Modeling Rivers, Channels, and Streams with

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

Dana Probert, Autodesk

CV118-4

Learn how to leverage AutoCAD Civil 3D to improve existing stream channels to reduce
flooding and increase storage. Well examine three design scenarios: a simple channel, complex,
naturalized channel, and an engineered concrete channel. The class will include discussion of different
corridor subassemblies, the use of corridor targets, and other techniques to build a finished model of the
stream, analyze capacity and create construction documents.

About the Speaker:

Dana Probert is a civil engineering expert with over 10 years experience in the AEC Industry.
Currently, Dana is Autodesks Technical Marketing Manager for Civil Engineering where her
primary focus is environmental engineering. Prior to joining Autodesk, Dana worked for private
consulting firms in the U.S. and Canada on a cross-section of land development and
environmental engineering projects. Dana has a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil
Engineering from Georgia Tech.
Dana can be reached at dana.probert@autodesk.com

Modeling Rivers, Channels and Streams with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

Modeling Rivers, Channels, and Streams

with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010
Corridors are typically thought of as a road design tool however, the versatility of the corridor
model lends itself to many types of design including trenches, walls, berms, and in the case of
our example project: streams.
If you are unfamiliar with the practice of stream restoration design, you may be surprised to find
out that in many ways, the geometry of stream design can be much more complex than many
road designs. The alignment of an improved stream is often very sinuous by design and the
profile typically contains steep drops and rises to create an alternating riffle and pool effect.
Also, stream designs are typically in constant transition with no cross section being the same as
the one before or after it. Fortunately, the Civil 3D corridor handles this complex type of design
very effectively and has already proven to be a powerful design tool for many stream restoration
designs.
Class assumes you are very familiar with the concept of corridor building, including the use of
targets. The class also assumes that you are familiar with label and style composition, surface
building and other core skills.

Modeling Rivers, Channels and Streams with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

High Level Workflow for Streams and Channels

While your individual workflow will surely vary, this class will encourage you to spend more time
in the conceptual phase of the project and work through more alternatives. This process is
certainly not linear- you may find yourself going back and forth as well as skipping steps in your
own design process.
1. Build basemap

GIS data such as parcels, FEMA polygons, land use

Conceptual surface data such as Google Earth, DEM, public LIDAR

2. Preliminary design

Build a first draft stream centerline alignment and profile;

Build simple, first draft corridor

3. Preliminary analysis

Check capacity, earthwork and other elements using dynamic tools to

gain a feel for the project constraints

4. Refine basemap with more accurate data

Add aerial topo, ground survey

Add stream cross section survey, soundings, etc.

Add surveyed wetlands lines, surveyed parcel boundaries, etc.

5. Refine Design

Iterate design with the more accurate basemap information.

6. Refine Analysis

HEC-RAS, Mannings or other channel capacity calculations

Revisit step 5 as necessary

7. Documentation

Build necessary plan, profile and section sheets

Modeling Rivers, Channels and Streams with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

Annotate sheets with labels

Create tables for linework and quantities

Create simple visualizations for clients, public stakeholders, etc.

Embrace Conceptual Design

As civil engineers, we seem to skip the process of conceptual design. While architects and
urban planners will spend a significant amount of time sketching by hand or using conceptual
design tools in Revit or SketchUp, civil engineers want to sit down with mouse in hand and do it
right the first time.
I believe we have accepted this workflow because before now, we havent had a flexible tool for
preliminary work. In order to test the feasibility of an alternative, we need a significant level of
detail and understanding of how the design will come together. Personally, I know I could never
truly understand a channel design until I saw it in plan, profile and section with a significant
amount of labeling and hydraulic analysis. I equate this workflow to creating a sculpture from a
block of stone. I hesitate and make each chisel stroke with great thought because I know if I
decide I dont like it, I either have to start over or accept something less than optimal.
If we put that amount of effort into our sketches, we might as well have been doing a final
design. Our project management, client expectations and billing structure have revolved around
the idea that we settle on the first alternative that acceptably meets minimum requirements.
With Civil 3D, it is much easier to create robust alternatives that give the designer the
information that they need to determine feasibility. I encourage you to take a step back from
your current process and approach design as a clay sculpture. The artist is less afraid to take
risks when using clay because they can try an alternative then reshape the clay if it turns out to
not be exactly what they want.

Simple Channel
In the first scenario, there is an existing agricultural ditch that is undersized. Currently, the ditch
has a narrow v shaped cross section.

