a backw3ter anaIysis, which would require surveying
che up-gradient ponded area of the culvert. The headwater-discharge relationship is esrablished for specified eulvert invert, rype, lengrh, slope, and
taiIwater condirion. From rhese input data. a culvert pipe is sized. Tradirional
culvert design disregards the up-geadient stage-storage relationship. Again. if a
comprehensive backwater analysis is ro be complered. and the usee is taking
credit for me attenuation of peak Oow using the suge-srorage relationship of
rhe ponded up-gradient storage area then the 241 paint distribution is
appropriate. If rhe standard culvert procedures are employed rhe 49 paint
procedure is recommended.
Example:
A eomparison of rhe 49 point and me 241 poinr NRCS Type II distriburions
for a 10 acre disturbed watershed is discussed herein. Precipitation values are
for Chicagd, IL. The 10 year-24 hourType II disttibution is used wirh a
rainfall deprh of 4.0 inches. The curve number is 86, che time of concentrarion is 0.13 hrs, and rhe dimensionless unir hydrograph shape is Fast.

26
Culvert Assessment
The peak dischacge foc the 49 point and 241 point distributions is 22.88 cfs
and 32.09 cfs, rcspectively. The associated culverts are 24 and 30 nehes,
rcspcctive1y. Culvert design was analyzed without backwatcr srorage consideratians, which is (he standard practice foc mos[ applicarions. The 241 point

distcibution genecated a peak flow about 9 cfs highec than the 49 point
distribution. Viewing the hydrograph for the 241 poioe distribution ir can be
seco rhar discharge excceds 22.88 cfs foc 22 minutes.

Now ler us consider accounting for [he srage-storage effecr up-gradienr of a 24

inch culvert foc me 241 point distcibution. This will contrase the 49 point
standard culvcrt design with the 241 point backwater culverr designo The
ponded acea is assumed to inccease from 40 by 40 fe at elevation 650 fe ro 80
by 80 fe at 655 fe elevation. The pond structuce was used foc this analysis.
Results show tha[ me Peak In was 32.09 cfs, and the Peak Out was 23.26 cfs.
This is very similar to [he standard culvert anaIysis used in che 49 pojDt
distribution resultiog in 22.88 cfs being discharged rhrough a 24 inch culvert.
Thus rhe results are equivalent.
Conrrasring further, ler us consider whether the 30 inch culvert would be
selecred anyway based on the 241 point disrriburion. Again backwarer is
accounted for using rhe pond rourine. The results show a Peak In of32.09 cfs
and Peak Out of 27.07 cfs. Thus, rhe difference in selecring a 30 inch versus a
24 inch culvert is an inccease in discharge of3.81 cfs (16 %). The backwatec
associated with [he 24 inch aud 30 inch culverts is 3.76 fe and 3.07 ft,
respectivdy. The rradeoffs become apparenr. The 241 poinr disrribution
results in a 30 inch culvert, based on standard culvert design memodology. If
this is selected in contrasr ro a 24 inch culvert, the headwarer is reduced by
0.69 ft and the discharge is increased by 16 percent. Also, culvert cost is a
consideracion.
Another point ro be consideced is that a 24 inch and 30 inch culvert can
discharge 26.90 cfs and 40.05 cfs a[ 4.5 fe headwatec, cespectively. The
dewatecing time foc the entice flow ro pass through me 24 in eh and 30 inch
culvert is 19 and 14.5 minutes, respectively. The length oftime mat the
culvert is dischacging aboye 23 cfs is 3.5 and 10 minutes foc the 24 inch and
30 inch pipe, cespcctive\y.

What does it all mean?

The tradeoffs between a 24 inch and a 30 inch culvert for {he peak discharge
of32.09 cfs resulring from the 241 poinr distriburion being selected and
backwatec being analyzed ace:
1. The 30 inch culvert costs more
2. Dischacge is highec by 16% foc the 30 inch pipe
3. Discharge aboye 23 cfs will exir {he 30 inch culvert for 3 times longer
than for (he 24 inch culvert

27
AH of [hese tems are considered ro be negatives in thar cosr is higher and
downstream flooding is poremially increased and sustained foc a looger period
oftime.
Advantages of the larger culvert are:

1. The f10w eapacity at 4.5 ft headwater is greater by 13 cE; than for the
24 ineh pipe
2. Headwater is less by 0.7 ft
3. The entire storm is diseharged abollt 5 minutes faster for the 30 ineh
culvert

The conclusion, foc (his situadon, is thar (he choice of rhe 49 point oc the 241
paint distribution is essentially inconsequenrial, unless COS! oc parcodal
downstream flooding is a major concern.

Channel Design Assessment

For the same 10 ac disturbed w3tcrshed, a channel anaIysis was completcd.
Again. the peak f10w for the 49 point and the 241 point distributions is 22.88
and 32.09 efs. respective/y. Channe/s analyzed are
l . a 2 ft wide. 2: 1 sideslope concrete ehanne/ on a 2% slope
2. an 8 & wide, 3: 1 sideslope eanhen channel transporting sedimenr
laden water on a 1% slope
3. a grass w:ltcrway. 8

ft wide, 3: 1 sideslopes and a 2% channel d o pe

The resulr is that all ehanne/s are stable as design for both peak flows and the
only ehange is an inereased ehanne! depth of abollt 0.1 to 0.1 5 ft for the 49
point versus the 241 point distribution.

Again the conclusion is [har 00 coosequeorial chaoge io chanoel design

occurred duc te the choice of distribution, and that a 1.2 to 1.8 nch difFerence
io channel depth is withio construction specifications for channels.

Pond Design Analysis

A similar analysis was conducted foc a pond receiving runoff from a 50 ac
watershed. The differcnce in embankment height foc me [W O diffecenr
distriburions is Iess rhan 0.2 ft.

28

User-defined Rainfall Distribution

This selection is locared undee rhe Seoem Type aptioo.
For a given geographical regian, sorne SEDeAD usees have developed storm
type distributions based on actual rainfall data for me
region . Usually about 30 years of incremental rainfaU data
~....~
.~
is needed ro condller 5uch an anaJysis. The henefir of
~ I~
conducting mis type of analysis is mar me storm rype
:: _:=;.~ distribution is specific to (har regian. From very limired

---;;
.,..= I
! ..

~ .~:~~~m~~_-_~.;t5
-

::

a<eoo

JI"

-~:-::.:.:i~~-.-.:!il

~ _. _

observations by the SEDeAD authors, the resulting

distribution is Iess intense [han the NRSC Type distribution
thar was formulated foc a much larger geographic area. The

m :::'<

resule is a lower predicted peak flow value foc a given design

..1Lf :; -/

stoem frequency and durarian than predicrcd using che

NRCS distribution .

--"~ ~~~n:":"'r
.

To enter a user-defined distriburion, enter

[he distribution name
the accumulated dimensionless depths foc each one half-haur time
incremento The final emry corresponding ro [he 24 hOllr mark should
be 1.00.
The user-defined disrcibution will now appear as a selecrion when
Type drop-down button is c1icked for fu,"re runs.

me Stoem

Input Storm Event

This selection is located ondee [he Srorm Type oprion.

To eorer a srofm evenr, entee [he

accumulated rime (real time, in hOlles)
accumulated rainfaU depth (real deprh, in inches)
for me storm being modeled.
The Rainfall Eveor apdon is very useful foc research
rhar is being conducted [O assess rhe predicrive capabilities ofSEDCAD. The predicred vs. observed
hydrographs can be evaluated. A single parameter
sensiriviry analysis can be conducred ro determine (he
best fir of observed values vs. runoff volume, predicted peak flow, or a complete hydrograph.
AddirionaUy, the NRCS (SCS) Curve Number (CN) can be determined for the
accua! storm event based on measured runaff volume. With enough srorms
from a warershed with a constan[ land use, rhe SEDCAD user can ascertain an
average eN for rhar land use. For example. rhe CN associated wirh a graded

29
spoil can be determined foc a series of storms and a representative eN can be
selecred foc future designs. Similarly, this same type of analysis can be
conducted foc a 3% vegetated crown of a landfill, a desert pavement in semi-

arid areas, oc agricultura! pasrure lands.

The RainfaJl Event aprian is very useful 'w avoid oc conducr lidgation in caurt
proceedings. Assume mar [he incremental rainfall was recorded foc an actual
storm (on-sire oc at a nearby aieporr) and a mining company, cornmercial
development. landftll, etc. is involved in licigation because of downstream
flooding. The SEDeAD user can show the pre-development peak flow and
compare
value with
during construction peak flow, with controls such
as sediment hasins in place. and show thar flooding would have been warse
during pre-development conditions. Lkewise, a downstrcam entiry couId
prove mat an ineffective stormwater control plan was the cause of flooding and
sue for damages.

mar

me

Design Storm
The design srorm is descrihed hy frequency (recurrence interval) (years) and

stoem duraton (houes). Yon can choose from a lst of aften used dcsign storms
hy clicking on the drop-down hunon and then choosing the desired design
storm. You may also designate a different sterm frequency and durarion by
choosing "Orher" sroero selecciono You will have the opportuniry to specifjr rhe
frequency and duration, and ir will auromarically he added to rhe list of dcsign
srorms foe furure design options.

Nore thar you can designare the Design storrn as a default oprion using
prefeeences.

Rainfall Depth
Infoemation on srorm depths associated with a specified frequency and
duration may be found in several references:
Eastern U .S. - Hershfield, D. M. 1961. Rainfall frequency atlas of the
United States foe durations from 30 minutes to 24 hours and retuen
periods from 1 te 100 years. U.S. Department of Commerce, Weamer
Bureau Tcchnica! Paper No. 40. Washingron, D.e. (out of print).
These maps are located in the Appendix .
Western U.S. - Miller, ).E, R. H. Fredcrick, and R.). Tracey. 1973.

Precipitation-frequency atlas of the Western United 5tates. U.5.

Deparrmenr of Commerce, Nationa! Weather Service, NOAA Atlas 2,
Silver Springs, MD.
Volumc 1
Montana
Volume II
Wyoming
Volumc III
Colorado

30
Volume IV
New Merico
VolumeV
Idaho
Utah
VolumeVI
Volume VII
Nevada
Volume VIII
Arizona
Volume IX
Washington
Volume X
Oregon
VolumeXI
California
A1aska - U.S. Department ofCommerce. 1963. Probable Maximum
Precipitation and Rainfall-Frequency Data for A1aska. U.S. Deparnnent
ofCornmerce. Nacional Oceanic and Atmospheric Admistration
Technical Paper No. 40, Washingron, D.C.
Eastern and Central U.S. - Frederick, R. H ., V. A. Myers and E. P.
Auciello. 1977. Five ro 60 minute precipitaran Frequency for
Eastern and Central Unired States. U.S. Departmenr of Commerce,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admistration Technical Memorandum NWS HYDRO-35, Washington, D.C.
Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP) arnounts have been published
in the U.S. Narional Wearher Service Hydromereorological Reports
(1943-1984) .

me

Graph Storm
This visual display wiU show rhe intensiry of various Type Distributions. The
steepest segment of

me accumulated curve creates [he peak flow.

Ir is

reCOffi-

mended thar rhe user view alternative Type curves ro see [he diEferences among
each distribution.

Comparison belween Type 11 and Type 111 Distributions

. . .. ..

The Incremental Rainfall option provides a display in 0.05 hour increments.

From this display rhe construcrion of a storm distribution can be readily seen.
Again it is recornmended that you contrast various Type Disrributions using
rhe incremental mode selection and pay particular anenrion ro rhe difrerent
rainfall intensiries associared wirh each distribution. The duration of various
design storms can also be observed.

31
'~~~~----~~~----------.

~s~_~._~o~-.~_IIt~~l

l
",,--c--,--,--c-

i::

J",00;-"";:...;..,.",._
..........w...J !
,
elDl11(I&ItI:m~1>I 1
____ .. ___________

T-~~~ _________

Comparison between Type If and Type 111 Distributions

R Storm
The R-storm value is used in [he pond sediment stoeage R-annual calcularion
method. In chis method, [he required sediment storage is determined as a
function of me R-storm , average anoual R, and number of years of sediment

storage desired. See R-annuaJ method foc a more detailed explanaron of (his
procedure.

R-storm is based on che rainfaJl quantiry and stoem distrihution specified in

me Srorm Type, Design Stotm an d Rainfall Depm input values, and is
calculated using the updated equarion by Brown and Fostet (1987) which
neludes more data foc es developmenr ::l nd h; s ; hetter functionaJ form at low

intensities (Renard, K. G., er. al, 1997).

32

33

SEDIMENTOLOGY
The sedimentology oprioD burton is functional when ir is
checked. Otherwise only hydtologic cakulations will be
preformed. To eorer partic1e size distribuons [he sedimentology buttoo must be rurned on.

Particle Size Distribution

Eroded partide size distributions (EPSDs) should be entered whenever
significant changes in soil (oc spoil) texture are faund. For example, the Ahorizon and B oc e-harilOn soil textures may be quite different since the lower
horizon soils may have significantly higher day contents. Similarly, ffeshly
placed spoi! and weathered spoi! in the Appalachian coa! mining areas may
have significantly different EPSDs. Another EPSD might be entered for a soi!
used foc reclamaran thar is essentially a composite of diffeceor soil horizons oc
differenr soil textures.

Input Options
Create New button
This is used to npU[ a new eroded particle size disrciburion
project oc IDearan. You will be prompted foc:

foc

a particular

a filename and locadon ro save the EPSD

a Dame foc che first percent finer disrcibution

The file will be saved with a ".pfn" exrension.

Open Existing button

This will open a dialog box allowing the specification of any previously-saved
partide size distribution file. When the file is chosen, the data will be ftlled in
the parricle size grid.

Add % Finer button

This allows the addition of a EPSD, corresponding ro the current particle sizes.
Note that all particle size distributions in any one file must have me same mm
sizes, while the percent finer values differentiates bet:\veen the distributions.

34

Change % Finer Name button

Since [he % Finer Name is used in the cest of the program as list-box choices
and rcpons, ir is important mar each distribution be clearly labcled. If you
need ro change [he label fOI a disrribution, you click chis burton.

Graph button
This will show a graph Df all particle size distributions entered in the current

file.
P~ S!z: ~)'

Particle Size Grid

me

Xfiner
~

me

Enter
eroded particle sizes, in mm, and
corresponding percent finer distribution. The mm
sizes will normally correspond to standard sieve
sizes. For [he finer sediment size fraction. mm
sizes usually correspond ro [he standard procedures
associated wich pipette oc hydrometer procedures.
Standard rabie navigation applies ro this grid. Ofeen, ir is easier ro enter all
mm sizes by using [he clown arrow, then moving ro [he next colurnn. To enrer
rhe percent finer disrribution, use the clown arrow.

Specific Gravity
The specific gravity of sands. silrs and clays normally ranges from 2.61 ro 2.67.
In rhe case of eroded soils, aggregares commonly occur and are very stable umil
dispersed. Soil aggregates consist of day and silr size partieles chemically and/
or physically bonded rogerher. As such. air is entrained between rhe bonded
particles. Depending on rhe size of the aggregate, the specific gravity ranges
from approximarely 1.6 ro 1.8 gm/cc. A representative specific gravity for a
soil mar has individual sand, silr and day size particles, and soil aggregares is
abour 2.5. This is rhe defaulr value used in SEDCAD.

Submerged Bulk Specific Gravity

This parameter is used in rnodeling particle settling in the Irnhoff cone. As a
sercling soil particle approaches the bottom of an Irnhoff cone, the water
contained between previously deposited partieles musr be displaced. The
submerged bulk specific gravity is a function of me deposited sediment size
distribution. It is assumed thar rhe majority of sand sizes have been deposired
within up gradienr sedimenr controIs. It is further assumed rhar a significant
portion of day parrides will llot settle within rhe one hour time-frame of me
Irnhoff cone test. Therefore me bulk submerged specific graviry is based on a
mixture of particles rhar contain a small fraction of sand, a relatively small
fracrion of day and a significant percentage of silt. Based on these assumprions, rhe [ange of bulk submerged specific graviry is froro approximately 1.05
ro 1.35 gmlcc. A defaulr value of 1.25 is used in SEDCAD.

35

Comments
The EPSD will ofren contain sand, silt and clay-size particles. With respect to
the performance of sediment control structures 5uch as filter fabric feoces,
sedimenr traps, sediment basins, etc.,
mest important range of sediment
sizes is from medium silr (0.031-0.016 mm) ro very fine silr (0.008-0.004
mm). The sand and coarse silt size fractions will ofren be substantially
deposited within a sediment control structure. The dar fracrien will substantiaUy pass through sediment control structures, unless natural oc artificial
floccularion occurs. With this in mind, ir should be realized that rhe etoded
percent finer values of (he sand and day fraedon are flor as critical as thar cf
(he silt fracrion.

me

The exception ro [his is if a small sediment trap receives a high inflow generated from a large storm. In (his case, a fracrien of [he coarse silt and very fine
sand may pass through me sediment control.
SEDCAD is a rather unique model in that it tracks the change in partide size
distribution as sediment-Iaden flow proceeds from the slope where it originates
ro the subwatershed outlet, routed ro a structure, passes through a sediment
control structure, and finally down-gradient. Changes io PSDs will occur
mrough deposition while being comed, as a fuoction of the performance of
sediment controls, and as different PSDs are combined from various
subwatersheds.
The change in PSD (and therefore the performance of sediment controls) can
be readily seeo through two sediment basios operating in series. The upgradient basin may have a sediment trap efficiency of 85%, whereas the second
basio trap efficiency may be reduced ro 30% sioce the more readily deposited
sediment partides have previously beeo removed by the fics! basio.
Be cautioned that simplified methods, such as tables and charts or simple
programs (which only predict the independent performance of individual
sediment contcols) wiII yield erroneous results when applied ro sediment
controls in series.

Partiele Size Distribution Laboratory Analysis

The EPSD is normally determined from a laborarory experiment using a
rainfall simularor. Thece is not an ASTM oc ASAE standard. A representative
composite soil (oc spoil) is placed in an expanded metal pan. The soil should
be air-dried but nor ground and no dispersing agent should be used. The pan

is placed on abour a 9% slope. A rainf.Ul simularor is used ro produce the

requiced rainfall intensity and dcop size distribution mimicking the highest 1specified
hour rainfal1 intensity of the specified Type storm distciburion foc
design srorm. The sediment-Iaden runoffis comed ro a series of standard
sieves. Water passing the lowest sieve (u5uallya 200-mesh sieve) is retained in

me

36
a bucker foc further processing. Afree rainfall is completed,

me sediment

remaining in rhe sieves is lighrly washed from sieve ro sieve, paying particular
attenrion ro rhe sediment remaining on the 200-mesh sjeve. A representarive
sample is collected from me bucket containing (he fine ffaenan sedimenr

(passing the 200-mesh sieve), and is furrher processed by using a piperre,

hydromerer oc partide size anaIyzer ro find me percent finer cf various silt and
day 5ize parricles. No dispersing agent should be used on
maintain and mimic conditions cf eroded soils.

me sample, to

To determine rhe required l-hour storm intensity foc a 10 year-24 houe, 4.2-

ioch, Type II distribution, eoree me values ioto rhe Storm Informarion secrion
of SEDCAD. Click on Graph Storm burton. Move approximare!y !-hollr to
each side of rhe inflection point cf me storm (occuring near 12-hours for a

Type 11). Ar 12.5 hallrs the accumula,ed rainfull is abou, 3.1 inches and for
11.5 hOllrs the accumulated rainfall is about 1.2 inches. Therefare ,he highest
1-hollr intensity is abour 1.9 inches per hour. This value should be used ro
perform the rainfall simulator experimento The run time should be between 12
[O 1 hOllr.

Particle Size Classification

Size. in mm
16.00 - 8.00
8.00 - 4.00
4.00 - 2.00
2.00 - 1.00
1. 00 - 0.5 O
0.50 - 0.25
0.25 - 0.125
0.125 - 0.062
0.062 - 0.031
0.031 - 0.016
0.016 - 0.008
0.008 - 0.004
0.004 - 0.002
0.002 - 0.001
0.001 - 0.0005
0.0005 - 0.00024

Class Description
Medium grave!
Fine grave!
Very fine grave!
Very coarse sand
Coarse sand
Medium sand
Fine sand
Very find sand
Coarse silt
Medium silt
Fine sil,
Very fine silt
Coarse clay
Medillm clay
Fine clay
Very fine clay

Total Sediment and Settleable Solids

Several different sediment values are outpur ro meet various user needs. Tans
of sediment in and out of the basin are provided ro determine the overall pond
efficiency and [O understand [he toral sediment loading of the down-gradient
waterbody. Sediment concentrations are provided as both peak and volume

weighted.

-'

37
Sedimenr concentrations are given fae total sediment and settleahle solids.
Toral sedimenr is determined by evaporating water from (he sample and
weighing (he remaining sedimenL SettleabIe solids are determincd in (he
laboratory using an Irnhoff cone. Thc ane litee sample is allowed ro setde foc
one hour and (he quantity of settleable solids is rcad from the scale 00 the
Imhoff cone. In SEDeAD 4, settleable solids are determined from a mathemarical representarion' of [he Imhoff cone and Stoke's law.
Potenrial fluvial impacr can he determined from [hese various parameters. For
example, a large portion of total sediment load oould potentially be deposited
in a large down-gradient reservoir and partially reduce its efficiency foe
recreational, water suppIy, oc vacious mulriple uses. Setdeahle solids are
important foc determining
potencial impacr of deposition on spawning
areas which can also degrade potemial foad sources. The totaJ sediment load
(which should primarily consist of fines, silts and days) directlyaffects the
turhidity, light penetration, and [he ahlity of a stream to perform its various
functions. Sediment concentrauon and durarion are mosr imporrant in
assessing
impacr on fish and aquatic nvertebrares.

me

me

38

--

39

NETWORKING
There are no restrictions in nerworking structures with regard ro number of
structures or spatial placement.

