v. 9.

WMS 9.1 Tutorial

Watershed Modeling – DEM Delineation
Learn how to delineate a watershed using the hydrologic modeling wizard

Objectives
Read a digital elevation model, compute flow directions, and delineate a watershed and sub-basins using
outlet points.

Prerequisite Tutorials Required Components Time

 Introduction – Images  Data  30-60 minutes
 Introduction – Basic Feature  Drainage
Objects  Map
 Editing Elevations – DEM
Basics

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1 Contents

1 Contents ............................................................................................................................... 2
2 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 2
3 Objectives ............................................................................................................................. 2
4 Setting up a Project with the Hydrologic Modeling Wizard ........................................... 3
4.1 Starting the Hydrologic Modeling Wizard ................................................................... 3
4.2 Project Filename ........................................................................................................... 3
4.3 Define Project Bounds ................................................................................................. 4
4.4 Watershed Data using Web Services ............................................................................ 5
4.5 Watershed Data by Reading Files ................................................................................ 6
4.6 Trimming the DEM ...................................................................................................... 6
4.7 DEM Fill Command ..................................................................................................... 7
5 Watershed Delineation using the Hydrologic Modeling Wizard .................................... 8
5.1 Compute Flow Directions and Accumulations ............................................................. 8
5.2 Choose Outlet Locations .............................................................................................. 9
Delineate Watershed ....................................................................................................................................10
5.3 Create Sub-basins ....................................................................................................... 10
5.4 Save the WMS Project File ........................................................................................ 12
6 Delineation Display Options ............................................................................................. 12
6.1 Display Flow Paths .................................................................................................... 12
6.2 Basin Labels ............................................................................................................... 13
6.3 Display Options .......................................................................................................... 13
6.4 Color Fill Basins ........................................................................................................ 13
7 More Basin Delineation .................................................................................................... 13
8 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................... 14

2 Introduction
Watershed delineation from DEMs is straightforward and relatively simple, provided the
project area is not entirely flat or completely dominated by man-made structures (you
cannot expect the DEM method to work if there is no relief in the DEM elevations
themselves). This exercise teaches DEM delineation using the hydrologic modeling
wizard, a step-by-step delineation approach that makes the process even simpler.

3 Objectives
In this exercise you will learn the basics of DEM delineation using the hydrologic
modeling wizard. This includes the following:
1. Importing DEM Data
2. Computing flow paths and flow accumulations
3. Delineating watersheds from DEMs
4. Delineating sub-basins within a watershed

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4 Setting up a Project with the Hydrologic Modeling Wizard

4.1 Starting the Hydrologic Modeling Wizard

1. Locate the icon for the Hydrologic Modeling Wizard located near the menu
bar of your WMS window. Click the icon to open the wizard

Figure 4-1: Hydrologic Modeling Wizard

The Hydrologic Modeling Wizard window shown in Figure 4-1 consists of two sections.
The list box on the left shows the steps needed to set up a hydrologic model. The area on
the right is used to perform specific tasks associated with the selected step. Clicking Next
> in the wizard will walk you through the steps of the wizard sequentially. However, you
may move to any step in the wizard at any time by clicking on the associated heading on
the left. Also, the Hydrologic Modeling Wizard window is a non-modal window,
meaning it lets you interact with the main menus and graphics window while it is open.

4.2 Project Filename

1. Make sure Project Filename is the current window in the Hydrologic
Modeling Wizard
2. Click on the file browser button to browse to a path location and select a
filename for the project
3. Name the project “DemDelineation.wms” and click Save
4. Click Next > to advance to the next step

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4.3 Define Project Bounds

1. Under Project projection, select Define…
2. Select the Global Projection option
3. Click on the Set Projection button
4. In the Select Projection dialog set:
 Projection to UTM
 Datum to NAD83
 Planar Units to METERS
 Zone to 12 (114°W - 108°W – Northern Hemisphere)
5. Select OK
6. Set the Vertical Projection to Local and Vertical Units to Meters
7. Select OK
8. Under Project boundary, click on the Define… button
9. In the Microsoft Virtual Earth Map Locator window, enter a latitude of
38.6469 and a longitude of -112.4291 and click Jump to location
10. Zoom in or out, as necessary, until the Virtual Earth window looks similar
to Figure 4-2 and then select OK

Figure 4-2: Project Bounds in Virtual Earth

11. Click Next > to advance to the next step

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4.4 Watershed Data using Web Services

This section requires a working internet connection. Proceed directly to section 4.5 if a
working internet connection is not available.
1. Toggle on the Web Services option for the data source

2. Click Next > to advance to the next step

3. In the Data Type column of the Web Services spreadsheet, toggle on the
option for United States Elevation Data (NED) (10m Resolution)

4. Make sure that all other Data Type options are toggled off
5. Click Download Data from Web. Enter a DEM resolution of 30 meters.
WMS will proceed to download the requested data for the project area that was specified.

