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Hydrology Studio

Premium Hydrology Software for Better Stormwater Modeling

Design Detention Ponds the Smart Way

From complex watershed modeling to pre- and post-development drainage studies with detention ponds, Hydrology Studio makes stormwater design a breeze. This is exceptional hydrology software – simple to use – free to download.

Model Watersheds and Design Detention Ponds

Model multiple watersheds, including pre/post development for up to 100 hydrograph nodes, with up to 8 return periods... simultaneously. All standard, out-of-the-box features, matched to an intuitive, modern user interface and excellent reporting.

Industry Standard, Time-Tested Methodologies

Design and analyze using well-known methodologies that comply with industry standards and local regulations. NRCS TR20, TR55, Rational and Modified Rational methods are built-in along with an extensive library of NRCS and NOAA design storms and rainfall. Customize Unit Hydrograph Shape Factor to match your local criteria.

Better Design Procedures

We include many cutting-edge design procedures and wizard-like processes that get you from point A to B in the fewest steps. We work hard to eliminate guesswork with graphically rich, real-time interactions that keep you pointed in the right direction.

Easily Customize to Match Your Local Rainfall

Hydrology Studio contains ready-to-use design storms including NRCS Types I, IA, II, Fla Mod, III, Std 6-hr, NRCS MSE, NOAA, NRCC, CA, FDOT, SFWMD, Austin Zones 1 & 2, Huff-75, Indiana Huff and IDF-based balanced/nested. Select with a single mouse click. 

Rainfall Wizard Imports Directly From NOAA Atlas 14

You can create IDF curves and customize the rainfall for your SCS/NRCS design storms in just three simple steps.

Choose Your Location on the NOAA Map

Move a cross-hair to your exact site location. A button-click is all it takes to download the rainfall data used to develop IDF curves and serve all SCS or NRCS design storms.

Import the Data Directly Into Hydrology Studio

Import rainfall direct from NOAA or download ready-to-use rainfall files from Hydrology Studio's RainMaps.

Use a Library of Built-in Dimensionless Design Storms

Select from one of 88 built-in design storm distributions with a single mouse click. Storms are hard-coded and created on demand. No need to manage external data files.

Start producing higher quality stormwater designs with Hydrology Studio

Design Your Next Detention Pond in 15 Minutes

Hydrology Studio employs a wizard that gets you from post-development back to pre in 3 easy steps. It estimates storage, eliminating pond-sizing guesswork. A graphically oriented, real-time pond routing tool dramatically reduces outlet structure design time. 

Step 1. Estimate Required Storage

Hydrology Studio will quickly estimate required storage volumes so you can build your detention pond to the correct size the first time around. No guesswork!

Step 2. Create Your Detention Pond

Build your new detention pond to the correct size. Enter or import contour areas from your CAD software, select trapezoid shaped, manufactured underground chambers or manual entry.

Step 3. Add Pond Outlet Structures

Hydrology Studio has developed an incredible breakthrough in detention pond outlet structures. It develops a Target Stage-Discharge for each return period and overlays it on a Schematic drawing for you to use as a guide when adding outlet devices. It’s fast, direct and eliminates iterations.

Your Design is Completed in Less Than 15 Minutes

Real-time interaction with a realistic schematic drawing of your detention pond’s outlet structures during Step 3 is the secret sauce. Your final detention pond design will be nearly perfect, every single time.

Design Underground Stormwater Detention Basins

Hydrology Studio has dedicated features that help you to design underground stormwater detention systems. Select from a built-in library of manufactured underground storage chambers or enter your own generic custom dimensions, shapes, etc. Include voided stone encasements too.

An Easy 3-Step Process

Step 1 determines the storage required using pre- and post-development hydrographs and target release rates. In the final step the software provides you with a dedicated outlet structure made just for underground detention design.

Create the Most Efficient UG Chamber Layouts

For Step 2 you’ll select your chamber system from your preferred manufacturer and lay out the system to match your target storage. Use an interactive tool to set the number of chambers, rows and endcaps. A manufacturer-specific layout is instantly drawn right before you indicating the dimensions and Stage-Storage curve.

Design Your Chamber Outlet Structure

The software automatically inserts a Riser structure for which you can add outlet devices such as a weir wall, orifice, exfiltration and outlet culvert. Perform trial pond routings along the way until it’s done exactly the way you need it.

Design Bioretention and Extended Detention Ponds

Hydrology Studio provides all the tools you’ll need to design and model extended detention ponds. Just enter your WQv volume and interactively size the outlet structure to meet drain time requirements.

What is Bioretention?

Bioretention and bio-detention areas are structural stormwater controls that capture and temporarily store a pre-determined water quality volume (WQv) using soils and vegetation in shallow basins or landscaped areas to remove pollutants from stormwater runoff.

All of the Bioretention Pond Tools You'll Need

Hydrology Studio allows you to enter up to 4 unique volumes that can be monitored throughout your pond design. It shows you exactly the elevation(s) corresponding to their volumes so you can easily design your pond's outlet structure. No guesswork.

Interactive Tools Get You Desired Results in Seconds!

By simply adjusting the outlet structure orifice size you can watch the effects on the drain time on a Stage vs. Drain Time chart. A few mouse clicks and you're done. Plus, it's automatically included in your reports. While you're here, check out Studio Express Groundwater feature for retention pond recovery analysis in shallow aquifers.

Looking to perform retention pond recovery and groundwater mounding analysis?

Perform Critical Storm Duration Analysis

Need to model multiple design storms over multiple return periods? Hydrology Studio has you covered. Easily investigate your model over a series of unique design storms and frequencies in a matter of minutes.