1)

Structure Networking
Informacioo to be enrered is [he
structurc cype

structure Iinkage
Muskingum routing parameters (ro nexc structure)
structure description. useful in ourput claricy

Structures can be entered by c1icking che Add 5tructure buttoo, oc optionally

may be imponed from ,he SED-ACAD interface.
The necworking of structures begins wich numbering each structure. The
numbering of stcuctures is a usee preference and can be done any way char che
usee is mase cornfortable with. We recornmend numbering from che upmost
gradient structure clown to the confluence of two streams and then continuing
[he numbering sequence at che up-gradienr section of the adjacent stream.
Stcucrures can be added or deleted. Structures can be readily changed, e.g.
from an erodible channel to a grass-warerway. Only one srructUre can be
routed ro rhe toral watershed outlet, rhe outler being designared as O (zero),
The only requiremenrs are rhar the mosr down-gradient strucrure musr be
roured ro rhe O outler, and rhere can be only one O outler.

We recommend thar rhe user fiests sketch the loearion of structures and label
them by structure number and type.

Structure Linkage
Linkage among structures is accomplished by designaring rhar water flows
from structure number X ro structure number Y. Y is rhe target structure. The
flow from one oc more srructures mar discharge ro a single down-gradient
structure.

40
Example 1
Sr[ucrure 1 flows ro
structure 4, scructure 2
flows ro 4, and structure
4 flows to ,he ouder (O) is
-a vaJid networking

Slr.:;tUle'Twe

Til$Struclute (lIowslno! S\JUCtlIe #

HuD

Nu'

N~I

,~,
~,

""

option. In chis case, structure 3 was once in the networking and since beeo
de1eted. Srrucrure numbers are automatically assigned sequentially as struc-

tutes are added, and deleted from [he list if

me structure is deleted.

Hint: whenever possible, try to simply ehange a strueture type (by pulling down the
list 011 the right hand edge and ehoosing the new type) imtcad ofdeleting it
pennanently. Deletng structures reduces the total nttmber ofstructures availab/e to
the run, new subwatershed information wli need to be added, and overal!
networkillg may be compromised unless rechecked carefolly.
Every stcucture must have a designated down-gradienr rarget structure. The
target structure is [he nexr srructure irnrnediately down-gradient of me
previous srructure.
Example 2
fu anorher example of linking srructures, assume mar two channels convey
runoff ro a common culvert which discharges to a down-gradient channe! rhar
eonveys rhe diseharge ro a pondo We can designare eaeh of rhe ehannels as
Strueture 1 and 2 (SI and S2), rhe eulverr as S3 rhe down-gradient ehannel
and pond as S4 and 55, respeerively. To link, SI flows to 53; 52 flow to S3, S3
flows to S4 and S4 flows t~ S5 whieh flows to rhe ouder (O).

Structure Numbering Example

This schematic shows
one way to number the
structures. The only
requiremenr is mat the
most down-gradient
srructure be routed ro the O
labeled srruerure. AlI
srructures ro be designed musr
be numbered.
As shown, rhe diseharge from
Srrueture 1 (S 1 - erodible
channe!) flows ro Structure 2
(52 - pond sediment rrap)
510 MJlL

41
5tructures 2 and 3 (52 - pond and 53 - erodible channe!) both f10w to
5tructure 4 (54 - culvert)
5tructure 4 (54 - culvert) f10ws to 5tructure 5 (S5 - riprap channe!)
Structure 5 (S5 - riprap channel) f10ws to Structure 6 (S6 - pond
sediment basin)
5tructure 6 (56 - pond) f10ws to Structure 7 (S7 - pi unge pool)
Structure 8 (S8 - grassed waterway channcl) f10ws to Structure 9 (59 culvert)
Structure 7 (S7 - plunge pool) and Structure 9 (S9 - culvert) f10w to
Structure 10 (S 1O - nul!)
Structure 10 (510 - nul!) exits the watershed, designated with a O (zero)

Channel - efodib!e
-----pOd
------ --- ~_. _------ , ---

Cllanne!- erodible
--'-~-----cUivet --"-- - -

-- ------- --- - - --

Networking Screen

Input of Structure Network

The Networking Screen shows the entry of structore linkages. Ir is highly
recornmended thar [he SEDCAD 4 user initially draw a schematic of [he
problem and labe! all structures.
Hint: An easy method to input information quickly is first to add alJ structures

(using the "Add Strueture" button far eaeh struetu,,), and "leet the strueture type
far eaeh strueture. Next, cliek on the "fows into" strueture number area, jil! in the
"jlows into" linkage nttmber, thm use Ihe
Sli-~N~
down arrow to proceed to the next strucure.
{f o!.s
Then ji!! in the ''Deseription'' eolumn,
# DA":.,
again using the down arrow key to navigate
to the next lineo The last information to
enter is any "Routing" to n ex! structure.

C!ick on the Routing edit button to en ter

in thtse va/ues.
These linkages can also be viewed wirh
the "Show Linkages" burron.

4'
#
1I1O NtiI

II~

"
'""

42

43

SUBWATERSHED INFORMATION
AJI nformario" foc watersheds and detailed structure paramerers are oPO[ in
me design secciono The desigo sequence, fOI each structure, is ro enter (he
hydrograph and sedimentgraph inputs for all contributing subwatersheds, and
theo emee (he detailed structure "pues.
The screen auromarically defaults ro [he lowesr numbered structure (usually
SI) and 10 hydrology inputs for a watershed. Click on Add SWS
(Subwatershed) and the hydrology (and sedimentology) input records appear
wi th SWS 1 en tered.

Subwatershed Hydrology Input

Information
For each subwa[ershed, (SWS) data is needed for the:
area

time of concemration
K and X roming to (he structure (oprional)
NRCS (SCS) Curve Number (CN)

selection of a dimensionless unir hydrograph shape

Subwatershed Area
The area of (he sHbwarershed is simply enteced a&er being calculated by using
a planimeter, from a surveying oc earchwork package. digitized using
SEDCAD-AuIOCAD, or it may be automatically entered using the SEDCADAutoCAD input programo

Time of Concentration
The time of concentracion is used to determine how long ir rakes runoff from
the tntirr SWS to reach the outlet of the SWS. To determine this, the hydraulically longest flow path is needed. Normally [he time of concentrarion
consisrs of an overland flow componenr and a channel flow component.
Overland flow is calcula[ed by [he NRCS (SCS) upland curve method (NRCS,
1975). Channe! flow can be estimared using the equa[ions deve!oped for large
gullies, diversions and low flowing srreams (category 8 in the Rouring Calcularor) or full bank flow in srreams (category 9), or using Manning's equation to
determine a time.

44
Time of concentrauon affects peak flow and hydrograph shape. Ir does flor
efrece runoff volume. A larger time of concentration results in a lower peak
flow.

Time of concentration is Dor used ro determine time from me subwatershed

outlet ro me structure, unless che suhwatershed outler is located at me suucture. It is striccly determined within (he SWS boundary. To roure from
SWS ouclet ro [he down-gradient structure. use dte Muskingum Rouring
paramerers.

me

Muskingum Routing
Muskingum routing is used te route flow from an up-gradient to a downgradient location. Ir is used foc:
rouring hetween stfuctures
routing from a subwatecshed oudet (Q irs structure, when
subwatershed is nO( located at me structure

me ourlet of a

Rouung is completed from [he outkt of che up-gradient structure ro me Otltltl

of me down-gradienc suuc[Ure. Musk..ingum couting is the vehicle used to
anenuare a hydrograph while ir is being spatiaUy transferred. The Muskingum
paramerers are K and X. K accounts foc me time ir takes ro proceed from an
up-graclient ro a down-gradienr location. Muskingum K roerefore equates ro
rhe toral hydraulic routing time beLWcen structuces oc rhe time from me auder
of a subwarershed ro a srcucrurc. Muskingum X is functionally relared tO
average srream reach velociry and accaunts for me a[[enuarion of me
hydrograph sueh rhar X = (0.5 V)/(1.7 + V).

me

The hydrograph comed along a srream is attenuated due to the flow resistance
along the stream bed and banks. Attenuation can be viewed as a spreading out
of rhe hydrograph, rhereby lowering rhe peak flow. }" Muskingum K inereases
and as Muskingum X approaches zero, hydrogcaph attenuation incceases
rhereby furrher redueing rhe peak flow during rouring.
The Muskingum couting parametecs can be estimated using [wo derived
equations in SEDCAD 4. The fir,r caregory (referred ro as 8 in rhe Routing
Calcularor) is for large guJlies and smaJl meams. The veloeiry-slope relarionship is V = 3 x square root ofS(%). It is generally applicable ro steams flowing
about 2/3 to 1 ft deep. Examples of ehannels where category 8 is applicable
are:
a parabolie guJly on a 1% slope flowing about 1 ft deep and eonveying
10 cEs
a 7 fr wide trapezoidal ehannel' with a graveJly ro small eobble bed,
eonveying 15 cEs along a 1% gradient at a flow deprh of 2/3 ft
a 20 ft wide trapezoidal ehannel with 2: 1 side slopes, a 1% bed slope
and eonveying 40 efs at a flow depth of 2/3 ft

45
a trapezoidal channd with 4: I side slopes conveying 80 cfs ar 2/3 fr
deprh on a 3 ro 4% slope
The second category (designared 9 in the Rouring Calcularor), is for channds
flowing generally 4 to 5 fr deep, i.e. near bank full. The velociry slope
relationship is V = 9 x square roor ofS(%). Examples of rhe rype of mearn
rhar would be modded by caregory 9 are:
a trapezoidal channd wirh a bonom widrh of 25 fr and 3: 1 sideslopes
that conveys 1800 cfs a10ng a 2% bed gradienr at a deprh of 4 fr
a trapezoidal channel with a 4% bed slope and a bonom width of 10 fr
and 3:1 sideslopes conveying 2500cfs ar 18.3 fps ar a depth of5 fr

These two categories are applicable [O a wide range of channel configurations.

Generally caregory 8 should be used for meams flowing about a foot deep
eonveying a discharge of lOro 100 cfs, whereas caregory 9 should be used for
streams flowing at bank full conveying substantial discharge quantities.
If rhe SEDeAD 4 user would like ro determine an exact sal ution foc
Muskingum roudng parameters, SECAD 4 channel utilities can be used ro
determine rhe velociry. Wirh knowledge abour rhe srrearn length and velociry,
rime is calculared which is equated ro Muskingum K, and Muskingum X =
(0.5 V)/(1.7 + V).

Routing Calculator
Use of the calculator 1S straight forward. The calcularar 1S used foc both time
of concentrarion determinaran, and foc Muskingum rauriog determinanoo.

For examplc, a5SUffiC thar a stream reach is 4000 fe long and rhe e1evation
difference is 80 ft. Nso assume that the flow depth is expected ro be about 1 ft
deep. Muskingum Rouring parameters are desired. Click on Add a Flow Path
and sdecr category 8. Tab ro the Vertical column and enter 80. Tab again ro
the Horizontal colurno aod enter 4000. Press the Tab or Enrer key, and me
results ofK = 0.262 hours and X = 0.357 appear. Click on OK and rhese
answers are entered into the spread sheet. Similarly, the Siope columo couid
have been used instead ofVertical. The siope is often used when an actual
channel design is being evaluared.
The routine checks for 2 of 3 categories (in the order of Slope, Vertical, and
Horizontal), and calculates the remaining one.

Curve Number
The NRCS (SCS) Curve Number (CN) is used 10 calculate runoff. CN is a
function ofland use and hydrologic soil group. The tables

Runoff Curve Numbers for Urban Areas

Runoff Curve N umbers for C ultivated Agricultural Lands

46
Runoff Curve Numbers foc Orher Agricultural Lands
Runoff Curve Numbers foe Arid and Semiaeid Rangelands
provide Curve Numbee as a funcrion ofland use and Hydro!ogic Soil Group
(HSG).
A highee CN will geneeale a highee eunoff vo!ume and a higher peak flow.

Hydrologic Soil Group

Definicion of scs Hyruologic SoH Geoups:
A

These soHs have a high infiltralion raleo Theyare chiefly deep, welldrained sands or gravels. (Low runoff pOlencial) . (> 0.30 in/he)

These soi!s have a moderale infiltracion rale when lhoroughly wel. They
are chiefly moderarely deep. well-drained soils of moderately fine te
moderarely coarse lexlure. (0.15 - 0.30 in/he)

These soils have a slow infiltrarion cate when wet. They are chiear
modeealely deep, well-drained soUs of modeealelr fine lO moderalely
coarse rexruee. (0.05 - 0.15 in/hr)

These soils have a very slow infilrrarion rateo They are chidly ciar soils
wirh a high swelling pOlemial, soils wirh a permanently high waler rabIe,
soiJs.with a dar pan ar Oc oeae me surface and shallow soiIs over nearly
impervious marerials. (High runoff pOlencial).
(O - 0.05 in/he)

The NRCS has classified more lhan 4,000 soi! seeies inlO foue HSG's according
ro eheie minimum infilrcarion rate foc approximarely saturated bace soil
condilions (NRCS, 1986).
The county soil survey willliS! soi! series foe all soils in lhe county. Hydrologic
soils groups are givcn as a function of soil texture and corrcsponding infiltralion eale foe diS!uebed and uncompacled soi!s in Table ritled NRCS Hydrologic Soil Groups. (NRCS, 1986; and Beakensiek, el. al.. 1977.).
In selecting an HSG, consideration should be given ro compacrion by heavy
equipmenr. Depending on rhe soil moisrure eomem, eanh-moving equipmenr
may eompaet a soillayer resulting in redueed infiltration. Where eompaetion
is evidenr, an nerease in rhe HSG from, e.g. B to e, may be appropriare.

Unit Hydrograph Response Shape

The unit hydrograph merhodology is used in SEDCAD. A double triangle
dimensionless unit hydrograph shape (DUHS) is used. The usee has a choice
among lheee DUHS, and a TR55 Emulaloe. Having lhree DUHS provides
the model user wirh rhe opponunity to obtain a refined" prediction of the
S!oem hydrograph. The faS! DUHS should be used foe ueban aeeas and a-eas
where a rapid hydrologic response is amicipared such as dismrbed soils rhar

rr-

rrr-

47
have beco subjected te cempacaoo by heavy equipmenr and foc desert
paverncnt. The medium UHS is appropriate foc pastuce land, land in row
erops, small grajn and legumes. pasrures with less man 50% ground cover and
semi-arid mountain brush mixture and sagebrush with a grass understory and
30% or less ground cover. The slow DUHS was developed foc heavi ly foresled
areas with thick ground residue covering greatee than 75% of (he surface. It is
also applicable lo areas mal have a high infillralion rale and a delayed hydrologic response such as meadow land that is marntained in continuous grass and
mowed for hay and pasrure land wich grealer lhan 75% ground cover.
The difference in peak flow berween me fasl and medi um DUH is relalively
small whereas lhe difference in peak flow berween che medium and slow DUH
is much greater. A slow DUH shape will substantially decrease the peak flow

to reflect che delayed runoff response of heavily forestcd areas with a thick layer
of detritus.

TR-55 Emulator
To provide the user wich che capability of approximaling lhe NRCS TR-55
(1986) hydrograph peaks and runoff volumes, che TR-55 emulator was
developed. The TR-55 emulator uses a single triangle dimensionless unil
hydrograph shape, whereas me NRCSTR-55 program uses a single gamma
fuocaoo type curve. Use oE me single triangle in SEDCAD 4 creares a higher
peak flow of about 2 to 8 pereent above lhat of the NRCS TR-55 programo
For example, consider a 10 yr-24 hr NRCS Type II storm of 4.2 inches. Using
a curve number of 86, rhe following comparison is made:

10 Acres, Tc=0.35 hrs

100 Acres, Tc=O.5 hes
~
~

rr-

NRCS TR-55
TR-55 emulator
(1986) Program 241 pt resolution
144 cfs
134 cfs
239 c&
226 cfs

Of course the runoff volume is identical between rhe two methods, since only
the curve number influences the runoff volume.

Hydrograph and/or Sedimentgraph Graph

Button

-'

Hydrograph
This bunDn will display the hydrograph(s) for set of subwatershed(s) corresponding ro che current structure. A combined total hydrograph is also shown,

however, chis combined hydrograph is only foc the current contributing

subwatersheds irnmediately down-gradient of the previous structurc. It does
llor indude any flow from the previous structure. Far the combined
hydrograph reaching a stcucrure, click
hydrograph buceon on me structure

me

design screen.

Sedimentgraph
This button will display tbe sedimentgraphs(s) for the current subwatersheds.
A combined rotal is llor shown as a view oprian, since sedimentgraphs are llor
additive che way hydrographs arc. After a sedimenrgraph is created ar a
subwatershed, ir is men [ouced and added to rhe combined upstream
sedimentgraph. Each subwatershed sedimentgraph is combined with me rotal,
as flow continues downstream. To view a combined total sedimentgraph, click
the sedimentgraph burton on the structure design screen.

Subwatershed Sedimentology Input

Information
Sedimentology data is only entered if me Sedimentology opdon on the Maio
Design Tab has been turned on. The quantity of sediment eroded and
rransported to rhe ouder of a subwatershed is derermined by tbe peak f1ow,
tulloff volume, soil erodibility, representative slope lengtb and gradient, rhe
rype of soil cover, and control practices such as terraces, eOntour furrows, aod
strips of vegerarion. The peak f10w and tunoff volume are calculared in the
hydrology routine. For each subwatershed, data is entered for me:
soi! erodibility - K factor

representative slope length - L

representative slope - S
type of soi! cover -

e factor

control praetices - P factor

Qne of the input eroded parricle size distributions

49

Erodibility (K) factor

A soil's sllsceptibility to eros ion s derermined by irs resistan ce to detachment
by rainfall and flowing water.
The factors thar efrece a soil's resistance to erosion are me size of [he soil
parricle, aggregation, oc bonding, of soil particles by organic material. fercaus.
aluminum oc silica oxides and infiltradon capacity. Cearse to medium sands
have a high infiltrarion rate, low runoff potencial and are easily detached but

relatively large. The K for eoarse textured soils ranges from 0.05 to 0.2. Clays
have a low infiltration rate, high runoff potential and are diffieult ro detaeh
due ro being aggregated. The K for fine-textured soils ranges from 0.05 ro
0.15. Medium-textured soils, such as a silt loam, have moderare infiltraron
cates, moderare runoff potential and are moderately susceptible to particle
detaehment. K-values range from 0.25 ro 0.45. Soils with a high pereentage
of silt size particles are especially susceptible ro erosiono K values for high silr
eontent soils range from 0.45 to as mueh as 0.65 (Weesies, 1998).

The rexrural rriangle can be used ro classify soils in me United States Depart
rnent of Agricultural (USDA) system. The percent sand, silr and clay are for
the parent soil.
Soil K-faerors can ofren be found in NRCS soil surveys published for eaeh
county. Sorne publications have K-faetors as a function of soil horizon, Le ..
various depths.

Textural Triangle
Two texrural triangles are shown here. The first shows the textural triangle
used to classify soils in the United States Department of Agrieultural (USDA)
sysrern. The percent sand, silr and clay are for rhe parent soil.
The seeond shows the Unified Soil Classifieation System (USCS) superimposed onto the USDA textural triangle.

......

a .........

50

Wischmeier Nomograph
The nomograph can be used ro determine approximare K-values foc subsoil
and spol. The input> are: pereenr silr and very fine sand (0.05 ro 0.10 mm).
percenr sand minus very fine sand (0.10 ro 2.0 mm), perceor organic material,
soil structure, and permeability. Informarion on soil structure can be readily
obtained from a soil scientist. Permeability ranges from very slow ro rapid.

(Wischmeier. W.H . eL al . 1978)

LS Factor
The effeer of ropography on erosion is derermined mrough me LS-fueror. The
LS-factor is calculated from [he represenr3tive length, L, and (he representarive slope. S. SEDeAD 4 uses rhe Modified Universal Soil Loss Equarion
(MUSLE) wim the addition of the new S-fuctor developed for the Revised
USLE. MUSLE enables the user to calculare the soi/loss from a subwatershed
based on USLE parameters. volume of runoff and peak f1ow.

L Factor
L factor equals l fot the standatd plot length of72 .6 fr. Lis grearer for longer
510pc lengths and less than one foc shorcer lengrhs.

Representative Slope Length - L

Definition:

me

The represenrarive 510pe lengrh is [he distance from

origin cf overland flow
to a location a10ng the slope where either the gradient decre.ses to the extent
that transpon capacity s reduced enabling deposition or where overland Ilow
becomes concenrcated in a defined channel.