6. Locate and select the Get Online Maps button located near the menu
bar of the WMS window.
7. Select both the World Imagery and the World Topo Map options and select
OK.
Once the image files have been downloaded from Web Services, WMS automatically
opens the files into your WMS project.
8. Click Next > to advance to the next step

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9. Skip section 4.5

4.5 Watershed Data by Reading Files

This section should only be completed if you were unable to complete section 4.4. To
read in a set of four 30-meter DEMs from the 1:24000 series, complete the following
steps:
1. Click on the File | Open button
2. Locate the demdelin folder in your tutorial files. If you have used default
installation settings in WMS, the tutorial files will be located in \My
documents\WMS 9.1\Tutorials\.
3. Open “josephpeak.dem”
4. In the Importing USGS DEMs dialog, click the Add button
5. Add the following three DEMs (remember that you can hold the CTRL key
down and add more than one at once, or use the Add button to add each
additional one before selecting OK):
 “marysvalecanyon.dem”
 “redridge.dem”
 “trailmountain.dem”
6. For Thinning factor enter 3
Thinning the resolution of the DEMs will reduce the density of elevation points so that
your computer will process the DEM data faster. The resolution of points in the 30-meter
DEMs is too dense for the purposes of this exercise, so you will not lose any accuracy by
thinning.
7. In the project explorer, turn off the World Imagery option. You can view
this imagery data at a later time if you wish. Turning this option off will
speed up the display.
8. Click Next > to advance to the next step

4.6 Trimming the DEM

Trimming the DEM so that it encompasses the extents of the project area reduces the
computational time required for watershed delineation. You may need to move the
Hydrologic Modeling Wizard dialog so that it does not hide the data displayed in the
main WMS graphics window.
1. Right-click on DEM in the Terrain Data section of the Project Explorer and
select Trim | Polygon…
2. Select the option to Enter a polygon interactively
3. Select OK
4. Trace around the rectangle shown in Figure 4-4 if you completed section
4.4 (Watershed Data using Web Services) or Figure 4-4 if you completed
section 4.5 (Watershed Data by Reading Files) clicking on each corner and
double-clicking to end

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Figure 4-3: DEM Trim Area for Web Services Data

Figure 4-4: DEM Trim Area

5. Toggle off the Images folder in the Map Data section of the Project
Explorer, if necessary
6. Select the Frame macro

4.7 DEM Fill Command

The DEM Fill command is useful for filling gaps in DEM data. It interpolates missing
(no data) values using inverse distance weighting of the neighboring eight cells. This
functionality is useful when tiling multiple DEMs files together in WMS, particularly if a
thinning factor is applied when the DEMs are read. It is not necessary to use this
command on seamless DEMs obtained from the NED. If you obtained seamless NED

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data by successfully completing section 4.4 (Watershed Data using Web Services), then
skip this section.
1. Select Display | Display Options
2. In the DEM Data tab toggle on the No Data Cells option
3. Select OK
4. Right-click on DEM (Trimmed) in the Terrain Data section of the Project
Explorer and select Fill
Interior No Data cells disappear as elevations at those locations are interpolated using the
surrounding cells.
5. Select Display | Display Options
6. In the DEM Data tab toggle off the No Data Cells option
7. Select OK

5 Watershed Delineation using the Hydrologic Modeling Wizard

5.1 Compute Flow Directions and Accumulations

WMS computes flow directions and flow accumulations to create streams on the DEM
using a program called TOPAZ.
1. If you have closed the hydrologic modeling wizard, locate the icon for the
Hydrologic Modeling Wizard at the bottom of your WMS window. Click
the icon to open the wizard . If you have not closed the wizard, go to
the wizard window. Select the Compute Flow Directions and
Accumulations (TOPAZ) step.
2. Make sure the option to Write TOPAZ files to a temp directory is selected
3. Set the computational units for sub-basin areas to Square Miles
4. Set the computational units for distances to Feet
5. Select Compute TOPAZ
6. Click Close when TOPAZ terminates
7. Set Min flow accumulation threshold to 2.0 mi^2
8. Select Apply to Display
Notice how the display of flow accumulations cells changes.
9. Set Min flow accumulation threshold to 0.5 mi^2
10. Select Apply to Display
11. Set Min flow accumulation threshold to 1.0 mi^2
12. Select Apply to Display
13. Click Next > to advance to the next step