First, create an alignment that follows the path of the ditch.

Existing
Ground

Modeling Rivers, Channels and Streams with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

Ditch
Alignment

Modeling Rivers, Channels and Streams with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

Next, create a layout profile that follows the desired vertical design of the new ditch.
Existing
Ground
Next, build an
assembly.
Ditch
Think of
Profile
subassemblies
as a toolkit. There are many combinations of tools you can use to customize your assembly. For
this example, the assembly is built with Generic Links. The LinkWidthandSlope subassembly
was used for the foreslopes and bench area, while LinkSlopetoSurface was used for the
daylight slope.
LinkSlopetoSurface

LinkWidthandSlope
Build a simple corridor that uses the Existing Ground as a target for the LinkSlopetoSurface
subassembly.

Naturalized Channel
The design process begins with the assessment of the current condition of the stream. If it is
found to be in poor condition, another portion of the stream that is in good condition is studied
and analyzed to determine its properties, including its geometry. One of the goals in improving
the stream is to mimic these geometric properties in the improved section. Using this approach
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Modeling Rivers, Channels and Streams with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

a designer or environmental scientist lays out a new alignment for the stream that matches the
sinuosity of a healthy portion of stream.
Then, a new profile is designed to control the thalweg (path through the lowest elevation point of
the stream) creating riffles and pools that match the healthy portion of the stream. Civil 3Ds
alignment and profile tools are a perfect match to the needs of the stream designer, providing
quick layout and easy editing of the stream geometry.
One challenge of stream design is that, unlike most road designs, the cross-sectional shape of
the stream is constantly changing. Typical sections for riffles and pools occur at single points
along the stream with transitioning taking place between them. Once again, Civil 3D meets this
challenge with robust targeting capabilities. Any linear component of the stream geometry can
be represented horizontally and vertically through the use of feature lines, profiles, or even 3D
polylines. These features can then be targeted by one or more of the corridor subassemblies,
creating the flowing design that is required for stream restoration.

Small Stream Example

The next project is a slightly more complicated design. The existing stream is not functioning
properly. It is too narrow and highly eroded. In order to improve the stream, the designer wants
to add meanders to the alignment and also a series of shallow pools and steep steps.

Meandering
Alignment

Step and Pool

Profile

Modeling Rivers, Channels and Streams with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

Once the alignments and profiles are created, an assembly similar to the previous example is
constructed. The LinkWidthAndSlope subassembly is used for the foreslope and bench areas,
while the LinkSlopetoSurface subassembly is used for the daylight area.
LinkSlopetoSurface

LinkWidthandSlope
These subassemblies allow for the use of targets. In the previous example,
the stream section
stayed constant, so there was no need for targets. In this case, the top of bank point on the
assembly will change to match a top of bank (bank full) polyline in the drawing.

Polyline that follows

proposed top of
bank or Bank Full

Use these polylines as targets when building the corridor model.

Modeling Rivers, Channels and Streams with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

Large Stream Example

The next project is a complicated design. This stream is larger, and while it doesnt meander
quite as much as the last example, it has a very intricate profile. The typical section for this
stream is flat across the bottom, unlike our previous examples which were a v shape.

In addition to the intricate stream centerline profile, the designer has provided elevation
information for the top of bank (bank full) condition. The corridor model for this stream will
require both a width target and an elevation target.
Alignment that
follows Top of Bank.

Alignment that
follows Bottom of
Bank.

While in our simple stream, we attached the assembly to the stream centerline, here we will
take a different approach. In cases where you have lots of curves through your transitions, it is
often better to experiment with different baselines to help eliminate crossing corridor sections.
When the bottom of your stream is flat, consider leaving that part of the corridor out. The
triangulation of the surface TIN will take care of bridging that gap.
In this case, it is best to construct two assemblies that will use the Top of Bank alignment and
profile as their baselines, and target the Bottom of Bank alignments and profiles. This example
uses the same LinkWidthandSlope subassemblies as before.
Attachment Point
to Top of Bank

Modeling Rivers, Channels and Streams with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

Target to
Bottom of Bank
The corridor is built with two baselines- one for the right side of the stream and one for the left
side of the stream. Here is a sample of the Corridor Properties dialog for this stream:

In the Set All Targets dialog, the Bottom of Bank alignments are targeted as width targets, and
their corresponding profiles are targeted as elevation targets.

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Modeling Rivers, Channels and Streams with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

The final corridor will have a gap in the middle.