51
Typieal slope lengths (Dissmeyer and Foster, 1980).

Slope A - If undisrurbed forest soi! above does not yield surfaee runoff.
the tap cf 510pe starts with edge cf undisrurbed focest soil and extends
downslope to windrow jf runoff is concemrated by windrow.
510pe B - PoiO[ cf erigin cf runoff lO windrow ir runoff is concentrated
bywindrow.
510pe
From windrow to flow concentration poinr.
510pe D - Point Df erigin cf runoff ro road [har concentrares runoff
510pe E - Prom road ro flood plaio where deposition would occur.
Slope F - On nose of hill, from point to origin of runoff ro flood plain
where deposirion would occur.
Slope G - Point of origin of runoff to slight depression where runoff
would concentrare.

e-

(Renard, K.G., er. al., 1997)

L for a Concave Slope

A rule-of-thumb foc derermining che length, L. on a concave 510pe is char ir
can be assumed [har depasieion begins where (he gradient is one-half cf che
average gradient foc che concave slope. For example. assume a concave slope
decreases &om 18 ro 2 percem. The average gradient is 10 percem and onehalf of this is 5 peceent. The representative slope lengrb is from the origin of
overland flow ro where
slopc: gradient is 5 percent. For flatter concave
. slopes, thece may be no deposition and the representative slope length will be
the entire length of the slope. For example, a eoncave slope decreases from 6
to 2 peceent. The avecage gradient is 4 peceent and one-half of tbis is 2
perccnt. Since
end of the slope is 2 percent. no significant deposition is
expeeted (Sehroeder, 1998).

me

me

52

L for Transitions to Concentrated Flow

The rransirion from overland flow ro concenrrated flow in a defined channel is
anothee determination of 510pe length. For a head-of-hollow filI constructed

on a 2:1 (H:V) slope with benches loeated every 25 ft vertieally the representative slope lcngth is 50 ft. Simlady for a landfill with benehes loeated every 25
ft vertieally on a 4: 1 slope the representative slope length is 100 ft. For
disturbed area that dfaios nto a perimeter oc eDad diteh the representative
slope length is from the origin of ovedand flow to the diteh.

L for Typical Slope Lengths

For undisturbed watershed conditions overland flow usually concentrares imo
ehanneJs in less than 400 ft although sorne slope lengrhs can reaeh 1000 ft.
Under earth disturban ce activiries and during redamation ir is pDssible ro
ereate long slope lengths. SEDeAD 4 limits the user to 1000 ft for a represenrarive 510pe length. The usee is cautioned mar 510pe length is ofren overestimated using USGS ropographic maps since ir is difficult ro ascertain the
location depositional oc concentrated areas from a 20-fr cootour map
(Schroeder, 1998). Examples of reptesentative lengths are llustrated.

L Factor Accuracy and Sensitivity

L factor accuracy
The best estimates of soilloss are for slope lengths tanging ftom 50 to 300 ft
which is the range for experimental data. Aeeuracy is somewhat reduce for
slope lengths ranging from 20 to 50 ft and ftom 300 to 600 ft. Aeeuracy for
slope lengths grearer than 600 ft is mose likely lower sinee relationships for
these lengths are extrapolated beyond the data base (Sehroeder, 1998).
L-factor sensitivity
Differenees in slope lengrh estimares of 10 pereent are quite acceptable since
chis is nor a very sensirive paramerer, especially for flaner slopes, eompared ro
the representative slope gradicnt, S-factor (Sehroeder, 1998).

S Factor
The S factor is usually easier to ascertain than rhe L factor. A representarive
slope gradient, S, should be selected based on the topography of the
subwarershed. Under dynamicalIy changing earrh discurbance condirions an
average condicion should be estimated. Accuracy is best foc slopes between 3
and 20 perccnt, which is the predominant data base. Accucacy dcercases for
gradients between 1 and 3 percent and from 20 to 35 percent. For slope
gradients gcearer than 35 percent very litde data exises and equations have been
extrapolated.

53

Representative Slope S
The representative 510pe is che typical oc representative gradient assocated with
[he representative L foe overland flow foc each subwatershed.

C Factor

The factor represents the nfluence cf cover material on or jusr beneath (he
surfaee of the soil. A C-faetor of 1 ,epresents the base line eondition of a plot
maintained in a clean-tilled, continuous fallow sta te. The e-factor accounts
foc canopy. surface cover (such as residue, grasses. weeds, mulches) , ::md surbce
roughness.

C Factor tables in SEDCAD 4:

Typical C Factors Reponed in the Literatu,e
C Factors fo, Meehanically P,epared Woodland Si,es

e Factors foc Permanent Pasture. Rangeland, Idle Land, and Grazed

Woodland
C Factors for Undisturbed Woodland

e Factors foc Rack Covers

e Facrocs foc Mulch Undee Constructon C onditions
e Factors foc Bare Soils Undee Construcrion Conditions
Canopy Effects
Canopy represenrs planrs mar in~ercept raindrops. reducing fall velocicy and
hence erosion, but these plams do not significandy effect surface runof[ The
effect of canopy can readily be seen in the C Factors for Permanem Pasture,
Raogeland, Idle Land and Grazed Woodland table. Considering only !he
eanopy cover as a funetion of fall height, for a given pereent canopy, e.g. 75 %
and foc zeco percent ground cover, as the faH heighr increases from 0.5 to 4 m
rhe C-factor ncreases trom 0.17 to 0.36. The shorter canopy vegetarion is
abour twice as effective as the taller trees in reducing erosiono This reflects that
the raindrop faH velocity is faster from being shed froro me tree canopy than ir
is from !he mueh shorter heigh, of the tal1 weeds or short brush.

Suace Cover Effects

Surface cover is material attached ro rhe soil thar intercepts raindrops and
delays runoff. It ineludes all types of marerials such as grasses, srraw mulch,

and cornrnercial products.

The key elemenr is thar surface materials muse be somehow held in place by
roors, cornmercial tacifiers, netting, erc. such rhar marerials are nor removed by
runoff or wind. The exteDr of contact berween the surface material and me
sol is a critical elemento If a straw mulch oc exceJsior mat is placed on a soil

54
surface rhar is rough and has small rilIs, ir will be less effecrive chan when
placed on a smoother soil surface because runoff will flow between che soil and
the mulch.
The C Factors for Permanent Pasture, Rangeland, die Land, and Grazed
Woodland rabIe Ilustrares che effecr of surface cover. Far che no canopy
condition che effectiveness cf grass as an erosion control material can be
viewed. The facror changes from 0.20 foc 20% ground cover ro 0.003 at
95-100% ground cover.

The rabIe of Values foc Mulch Under Construction Conditions illustrares

che effectiveness of straw mulch and
combinarian of straw mulch with rack
fragmenrs on che surface as a function of slope gradient and fill oc stripped
copsoil and subsoils. As che quantity of straw mulch ineceases, che value
dcereases. For example values foc a 6% slope eonsisting of a fill slope oc
placed topsoil decrease ttom .29 to .18 to .07 for \>2, 1 and 2 tons straw mulch,
ccspeetively. This rabIe also shows rhar rhe effecriveness of straw mulch is
slightly reduced as the slope gradient inereases. Also ilIusrrated is thar stcaw
placed on a cut slope (srripped copsoil) is more effecrive rhan on a fill slope
(placed topsoi1). This is because the cut slope is assumed to eontain the roor
srructure of rhe removed vegetation within rhe soil matrix rhereby resisring
erosion o

me

Soil Surface Roughness

As given in rhe C Values for Bare Soils at Consrrucrion Sires rabIe ir can be
seen thar a fiH slope is more prone ro erosion than a cur slope. The fill slope
consisrs of relatively loose soils that have not had an opporruniry [Q consolidare
or aggeegare. A cm slope is viewed as a more compacted soil and is more
resistanr ro erosiono This is especially true for a cut slope where only the
surface vegetation has been removed leaving the root srcucture of the grasses
which hold the soil in pace and resist erosion (Kuenstlee, 1998).

P Factor
The P factor aeeounts foe specific supporr pracriees such as conroucing.
terracing. and deposition at the base segmenr of a eoncave slope. Ir also
accounts foc sedimenr control barriers such as grass buffer srrips. straw bales,
grave! or filter barriers, and stiff-grass hedges (Wende, 1998). A P value of 1.0
is rhe default value when no control practices are utilized.
For SEDCAD 4, the mode! user is encoueaged to explore RUSLE version 1.06,
which is due to be eeleased in f.1I1998 by me Office ofSurface Mining,
Wesrern Regional Coordinaring Centec, Office ofTechnology Transfer. Denver,
CO. This RUSLE program was specifically deve!oped foe mining and construction. The publication will be enritled "Guidelines foc che Use of che
Rcvised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUS LE) on Mined Lands, Construction
Sires, and Reclaimed Lands".

55

r
r

STRUCTURE DESIGN
Structure design is done dynamically, .c., once rhe contributing watershed
data is entered, SEDCAD runs in a background mode and automatically
calculares and routes hydrographs aild sedimentgraphs ro rhe structure. For
channels and culverts. the peak flow is automatically cntcfcd as a structure
design input. Alternative structure design scenarios are rhen invesrigared until
an acceptable design is achieved. Thcn subwatershed information is entered
foc the next structure and rhe process is repeated until rhe enrice design of a
stormwater, erosion and sediment comrol system s completed.
The dynamic nature Df rhe design process will change rhe way you work. We
have experienced large inereases in producrivity.

Structure Types
N u11 S,ruc'ure
The Null structure is used to output data at a specified location. It can also be
used as a place-holder whece alternative control structures can be substituted
foc the Null structuce. This enables the user t determine the effectiveness of
alternative controls, at a specific location. versus having no control.
Pond
The Pond structure rype can be used for a sediment basin, oc retention basin if
only hydrology is being used, a sediment trap, and an elongated sediment
contcol such as a terrace oc bench with a controlled outlet.
Sil, Fente
A silt fence (oc filter fabcic fence) is a structure thar is located in series on the
flow path of a slope oc at rhe lowec section of a slope. In series, it reduces the
slope lengrh, L, in ,he RUSLE algorirhm. A silr fence creares backwater,
thereby reducing transport capaciry and enabling sediment deposition of
eroded particles.

Graso Filter
A gcass filter is a vegetated filtec. Ir is only listed as an option when sedimentology is enabled.
Poraos Rock Check D.m

The check dam is a porous rock check dam !ocated in a channel.

Nonerodible Channel
The nonerodible channel is simply solved using Manning's equation and the
continuiry equation. Ir is used foc concrete channels and cornmercial channel
protection products. such as gabions, concrete blocks, etc.

56
Erodible Channel
A ehanne! eonsisting of bare soil or spoil is mode!ed as an erodible ehanne!.
The limiting permissble velocity mechad is used mar accornmodates [he
design of channels conveying bath cIear and sediment-laden water. Various
cornmercial produces rhar base their design on a specified critical velocity can
be designed using rhis algorirhm. Erodible ehanncls are often designed ro
convey sediment-Iaden water to sediment controls.

Vegetated Channel
A vegetated channel is a grass waterway. Ir is used ro permanently stabilize
areas during the final phase of reclamaran oc site deve1opment. Designs are
based on channel stabiliry and capacity requirements.
Riprap Channel
Rack ripeap is used to stabilize a channel conveying a large quantity of runoff
00 sreeper slopes. It may be a temporary oc permanent channel stabilization
merhod.
Culvett Sizing
Culverts are used ro convey runoff benearh roads. The culvert design rourine
sizes the pipe based on headwater, tailwarer, pipe characrerisrics, and peak flow
requiremenrs.
Plungc Pool
A plunge pool is ofren used ro dissipate enetgy at the down gtadient ourler of a
pipe ro avoid deve!oping a seout hole.

57

Pond Design
A sediment basm is one of [he mon common sediment control methods used
[O reduce peak flow to oeae pre-devclopment flow conditions. reduce [he
sediment load, and reduce total and setdeable sedimellt concentrarion emanat~

ing from a disrurbed sire. The sediment hasin romine is also applicable ro
estimating

me effecciveness of sediment traps.

me

me

The effectiveness of a sediment hasin is a function of

shape of
inflow
hydrograph and sedigraph, size and depth of me permanent pool, length to
width ratio of the basin, che inflow partide size distribution, and che type and
loeadon of discharge devices.
The primary funccions of a sediment basio are to reduce rhe peak flow and [he
dischatged sediment load. A good dcsign basis is to reduce the peak f10w
discharged froro rhe basin during development ro below rhe pre-development
levd. Various sediment srandards exisrs. Mining and sorne land developments
have the standard to reduce the peak setrleable solids concentration generated
by me 10 yr-24 hr design storm to 0.50 mili or 1m. Other regulations require
an 80% sediment trap efficiency.
There are two basic inputs needed in the pond routine: (1) to determine
storage from an elevation-area rclationshipj and (2) a stage-discharge relationship. The elevation (stage)-capacity relationship is determined from user input
of elevation-area foc rhe pondo The overall stage-discharge relationship is
determined from the combined stage-discharge relationship for all individual
spilIways and is used for routing me inflow hydrograph through the pondo
Input parameters are:
pond elevation-area
spiIIway e1evation-discharge (for each spiIIway)
a dedica red volume for sedimenr srorage (six alternative methods)
pond dead space (short-circuiting)

Elevation - Area
The screen shows the two primary input categories. capacity and discharge.
and
inflow design nputs for discharge and sediment concentrations. Click
on Capacity and entee the elevaton-area values. from the bottom of the pond
to the topo

me

Notice that pond capacity values are automatically calculated. Once the
SEDeAD 4 user gains experience in the design of ponds, thcsc values will
provide information on [he associated height of the embankment needed to
meet vuious emueor reglllations.

58
00 chis screen is where a desired Stage In crement may be entered, and [he
rabIe ro view (inpur oc calculared elevacion-area values). The Input rabie is
used ro enter additional elevacion ~area values. The Calculare rabIe provides
calculated elevarion-area values foc (he specified srage incremento The calcuexperienced
lated values also provide irnmediate pond design guidance ro
user. Click 00 calcuJarc lO obrain incremental elevarion capaciry values. C lick

me

00

graph

[O

view

me eJevarion-capacicy relarionship.

If rhe SED-ACAD interfaeed is used, simply enrer rhe top width of the dam ,
fronr and hack sideslopes and meo dick on [he elevation contour of one side of
the dam. Nexr click on rhe orher side of the centerline of rhe dam and the
embankment volume and elevarion-areas will be drawn and automarically
calculated.

me

Once (he user draws (he centerline and rop width of

embankment, and
front and back sideslopes the area foe each selected elevation can be digitized or
the SEDCAD-AutoCAD interface program can be used. These are input inco
SEDeAD 4, and rhe elevarion-capaciry relationship for the pond is dererminecl.

Stage Increment
The pond stage increment is used ro specify [he reponing increment foc rhe
pond capacicy. Since side slopes of excavared ponds are relacively consrant only
a few inputs are required into (he elevarion-area rabie. For non-excavated
ponds, more &equent elevations are recommended te berree determine rhe
elevation-capacity relationship.
The srage increment default value is 0.5 fr. which works well for dam heighrs
of 15 10 30 fr. For dams aboor 10 fr in heighr, a stage incremenr of 0.25 is
suggested.

Pond Spillways
There are 9 principal spillways oprions, an Emergency Spillway, and an oprioll
ro input your own elevation-discharge values available 00 (he Pond Discharge
screen. The primary principal spillways are:
Drop Inlet
Straight Pipe (exacdy like a cu}vcn, execpt pipe ruameter is input)
Perforared Riser (a drop inler wirh perforarions)
4 rypes of weirs (Broad-crested, Sharp-crested, Side Contracring, and Vnorch)
2 rypes of siphons (Fixed Siphon and Floaring Siphon)
The three primary principal spillways are a drop inlet, straight pipe and a
perforared riser. The drop inler and the straighr pipe have tradirionally been

59
rhe mast popular principal spillways. More recently, we have been reCOffi- .
mending consideration of rhe perforated ciser and rhe combination of a
straight pipe with a siphon tube. Both rhe perforated riser and rhe combinadon spillway provide che added advanrages of a passive oc conrrolled dewatering system.

Pond Spillways, Drop Inlet

Inputs for the drop inlet are:
diamerer of rhe riser

height (length) of the riser

barrel diamerer

length of the barre!

barrel slope
Manning's n of rhe barrel
elevation of (he top of (he cirop nlet ciser

The design discharge is determined from rhe minimum flow associated with
rhe discharge equations of weir flow, orifice flow, and pipe flow. Pipe flow is
based on {he elevacion difference between rhe water stage and rhe outlet. Head
drop from (he top of rhe riser is determined from me riser heighr, barrel
lengrh, and barrel slope. Note rhat two drop inlers can hav.e idenrical inler
elevations bur one may be located nearer rhe embankmenr rhan rhe orher, such
mar me riser heighrs of rhe two drop inlers may differ.

Pond Spillway, Straight Pipe

The algorithms ro determine me elevation-diseharge relarionship for rhe
straighr pipe are identieal ro those of rhe eulvert rourine, exeept rhar a pipe size
is specified. The eulvert routine determines rhe minimum size tequiremenr for
specified design parameters. Input paramerers for the Straight Pipe spillway
are:

pipe diamerer

pipe length
pipe slope
Manning's n of the pipe
nven elevaron

r~
H~

1---___
C... lv"rt Nomenclalure

entranee loss eoefficient

tailwater deprh

Le'.tlh _ -------J

'

60

Pond Spillway, Perforated Riser

Design mputs foc che perforared ciser are nearly identical ro thase of rhe Drap
loler, exeept thar round holes are added at specified elevacions. The number of
holes at all specified elev3rions muse be constant, e.g. 4 holes per e1evaron .
The size of holes is speeificd 00 rhe e1eya,ioo-diseharge rabIe by c1iekiog a' rhe
input lacatian foc each e1evarian wh ere holes are needed and cyping in che hole
ameree, in loches.
Perforated tisees are used foc passive dewatering. Several states require mar che
portian of che permaneor pool mar is ro be dewatered muse be achieved in 2 ro
7 days.

The rule-of-,humb ,har wc use is ,har 60% of ,he dewa,ered yolume should be
eomple'cd io 24 hours. aod ,ha, the remaioiog yolume ro be dewatered should
occur in che next 48 ro 72 houes. The reasoning is thar a convecrive storm can
Qccur rhe next afternoon oc evening, chus che requiremenr foc 60% dewatering
io 24 hours. A frontal srorm usuaUy oeeurs 00 more frequendy man 72 ro 96
houes, chus the remaining dewarering should occuc during chis time. The
tradeoff considers:

slower dewarering

(O achieve better sediment trap efficiency and lower

sediment concentradon during dewarcring

me

[he need ro have storage capaciry prior [O

nexc seoem ro achieve
grearer retemion cf che IlCX[ inflow hydrograph. and chus berree
~ediment trap efficiency of (he nexc seoem eveDe

Pond Spillway, Weirs

....,

Input foc all weirs is simply che weir e1evation and weir length oc notch angle.
SEDeAD WEIR CONFIGURArtONS

Sharp Cresle:d Wafr

Sida Contraded WelC'

(Must be vcnlilaled)

Broad-crested Weir
Sometimes a single spiUway will
he used and modeled as a hroadcrested weir. This algorithm is
a1so useful in me desigo of me
ouder of a pluoge pool eoergy

dissiparer.
Broad CreSled WeIr

.~

Ir should be nored mar [hece is a

difference bctwcen a broad-

eres red weir and che emergency

spillway a1gorithms. The

elevation-discharge relationship foc che broad-crested weir s simply [hat
discharge is direcrly proportional to the weir coefficient. weir length, and
headwater; whereas [he emergency spillway coutine generates backwa[er curves
based 00 the resistaoce ro flow aloog ,he cootrol (Jeyel) secrioo of the spiUway.

.......

61
For a short ccest length, an emergency spillway elevation-discharge will be
broad-cresred weie, but foe longer lengrhs the emergency
similar ro thar of
spillway discharge will he less rh.n rh.r of rhe bro.d-cresred weir.

me

Sharp-crested Weir
A sharp-cresred weir is primarily used in channels and foc flow measurements.
Ir is also used as a flow splitter.

Side-contracting Weir
A side-contracting weie simply has vertical sidewalls.

V-notch Weir
The V-norch is ofren 90.

Pond Spillway, Siphons

npurs for hom me flXed and floa<ing siphon are idenrical. The floa<ing siphon
surface of
pond water, whereas che fixed siphon oler
skims just below
elevarion IS specified by me desigo professionaJ. Design paramcrcrs are crest,
olet and ouclet elevarion and pipe djametec. length and Manoog's n.

me

me

The rhree mase important desigo parameters are che ccest elevarion, oler
elevarion and the pipe dameree. As the water levd in a pond is rising, no
siphon is ceached. Theredischarge will occur until the cresr elevarion of
fore, if the ccest is located relarively high. smaller stOfms may not raise the
pond water elevation to a leveI that facilitates dischacge through the siphon.
The siphon inlet obviously defines were dewatering stops. Pipe diameter is rhe
conrrolling mechanisrn foc discharge rate.

me

Siphons are used ro provide dther a passive or active dewatering capabilities.

Siphons are recornmended and have the same benefirs as orhec dewarering
devices. To operare passively, the pipe oudet is open, and ro operare actively a
valve is manually operated. Benefits of an active siphon are that
water
qualiry can be te.ned prior ro discharging. For example, storrn warer remaining
in me pond helow rhe primary spillway (drop inler or straighr pipe) can be
treated for iron, manganese, pH, heavy rncrals, nurrieors, oc ro flocculare fines,
etc. Once the required water qualiry is achieved, the valve is opened allowing a
conrrolled release.

me

Fi~ed

---

Siphons

Our most receor design philosophy is to use two siphon rubes. The crest of the
larger djametec sipholl is located 2 ro 3 fr below the primary spillway and ts
inlet is 3 ft above the sedimenr srocage elevaran. The smaller siphon crest is
loc.red 4 ro 5 fr below rhe primary spillway and its inler is only .5 to 1 fr above
rhe sediment storage e1evaton. The lower (smaller) siphon is used for smaller

62
sroems and to slowly dew3rer [he remaining volume

frOID

medium ro large

storms, whereas (he higher (larger) siphon passively dew3tcrs medium to large
seoems at a higher ratc.