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5.2 Choose Outlet Locations

1. Zoom in around the area shown in Figure 5-1
2. Choose the Create Outlet Point tool in the Hydrologic Modeling Wizard

Figure 5-1: DEM Zoom Area

3. Place the outlet just upstream of the stream junction shown in Figure 5-2

Figure 5-2: Drainage Outlet Location

4. Click Next > to advance to the next step

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Delineate Watershed
1. Verify that the stream threshold value is 1.0 mi^2
2. Leave the Computation Units with their default values
3. Select Delineate Watershed
When you select Delineate Watershed, WMS digitizes stream arcs using the DEM
streams, which are DEM cells with flow accumulations greater than the stream threshold
value, defines the basin boundary, and computes geometric parameters for the basin
including basin area, average basin slope, mean basin elevation, and maximum flow
distance.
Since we won’t be setting up a hydrologic model in this exercise, we don’t need to
complete the rest of the steps in the wizard. However, we would like to go back and
create sub-basins.

5.3 Create Sub-basins

1. On the left side of the Hydrologic Modeling Wizard select the heading
Choose Outlet Locations or select the < Back button to return to the
previous step
2. Zoom in around the area shown in Figure 5-3

Figure 5-3: Zoom Area

3. Choose the Create Outlet Point tool from the wizard window
4. Create another outlet at the location shown in Figure 5-4, just below the
stream junction.

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Figure 5-4: Node Location

5. Select the Frame macro
6. Zoom in around the branch shown in Figure 5-5

Figure 5-5: Zoom Area

7. Choose the Create Outlet Point tool from the wizard window
8. Place an outlet immediately downstream of the most downstream feature
node you can see, as shown in Figure 5-6

Figure 5-6: Change the indicated node to an outlet.

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9. Select the Frame macro

10. Click Next > to advance to the next step
11. Select Delineate Watershed
12. Click OK to delete all existing feature data and recreate
13. Click Close to close the Hydrologic Modeling Wizard

5.4 Save the WMS Project File

1. Select File | Save
2. Click No if prompted to save image files in the project directory

6 Delineation Display Options

WMS has several options for displaying DEMs and the results of basin delineation from a
DEM. In this section you will explore a few of these options.

6.1 Display Flow Paths

1. Switch to the Drainage module
2. Select the Flow Path tool
Click anywhere on the DEM. WMS will use the DEM flow directions to trace the entire
flow path. The flow paths will disappear as soon as another tool is selected.
3. Select Display | Toolbars | Map Tools to show the Map Tools toolbar
4. Choose the Select Feature Polygon tool
5. Select any one of the drainage basin polygons
6. Select DEM | Draw Flow Patterns
Flow paths for each of the DEM cells within the selected drainage basin polygon are
displayed until another tool is selected.
7. Select Display | Display Options
8. In the Drainage Data tab toggle on the Flow Patterns option
9. Select OK
Flow paths for each of the DEM cells in the selected drainage basin are displayed. Notice
that the flow paths are always displayed, even when another tool is selected.
10. Select Display | Display Options
11. In the Drainage Data tab toggle off the Flow Patterns option
12. Select OK

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6.2 Basin Labels

1. Make sure the Drainage module is selected
2. Select Display | Display Options
3. In the Drainage Data tab toggle on the Basin Names, Basin Slopes, and
Max Flow Distance options
4. Select OK
You may want to move the basin labels displaying the area, slope, etc. to more
convenient locations in the graphics window.
5. Choose the Move Basin Label tool
6. Move the label to another point in the basin just by clicking on any point
within the basin
7. Click on any point within a basin and drag the mouse to display the basin
label with an arrow

6.3 Display Options

When you are finished using the elevation data, you may want to turn the DEM contours
and extra streams displays off.
1. Right-click on DEM in the Project Explorer and select Display Options
2. Uncheck the Flow Accumulation, Color Fill Drainage Basins, Fill Basin
Boundary Only, and DEM Contours options
3. Select OK

6.4 Color Fill Basins

WMS also allows you to fill in each basin with a different color. This is useful when the
background image does not need to be showing.
1. Right-click on the Drainage coverage and select Zoom to Layer
2. Right-click on the Drainage coverage and select Display Options
3. Check the Color Fill Polygons option
4. Select OK

7 More Basin Delineation

In this exercise you have learned the most basic use of WMS: to delineate a watershed
from a DEM. It would be a good idea to practice again using a DEM of your own
choosing.
Follow these steps using your own data (using the previous sections for a more specific
outline):
1. Start WMS, or choose the File | New option if continuing

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2. Use the Hydrologic Modeling Wizard to guide you through the delineation
process
3. Experiment with some of the display settings to get a nice final map
4. Save a project file of your work

8 Conclusion
In this exercise you should have learned how to use DEM data in WMS. This includes
the following:
1. Importing DEM Data
2. Computing flow paths and flow accumulations
3. Delineating watersheds from DEMs
4. Delineating sub-basins within a watershed

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