Once a surface is built from the corridor, however, it will become clear that the corridor points
along the bottom of bank will create triangles in the surface, and the final surface model will
show a complete picture for the stream.

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Modeling Rivers, Channels and Streams with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

Concrete Channel
Channels may be reinforced with concrete when higher slopes or velocities are encountered.
While more and more jurisdictions would prefer vegetated swales, occasionally reinforced
channels cannot be avoided. Civil 3D has several subassemblies that contain parameters for
lining such as Channel, ChannelParabolicBottom, SideDitch, SideDitchUShape and
SideDitchWithLid.
The process for building a corridor with a concrete channel assembly is the same as for the
previous examples. You may be able to use one of the predefined channel subassemblies, or
depending on the required section, it may be easier to build the assembly using generic links.
Several of the predefined channel subassemblies have built lining options which would make it
easier to obtain concrete quantities. Note that the channel subassemblies have an attachment
point at the depth location, as opposed to the channel invert. This may require you to build a
separate profile at the depth location.

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Modeling Rivers, Channels and Streams with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

Construction Documents
Stream and channel projects are often challenging to document. There are many changes in
vertical and horizontal geometry which lead to complicated contouring, intricate labeling
requirements and lots of erosion control devices. Without Civil 3D, the designer may not provide
enough detail to ensure the project is built exactly to their original design intent. Civil 3D makes
documentation far easier to create, and much of it remains dynamic to the model to
accommodate design changes and iterations.
Also note that you may create tables, labels, and analysis styles for yourself as the designer.
Dont hesitate to create a custom label that may never show up on the final plans, but gives you
valuable feedback as you work through the design process.

Contours
We all know that civil 3D surface styles will show the contours for any surface, but depending on
the complexity of the stream, you may feel the need to do some small manual edits, or smooth
the look of the contours. You may also be sharing the final linework for the project with a
Landscape Architect or other professional that may not be using Civil 3D.
In these cases, you may wish to use the Extract Objects command and extract the contours
from the surface as polylines.

Depending on how youve created your surface, the resulting polylines may have too many
vertices for practical use.

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Modeling Rivers, Channels and Streams with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

Use the Map cleanup tools (type MAPCLEAN) and choose the polylines. Use the simplify
objects option and check create arcs.

If the result still has too many vertices for your use, repeat cleanup and experiment with different
to tolerance values.

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Modeling Rivers, Channels and Streams with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

Erosion Control
All water management projects require construction erosion control plans, and many require
long term or permanent erosion control measures. One typical requirement is erosion control
matting.
Erosion control matting is required in areas of steeper slope. A surface analysis can help identify
areas where matting will be required. Create a surface analysis for your stream surface that
identifies a range of slopes.

One you have a feel for the slopes on the project, you may just want to identify the critical areas.
You can change your slope analysis style to include one range that just flags the steepest
pieces.

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Modeling Rivers, Channels and Streams with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

Not only will this identify where to place the matting, but it will also give you an area for
quantities.

If youd like to extract the slope areas as hatches, be sure to adjust the surface style so that the
slopes are 2D Hatch. Use the Extract Objects command that we used to extract the contours
as polylines and change the hatch to match your company standard.

Simple Visualization
As with roads, corridor code set styles can be used with channels. Youll have the most
success with code set styles in channels that are straight or that have gentle bends. Also,
unless your channel is entirely grassed, it will be difficult to differentiate between materials in a
channel built from generic links. The concrete channel subassembly is a good one for applying
render materials with a code set style. These materials will also go with the corridor to 3DS Max
Design as long as the Civil 3D Object Enablers are installed.

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Modeling Rivers, Channels and Streams with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

Another option for exhibit creation is Autodesk Impression. Impression is available for free for
subscription customers. With the Civil 3D 2010 Object Enablers installed, you can bring Civil 3D
drawings into Impression and add color, shading and more. You may also find it useful to export
your Civil 3D drawings to AutoCAD first, then open them in Impression.

Additional Resources
NY Times: Science of Stream Restoration: A great article that simplifies stream restoration and
includes a multimedia explanation.
Stream Restoration: A Natural Channel Design Handbook by NCSRI and NCSG: A guidebook
on stream restoration design that includes lots of photographs and diagrams. The material is
appealing for non technical readers, but lots of deep information for technical people as well.
Required reading for understanding the process.
Timmons Group Stream Restoration Success Story and
McKim & Creed Stream Restoration Success Story: Using Civil 3D for stream restoration.

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