Floating .Siphon
The floating siphon functions like the flXed siphon except that the inlet
maintains a constant elevation below [he surface of [he water (usualIy 9 ro 12
ioches), thereby always discharging [he cleanest water. Research has Dor beco
complered ro accouO[ foc (he entite benefir of a floariog siphon. Ir IS modeled
very similarly ro che flXed siphon.

Pond Spillways, Emergency Spillway

In the emergency spillway algorithm, backwater is determined from the height
of water within the pond discharging through the emergency spillway.
Required inputs are:
elevation of [he iovere oc ccest (ho([oro of me emergency spilJway)

ctest length (lengrh of (he control oc level section in rhe direcrion of

flow)
botrom width, and right and left sideslopes of the emergency spillway

channel

Estimating Initial Pond Spillway Elevations and the

Top ofDam
To determine che intial estimare of che emergency spillway location , mulriply
the runoff volurnc by 0.75. View the calculated capacities from the Elevation
Arca screen, and note where 75% of the runoff volume would OCCUf.

The top of dam should provide 2 ft of freeboard. The flow rhrough the
emergency spillway is often 0.5 to 1 ft deep such that the top of dam should be
berween 2 and 3 ft aboye the emergency spillway.
The principal spillway is expeered ro be 1 to 3 ft be/ow the emergency spillway
for many dcsigns.
Pond Design Example
For the Pond Design Example, ,he runoff volume from the eombined disturhed and undiSlurbed SWS's is 3.83 ae-fr. This can be obtained from the
Slrueture #1 SWS repon or from ,he SWS eombined hydrograph view.
Mul,iplying 3.83 times 0.75 results in 2.87 ae-ft. Looking at the ealculated
elevations, norice rhar the 2.87 capaciry is available at an elevation between
2534 and 2534.5. Sinee rhis is juSI an approximation method, se/eC! 2534 fr
the initiallocation of the emcrgency spil1way.

63
Addiog 2.5 fee, 'o ,he emergeocy
spillway IDeario n results in the top of
dam a' 2536.5. Make rhe ioirial
selection foc me principal spillway 3 ft
below ,he emergeocy spillway, ar
elevarioo 2531.

Estimating the Crest

Length of an Emergency
Spillway
The erest leogrh eao be estima red by
usiog ,his rule-of-thumb:

crest length approximarely equals embankment width + 5 times rhe

difference in elevation betwecn (he rop of clam and (he overt of (he

emergency spillway

For ,he Pood Desigo Example, rhe embankmeor wid,h is 15 fr aod the
elevation difference i5 3 ft. Therefore rhe first estimare of (he crest length is 15
+ (5 X 3) = 30 fr.

BoHom Width and Sideslope Sizing for Emergency

Spillways
The borrom wid,h aod sideslopes of rhe emergeocy spillway are based 00 a
tradeoffbetween the potenrial foe catasrrophic failure ofrhe embankrnent and
rhe cost of an emergency spillway. We usually recornmend an over-design of
(he emergency spillway

to

provide additional protection againsr a catastrophic

F.tilure.

Our recornmendation is ro assume thar rhe principal spil1way(s) are clogged

and the emergeocy spillway must pass ,he 100 yr-24 hr desigo storm wi,h ooe
foar of freeboard. This may seem drasric to sorne design professionals. but it
adds only a very marginal incremental cost to the enrire projecr and provides a
needed element of safety.

Pond Spillways, User-defined

Al,hough SEDeAD 4 .eeommod.,es 10 spillway eoofigura,ioos ,here are

always situations that the design professional encounters rhar are nor direccly
covered by SEDeAD 4. For these siruarions. elevations and associated
discharge values can be directly entered.

64

Pond Sedimentology
Sediment Storage
SEDCAD 4 internally redefines the zero stage (lowest input elevation of the
pond) ro correspond ro (he rop of (he designared sedimenr storage volume. It
is assumed thar a11 sedimenr thar is deposired across
elevaran designed foc
sediment storage is retained and no resuspension of sedimenr is allowed.

me

One implicarian of llor allowing resuspension of previously deposited sedimenr

is (har (he dcsign professional needs to Ioeare spillways sufficiendy aboye
rop of (he sediment storage elevation such mar velocites into (he spillway are
reIatively small. We suggest rhar a minimum two foar elevaran difference
exisrs between
overt of me principal spil1way and (he rop of (he sediment
storage area. If a sIow passive dewatering syS[cm is employed, (he elevarian
difference can be reduced ro 0.5 to 1 fr, depending upon the size and flow rate
of the lowest dewatering inIet.

me

me

SED CAD 4 will check to determine if the pond capacity is adequate to store
the calculated sediment load from the design storm. If the total storage
capacity of me pond cannor contain the designated oc calculared sediment
srorage, SEDeAD 4 ~ill nor reser me zero stage. Qtherwise, [he zero stage will
be reset. If any spillways weee Iocated wirhin rhe new sediment stoeage volume,
a warning message will be displayed.
There are 6 options for esrimaring rhe needed volume for sedimenr srorage:

Do Not Reset Zero Stage

The Do Not Resct zero option should only be used when the user has provided
sufficient sediment storage below rhe lowest elevation input in rhe elevarionarea relarionship. This option is rarely used except in specialized applicarions.

R Annual Method
The average annual R method is used to determine the sediment storage needs
based on the ratio of the RUSLE annual R factor to the calculated R storm
value and the rhe anuual sediment yield ro the storm sediment yield.
Since storm sediment yield is calculated, R stoem is calculated as a function of
the rainfall amount and disrribution, and R annuaI is input by me user, then
rhe only unknown is me annual sediment yield.
Sediment Requirement

Y * (Ss * (RalRs))

where Y=number of years, Ss=predicted storm sediment yield, Ra=R annual,

and Rs=R storrn. Y and Ra are input values.

65

Dislurbed Acres Melhod

This sediment sto rage volume methad is based on using a rule-of-rhumb, such
as 0.125 ae-f, of sedirnent storage per acre disturbed. When ,he SEDeAD 4
usee checks (har a subwatershed is disturbed (in (he subwatershed input
seree n) , then aJl of ,hose des igna,ed disturbed areas, up-gradien, of a sediment
control structure hut down-gradient of che previous sedimenr control structure, are added together and (his cummulative area is multipli ed by (he
specified rule-of-thumb fac'or.

Contributing Acres Method

me

This methad is similar [O

Disturbed Acres mechad, but (he total contributing area (regardless of disturbed status oc any up-gradient sediment control) is
used instead of only me design ated disturbed areas.

Inflow Sediment Tons Method

This mechad i5 only used in coal mining in Kentucky. A multiplier of
0.000883 is
default valuc, and is multiplied with the inflow sediment
tonnage.

me

User-defined Sediment Storage

The user simply enters the ac-ft of pond storage to be dedicated to sediment
srorage. The easiest way ro use this is to review the calculared clevarion-areacapacity rabIe and nore ar what elevarion sedimenr will be removed from me
sedimenr basin. Enter me corresponding ac-ft of srorage.

Dead Space

Dead space refers ro the volume of a pond rhat does Dor signifjcandy contribute to mixing. For a pond with a length [O average width ratio of 2: 1 at the
principal spillway, a dead storage space of 20% is recommended. Leng,h
would be defined from ,he inle, of ,he pond ro the principal spillway inlet.
Wid,h is generally perpendicular 'o ,he leng,h. For al: 1 ra,io we suggCst
using 30%.

66

Pond Design Example

Problem Statement
The site is in (he northwesr U .S. Thc downgradient watershed wiU remain forested while
[he up-gradient warcrshed is clear-cut. A

sedimcnr basin is proposed ro be buile in che

lower portian Df me down-gradient water-

shed in anticiparan of furrher silviculture

operations. After

me up-gradient watershed

is reestablished, the lower watershed will be

clear-cut in three secrions. The concern is

for rhe water quality of the small trout

stream irnmediately down-gradient Df che
sedimeor hasin. Design a sedimenr basin
thar wiU effecrively reduce che sediment load
for the 10 yr-24 hr design srorm. For this
example the analysis will be conducted only
fOI

[he up-gradient disturbance.

The dcsign informadon char needs ro be

enrered prior ro che dcsign of che sediment
basin is che:

Storm Input

Eroded Particle Size Distribution

Nerworking

Subwarershed Information

Storm Input
Informaron is needcd abom (he stocm
distribution,
i.e. Storm Type and the rainfall
10' Con tour Intervol
Sediment 8asin Design Exomple
amount associated with (he 10 yr-24 he
design storm. The Storm Type is an NRCS
Type II distribution. Referring to the NOAA atlas, the rainfall amount for the
10 yr-24 hr storm is 3.2 inches. We suggest the NRCS 49 pr Disrribution.
1"~400'

Particle Size Distribution

The eroded particle size distribution is input by first selecting (he sedimentology option buc(on. Click (he Particle Size Distribution burton, then the Creare
New hurton. Prior to entering (he data, (he filen ame and first distcibution
label will be prompted for. Enter the following data:

67

Filename (exampJe): Westt'rn sed basin ex

Label: (asshQwn below)
Partiele Size (mm)
4
2
I

,.....

0.5
0.25
0.125
0.063
0.031
0.016
0.008
0.004
0.002
0.001

Percent Finer (%)

Percent Finer (%)

Subsoi[
100
90.0
78.2
68.5
63.4
53.4
44.3
36.6
28.7
20.6
14.4
6.6

Topsoil
100
9 1.6
80.4
72.1
65.2
54.1
46.0
39.8
29.2
18 .2
II.!
4.2

Networking
Networking for mis example is suaightforward - simply cliek on the Networking bunoo, [hen click me Add a Structure bunoo, and selecr a Pondo Since
only one structure is used, structure #1 auromatically flows ro che outlet
(designated as zero) and no Muskingum rouring between structures 1S nceded.

Subwatershed Information
Two subwatersheds are specified foc (his example. as shown in (he figure.
SWSl is assumed ro he cIear-cut such thar all cimber i5 removed, 20% residual
cover remains on the foresr floor with stumps left in place, and numerous
random surface depressions 2 to 6 ioches deep exis to SWS2 is undisrucbed
foresto

Subwatershed Hydrology Inputs

Area
SWSl: area is 16.7 ac. The area can be determined from various methods.
software paekages, or wi,h ,he SEDCAD - AutoCAD (SC-AC) interface.
SWS2: area equals 61.7 ae.
Time of Concentrabon
SWSl: the hydraulically longest flow path is es timated to be 480 ft of

overland flow and ehanne! flow lengrh of abour 700 fe. The vertieal e!evarion
differenee for me overland llow segment is 70 ft, and the vertical drop is also
70 ft for me stream flow pa,h.
Flow path 1: To enter this information and determine the time of concentration, cliek the edit button, cliek Add a Flow Pam button, seleet Nearly Bare
... , entee 70 under Vertical Distance. cIick or ta b to Horizontal Distance and

68
enter 480. The slope,
overland flow velociry and
incremental time of
concentration are displayed

afrer tabbing or pressing

the enter key. The slope,

Te Chcnnel

Ao_, --1ffitf

overland flow velocity, and

time of concentration foe
rhe overland flow portian

Ao"
fe Chann.el 1'10"
(,.)

are 14.58%,3.81 fps and

0.035 hours, respeerive!y.
Flow pam 2: Next aeeount
for the ehanne! flow
portian cf [he time of
concentration. Click on

Add a Flow Parh bunon,

selecr Gully, diversion ... ,
tab over and enter 70 for
[he vertical elevation drop,
tab and enter 700 foc me

horizontal distan ce, and

then [ab

to

view [he

I " 400'
10' Co~tO<Jr l"terw:al

SublOOte.-shcd Te ond

Ro~til'lg

incremental and total time

of concentration foc SWSl. The resulting time of concentration is 0.055

hOlles.
SWS2: [he time of concentration flow path consisrs cf an overland flow

category of heavily forested land with a vertical drop of about 60 ft and a

hocizontal flow distan ce of about 280 ft. At ficst eonsidecation, one may figure
a longer flow path but ir is difficult ro see small gullies on a scale of 400 ft pec
nch. The ncxt flow patb is #8 foc a vertical drop of about 80

ft and a horizon-

tal distance of abour 400 ft. This is followed by a vertical drop along me main
s[ream of 50 ft with a horizontal dis[ance of 1100 ft; using category 8.

69
Category 8 is recommcnded foe mast channel situations, since (h e vc10ciries
associated with category 9 are only representarive of streams with ver}' efficienr
How conveyance. The rime of concentration is 0.126 hOlles.
Muskingum Routing
SWS 1: Routing from the oudet of SWS 1 to SI is needed since the oudet of
[he subwatershed is llor at the structure. To accomplish [his click on [he edit
bunan foe rouring from subwatershed. click on rhe calculator, click on Add
Flow Path. Selecr #8, enter 50 foc vertical and 11 50 foe horizoncal, which
results in a Muskingum K of 0.051 and X ofO.393. So the hydrograph exiting
SWSl will he slightly ::tttenu:ued betwee n SWSl oudet and [he eonance ro [he

pond at SI.
SWS2: There is no routing needed since the oudet of SWS2 is at the inlet of
SI.
Curve Number
SWSl: The curve numher can be esrimared by dicking on rhe edit bunon.
Select Hydrologic Soil Group B. since this is a sandy loam. Select Other
Agricultura! Lands. There is no description [har exaccly Bes [he "clear-cut"
land use with 20% residue and 2 to 6 ,nch random roughness. The brush,
brush/weed. brush major elcment may be applicable if me residue. consiscing
of cut limbs. is in contact with che soil surface. The curve number for brush is
67. Since cut limbs would not afford the same protection of me soil or
sigoificantly inerease the infiltration rate a oearly bare soil condition rnay be
more appropriate for this exarnple. Under the Agricultural category, fallow
bare soil has a CN of 86 and under the Urban category. newly graded lands
also have a eN af 86. These values are expected to be a bit too high since
significant surface storage is expected io che depressions and the trirnmed limbs
stilI provide sorne interception of raiofall. Depending on the coodicion of ehe
clear-cut arca, a eN of perhaps berween 82 and 84 may be mase representative. For this example. rype in a CN of 83.
SWS2: The Curve N umber for a heavily forcsted watershed can be obtained by
clicking the edit button. proceeding to Other Agricultural Lands. selecting
Hydrologic Soil Group B. and then considering woods in fair oc good con dition with CN's of 60 and 55. respectively. The forested watershed is eo nsidered to be between faie and good coodition so a eN of 57 is used for rhis
example.
Unit Hydrograph Shape
SWSl: The dimensionless unit hydrograph shape is expecred to be fast due to
the land use previously described. Sinee the time af concenteation is less than
0.126 hours the unit hydrograph methad will not be used - instead the
instantaneous runoff procedure is employed. Thus. the unit hydrograph
seleeted is noc used in calcularing che storm hydrograph for SWS's with a time
of concentradon ofless [han 0.126 hours.
SWS2: The dimensionless unit hydrograph shape is cansidered to be slow

70
which simulares [he high infiltraron rate, storage and rdease of runoff in che
dctritus and inrerflow which is characteristic of heavily forested warersheds.

Subwatershed Sedimentology Inputs

K Factor
SWSI and SWS2: An estima<e of the K factor (soil erodibility) can be
obrained by clicking on ts edir burton and selecring me row concaining sandy
loam which yields a K factor ofO.24.
Representative Leogrh and 510pe
The represematve SWS length and corresponding slope gradient can be
estimared by viewing [he flow of runoff at severallocations within che SWS.
The lISey is cautioned that the longest Jlow path should not be used. A representative length is needed. The applicable definition to keep in miod in determining che represcntarive lengrh is (he disrance from che origin of overland flow ro
where concenrrated Row oc where significant deposition Decurs. There are
sorne opporrunities foe significanr deposition in a landscape rhar has approxi~
mately 20% ground litter. A1so it should be kept in miod that the data base
has slope lengths to about 400 fe. A longer slope length may be realized, but
me slope would almosr have to be regraded or rerraces urilized. such as during
surface mining redamation.
SWSI: Viewing the example figure, the representative slope length is probably
between 200 and 300 fe. Enter 250 fe for RUSLE Length and 16% for the
represenrarive gradient.
5WS2: gullies appear to be spaced furrher aparr then in SWS 1. But in an
undisturbed SWS mar is heavily foresred, rhere are numerous opportuniries foc
significanr deposirion. Since rhe factor will be low for an undisturbed fores[
[he sclecton of L and S are nor especially crirical. Enter a Representative
Length of 150 and a Slope of20%.

C Factor
5WSI: To estimate the C factor, c1ick the edit button, select the C factor table
for Mechanically Prepared Woodland Site. Considering a site in fair condition,
select Fair, no cover from the Soil and Weed Cover list. Click on the 20%
Ground Cover and the Disked, raked or bedded row. A C value of 0.40 is
selecred.
5WS2: the Undisturbed Forest C factor table is applicable. Select the row with
85 to 75% effective canopy, which corresponds to a 70 to 40% forest litter,
yielding a C factor of 0.003.

P Factor
SWSI and SWS2: accept the P factor of 1.0.
Disturbed
SWSI: is flagged as disturbed, strictIy to provide ioformation for the option of
using a "disturbed area" rule-of-thumb method of specifYing sediment storage
for rhe sedimenr basin.

7I

Graphs
C1ick on the Hydrograph Button. The hydrograph from SWSl routed to S I
combined with the hydrograph from SWS2 yidds a peak flow of 29 .82 cfs.
Contr1butfng sws HydrO~h{l, for StructlJre' 1

_ _-"
ld::
O':;:1 notlnelud. upstre~.!'~ _ ___ j

--.--.- - . -.~ - - .. - ... - .... - Combitle<l SWSpeak f lcrwf

30

r l f~'"H rI,,.T'+L I -=

<5 10 . ._ ~ . . . . :- :- -:-{ + - t - t -- -+ -~

~~!j

, 1.01

.:---:---

j ' \~b~LJ jJj I

10111 2 131A I5 1811,e~ ~~n~~~1

,j

T~ I ~~)

Structure #1 SWS Report

Now go to reports and sdeet Strueture # 1 SWS's. Again the peak flow is 29,82
e&. The 17.6 ae clear-eut site eontributes the majority of runoff wim a peak
flow of 28.38, whereas me 6 1.7 ae forested SWS has a peak flow of only 5.53
efs, The eombined peak flow is 29.82 . This is not simply me addition of me
individual peak flows, Slnce [he time to peak foe [he {wo SWS's is differenc,
and SWS 1 is ro~ted ro SI attenuating the peak flow from SWS l . Runoff
volunies for SWSl and SWS2 are 2.24 and 1.59 ae-ft, respeetively.
The sedimentology portion of (he ourput shows rhar almost a1l of (he sedimenr
is associated wirh (he clear-cut site 424.6 teos compared to [he 1.0 ton
generated [rom the forested site. Similarly, che peak sediment concentration

and settleable solids for the clear-eut site are 236,802 mgll and 143.42 mili,
respectively.

The forested
site peak
sediment
concentration

is l.317 mg/l
and settleable
solids peak
c:;:oncentration

-., ,,
~.

..

Subwlltershed Hydrology Detall:

NS Ar..

....n. .....=.'", .........

1lg:'...1If

he:)

''''''
.,,'"
n ....

: .

","l

.000

"=""

,.,n=
.=

~:oo

"'~

."

n..,

~.

,,,

,."
u,

Subwatershed Sedimentolol1V Detai/:

... "'.. . "

...

, ,
"'......
,
., ,, .,.,.... ""DO "'""'" "'" ,,....
.... , '.0
".DO "''''
L'IO

.......

(a"",)

.~,

w ... _ kilo""',
"-~ ~~
".

..

143.42

,..,
"'"

,"

." $3.31
."
is 0.59 milI.
no.D58 nl.a:J
~"
The effeet of
dilution can readily be noted by viewing me pond inflow sedimem coneentraL317

tioo which represents the commingliog of the eilluent from both SWS's.
Also note (hat ti~e of concentradon and Muskingum SWS routing details are
located on this reporto

72

Pond Inputs: Hydrology

Elevation-Area
Referring ro the example figure, an embankment has beco drawn connecting

the 2520 e1evation for rhe cenrerlil1e of rhe

emhankment. Also [he rop width and
sideslopes are drawn. The inirial cmbankment
is 20 fr high. Since chis is a first estimare of
me designo 10 fr elevarions will be used.

.".

S6i.dr';;n'

~:;.":

t~l JU..it~I I ~:t~\1

i --=:i~~=:= ~~I -: 1~j

..

125201

D.OCII '

0 000

Elevation-Discharge
This example will initially employ an emergency spillway and a drop inlet.
Emergency Spillw.y

1'0 input spillway par.metets, c1ick on rhe Oischarge burron, c1ick Add, and
,e1ect an Emergency Spillway from the Iist of spillways. For rhis design
example, use an emergency spillway e1evation of 2534, and a lengrh of 30 ft.
The emergency spillway will usually be placed adjacent to the dam.
For rhis design example, use an initial borrom width of 8 fr, and 2: 1 side
slopes.

