Generate_SWMM_inp: An Open-Source QGIS Plugin to Import and Export Model Input Files for SWMM

Abstract

SWMM is an open-source model and software developed by the US EPA for the simulation of rainfall-runoff and routing in water bodies, sewer systems and wastewater infrastructures. It has been applied in numerous practical works and research projects. For a new SWMM model, objects such as nodes, links and catchments can either be drawn via SWMM’s graphical user interface (GUI) or specified manually in a plain text file in “.inp” format (“input file”). Since the required data regarding sewer geometries and river systems are usually available as spatial data in a GIS environment, there is a need for user-friendly interfaces for the model setup. SWMM contains neither an import function for geodata nor processing tools as provided in geographic information systems (GIS) such as the open-source software QGIS. Existing approaches were script-based or required commercial all-in-one products. We developed a free and open-source QGIS plugin to generate SWMM models from geodata and to import existing SWMM input files into QGIS. An application example is presented to demonstrate the basic features and usage of the plugin.