The Create Water function is a tool within the Water area of the HOME tab. You can create a Water item by selecting an elevation level on the terrain within the Viewport. Water items can be used for more advanced analysis of calculating water volumes and simulating measurements for flood conditions.



Overview


Quick Usage Guide

  1. Click on the Create Water button to enable the Create Water feature.
  2. Within the Viewport, left-click on the terrain at the desired elevation level of the water.
  3. A Water Item is created at the desired elevation within the project and can now be modified or used in further analysis by selecting it and navigating to the TOOLS for Water tab .


Most Common Uses

  • Used to measure the volume of liquid retention areas such as reservoirs, drainage ponds, fracking pools, and more.
  • Flooding simulation.


How it Works

  • Once the Create Water tool is selected, Create Water mode is enabled and a gray box appears next to your mouse cursor displaying the elevation at your mouse location. 
    • A left-click at that location creates a Water Item at the desired elevation that can then be selected to perform additional functions from the TOOLS for Water tab.


  • When created, Water items form a continuous flat plane throughout the entire project. 
    • The translucent blue plane represents water at a standing elevation, as water is generally flat when not moving. 
    • The blue color of the Water item will be shown both outside of the Image Terrain and within the Image Terrain at elevations where the water level is higher than Elevation Terrain. 


Water Level

Water Level allows you to set the elevation of the Water item. 

  • You can increase or decrease the water level by typing in a desired elevation for the water level or by using the arrows.

 

Note: The Create Water tool is primarily designed to measure standing water.


Intersect Terrain

Intersect Terrain creates a Boundary or Polyline at the intersection of the Water item and the Elevation terrain. 

  • Boundary items can then be used to create a Surface from which volumes of water can be calculated. 


Note: When intersecting the terrain to the water, if the terrain intersection is enclosed, a Boundary item will be created. If the terrain intersection is open to water, a Polyline item is created.


Clip Water

The Clip function allows you to remove unwanted areas of the Water item (such as the areas outside of the Boundary item, or in this case the area surrounding the reservoir). 

  • It is enabled by selecting both the Water item and the Boundary item you wish to clip to and opening the TOOLS for Water menu. 


Note: You cannot Unclip a Water item that has been cropped by the Clip tool. You will need to recreate a new Water item to Clip it again. 


Tips and Tricks

  • Complex water bodies may not always be continuous, or there might be other water artifacts that interrupt your continuous water level. 
  • You will likely need to delete extra boundaries or polylines that appear after intersecting the terrain with the water.

  • You can use features found in the TOOLS for Boundary tab to modify your intersected boundary as necessary for the job site to make a continuous water level or make multiple water items. 


Related Workflows