Orop Inlet
For
inirial Pond Design Example. drop ioler design parameters are:

me

24 neh ciscr diamerer

10 fr riser heighr
18 inch barrel damerer
80 fr barre1lengrh
2 percent barre! slope
Manning's n ofO.015 (corrugated metal spiral barre1)
iolcr elevarion of 2531

73

Pond Inputs: Sedimentology

Sediment Storage

For this example. click 011 Average Ann ual R, then entee an R annual oE20 and
2 years of sediment storage.

Dead Sp.ce
Default to (he 20% dead spa~ vaJue, since [he length to width ratio is greater
man 2:1.

Results and Discussion

r
r

Once a11 input parameters have beeo cnreced 00 me Pond Design Screen,
SEDCAD 4 ,ulOrnatically calculates all results.
Severa! key output parameters are displayed 00 rhe design screen. The peak
flow was reduced frorn 29.82 to 17.31 e&. The pre-development peak flow
was 7.03 cfs, which is abour one half rhis discharge. Sediment trap efficiency is
77.1%. Eflluent concentration forTotal Solids is 35.724 rngll. which consises
of silts and days. Peak seuleable solids are 1.79 mIlI. The peak elevation of
me 10 yr-24 hr desigo SIorm is 2532.32 fr.
The peak discharge should be reduced 10 pre-development conditions.
Sediment trap efficiency should be increased to 80+ percent and peak emueor
setdeable sediment concentration should be reduced 10 below 0.50 rnlll. A
cost-effective way to try and accomplish mese objecuves is ro use passive
dewatering. The simpleSl appreach is to replace me drop inlet wim a perforated riser.
Change the drop inlet to a perforated riser by clicking on the Design buu on.

then click on the drop inlet pull-down triangle, and select a perforated riser
(instead of the drop inlet). Riser and barrel parameters are idemical to [he
drop inler parameters, and two B1. inch holes are placed every foor beginning
at elevation 2527 (4 elevations' .

74

With (he perforatcd riser, (he results are changing in (he righr direcrion. Peak
discharge is now 7.88 cfs which is nearly rhe same as me pre-developrnenr
discharge. Peak serrleable solids has been reduced ro 0.24 rnl/I which is less
[han rhe 0.50 milI standard. Trap efficiency increased from 77.1 to 81.0%.

The oeher advantage is

thar the peak elevation
decreased frOID
2532.32 fr ro 2531.56
fr, which is a reduction
of abour % fr. Thus,
(he advantages of a

passive dew3tering
system are evident.

Peak flow, serrleable

solids, and peak
elevation are a1l
reduced and trap
efficiency is increased.

Contrasting Permanent Pool and Passive

Dewatering
Using me Pond Design Example numbers:
Sediment Storage (ae-fe)
Permanenr Pool (ac-ft)
Permanent Pool Elev
Peak Discharge (cfs)
Sediment Discharge (tans)

Peak Sedimenr Cone. (mgll)

Peak Sedimenr Conc. (milI)
24VW (mili)
Peak Elevarion
Trap Efficiency ('lo)
Dcwarering Time (days)

Drol! lolet

Perforated Riser

0.19
!.l8
2531
17.31
97.5
35,724
1.79
1.07
2532.32
77.08
0.60

0.19
0.16
2527
7.89
80.8
46,457
0.24
O.ll

2531.56
81.00
2.47

Ourpur design paramerers for bom rhe permanenr pool (drop-inler) and
passive dewatering (perforated ciser) principal spillway options are shown. The
advantages of a passive dewatering system are evident. The permanent pool is

rnuch smaller such rhar if an embankment were ro fail, only 0.16 ac-ft would
be released versus 1.18 ac-ft in rhe drop inler siruarion. The peak discharge is
abour \2 rhar of the permanenr pool aptian. Trap efficiency is increased by
nearly 4%. Peak settleable sediment effluent concentration is reduced by a
factor of7. Volume weighted average is likewise reduced. The only advantage
of the permanent pool can be seen in the peak total sediment concentrarion,

which is approxirnarely 36,000 rng/l for rhe permanent pool versus 46,000

75

-.

rng/l foc [he passive dewarcring aprjon. This is due to me inicial dilurioo effecr
cf [he rnuch larger permanent pool. The permanent pool is assumed ro consise
of clcan water prior ~o [he design s[Ocm. Setdcable solids are nor as greatly
affecrcd by dilurion, sincc [he faH velocity is so much greater than thar of cIay
and very fine silt particles. Deposirion care facraes exceed [he dilurion effect
foe settleable solids.

It should be nated rhar several interactions are being combined ro obtain [he
final results. A larger permanenr pool provdes dilutioo of incorning sedimentladeo flows. However, the larger permanent pool has disadvantages cf
releasing discharge at higher cates [han [he passive sysrcm. almost immediarely
since no storage bclow [he ccest cf me principal spillway exisrs. Also, rhe
permanent pool has the disadvantage of a geeater fall depth foe sediment
particles ro enter (he sediment storage zone where they are assumed [O be
peemaoently trapped. These disadvantages ate manifested in a highee peak
stage, higher peak discharge. lower overall scdiment trap efficiency. and higher
settleable solids, peak and volume-wcighted emuent conditions. The advantage of the large pcrmanent pool is dilution of incoming sedimenc-Iaden water.
In contrasto the passive dewatering system has very liule dilutioo effect. but
cspecially duriog early storm flows. a much shoner sediment fall depth. The
disadvaotage of a much lower dilucion potential during the initial sedirncnt
discharge combincd with a much lower dischaege, (i.e. through the lowest
perforations, rcsults in a higher initial peak sediment concentraton than thar
af me permanent pool.
If this final point is only viewed in the perspective of actual peak values, than a
very essential paim is mssed. Although me peak sediment concentrarian is
higher for the passive sysrem in comparison to rhe permanent pool system, this
higher value is associated wirh a very small discharge which is easily dilured
upon entry into the fluvial sysrem.
.

Additional Alternative Design

-.

Tradeoffi among dilution, sediment partide fall depth, as they alfect peak
discharge, trap efFiciency, peak rotal sediment concentradon. peak toral
sediment concentraton, peak and volume-weighted sertleable sediment
concemrarion, etc. can be evaluated through basin parameter changes such as
storage eapacity for pcrmanent pool and sediment pool and rype, number, size,
loeation, and configurarian of principal spillways.

76

Silt Fence Design

A silt fence is effecrive if properly insralled and placed on the CQntaur. The
ends of [he silr fence muse be instal1ed sufficiently upgradient of [he contour
such rhar [he silr fence funcrions as a miniature clam and runoff i5 flor allowed
ro flow around (he edges. Obviously. if rhe silt fence is undermined, if runoff
goes around rhe edges of the 5ilt fence, oc if [he silc fence is filled with sedimcm
such [har runoff overfIows me fenec, ts effectiveness may he significandy
reduced.
Silt fence sediment trap efficiency is influenced by the peak flow, eroded
particle size distrihution, slurry flow cate through [he silr fenec, and prior

sediment deposition.

Silt Fence Design Example

Silt Fence Example
Problem Statement:
A critical wetland habitat
is near a proposed
highway construction
projecr in [he coasta!
plains of Maryland.
Sediment control is
required to protect the
wedand. Due ro the
relatively smaU drainage
area and the clase
proximity to the wedand,
the use of a silr fence is
SILT FENCE / GRASS FIL TER EXAMPLE
suggested. The sail is
classified as a sandy loam
and the hydrologic soil group is A. The vegetated areas consist of grass wirh
approximare 60 percenr ground cover. No orher significant vegeratian is
presento Regulations require a 10 year-24 haur design storm.
The design informarion thar needs ro be enrered prior ro design af rhe silr
fence is rhe:

Storm Input
Particle Size Disrribution
Networking
Subwarershed Informarian

77

--

Storm Input
Infarmarion is nceded foc rhe scorm rype and rhe rainfall amount associaced
with (he 10 year-24 hour design stoem foc (he Maryland coastal plains area.
For
coast ofMaryland, where chis project is locared. a Type 11 storm
distribution is appropriate. The help screen for rhe lO year-24 hour design
stoem in Maryland shows a precipitadon deprh of approximate1y 5.5 Dches.
We suggest the NRCS 49 pt Distribution.

me

Particle Size Distribution

The sedimentology apriao burton needs

to

be chosen foc any erosion oc

sediment control applicarions and prior to entering eroded particle size data.
Click the particle size distribution burton and then
creare new hurton.
Enter rhe eroded partide size data for the subsoil at rhe site. (Refer to rhe
Particle Size Distribution Laboratory Analysis procedure described in detail. If
furrher assistance is nceded, picase contact Richard Warner.) Aceept [he
deF.tult values for Specifie Gravit}' and Bulk Submerged Speeifie Gravit}'.

me

Filenarne (exarnple): MD Sandy Loam

Label: (as shown b.Jow)

Percenr Finer (%)
Particle Size (mm) MD Sandy Loam
4
100
2
96
I
74.6
0.5
62.8
0.25
48.4
0.125
41.2
0.063
36.2
0.031
24.2
0.0 16
18.3
0.008
16.2
12.8
0.004
10.6
0.002
0.001
O

Networking

--

The networking for this project is srraight forward, simply c1iek on rhe
Networking bunon, meo click the Add a Struccure button, and selecr a "Silt
Feoce". Sioce ooly ane structurc: is used, struccure #1 automatically flaws to
the oudet (designated as zero) and no Muskingum routing is needed.

Subwatershed Informatioli
Click on rhe Design burron. When the Strueture Design/Subwatershed sereen

78

appears, click the "Add SWS" burtan. The area. time of concentration,
Muskingum routing parameters foc routing fram a suhwarershed outlet ro a
structure, NRCS curve number, and unir hydrograph shape are input on rhis
screen. Three subwatersheds are specified foc (his example. Since (he two

pasrure areas are separared by disrurbed areas, these will be considered as

separare subwatersheds. The inputs foc

me mast upgradient subwatershed will

be detailed from (his point an.

Subwatershed Hydrology and Sedimentology Inputs

Enter (he following numbers for 3 subwatersheds:

2
3

Area
0.88
2.20
1.24

1
2
3

0.24
0.24
0.24

Te
0.017
0.040
0.012

Musk.K
0.057
0.012

Musk. X
0.203
0.256

Re!!. Len&th Rel!. Slo!!e

80.0
2.5
160.0
1.25
70
5

!;
0.04
0.85
0.04

eN
49
77
49

l'

UHS
Medium
Fast
Mcdium
PSD
MD Sandy
MD Sandy
MD Sandy

Disturbed
No
Yes
No

Notes:
The warershed area is straight forvvard and can be determined from
many places, or you can use the SEDCAD-AutoCAD nterfaee.
For [he time of concentraran,
longest overland flow dsranee is
abour 80 & and the change in elevanan is abour 2 fr. Overland flow will
occur across pasruce land thar was described as having abour 60%
ground cover. Click the edit bulton, click ''Add a Flow Path" bulton,
selecr "Short grass pasture", enter 2 undee Vertical Distance, dick oc [ah
ro Horizontal Distance and eorer 80, then click [he <COK" burtan. The
time of concentraran is 0.017 hours. The usee should be aware thar if
[he time of concentraran is less than 0.125 hours, rhen rhe unir
hydrograph methodology is Dor used and instanraneous runofT is
assumed.

me

Hint: To save input time jor small watersh~d, where the time ofconcentration is
1m than 0.125, simply type in 0.1 hour, and the result, will be the ,ame a, ifa
lower time nfconcentration was calculated

Routing from me subwatershcd outlet ro the silt fence structure is

necessary. Whenever the subwatershed ouclet is not AT the structure,
roucing is needed. Since all runoff is expected to be transported by
overland flow, routing will be done using the overland flow paths listed
in the calculation tableo Click on me edit bulton, men add a flow pam,
selcct "Bare soil", enter a vertical drop of2 ft and a horizontal distance
of 160 fi:. For the second segment of me calculations (routing mrough
SWS3), add a (second) flow path, ,elect "Short grass pasture", enter 2 fi:
vertical drop and 80 fi: horizontallength, and then click OK. The result
is a Mu,kingum K of 0.057 hrs and X ofO.203.

79
The curve number can readily be locared

--

--

--

--

by a c1ick on es edit burton.

Select Hydrologic Soil Group A as specified in the problem statement.

The tabl e Other Agricultural Lands lists pasture land. The fair condition pasture land is chosen since [he problem statement specified 60%

ground CQver and che Faje caregory is foc between 50 and 75% ground
cover. A curve number of 49 is selected.
The ast cotry is che dimensionless unir hydrograph shape. A Medium
response is appropriate foc pasture land in faie condicion o Note that
since che rime of concentrarion is less than 0.125 hOlles [he unir

hydrograph shape will not acrually be used.

Hydrology npues foc the orher subwatersheds follows che same procedures.
For SWS2, the disrurbed area, a curve number of77 (Drban Areas, newly
graded area, HSG - A, or Cultivated Agricultural Lands, Fallow bare soil, HSG
-A) is selected. A1so, the hydrograph would have to be routed from the outlet
ofSWS2 to its structure (the silt fence) through SWS3 via overland Row. For
SWS3. no Muskingums routing is rcquired since [he ouclcr of SWS3 is at che
silt fcoce.

The subwatershed sedimentology inputs are the soil erodibility (K factor),

representacive slope length, representatiye slope. coyer (C) facror, Practice (P)
facror, and designation of which eroded panicle size distribution to use.

To estimare rhe K factor (soil erodibilityL dick on its edit burtan and
select sandy loaro which yidds a K factor ofO.24.
The represenratiye length is obrained directly from the example figuce.
The representatiye slope is also estimared from the example figure.
o To estimate the C factor for SWS's 1 and 3, click the edit burton, select
the e factor rabIe foc Permanent Pasture. click on percent Coyer and
select 60, and select no appreciable canopy, yielding 0.042. For SWS2,
select the e factor rabIe Values foc Bare Soil ar Construcrion Sires and
then selecr rough graded fill , which seems ro besr describe an active
consrruction sire.
o Accept the P factor default of 1.

--

--

Since rhis is a small sire and has one predominanr soil rexture, simply
select the only particle size distribution entered from the dropdown list
for aH SWS's.
o SWS2 is flagged as disturbed to give us the option of using a rule-ofthumb merhod of specifying sedimenr srorage for rhe silr fence. The
rule-of-thumb is usuaHy 0.1 or 0.125 ae-fr/ac disrurbed. SEDCAD 4

adds up the area upgcadicnt of eaeh struetuce when f1agged as disturbed,

and multiplies that area by the user-specified rule-of-thumb value.

80

Graphs
Click the hydrograph buttan.
Turn off the combined hydrograph
optiol1 ro view only the rhree
individual hydrographs. The
hydrograph shows a peak discharge
of 8.87 cfs.

_:P!':
': T-'~'::'~:': .

l:~ :

'

' .

L'

, _i

T....

Contributing SW Hy<Iroll~') ro, SUu<1uro 1

_,..... J""_~9 _t1ll.tf:'1~"f~~ ":!~~6~ftG:'1

.J

15

~ 90

-.-

--- - t - , -- : ; ~ ~ - --- - --~

""',

"

1>'.. ,:
.!;NJ,,"

__

'
~

(ho'"

Window in around rhe 12th hour and

be sure ta window slightly below the
X-axis. As can be seen in
plor.
peak f10w for SWSI is about 0.86 cfs
and for SWS3 the peak f10w is about
1.21 cfs. Theselow peak f10ws

me

- - : -I -': ,-C""""'dSWSP
~ ff:
el! " 1205 ....
:

.... ,:

:;)!

direcdy rcAcer a curve numher of 49.

Now review [he sedimentgraph. As
expected
vast majority of sediment

me

is associared with

me disturhed area.

Detailed subwatershed inputs and outputs can be viewed by c1icking on the

Repon Tab 011 [he main screen, and selecting Struccuce 1 SWS(s). The peak
sedirncm concenrrarion from SWS2 is abour 19,000 rng/l. This is reduced by
comhining with the more dilute flows emanating from rhe pasture lands.

Silt Fence Design Parameters

Click on the "SrfUcture Design" bunon

[O

enter rhe silt fence design screen.

Silt Fence Flow Rate

The flow rare is obrained from rhe specific rnanufacrurer's technicalliterature.
Usually two flow rares are listed - distilled water and slurry flow rare. The
slurry flow rare is the appropriare one [O use in SEDeAD 4. The range of
slurry f10w rates is berween 0.1 and about 15 gpm/sq ft. A rypical value is 0.3
gpm/sq ft, which is emered for this example,

Silt Fence Width Along the Contour

The silt fence should be locared as close on rhe contouc as is reasonably
possible. The widrh is nor rhe enrice lengrh of rhe fence, because tieback
disrance wil1 be

81

calculated nd/or overridden. The widrh is simply rhe lengrh of silt feoce
installed along the conto"r. Enter 600 ft for Silt Fence Width.

Silt Fence Height

Two silr fence heighrs are cornmonly used: 30 Dehes and 36 nches. Propee
installation of a silt fence requires thar 6 fiches be placed in a diteh and
backfilled. Therefore, silt fence height refers to the height of fence above the
grouod surface. Eoter 2.5 ft for this example feoce height.

Silt Fence Upgradient Land Slope

The silt fence algorirhm is based on backwater, [he flow rate, and sedimentarion algorithms [har dynamically account foc mixing and sercling of different
size particles. The up-gradient land slope is used in conjuncrion with the silt
feoce height and routiog of the ioflow hydrograph based 00 the slurry flow
rateo The laod slope is "sed to derive the stage-storage relatiooship for ,he sil,
feoce. Eoter 5% for ,his example. Note this is ,he same slope used for SWS3.

Silt Fence Tie-back Distance

This is calcula'ed io SEDCAD 4 as a fuoctioo of the sil, feoce height aod ,he
tlpgradienr I~ncl Jope. The tie~b ack distance is determined by projecting a line
[rom me tap of [he silt fence upgradient until ir intersecrs [he land surfaee,
which is a fuoctioo of the land slope. For example, a 2.5 fr sil, feoce heigh,
aod a laod slope of 5% yields a tie-back distaoce of 50 ft.

The ,ie-back distaoce ioforms the user about ,he leogth of silt feoce ,ha,
should be iostalled upgradieor 'o avoid flow arouod ,he o"tside edges of the
fenee as me water elevation rises to me total height of the silt fenee. The
ovenide butron can be used to modify mis value. A message will appear that
gives the allowable heigh, of water 00 ,he sil, feoce correspoodiog to ,he
specified tie-back distaoce. That is, if the water is higher thao ,hat calcula,ed
maximum height, some ruooff will flow around ,he edge of the sil, feoce.

Silt Fence Additional Weirs

The use of a weir cut into a silt fenee has proven [Q be useful io Qur work. It
fuoetions as an emergency spillway providing struetural relief to (he silt fence.
Such weir(s) enable ,he siIr feoce 'o remaio fuoc,iooal eveo duriog large storm
eveots <ha' oormally would cause ,he feoce 'o structurally faiI. The weir is
modeled as a sharp crested weir in SEDCAD 4. Rack is placed dowo-gradieo'
of the weir to avoid seour (hat could undermine the sil( fenee.
When "additional weirs" is checked, the additional input needs are the number
of weirs. weir depth. and weir width.

82
How Many Weirs?
Since che flow rate rhrough a weir is so great wirh respecr ro char of a silt fence,
(he number of weies is flor a critical item. Placement every 100 to 300 fr seems
to work out welJ at construccion stes. Obviouslya weie willllot effecr [he
performance of (he silr feoce until f]ow is ac[Ually discharged rhrough
weie.
Even [han, sincc so much ofthe scorm volurne is derained behind
silr
example.
fcoce, a silt fence performs quite wel!. Eorce 1 foe

me

me

me

Weir Depth
The depth of the weir is the disrance berween the rop of the silt fence and me
hottom of
\Veie. This rype cf weie is usually cut out using a knife and chen
the remaining portian of (he fabeic artached to sorne 50rt of reinforcemenc
such a 1 by 1, [har in turn Is auachcd ro [he siIt feoce stakes. Enrer 0.5 fr foe
,he example.

me

Sil, Fence Weir Wid,h

The weie width is usually determined by the spacing between silt feoce stakes.
Depending on the which manufacturer is used and the installaton methad
employed, spacing is nocmal1y between 6 and 10ft. Enter 8 ft foc chis
example.