Critical Storm Event Analysis Can Be Time Consuming

Having to work through five design storms over multiple frequencies can be daunting at best. Hydrology Studio's architecture lends itself well to performing these types of tasks. It already computes multiple frequencies at the same time. Just select a new Design Storm from a list box and re-compute. That's all there is to it. You'll have your answers in minutes, not hours.

View Your Results in Multiple Formats

You'll be able to instantly view your work in graphical or tabular forms. Overlay the hydrographs from each design storm for the perfect visual or get the numbers from a table.

Document With Return Period Recaps and Summaries

Easily produce professional-looking reports to document your work. Print out an easy-to-read Return Period Summary and/or a detailed breakdown from each frequency.

Model Large, Complex Watersheds

Hydrology Studio is more than just detention ponds. It’s quite capable of modeling regional watersheds of any size including runoff hydrographs, confluences, channel and river reaches, diversions and detention/retention ponds.

Make Regional Watershed Modeling Easy

Modeling large or regional watersheds with composite sub-basins and tributaries does not need to be difficult, nor require difficult-to-use software. In fact, with Hydrology Studio, it's remarkably easy.

100 Hydrograph Nodes Are Standard

No need to purchase extra software in a time of need. This software comes with 100 nodes out of the box - each holding up to eight return periods at once. A state-of-the-art basin model diagram allows you to visually point and click your way through the watershed.

Excellent Graphical Presentations

Hydrology Studio has a reputation for its graphic presentations. It absolutely shines when modeling multiple hydrographs where you can plot overlays, providing the ultimate visual with numerical support of your basin model.

Produce better watershed modeling studies with Hydrology Studio

The More Technologically Advanced Hydrology Software

Hydrology Studio performs superior technical analysis not found in other software.

More Accurate Pond Outlet Structure Calculations

Hydrology Studio considers the more complex interactions between outlet devices in detention ponds, such as how the headwater from a culvert creates a tailwater for secondary, upstream devices. Most other software simply applies the lesser of all device outflows, overestimating the pond's discharge resulting in an undersized detention pond.

Animated Graphics Eliminate Guesswork

Hydrology Studio's graphics provide the visual proof you need, when you need it. This side view includes animated flow paths illustrating how water moves throughout your pond's outlet structure. It's another example of the technical prowess of this software.

Better Pond Troubleshooting Keeps You On Track

Nothing is worse than getting errors in your pond routings and not knowing exactly what went wrong, or how to correct it. With Hydrology Studio, you're never left in the dark. Our advanced detention pond analyzer tells you what, when and where so you can quickly move forward.

Easy to Understand Reports Make You Look Good

Designed to be easily read and understood by you, reviewers and colleagues. These are the reports that will make you proud to hand out your business card. And it makes reviewers feel good about approving.

stormwater modeling software reports
Best-in-Class Professional Looking Reports

Report types range from recaps & summaries to scalable detailed reports and worksheets. Just check the options you like on a print menu and Hydrology Studio starts printing easy-to-read reports for any or all return periods.

Add a Complete Table of Contents

Automatically generates a table of contents. User defined starting page number and prefix allows you to insert into other reports.

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  • Models entire complex watersheds with multiple events
  • Employs SCS/NRCS TR-20, Rational and Modified Rational methods
  • 2,880-point hydrographs for maximum accuracy
  • No limits on drainage areas
  • Comes standard with capacity for 100 hydrograph-node basin model, each with up to 8 return periods at once, for a total of 800 hydrographs
  • Computes composite  Rational C values and SCS Curve Numbers (CN)  from multiple subareas including a  “Weighted Q” option
  • Each project can have up to 25 unique detention ponds
  • Automatic batch run operation for user-defined multiple return periods
  • Built-in NRCS 6 & 24-hr (including Type IIFla) design storms
  • Built-in B75 Huff Distributions, 3 quartiles
  • Built-in Indiana Huff Distributions in 4 zones, 3 quartiles
  • Built-in 24-hr NRCS MSE, NOAA, NRCC and CA Storm Distributions
  • Built-in Florida DOT (FDOT) 1, 2, 4, 8, 24 and 72-hour distributions including SFWMD 72-hour
  • Built-in Austin 24-hour HEC-HMS Frequency Storms, Zones 1 & 2
  • Up to 10 unique Custom design storms can be specified
  • Develops synthetic, nested, design storms based on local NOAA precipitation
  • Develops rainfall IDF curves for any location
  • Built-in Lag, Kirpich and TR-55 method Tc calculator for multiple flow segments
  • Combines up to 6 hydrographs at once
  • Routes hydrographs through channels
  • Diverts hydrographs by constant Q, ratio, 1st-flush volume or any pond outlet structure
  • Offers many Bio-retention and Extended Detention features including drain-time analysis and volumetric detention
  • Computes outlet flows for detention ponds
  • Estimates storage requirements prior to designing your pond
  • Interactive Pond Wizard significantly speeds up outlet device sizing & design
  • Up to 10 user-definable outlet structures per pond including infiltration/exfiltration
  • Handles multi-stage outlet works
  • Storage values can be computed from contour areas, bottom area/side slope or underground storage with stone encasement
  • Weirs types include rectangular, Cipoletti, riser, broad crested and v-notch
  • Routes hydrographs through wet, dry or interconnected ponds
  • Routes hydrographs through ponds with varied tailwater elevations for each return period
  • Imports images as a watershed background map from png, jpg and bmp files
  • Imports legacy Hydraflow Hydrographs .gpw project files
  • Print Preview
  • U.S. Customary & Metric units
  • Stand alone and runs on any off-the-shelf PC with Windows 7, 8, 10 and 11
  • Much more!