Silt Fence Design Results

The sil, fence design screen immediately shows mat me peak Ilow was reduced
from 8.87 lo 0.67 cfs. This is expec,ed because allllow was discharged
through the silt fence. The heigh, of wa,er (peak srage) was 1.6 fr. To dewater,
ir will take 0.75 days or abau[ 18 houes. Dewarering is calculated assuming
only flow through the silr fence. Additional dewatering will occur as infiltration.
The peak effluent sediment concentra,ion is abou, 2,200 mg/l. Thus the
concentraron was reduced
~,,~

n..,RIft..,.",..,. ~
,,,....~~ ............. _ - - -- - -.. l
from abollt 16,600 ro
'WiJb .... ariWiI) l1Qi'ii
~
~~ ClI.Jl'
t
1Hi;N 1IJ, ~
I
11 Th e pea k
2,200 mg.
~ ...... " ' "
.."", ......."" I '~I .." ,
serueable conceotration
f. w ....... ,.i r-Jfti.i'r o.....m
I'etJ:r..... s.. r--u;
I
p ......._"w.o.~
.....~ r-r
~,_
I
was reduced from 11.0 to
-:;:"IIj r---n
~ 1I_-.gn"'~ 1
... ~.
f

l!l

Omili. That is, all

.~ . ~;r~jd-~'~ -setcleable solids were
' -~.....
! "~iI..I~
retained and only a
! " ~!t
~~ ,
portian ofthe fine soil
,l ~,. ..-~tl
. 1 (", 1.1... ".."",
fraction was released
1.
through me sil, fence. The
overall sediment trap efficiency js 91.1 percent.

t<;o~s.;; 1 lUOlI

1.1I5

,," c.:.!=.1 10"'1 IUJJ

~ I ';511 aro
r.:-;-

'I',.uo.-.,tt). I!I1

~I

Graphs of inflow and outflow hydrographs and sedigraphs can be viewed by

cIicking on the graph burtons, respectively.

f
i
l

1,

83

Silt Fence Design with Dedicated Sediment Storage

There are many methods ro specify scdiment capacity. The user-defined
methad wiII be illustrated for this example.
Selecr [he uscr-defined option, and (hen cnter .05 ae-fr. fu can be secn,
dedicating 0.05 ae-fr te sediment storage nereases (he sediment trap efficiency
to 92.3% versus 91.1 %. Also me peak stage was increased ro 2.08 ft from
1.59 fr. The difference
. -sir";;; --- - .
in stage is due ro
: ""-!tt.p.'lq): r-r;
~~!
-t
sediment storage. The
~I07>,j:crt4lM J"iii]"

me

. 1"""'

,Hftojf " r--n

"

i~

Ji

QUf

peak flow discharge was

i.1r4sq,. ltJ j-"-!~
! .~~W.I, ! t~1 .....~~19
J .. ~~ . ~.r lht<i6r
i ,~""""' S>.o~ ~
!fe '1 lf
increased from 0.67 ro
, P'~<ffl "" ';:~~ IT
, ~1"'~1 "O'8i; ~-~- H
1.48 cfs. Because of the
,
"
~~ . r-a:!'
!oiHwaltl'* r-Tli
r-::-:::r-:-::;: r1
higher peak discharge
, _ _''-;"';'P:- ,.; ~,~ """1 ~!."t:t 1 IUIDI 1,S(8 H
$to c.-too;>Jl i
which occurred cacliee in ~C4o>oeI,'
~-=f1W~
l kll9 .a ~z_ ~ i
" r-~~Il
:
... i ~~~~ 1
5.571
lOO
JjU
(he event, dewatering
~ lld.oW,t"";'

. ,..,~lime was increased ro

!_~~t ~,
0.89 days. The peak
1?'~~;~
11
emuent concentracion
decreased ftom 2,216 ro 1,968 mgll.

ti

fltln

. ___

'MW

The SEDeAD 4 user needs to be aware that th ere is an inrerplay among many
variables occurring in [he sedimentology algorirhms. The important variables
are incremental stage-srorage. time depcndenr srage-discbarge. ncrcasing or
decreasing surface area of rhe silt fence wjrh various sc:enarios. changes in tbe
distance betwceo various modeled sedimenr laycrs and rhe sedimenr storage
elevation. i.e. panicle fall deptb. and temporal concentradon changes wirhin
the 10 model sediment layers.

The interrelationship amoog these numero us remporalIy varying facrors

primarily change rhe sediment trap efficiency and effiuent sediment concentrarion. For instance, one would assume rhar as more volume is dedicared ro
sediment storage rhat rhe sediment trap efficiency would deerease. This is
somerimes me case bur often times Dar so. For example. for the example
problem, if we dedicate 0.05, 0.10 and 0.15 ac- ft to sediment srorage, the trap
efficiency changes from the original 91.1 % to 92.3%, 91.7% and 89.7%,
respectively. What we see here is rhe nrerplay amoog many paramerers.

84

Grass Filter Design

A grass fllrer is designed to trap sedimenr mar enters by overland flow.
SEDeAD 4 only mode1s [he effectiveness of a grass filter (har receives uniform
overland flow. If concenrrared flow entecs the grass fiher sediment trap
efficiency is greatly reduced. The concentrared flow situation is nor modeled

in SEDeAD 4.

The grass filrer creares backwater. reducing the veJocity Df upgradient fIow
resulring in deposition. Sedimenr laden overland flow transponed through [he
grass filter is further trapped by impinging rhe grass blades. Infiltrated water
within the grass filter also slighcly reduces rhe peak flow and runoff volume.
To achieve uniform overland flow, a flow spreader can be constructed. This is

rather expensive and perhaps not reasonable

fOI

a temporary cooditian [har

exis(s at a consrrucrion sire. The mos( cost effective method is to install a silt

fence upgradient of a grass filter.

The silr fence performs numerous funccions mat ncrease the efficiency of a
grass filter. Ir traps perhaps 80 to 95% of rhe entering sediment, reducing the
impact of sediment deposition wirhin the grass filter. This reduces rhe needed
lengrh of rhe grass lilter sinee the grass lilrer does not have to be designed to
accommodare large quantities of sedimento It reduces the peak flow and
discharges a very low flow rate uniformly rhrough the silt fenee to the grass
filter. The silt fence can be viewed as a primary sediment control faciliry,
whereas me grass filter can be considered as a secondary treatment faciliry
working in conjunction with the silt fence. Refer ro me Silt Fence Grass Filter
Dcsign Example. The gr.ss filter researeh was initiated by Tollner (1976) and
advaneed by Hayes and others, 1979.

Grass Filter Design Example

The Silt Fenee Design Example will be expanded by adding a grass filrer
immediately downgradient of rhe silt fence. AH storm, particle size, structure
networking, watershed parameters, warershed hydrology, and warershed
sedimentology inpUts are dctailed in the Silt Fenee Example
The example grass filter is approximarely 70 ft in length, 600 ft wide and has
an approximate slope of 4.5%. The grass ruter consists of fescue in good
condition. The grass height varies from 3 to 6 inches. An average value of 4
will be used.

Networking
A grass filter strueturc will be added

-'
to

rhe silt fenee in rhe Silt Fenee Example.

.....,

-'

85
If you creared rhe example file foc che silt fence example:
open rhe silt fence cxample fil e

click 00

me Design Tah

c1ick on the N etworking burton, meo Add a Structure

Structure 2 will appear, and selecr a Grass Filrer
Now che designadon of structure flowing ro anocher structure is nceded .
Highligh, ,he "To Srruerure No" for ,he sil, fenee (eurrently a "O") and

ochange ir te "2"
If rou have Dor crcatcd aD examplc file foc the silt fence example and want ca
run chis example, you will need ro creare the file with che parameters specified
in ,he sil, fenee cxample

Grass Filter Design Inputs

To design an effective grass filter, considerarion must he given ro achieving
uniform and shallow overland flow ,hroughou, ,he grass fil'er. This can be
most casilr achieved by combining a grass filter with aD up-gradient silr fence
as is illusrrated in chis example. If rhe f]ow depth and associarcd velocicy
cxeeeds a eri,ical velo<ty. rhe grass blades will eollapse and ,he grass fil,er will
funcrion likc a grass waterway. For chis condition me grass filter is assumed ro
fail and rhe trap efficiency is considered zero.
Several inputs are bascd on dctermining if this failure condician occurs. The
cricieal velociry is a function of me type of grass, its condition, and the height
af grass. The pulldown inpur rabies provide guidance for several grasses and
growth condition. For a given grass o/pe and condition, yOil can obtain
Roughness Coefficient
Grass Hydraulie Spaeing
Grass StifTness Factor
Omer input parameters are
Grass Heighr
Grass Fil,er Infilrration Ra,e (fune,ion of rhe soil Hydrologie Soil
Group)
Grass Fil,er Lengrh. Wid,h. Slope

Grass Filter Roughness Coefficient

The roughness coefficienr is based on an a1gorithm of shallow f10w rhrough
small ree,angular ehannels existing between blades of grass. Cliek on ,he drop
down list burron to view roughness coefficients for various grass rypes and
condtions. The examplc problem statcment stated thar rhe filter consisrs of
feseus .nd good eondition. Seleeting a good stand of feseue yields a roughncss
eoeffieienr of 0.0141.

86

Grass Hydraulic Spacing

The hydraulic spacing is a function of [he grass species and condirion of
growrh. Ir is used in determining [he hydraulics of flow rhrough [he filter. A
value of 0.67 was auromatically entered when che grass rype and growrh
concltioo \Vece selected foc the Grass Filter Roughness Coefficenr.

Grass Stiffness Factor

Different grasses are more oc less resistam to bending over during flow. The
sciffness factor is a [un crian of grass species and growrh condition. A value of 2
N-sq m is used foc a good stand of reseue.

Grass Height
The grass heighr affecrs sediment stoeage capaciry within rhe grass filter and 1s
used in derermining if a selected grass species wilI callapse as a function of
deprh of flow in eelation ro the geass height. Simply enter a grass height of 4

me

n ches

foc

chis example.

Grass Filter Infiltration Rate

Grass filters are ofren used to provide added proreerion of adjaeent srreams or
nearby wedand areas. The soils adjaeent [O streams afien have higher iDfiltra~
rion rates [han upgradient soils. The sandy loam, foc this example. is in
Hydrologic Soil Group A. The following table shows rough estimates for
sready~state infilcrarion rates:
Soi' Group
A
B

Soi/ Group A:
Soi/ Group B:
Soi/ Gronp CSoi/ Group D:

I~filtration Rate
> 0.30 in/hr
0.15 - 0.30 in/hr
0.05 - 0.15 in/hr
o - 0.05 in/hr

detp sand, detp 10m, aggregattd silts

shallow 10m and sandy loam
clay loalm, shallow sandy loams, soi/ umally high in clay
soil 01 high swellillg point, heavy p/astic clays

Enter 0.3 iph foe this example. This may be low foe f100d plain soils and may
be increased depending especially on me existence of maeropores. A higher
infilrrarion rate will inerease the sediment trap efficiency.

Grass Filter Dimensions

Grass Filtee Length
Length is a rather sensitive paramerer. Ir is especially critieal foc values less
rhan about 50 fr. As lengrh ineceases, sediment tcap effieiency nereases and
effiuent eoneentration deeceases. Enter 70 foc this example.

87
Grass Filter Width
Por (his example, filtcr width corresponds wirh [he section of right-of-way
being controlled

by (he silt fcoce - grass filree combination. Filter widrh affecrs

the depth of flow, ,he,eby influencing velocity and ,he dep,h of flow. Enter
600 n.
Grass Filler Stope
From (he example schemaric, a slope of abour 4.5 % is measured. Slope
influences velocity and deplh of flow.

Grass Filter Design Results

Once the final entry (i.e. Grass Fil'e, Slope) is made and lhe 'ab key is pressed
(oc shift-tab oc mause click), results appear. The inflow values emanating from
the silt feoce are automatically passed and displayed 00 che screeo. These
values are 1.48 cfs and 1,967 mgll peak sedimen' concentration. Settleable
solids are zero since (he larger size sediment fraction was previously rerained by
the Sill fence.
The trap efficiency of (he grass
fIller a10ne is 93.5
pereeor. The silt

6,'~W.;"Q~

' rr.ieo~

feoce retained

92.3 % of lhe
inflow scdiment

load and [he grass

filter retained

93.5 of ,he inflow

from lhe Sill
fcoce. Thus the overall trap efficiency of the silt fence - grass filter sediment
control syslem is 99.5%:
Sill fence unlrapped sedimenl (1 - 0.923 = 0.077 [7.7%])
Grass filler untrapped sediment (1 - 0.935 = 0.065 [6.5%])
OveraU untrapped sedimenl (0.077 x 0.065 = 0.005 [0.5%])
Overall trap efficiency (1 - 0.005 = 0.995 [99.5%])
The peak discharge was allenualed to 1.19 cfs frOID 1.48 cfs. Peak emuenl
concentracion was drascically reduced from 1,967 to 311 mg/l. This reduction
was caused by fine size particles being retained within the grass filter and due
to inft.ltrated waters.

88

Grass Filter Reports

Structure Surnrnary:

#1

.,

In
CUt
In
CUt

strucrure Summllry:

Immedlale

Ta'

Cortributinl;!

Cortributing

~~~

%~~

4320

0.000

4.320
4.320

Puk
Diuflirga
(~)

8.87
1.48
1.48

1.1'3

Ta.

,~f

'o(.011)
>.rn.
0.71
0.71
0.71
0.:33-

p,,"
5edimert s.dimert
(ton)

'.2
O.,
O.,
0.0

(':,;i
l~.Oi!

Peak
~ule .. ~e

24VW

~i
10.97

(mil)

1,9&8

0,00

1,9&7
311

0,00

0.00

5.57

0.00

O."
0.011

The conrriburing area irnmediately upgradient of each structure and [he total
contributing watershed acreage are listed. For (his example, no addirional upgradient watersheds erisr between me silt fence and me grass fiIter. Peak
discharge and total runoff volume are shown in the next columns. For
grass filece. runofFvolume decreased from 0.71 ac-ft to 0.31 ac-ft due ro the
slow inflow cate and [he infiltration rate Df me grass filter. & (he inflow cate
dcereases, Grass Filter Infiltration Rare, oc Grass Filter Length inecease, (he
runoff volume deereases.

me

Tons oE sediment deerease due ro me retention of sediment by me silt fenee

and rhen by .m e grass filter. The peak sediment eoncenrrarion in mgll continues 'o deerease from abou, 16,600 to 2,000 to 31 1 as runoff proeeeds from rhe
warersheds out of the silr fence and through the grass filter. AH sertleable solids
have been removed by the silt fence. Essentially [he combination silt fenee grass filter removes almosr all of (he eroded sedimento Ir preves to be a very
effeetive combination for rhis example.
Selecr "AH Strucrures" repon from the lisr. Derailed information about each
structure is provided in these output rabies.

Silt Fence Reports:

The silr fence inpurs are lis red as well as peak elevation, dewarering time and
trap efficiency. Proeceding down ,he reporr, ,he S'age'Capaeity-Discharge
Table provides the Fcnce Stage and Water 5tage and associated incremental
area, capacity, diseharge and dewarering time. As can be seen, the water srage
begins at 0.61 fr. Sediment srorage is provided bcnearh this stage. The arca
and eapaeity a' ,he 0.61 ft leve/ are 0.17 ae and 0.05 ae-fr, respective/y.
Notice that the water stage value is reiniriated at 0.0 and thar diseharge is only
allowed aboye the sediment stage. This is a slighrly conservative assumption
that the dedicated sedimcnt storage volume is nor used foc srorage of runoff
and therefore discharge is nor allowed below the sedimenr srorage elevarion.
Note also rhar alrhough the discharge rate per unir fenee arca is eonstanr, the
discharge rate sIighrly increases as elevarion is incrcased -From 0.61 to 2.0 fr due
ro a proportionally grcater fcnee arca being conracted by (he water. The
second pagc of the reporr shows the remaining $tage-Area-Discharge Table,
followed by ,he Grass Fil,er inputs.

89

Grass Filter Reports:

Grass filter results list che infiltrarian volume and rate, a peak flow deprh Df
0.054 io. me cri,ical prooe velociry ofO.8122 fps wedge loca,ioo ofO fr
sedimeo, depm io zooe O of 0.0042 ioches and me ,rap efficieocy of me gr.ss
filter. The very low flow depth .ccoun" for the overall efficiency of the filter.
The prone velocity is a functlon of grass species, growth coodicion and grass
height. If
actual velocity exceeds che prone velocity, [he grass is assumed lO
callapse and
trap efficiency is assumed zero. The wedge rcfees ro rhe
location of me leading edge of deposired sediment thar forms a triangular edge
as ir procceds clown gradient along che grass filtee 5lope. Since che vast
majority of sedimcm was removed by [he silt fcoce, no significant wedge build

me
me

up occured. Zone D sedimenr rcfees ro [he most down-gradieot section of che

sediment depostion. A value ofO.0042 Dches is insignificant.

90

Check Dam Design

Porous rack check dams are used in channels to create backwater, rherefore
reducing flow velocity resulting in deposition of sand-sized pardeles upgradient of the check dam.
The algorithm for porous rack check dams is currently limited to trapezoidal
channels. No cred is given foc a reduction in peak flow. The flow rate
rhrough me check clam is simply a function of the effective cross-sectional area
based on the porosiry of the check dam. This algorithm has only been verified
based on limited data collected by USGS at oue highway construction site
(Reed, 1978). A new algori thm is currently under development.

Check Dam Design Example

Problem Sta,emen,:

Mining exploration is being

conducted in che Four Cornees
area. The area disrurhed foc
dcill rig, associated equipment.
and access is 0.24 ac. As shown
in (he example figure, a porous
rock check clam is ro be
consrructed downstream of the
exploration site. The design
srorm 1s a 10 ye-24 he event and
,he Hydrologic Soil Group is C.

me

,~

.... O.IIOOe

The design inforroation that

needs ro be entered prior to the
design of ,he porous rock check
dam is ,he:
. "' a.Il4II

Porous Rack Check Dam Example

Partide Size Distribution

Subwatershed Information

Storro Input
Networking

Storm Input
Information is needed for the storro type and rhe raillfall amount associared
wi,h the 10 yr-24 hr design storm for the Four Cornees area. From the Storm
Type help screen, in can readily be seen ,ha, a NRCS Type 11 distribution is
applicable. From the NOAA Atlas, ,he rainfall depth for the 10 yr-24 hr
design storm is approximately 2.4 inches. fu always,
49 pt Distribution 1s
recoromended.

me

91

Particle Size Distribution

The Sedimentology oprion burron needs ro be selected prior ro entering aD
erodcd particle size disrcibution. Click [he Particle Size Disrciburion bunon,
and then [he Creare New burron. Prior ro cnrering (he data, (h e filen ame and
rst disttibution labe! will be ptompted fol'. Enter the following data:
Filename (example): Four Corners
Label: Top,oil
Pet<:ent Finer (%)
Partide Size (mm)

Topsoil

100

98

1
0.5
0.25
0.125
0.062
0.031
0.016
0.008
0.004
0.002
0.001

94

88
82
72
64

48
33
20
15.5
6
0.5

Networking
The nerworking foc mis example is quite simple since only a single sediment
control struccuce is being analyzed. Click on [he Networking bunoo, (hen

cliek the Add a Strueture burton, and seleet Cheek Dam. Sinee only the
performance of Ofie structure is being asscssc:d, stcucturc # 1 automarically flows
ro the oudet (designared as zero) and no Muskingum routing between
structures is nceded. Click OK.

Subwatershed Information
Click on the Design hutton and rhen cliek on Add SWS hutton. The
subwatershed area, time of concentrarion, Muskingum routing, NRCS curve
numher, and unir hydrograph shape are input 00 (his screcn.
Two subwatersheds are specified foc this example. The up-gradient
suhwatershcd (SWS 1) is the 0.24 ae exploratioD site, and [he down-gradient
suhwatershed (SWS2) consisrs of desen shruh in fait eondition, i.e. 50 to 75%
aerial eoverage. The up-gradient suhwatershed is designed SWS l and
Muskingum routing will he needed sinee SWS l's outlet is not at S1, the
porous roek cheek dam. No Muskingum routing is needed for SWS2 sinee [he
outlet of SWS2 is at S l.

92

Subwatershed Hydrology and Sedimentology Inputs

Enter the following numbers for 2 subwatersheds:
1
2

Area
0.24
0.90

0.32
0.32

Te

Ml1sk. K

0.018
0.041

0.012

Musk.X
0.334

ReR' Lengdl Ree. Sloee

80.0
1.5
250.0
3.5

J;;
0.80
0.36

eN

UHS

91
81

Fas,
Fas,
PSD
Topsoil
Topsoil

Disrurbed
No
No

Notes:

The area can be derermined from various merhods, software packages, oc

with the SEDCAD - AuroCAD (SC-AC) interface.
Time of Concentration
SWSl: the longesr flow path i, esrimated to be 80 fr and me ground
slope is given as 1.5%. Since (he area is disturbed, land use caregory 5 is
appropriare. Overland flow is che ooly component of che time of
concemrarion for SWS 1 since no channel flow is neecled. Time of

concentration will generare a hyclrograph at me subwatershed Dudet

only - Muskingum rouring will route me generated hydrograph from
me ourlet of SWS 1 ro SI.
SWS2: the overland flow length and gradient are 250 fr and 2.8%,
respecrively. Since a desert pavement is expecred, category 5 will result
in a rachee fase overland flow velocity, representative of such a pavement ..
Muskingum Routing
Routing from the ourlet of SWS 1 ro SI is via a gulch wim a 1.3% slope
and a lengrh of about 150 fr. Category 8 is selected.
Curve Number
SWS 1: oprional curve numbers can be viewed by a dick on che edit
burron. Specif}> Hydrologic Soil Group C and select cultivated agriculturallands and then select Fallow, resulting in a CN of 91.
SWS2: select Arid and Semiarid Rangeland and wimin mis category
select Desert Shrub ... in fair condition, resulting in a eN of 81.
o Unit Hydrograph Shape
The unit hydrograph shape for both SWS 1 and SWS2 is fasr.
K Factor
The K facror (,oil erodibiliry) for both subwatersheds can be estimated
by dicking on rhe edir burton and selecring loam, resulting in a K of
0.32.
Representative Length and Slope
SWS 1: representative lengm is 80 fr, representative slope is 1.5%
SWS2: representative lengrh is 250 fr, representative slope is 3.5%. The
3.5% slope is me average of me 2.8 and 4.3 % slopes.

93

e Factor
SWSl: c1ick me cdir bueron, selectTypical Values Reported in [he
Literature and [hen selecr Bare Soil Loase ro 12 nches, rough, yielding a
C fae,or ofO.8 .
SWS2: select Permanenc Pasrure, Rangland ... , selc<.:C 0% ground cover,
and seleet Canopy of taJl weeds or shon brush (0.5 m tall) wth 25%
eanopyeovet. The C factor s 0.36.
P Factor
Accept rhe P factor dcfault of l.
PS Distribution
Since chis is a srnall sire and has only ane soil texturc, simply seIecr [he
only eroded pardele sizc disrcibution from [he dropdown (sr foc both
SWS's.

Check Dam Design Inputs

Two nputs are required for [he porous rock check clam: check claro height and
porosity. Three channel npues are nceded: channel bed slope, Manning's n of
me channel, and channel sideslopes.
For mis example
j
assume mar rhe
~c:"H4t~tti r----E
paraus rack check
a-n... I'...,.I;>~ l~ ' ~ -iioo
dam will be conDlarrdaNS~J~ r'i:E
~"'..mt.n:. rm
structed 3.5 tt hgh.
~R~t<:li L~2.5D
The porosty of rock
check dams s expeeted
tO be between 40%
and 55%. Herrera
(1989) determned
porosities ranging ttom 44.2% to 46.9% for ~ inch to 1 inch diameter grave/.
Current rescarch with Appalachian mine spoil has found porosicy to be
between 50% and 56% for spoil sizes between 2 and 8 inches. Enter 50% for
porosity.
Channel input p.rameters are a channel bed slope of 1.3%, Manning's n of
0.040, and channel side slope of2.5: 1.

Porous Rock Check Dam Design Results

The Strucrure Summ.ty rabIe provides summary of me performance of rhe
check dam. Peak nflow is 1.24 cfs. Since no routing of the hydrograph is
condueted for porous rock check dams, the peak outflow is a1so 1.24 cfs. This
is a conservative assumption.

The overall sediment trap efficiency is 26.8% (from [he structure design derails
rabie). The trap efficiency of a porous rock clam is anricipatcd ro be less than

94
30%. Ooly [he sand fraction is expected ro be trapped. Settleable solids were
reduced from abo ut 14.3 to 9.3 milI and total solids redueed from about
24,000 to 17,000 mg/!.

Channel Design
Four types of ehannels may be modeled in SEDCAD 4:

Nonerodible Channel
Erodible Channel
Vegetated Channel
Ripeap Channel

ChannelShape
AH foue channels modeled by SED CAD 4 can be designed for a trapezoidal
and a triangular shape. Add..itionally. nonerodible, erodible. and vegcrated
ehannels can be designed with a paeabolie shape. Finally, nonerodible channels
can accornmodate rectangular, circular and semi~circul ar shapes.

Freeboard
Freeboard is added ro rhe channel design deprh as a safeguard against overflowing the channe!.
Freeboard IS nccessary foc numerous rcasaos. To predict the peak flow. several
assumptions and judgments are made concerning medesign s[Orm. storm
disrribution, hydrograph shape, land use, soiI tex[Ure, and factoes affecting rhe
time of concen.tcaon. Also construction qualiry may vary. stream roughness
may ehange due to seour or deposition of soil, growrh of vegetarian, fallen tree
limbs, etc. Once Manning's roughness eoeffieient is ehanged, and especially if
the initial design had a Froude Numbee neae 1.0, speeifie energy will ehange
resulrng in patentially two alternaring flow depths foc a given diseharge.
Designs in SEDCAD 4 assume straight ehannels so super-elevared flow (which
oeeurs in ehannel bends and espeeially bends wh a small radius of eurvature)
is not caleulated but can vary the flow depth by ;> foot.
SED CAD 4 has three methods of aeco uming for feeeboard :
speciIY an additional drpth to be added to the design depth
speciIY a % o[the design flow depth
speeify a multiplication factor times the velocity times deprh

If enteies are made foc two oe rheee of rhe methods, rhe maximum cesulring
feeeboard depth is used.

95

Nonerodible Channel Design

The methodology used ro salve foc flow depth is sm ply Mannillg's equation
co upled with rhe continuity equation (Q= VA). This routine is applicable ro
nonerodible materials such as concrete, asphalr, etc. This colirioe can also be
used to evaluare commerciaJ products such as gabions, articulated concrete
blocks, georextile filled wirh concrete, etc. To use mis routine foc cornmercial
products, rhe suggested Manning's n listed in rh e rechnicalliterature provided
by rhe manufacturer, is entered and the resultanr dcsign velociry is compared
ro rhe maximum permissible velocity provided in rhe manufacturer's rechoical
lirerarure.

Nonerodible Channel Example

The design discharge is generated based 00 d es ign stoem and warershed
characteristics. C hannel urilities are identieal ro those in the main design
program exeept (hat the design flow is entered manually in utilities. Channel
shape. slope. width, and side slopes are entered. Side slopes are horizontal to
vertical. Channel materials and associated Manning's n are loeated through
the TabJe Input button. or may be emered.

As an examplc. consider a permanent concrete highway diversion [hat is

trapezoidal in shape. constructed 00 a 1.8% slope, and has a botrom width of
2 ft wirh 2:1 side sJopes. The design diseharge to be evaluatcd is 45 efs and a
0.5 ft freeboard is used. Emer the values in the Channe! Utility seetion.
The design veloei,y is 10.06 fps at a flow dcpth of 1.08 ft and rhe ehanne!
eonstruetion depth (also aeeommodating freeboard) is 1.58 ft.
t'"- -. --- -

~ IT~

..B

r----roo,

{
,

~,-W, j~

~"' I _. o.ms

Tbi

# ~
<

' -11: r - :;;oI0moh: r -;J.V.D

_.~_._ --~ -_ ._ -=,

00d/I#l1
lop .....dII""

} *Sw~=

S~R!IIiI L ~ J'fYi

--- ---*-

0es'll'lP.-.....

Sq,.,l;'l L _~,, !:.~

8:lIItoDvr~flt

~ ~~Ic:l=t~

~ucntd~

f1ruo~

....o~...t...d .... ~
'.00

....'"

'"
OE& "
2.11 :

,.,.

96

Erodible Channel Design

The design rncthodology used in SEDeAD 4 is based on che limited permissible velocity method, which has been widely used since ts introduction over
70 years ago (Fortier and Scobey, 1926).
Permissible velociry is a funcrion of che type of channel 50i1. If rhe actual
design vdocity is less rhan [he permissible velocit}', che channel is :srable, .e.
non-erodible as designed.

A distincr advantage ro the permissible velocity mechod is thar borh dear and
sedimenr aden water can be modeled. CIear water is more erosive rhan
sedimenr laden water since ir has a greater capacity ro transpon sedimento
The sediment laden a1gotithm should be used for channe!s that convey runoff
from disturbed areas ro a sediment trap Of a sedimenr basin. Bare earthen
channels receiving large quantities of sediment froro steep or highly erodible
lands may not erode at al! and may be subjected to deposition. Channe! soi!
type and channel slope are rhe mosr senstive paramerers.

Erodible Channel Example

Channel urilities from the maio screen will be used to ilIustrare an erodible
chaonel designo
Assume thar a remporary perimeter erodible channcl is ro be designed foc a
mining operarion in rhe Appalachian mounrains. The channel is ro convey
runoff from a disrurbed site to a sedimenr basin. The peak flow, generared for
rhe design storm and warershed charactt:ciscics, is 15.5 cfs. The channel slope
is 0.8% and ir is consrrucred from spoil consisring predominanrIy of shale and
sorne sandstone. The channe! is to be construcred using a D-7 dozer resulring
in a bottom with of 12 ft and 2:1 side slopes. WiII this eh.nne! be stable as
dcsigned?

A5 in [he nonerodible channel

1J.o~,ow>.t<# ~

example, discharge, channel

shape, slope, bottom width
and sideslopes are entered.

::J

SNw jr,.,.Sltr;t --rni

WJan. .....oi<lIIJ j"ilOO

s.;;.,q",F!."., L TTcii
It

rroo

,11!W1
cl (H,'Wt

"-':J,~B ... ""'~ ,

M,. ............ [ .. 0.025 .---4.

.......,~t.<I f""'61ii"

---.J

J,;j

.....;

97
To select the channel material
and corresponding Manning's n
and permissible ve1o.city, click on
me Table Input button. The
Limited Veloeity Sereen displays
available options.

ro'
ro'

r
r

Jq..,: w-.,jL~I;
~o v

r '

liI><l :

At che bottom cf thar screen,

click on me Sediment-laden
optian bunan and then click on
"Shales and Hardpans to
highlight and selecr rhar material. Note [har the permissihle velocity is 6 fps
since this is nor an casilr eeoded material, especially when che channel is
transporting significant quantities cf sedimento Note [har sands and silts are
much more erodible, and therefore channels constructed from these materials
are much more difficulr ro stabilizc.

Add a &eeboard of 1 n, since ir is assumed mar construction will he done

withour a great dcal of surveying and the channel is expected to potentially

deposit incoming sediment since the design velociry is only 2.85 fps.

r
r

The final design shows a design velocity of 2.85 fps and a construetion depth
of 1.42 ft.

98

Vegetated Channel Design

Vegetatcd

(Ol"

grass) waterways are often used ro convey hgher flows and at

higher velocities [han can be accornmodated by erodible channe1s. Vegetaran

inherently stabilizes [he channel soil by binding [he soil with plant foots and,
foc taller grasses. bending ayer under higher flows affords additional protccton

by rhe blanker of grass.

Vegetative channels generally onIy convey intermittent flows such as storm
runoff and are llor designed to convey sustained base flow. If base flow exisrs
and a grassed lined channel is desired, then a composite channel wirh a low

flow channel consisting of rack, ar equivalenr material, would be appropriate.

The design cf vegctared channels is accomplished undee

[W"D

concltioos, shorr

grass and long grass. Shorr grass is used for Vegerared Channel Stabiliry
Analysis and long grass is used for Vegerared Channel Capaciry Analysis. A
Retardance Class is selccted for both stabiliry and capaciry anaIysis.

Retardance Class
Experimenral work eonducted by Ree, 1949, and widely used by rhe NRCS
(SeS, 1947), shows therelationship between flow resistance and the combination of velociry and hydraulic radius.
!,---r-~rrrn~---r-r-rTTnTr--.
~

.,

"Jgclt~. 1 H~a~!ic Rndiu.

Consider the e retacdanee class. As dischacge is inereased from a low to a

slighrly higher value, rhe Velociry x Hydraulic Radius rerm will inerease. As
VR neceases flow cesistance (as repcesented by Manning's n) deereases.
Assume the rerardance class ofD is selecred foc short grass condirions and rhar
a B retardance class is appropriate for tall grass eonditions. fu:. discharge

increases fram a relatively law value 10 a relatively high value VR increases for
both retardanee classes, the roughness eoefficient decreases.

99

Vegetated Channel Stability Analysis

Under shorr grass conditions, rhe channel is more prone ro being eroded [han
during taH grass condirions. Thus, channel stability must be checked during
short grass cooditiolls. During Jow discharge, thefe is significanr resistance ro
flcw by the shon grass beca use ir is essentialIy very shallow flow. As discharge
inereases and ,he flow depth signifieantly exeeeds ,he heigh, of the short
grasses, tIcw resistance dcereases. Retardance Class of through E (and
especialIy D and E) are used foc stability analysis of vegeta red channels.

Vegetated Channel Capacity Analysis

The situa,ion for 'all grass is exaedy opposi'e from ,ha, of short grass. Tall
grass affords a great deal of protection ro me channel soil by laying over during
high flows. Resistance during low Aew foc tall grass is high, foc medium flow
resistance is srill quite high. and fIow resistance does llOr dcerease umil rhe raH
grass bends over and lays on the chaooel bonom. Because rhere is more
resistaoce from the taH grass thao from rhe short grass, the depth of flow fOf
,a11 grass is mueh higher ,han the dep,h of flow for short grass. Retardanee
Class A through C (espeeially A and B) are used for capaeity analysis. Tall
grass is used ro determine the construction depth of a vegetated chaond.

Vegetated Channel Example

r
r

Chaonel urilities will be used to illustrate the design of a vegetated chaonel. A

grassed waterway is ro be used for a permanent channel for a subdivision.
Based on srorm, watershed, and alternative development scenarios the highesr
design peak flow is expected to be 10 cfs. Due ro right-of-way limitations, the
botrom width cannot exceed 8 ft and for mowing the side slopes need ro be
3: l. The chanoel slope is 2 percent and a grass mixture with retardance D for
short grass and B for tall grass are ro be used. These inputs are the most
cornrnonly used io designs. A 0.5 fr freeboard is ro be used. The soil is a silty
day loam and is considered to be erosioo resistant.
This screen shows
ioputs aod
outputs for the
shoet grass
condition. As
can be ,een rhe
design dep,h of
flow is 0.52
velocity equals
2.01 fps and the
roughness

n,

~~'.. ~id~t

j"i'[iij

sr.- r;;;:;W ,3

sq.,.,t:: r--TciL"

2~W'dl-.m f " " ioo~

~~.l ffoo:'j ;HYi 5t:-:. @"3

'fT::r:@f,::IFf;v/ -~ _ fiB

t"3W&Y.~t~~!..~l!~" ,~: , ' I", .~I

t_<Jy~~t 1_,,, ,~~ ,....;...s }-~

J' f~(!; """'~~,

J ..rO:SO,1t
-,o_, ~

" .. ,~~~ , ,,

r-;- ~oi[i~' r---' , ..ViO

o~ "' ~ , _

--_ ~ -

_ ,_ , ~ ,~

__ ".

100

coefficient (represenced by Manning's n) is 0,061. Let's contrast this wirh long

grass conditions:
Now

me flow

depth is grearer,
0.96 ft versus
0.52 ft. The
veloctty is lawer,
1.05 fPs versus
2.01 fPs. and rhe
roughness
coefficienr is
higher.0.181
versus 0.061.

SIt.po. ,,~

:o:J

~~ 11ii

JIJ.2J

All Df (his makes scnsc. Far [he taller grass, mere is more resistance ro flow as
shown by a higher roughness coefficient, rhereby yielding a higher depth of
flow and a lawee velociry. The consrruction depth is always raken from che
capaciry analysis (I.46 ft for rhis example). which is rhe design depth ofO.96
plus a fteeboard of 0.5 fr.

101

Rock Riprap Channel Design

There are aver a dazen procedures to determine rhe stability of a rack riprap
ehannel. SED CAD 4 ptovides me uset with rwo oprions, Simons/OSM
(Simons, et. al., 1982) and PADER (Pennsylvania Oepanmenr ofEnvitonmental Resoutees, Stovet, 1990). The Simons/OSM Rock Riptap Channel
Design methad uses two differenc algorirhms depending upon the Froude

numbet of rhe initial design being less man Ot gtearet than 0.8. The PAOER
Rack Riprap Channel Design procedure is aD iterative solution of Manning's
and me cominuiry equations. with Manning's n being a function of the depth
of flow and [he rack ciprap D50 size. Compadng these two merhods ro Slx
orher rock ciprap design procedures shows [he Simons/OSM merhodology is
mase conservative resulting in [he largesr D50 foc given design parameters.

Por borh design merhods, a mixture of several rock sizes is nceded to fil1 (he
voids between [he larger rock parricles. A fileee bed stone should be slzed or
alternatively, a geotextile should be selected based on th~ underlying SOll, rock
ciprap size and the equivalent opening size of (he geotextile. Also, in general a
2: 1 side slope should be used for a trapezoidal rock riprap channel te obtaio an
economical designo The design procedures are for rock ciprap and if othec
lighter materials with a lower specific gravity are used, other design procedures
sho uld be employed.

Simons/OSM Method
The solurion procedute is ro firsr solve for a mild slope and check if the Froude
number is less than 0.8 . If this is true (he rock riprap design soludon is valid.
If me Froude number is equal to or greatec than 0.8, the routine is tcansferred
10 rhe sreep slope memodology.
A mild slope should be viewed in a hydraulic perspecrive, meaning mar rhe
Froude Dumbet is less man 1, i.e. subctirical Aow. The Simons/OSM method
is more conservative than this because a mild slope is considered only foc a
Froude numbet less rhan 0.8.
The mild slope merhodology is based on a procedute adopred by rhe Denvet
Urban Drainage and Flood Control District as described in Sirnons. et. al.,
1982. 050 is a funcoon of rhe channel side slope, velocity and hydraulic
radius.
lf rhe Froude numbet deretmined by rhe mild slope memodology is equal

10

ot

greater than 0.8 rhan the steep slope procedute is used. The ,teep slope
algotirhm is based on me telationship developed by Bathutst, 1979 as reponed
by Simons, el. al., 1982. Fot steep slopes, Bathurst based his developed
relationships on flume studies that mimic natural mountan streams, such mat
the flow depth was about
same size as the rocks. Water \Vas nonuniform .
cascading around the rocks rather than f10wing over them.

me

102
The design procedure can be co nsidered cOllservative. Fifreen feer per second
is co nsidered me maximum srable velociry without having ro consider rack
durability at higher flows. Ir should be nared rhar fOI rhe SimonslOSM steep
slope methad, no darabase exises fOI a channel gradient less rhan 5%. Therefore foc channels wirh a Froude numher grcarer
0.8 (steep slope methodology) and wirh slopes less rhan 5%, a conservative approach is rakcn by lisiog
a slope of 5%.

man

Riprap Channel Example - Simons/OSM

A channe! is being design ed foc a ski resart rhar is under construcrion in
Colorado. For rhe 25 }'car-24 hau r d esign storm and rhe contriburing
watersheds rhe peak Aow was detcrmined to be 73.2 cfs. A rock prap channd
is proposed rhar is trapezoidal in shape with a 14 ft wide base, 2:1 side slop es.
The channel slope is 8 percent.
The channe! utiliry '
screen shows rhar [he
050 is 6 inches for a
stable channel design
using [he sreep slope
algorirhm. The
riprap thickness
corresponds ro a
Omax of7.5 inch es
and the smallest rack
in rhe mixture is 2 nches.

PADER Method
The PADER merhad is based on an iterative salurion ro me Manning's and
continuiry equarions, wirh Manning's n being a funcrion ofboth deprh of flow
and 050 of the rack riprap. For a given D50 riprap size, as the flow depth
increases Manning's n decreases. The rate of decrease in Manning's n is highesr
for flaws berween 0.5 and 1.5 ft and foc [he largec rack riprap sizes.

103
The PADER merhad wiIl select a D50 riprap size foc incremental velocities ro
correspond ro standard rack ciprap sizes rhat can be purchased. The permissible velocities and corresponding D50s are:
D50 (in)
0.75
1.5
3.0
6.0
9.0
12.0
15.0

Mu. Velocirv (fu')

2.5
4.5
6.5
9.0
11. 5
13.0
14 .5

The maximum a1lowable velocity is 14.5 fps. The maximum DIOO .nd
corresponding rack ciprap thickness has been modified from rhe values lisred in
Stover, 1990, ro correspond with those derermined in rhe SimonslOSM mild
slope method.

Riprap Channel Example - PADER

A channel is being designed for a ski teson rhar is under construction in
Colorado. Por [he 25 year-24 hour desigo srorffi and
contrihuting
warersheds the peak flow was determined ro be 73.2 cfs. A rack ciprap channel
is proposed [har is trapezoidal in shape wim a 14 ft wide base, 2: 1 side slopes.
The channel slope is 8 petcent.

me

The results show a D50 of 6 inches with a maximum riprap size of 9 iD ches,
which a1so corresponds to the thickness of the rack riptap. The design velocity
is only 6.57 fp' and the depth of flow is 0.72 fr. Manning's n fot these
condition5 15 0.048. The flow i5 5upercritical sincc [he Froude number is
greater than l.
r-~~
' ~
" ~
'.~
'"~
'"
~~-----=--~-=

fliprep ChaM~

104

Culvert Design
The needed culvert cliameter is derermined foc che design flow, which is
calcularcd from contributing up-gradient subwatershed(s), headwater,
tailwater, and pipe design characreristics of slope, length, Manning's n, and ao
entran ce 1055 coefficienr.
Culvert dcsign equarions are based on [he eight possible flow regimes as
illustrared in Culvert/Straight Pipe Flow Regimes. These flow regimes n elude
all possible combinations of submerged and non-submerged oler and oudet
flow conditions foc circular pipes. The algorithm enables calcularian of
transirions between flow regimes.
The Culven Design Example i1Iustrates watershed inputs, culvert design
pararneters and reports. The culvert design llor only provides rhe required
culverr size, bU( complete performance curves are created for the required pipe
size and for one pipe size larger and srnaller.

CulvertlStraight Pipe Flow Regimes

Unsubmergad Inlet

Submergea IFlIet

Type 1 (auuctcor.((o~

HW
T)1l!l2 (Outlet ControQ

"

_._--

d~~'1iJ.~

..."~"

lYPe a (Ou'Jet Control)

HW Z e~i~).~~

-'"

Type 3 {Jnfet ConiroQ

Type4 (1nIct Con!roI)

;; AO=w;;;

Typa 7 (0utItt Con\IcQ

105

Culvert Design Example

Culverts may be designed in either rhe culverr utility oc in rhe main design
section of SEDeAD 4. The difference between the (wo is simply thar in [he
utility, the design discharge is enrered by the usee, and in [he maio program,
the design discharge is calculated from rhe design stoem and up-gradient
watershed characreristics.
To design a culvert foc a watershed start with storm input parameters, then
click on che network butron, add a structure, select a culvert and proceed by
clicking Oil the design burtan.
For example:
Thc storrn inputs are entered as a 49-point fitType 11 distribution and a 10year 24-hour storm of 4.3 nches. Watershed characteristics are a 60 ac pasture
site in fair condition, hydrologic soil gtOUp e and a Medium unit hydrograph
shape because ir is pasture land. The time of concentrarion for this warershed
is represen red by an overland flow condition of pasrure grass (3) with a slope
length of 400 n being conveyed 'o ,he culvert by a small stream (f1ow condition 8) at a ,Iope of 1.5 % and a length of 1600 n. As seen in the
subwatershed
design screen, the
resulting time of
concentraran is
0.218 hours. A
curve number of
79 with
Hydrograph
Response Shape of
Mediurn is
applicable.

~Hi!iJi+!i!':''iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii\
'~~I ~

-;,ffj;1
.. c .,,:;:;._._..= ...-. ='~~' ;~:~ ; : l

Culvert Design

(-

,-

To proceed in designing rhe culverr, click an the Srrucrure Design Butron. The
culvert design screen will appear with a peak flow of 89.69 cfs. Enter a length
of 60 ft and a pipe slope of 1 percent. At Manning's n, c1ick on the adjaccn,
edit burtan ro view and select a Manning's n for a specified pipe. Select
"corrugated metal, spiral", and the Manning's n ofO.015 is highlighted,
displayed, and en tered.
Headwater is measured from the borrom of the inle! of the pipe (invert).
Headwarer may be restricted by rhe road elevarion, backwater onto an adjacenr
properryor perhaps safery considerarions. A good rule-of-rhumb is to have ar
leasr two feet of soil above rhe culverr ro prorecr it from being crushed. For
roads thar may experience traffie containing heavy loads, rhis rhickness should
be increased.

106

"'I"

1--

"

-- l er' gt h - - - - - J

Cu lverl Nomenclct ure

'

Afree gaining sorne experience with SEDeAD 4, rhe user wiIl have rhe abiliry
ro estimare rhe size Df culverr associared with a givcn design peak flow. Based
011 chis, headwater should be 2 fe grearer rhan rhe estimared cuvert diamerer.
For example, a culvert to convey 90 cfs wiII be between 42 and 54 inches. So
unless orher circumstances override chis choice, headwarer should be firsr
approximated by 4 ft (for the pipe) plus 2 ft added , resulting in 6 ft. Enter 6 fr
foc rhe maximum headw3rer in rbis example.
Tailwarer is measured 3t rhe pipe exir from rhe bonoID of rhe pipe. Tailw3rer
conditions cornmonly accur if backwarer is created in a stream which is
relarively Bar oc when a d(eh runs adjacem ro rhe road and conveys runoff.
Tailwarer can be calculated by using one of me four channel structures
available in SEDCADA. Assume zero tailwater for this example.
The eotrance loss coefficient reRects how easily flow transirion s ioto rhe
culverr. The mosr cornmon situarion is a culverr [har protrudes from [he road.
The entrance 1055 coefficienr is 0.9 . Click on rhe edir burron adjacenr ro rhe
entrance 1055 coefficienr ro view and sclecr an entrance 1055 coefficient. Click
on "CMP projected from fill, no headwall".
Norice a 45 ineh diamerer culverr is required. This is based on zero cailwater
and an eotrance 10ss eoefficienr ofO.9, which are rhe defaulr values.
Click on the Graph Performanee Curves bunon. The graph shows the
complete headwater - discharge relationship for the specified pipe and for one
pipe size larger and smaller. This is very useful since rou can readily see if
raising rhe headwarer wilI downsize che culverr ro me nexr smaHer pipe.
rhereby saving moner.
From me performance curve graph, it can be seen mar me 42 nch culverr
performance curve is just below [he interseccion of
design discharge headwater lines. Thus a slighr nerease in headwatcr will reduce me culverr
size. Change rhe head water from 6 fe ro 6.5 fr. The minimum culverr size is
reduced ro 42 nches.

me

107
CulYert Performance

CU~!S'v~"Structure , 1

'"

, ""
~

'00

,; '"

~ ro

'"20
Hudwaro,(tI)

T view outputs fo! rhis simple culverr design, click on the Report Tab and
refer to rhe S[fucture Surnmary, Structure #1 Details, and Structure #1 SWS's

rabies.

108

Plunge Pool Design

A pi unge pool is uscd ro dissipare [he energy of water being discharged fram a
pipe. Ir is usually used in conjunction wirh a culvert or a principal spil1way
conveying water fram a pondo The advantage of a pI unge pool compared t a
rock ciprap apron is [har [he stored water dissipates energy rhereby reducing
the size of the plunge pool.

To design a plunge pool energy dissiparcr. informarion 1S needed abour [he

culvert/pipe discharge, elevarion difference between [he pipe invert and [he
water leve! in che plunge pool, depth of water flowing over [he outIet weir and
elevation of [he outlet weir. The kcy design parameters are th"e size of the rock
riprap plaeed in the pI unge pool and the e1evation differenee between the pipe
outIet and the water leve! in che plunge pool. Both are sensirive design
paramerers.
Safety is a concern in rhe design of plunge pools, especially in areas where
ehildren may be presento The design depth of water in a pI unge pool should
nor exceed abour 2.5 fr. Forrunarely, such a design also tends ro minimize
cost.

Cost tradeoff:
For a small rack riprap size, money is saved beca use the rhickness of rack 1S
relarively smalI but rhe quantiry of rack is increased due ro rhe larger length,
widrh and deprh of rhe plunge pool. In contrasr, for a larger rock riprap size,
the thickness of rack is increased bur rhe quantity of rock may decrease since
the length, width and especially depth of the pI unge pool are deereased. The
majar cost item is [he quantity of rock required. The Plunge Pool Design
Example Ilustrares inpurs and design rradeoffs. A rradeoff exisrs among rock
riprap size, thickness of rhe rock layer, and rhe lengrh, width, and deprh of rhe
plunge pool.

Plunge Pool
Design Example

ut ..bo;o.o"

..........

Since plunge pools are

designed in conjuncrion with a
PLUNGE POOl. EXAAlP!.E
diseharging pipe, the Culvert
Design Examplc will be modified for this example. The same design starm
and watershed inpurs are used in borh examples.

In the Networking sereen, entet 2 muetutes: a eulvert and a plunge pool. If

yOil are using the same file as used in the culvert design example. the culvert
wilI already be lisred as Structure l. Add a plunge pool as the second structure.
Structure 1 (the eulvert) flows ro Strueture 2 (the plunge pool), and Strueture
2 flows ro the outlet (zero).

109
Now click on [he Design burroo . The culven subw3rcrshed informarion wilJ
already be listed, assuming you are using [he culvert design cxample. If nor,
pIcase review the culvert design cxample foc subwatershed nfarmarion
enrering the cu lven.
.
Cliek ,he pJunge pool to highligh, tha' strue'ure. Nex' cJiek on ,he Strue,ure
Design burroo, since no additional watershed exisrs.

The pipe diameter from

[he culvert design
example is 45 inches and
the pipe slope is 1%. The
'pipe
oudet elevarion is
-
caken at the outlet of [he
pipe and is assumed to be
860 ft for ,his example.
The railwarer e1evation

OC~'9'1Fte ..rlI~

.AIS~;a.~

P<dWl#<~~

Ptd~lIoln>d~",

PMbI ... t .,dJ6!ft

p,.,W .. CemrdPd~

1____~SJ

---n

V.I~."""ClA!<f ll!><: r=i11

'~dJ_=;;~J

pool is assumed to be 1 ft

below [he pipe outler, at

859 ft (i.e. A 1 ft
cantilever exists).

The height the water flowing over [he outlet ccest is a fnnecion of [he design
diseharge (89.69 efs for ,his example) and ,he sclec'ed wid,h of ,he exi, weir
roc [he plunge pool. To determine [he stage-discharge relarionship foc a broad
crcsted weie, go ro [he pond .utiliry.

Enter ,he pond utility from ,he main sereen. Cliek ,he capacity bunon,
which wiIl allow calculadon of [he stage-discharge relationship from O ro
4 ft a' 0.05 ft inerements. Proeeed by clieking on ,he Oiseharge bunoll,
add a broad erested weir for ,he spllway. En,er 0.01 for ,he spillway
elevation . Now, the stage-discharge relationship foc various weie widrhs
can be quickly evaluared. Por example, entee a 10 f[ weir width. As can
be seen on ,he Oiseharge Sereen, 89.69 efs oeeurs a, abou' 2.05 ft.
Henee ,his diseharge will 1I0w over a 10 f, outle' weir of the plunge pool
at 2.05 ft aboye the outlet CTest elevation. The outlet ctest elevation, [oc
this example, is 859 ft millOS 2.05 ft or 856.95.
Evaluate a rack riprap 050 size of 0.75 ft. The plunge poolleng,h, wdth and
depth are 25.12, 23.54 and 5.93 f" respeetivcly.
The pJunge pool shape is generally tha, of an ellipse. It is suggested ,ha, once
the design dimensions are calculated tha' an approximately rectangular shape
be pravided with the minimum length and depth, rhus facilitating eonstruction. NRCS recornmends [har rhe excavated side slopes of rhe plunge pool be
adjusted to acceptable grades [oc layout and riprap placement. For example, if
a 2: 1 slope is used ,he plunge pool will basically reaeh a very narrow base.

110
Selccting a larger 050 rack riprap size (for example 1 fr)will decrease (h e
plunge poollengrh, widrh and dep rh te 11.16 , 8.85 and 2.23 fr, respecrively.
This may be a beucr des ign o

Review reports enrirled Gen era lln formarion, $rfUcrure Summary. AH

Scrucrurc(s), and AH $r[ucrure $W$(s). The General Informaron repon

displays design storm informadon and a graphical display of ncrworking
between structures.

Nore rhar rhe exir velocir)' is simply based on Q=VA (assuming full pipe Aow).
This is (he case for many des ign situations. Por culverts on sreep slopes. [he
culven may flow parrially full and the critical depth needs ro be calculated te
determine rhe actual cxit velocit), of rhe pipe.

111

RErORTS
The lisr at dl C left edge of rhe foldee shows rhe fo llowing availab le repons:

--

Cover Page

General Infarmarion
Nenvorking
PS Disrriburion-Srructures
Strucrure Surnmary

Structure Details
Subwarershed Details
AH Reparts
A generated report may also be savcd ro a SEDeAD Repon fil e using che Save
button Ibmc SaveRpr.BMP}. This will simply save the formatted repo rt to a
file ,ha, can be readily viewed (no, run) in ,he SEDCAD Report Viewer.
Generated reports are nor compatible with orher word processing packages.
since [hefe is a coneero by sorne regulatory agencies that che user mar modify
sorne ourpue values. Howeve r, yOil may peint out a saved repon at any tim e
using che Report Viewer.
To display a report. c1iek on rhe desired repor! on ,he list. The speed a' whieh
the repon is generared is 90% atc!ibutable ro che printer driver used, .c. a copaf-rhe-tine heavy duty Jaser printer will be 3 to 4 rimes faster than a low-cost
desktop inkjer.
The printed filename and date is shown at the bottom of each page. Page
numbers (beginning with 1) are displayed in the upper right-hand corner.
To navigate through the pages in a report, use the page navigation buttons at
the bottom of the folder. To cnlarge or reduce the screen view, use the zoom
buttons. To scroll a page, dther use the scroll bars at the bonom aod right

edge of rhe view. or simply (Ieft) c1iek on rhe page and drago To print a reporto
first verifjr ei,her rhe page range or a11 pages. rhen c1iek prinr.
Cover Page
The title on the cover page is obtaincd from the Project Title field

00

the

General Tab. Addi,ional eomments (from the Comments field) are a1so
displayed. Other informaton, such as Designer and Company Information is

shown if the fields are non-blank on rhe General Tab sereen.

General Informanon
This contains the storm information and input eroded particle size
distribution(s).

112

Networking
The struc[ure nerworkin g is show n bm h in tabular form and in "graph ic"
fo rm o If rh e Rou ting Calculato r was used for Between Snucture Routin g. rh en
rhose details shoVl up in (his repon, as well.

PS Disuibution-Strucrures
This repon will on l)' bt: avai lah lt: ir sedirn cnrology is enabled. Thc combin cd
parricle size d isrciburio n is shown em c rin g (and exiting) each structure.
Structure Surnmary

This shows a concise summ ary fo c rhe enrice runo Foe each structure, rh e
immediarc conrriburin g arca, (otal conrriburing arca, peak discharge and [O ral
runoff valume is showll . If scd im entol ogy is cnabled, rhe total sedimenr, pea k
sediment conccmra riol1 , pea k se:: rrl eablc concentration, and 24hour volum e
weighrcd average con cenrrarion is a1so shown. The structures are listed in up
gradient ro downgradi en r order, Le. for any particular srructure, rhe conrribu ring srructure inform arion will preceed ir in rhe rabIe.

Structure Details
This repon is really a series of repons. Under (his caregory, (here is rhe op rion
ro print/view all srru cture details oc individual structure details. If yOil are
imcrcsted only in a particular srrucrure and me file is large, it will be much
faster if you view only rhe sr rucrure in quesrion.
Subwatershed Details
This repon' is also 3 se ries uf reports. Und er rhis caregory, rhere is rh e apria n
ro prinr/view all subw3rershed dctails or anly individual strucrure
subwarershed derails. Again , rh e repoer wiII be displayed faster if only (he
strucrure ro be reviewed is sel ected. This repon also contains any routing
paramerer derails from rh e subwatershed ouder ro the structure, rhar were used
in rhe Routing Calcularor fOl" subwarersheds.
Al! Reports
This wiII print all reporrs out in entirery. Depending on (he size of the fun
and rhe primer driver used , chis may cake a "long" time. We recommend thar
once you have a job complered, rhat you print our AH Repom , then save the
repoer ro a SED CAD Repon file ro be viewed at a latee time wirh [he:
SEDCAD Repon Viewer.

Report Viewer
This is listed under the File Menu. This program simply displays and al!ows
printing of a previously saved repon from rhe Main (Repon) secrion of
SEDCAD 4. Ir differs from rhe Results Tab, in thar the numbers are not rerun
and the resulrs are nor re-formarred, as in me Resu!rs Tab.
Navigarion through several pages is done by clicking on rhe page burtons at rhe

113
bottom of (he formo You mar al50 enl arge or reduce rhe view with (he zoom
bunons.
Tu sero l!, yo u may either grab [he serol! bars at rhe borrom and right edge. or
simply click and drag on th e repon irself.

-.

-.

--

--

114

-'
-..1
-..1

--

......,

---'

'-'

-'
-'
-'
'-'

-------'
-'

...-'

'-'

-'

'-'

-'

......-'

--

-'

-'
-'
-'

115

TROUBLESHOOTING
If you have trouble with SED CAD 4. please read through thi s section. We
have teied to addrcss mos e commonly asked quesrions here.
\Y/e have completed extensive testing ro disrribute an error-free program,
however with any software program, (here mar be bugs encounrered. If you
run joro a problem, we want to know abou r ir! Please document any problem
as thoroughly as possible, and lisr events so rhat we can recreare it. This is a
very imporrant step. Also, if a file is nvolved, pIcase attach rhe file (.5c4
ex tension) to rhe message (a hard-copy of rhe file mar be primcd out through
either rhe Windows Notepad or Wordpad applicarions). PIcase include your
serial number (lisred in rhe AbOlir screen). If rOl! need ro caH us, picase refer
[O me "Ho\'V ro comact us" screen for [he bes t person (O concac[.
If you are really stuck. then the best way to get help is to document the
problem as [horoughly as possible and send an ernail [O:
PSchwab@compuserve.com

Also refer to me Navigation screen for informarion on Windows navigation

basics.

Installation Questions

1m

f have installed !he program and rtsta rud my computa. However,

getting Il
"Semrity Kry Not Found" error, and tbe progmm won't star!. WhiZt sbould 1 do?

If, afrer you install the program, the computer does nor recognize (he hardware
lock, ir is usually a network drive that has conflieted wirh rhe insrallation. To
remedy. do the following:
Remove the local maehine from me network by logging off (his is
temporary!).
Select "Run" from the "Start" button. Type into the dialog box:
C:\SEDCAD4\HWKEY\SETUP IQ4
and click OK.
This should bring up the Sentinel Driver Setup Program window. Pull
down rhe Functions menu, cliek on "InsmB Sentinel Driver".
The program will dereet what operaring system you are running. Ir will
ask for the appropriate path. The path will be either:
C:\SEDCAD4\HWKEY\WIN_95 (Windows 95)

Or
C:\SEDCAD4\HWKEY\Wlfl_ NT\l386 (Windows NT)
(assuming C: is the hard drive letter. and SEDCAD4 is the subdirectory
name)

116
Click on OK ro load rhe driver. You should get a message indicating [he
driver \Vas installed and (har you should restarr your sysrem.

Printing Questions
(}iI a teport, especially the ''Al! Reports " optiOll, the program seems to
ver)' long time to displfl] the reporto Why?

V?hen 1 click
take

II

Thc spced at which (he repon is generared is 90% attriburable to [he printcr
driver uscd, i.c. a rop-of-rhe-line heavy dury laser primer will be 3 ro 4 times
fas ter rhan a low-cosr deskrop inkjer.

117

ApPENDIX -

MAPS

(f'om Rm ard, et. al., 199 8)

""' Isoerodent (R Annual) Map of Eastern U.S.

!l8

-'

Isoerodent (R Annual) Map of Western

U.S.

....

.....;
~

-.1

'-'

-----

-'
-'

-'
....

'-'
-'
-'
-'

-'
-'
-'

'-'
-'
-'
'-'

-'
-'

-'
-'
-'
-'

-'
-'

-'

-'

-,

119

Isoerodent (R Annual) Map of California

--

120

Isoerodent (R Annual) Map of Oregon and

Washington

121

REFERENCES
Brakensiek, P.L., \XI.j . Rawls and \XI. R. Hamon . 1977 . Application on an
Infiltromerer Sysrcrn foc Describing Infilrrarion ineo Soils. American Sociecy
of Agriculrural Engineers ~/inter Meeting, Papee No. 77-2553, ASAE Win rer
Meeting, Chicago, IL

Brater, E.F. and H . W. King. 1976. Handbook of Hydraulics. McGraw-Hill, NY.

Chow, V. T. 1959. Open Channcl Hydraulics. McGraw-Hill, NY.
Chaw, V. T. (ed.) 1964 . I-Iandbook of Applied Hydrology. McGraw-Hill , NY.
Dissmeyer, G. E. and G. R. Fostcr. 198 1. Estimaring [he Cover-Management
Faeme (C) in [he Universal Soil Loss Equation [oc Foresr Conditions. Journal
of Soil and \XIater Conservatio n 36(4):235-240.
Fortier, S. and F. S . Sco bcy. 1926. Permiss ibl e Canal Velocities. Transacons

American Sociery of C ivil Enginee rs 89:940-984.

Frederick, R. H. , V. A. Myers and E. P. Auciello. 1977 . Five-to-60 Minute
Precipitarlon Frequency foc rhe Eastern and Central United States. National
Oceanic and Armospheric Administrarion Technical Memorandum NWS
I-IYDRO-35 , U.S. Depanment of Commerce, Washington, D . e.
Griffin, M. L.. B. j. Barfield, and R. e. Wamer. Model Studies ofme I-Iydraulic
Efficiency of Sediment Ponds. Transactions American Sociery of Agricultural
Engineers. 28(3):779-804. May-june, 1985.

Hayes,j. e. 1979. Evaluation ofDesign Procedures forVegetal Filtration of

Sediment from Flowing Water. Unpubl. Ph.D. Dissertation, Agricultural
Engineering Department. Univcrsity ofKentucky. Lexington, KY.
Hershfield, D. M. 1961. Rainfall Frequency Atlas ofthe United States. Technical
Paper 40, U. S. Department of Co mmerce, Weather Bureau, Washington,
D.e.
Hirschi, M. e. 1985. Modeling Soil Erosion with Emphasis on Steep Slopes and
the Rilling Process. Unpublshed Ph.D. Dissertauon, Agricultural Engineering
Department. Universiry ofKentucky, Lexio'geoo. KY.
Hudson, R. G. 1944. Tile Engineers Manual. john Wiley & Sons, New York, NY.

Israelsen, C. E., C. G. Clyde, J. E. Fletcher, E. G. Israelsen, F. W. Haws, P. E.

Parker, and E. E. Farmet. 1980. Erosion Control During Highway Construction and Manual as PrincipIes and Practices. National Cooperative Highway
Research Programo Report No. 221. Utah State University, Logan, UT.

122
Kuensder, W. 1998. Guidelines for [he Use of [he Revised Universal Soil Loss
Equation on lvfined LlI1ds, Consrruction Sires, and Rcclaimed LandsChaptcr 5 -

e Factor: Cover lv1anagement.

U.S. Depanment ofInrerior,

Omee of SUffaee Mining, Offiee ofTechnology Transfer, Denver, CO.

Lane, E. W. 1955. Design of Stable Channels. Transactions American Society of

Civil Engineers. 120: 1234-1260.

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