HEC-HMS is a hydrologic and hydraulic modeling software suite developed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC). It is used to model water flow and water quality in river basins, reservoirs, streams, canals, and other hydrologic systems.
HEC-HMS is an integrated system of software modules designed to simulate the runoff and routing of water in catchments and channels under various hydroclimatic conditions. The components of the HEC-HMS system include:
• Catchment Modeling – Modeling runoff in catchments using various hydrologic models, including the HEC-HMS, SCS-CN, and USGS-HSPF.
• Channel Routing – Modeling river and stream flows using Muskingum-Cunge, Modified Puls, or kinematic wave routing methods.
• Floodplain Modeling – Modeling floodplain inundation and flood hazard assessment using various hydraulic models, including HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, and HEC-GeoRAS.
• Water Quality Modeling – Modeling water quality in surface water systems using the HEC-WQ model.
• Watershed Analysis – Modeling watershed hydrology and hydraulics using GIS-based data, such as DEMs, land use/land cover, precipitation, and streamflow data.
• HEC-HMS View – Visualizing results of HEC-HMS simulations in 2D and 3D.
• HEC-HMS Data Manager – Integrating GIS-based data with HEC-HMS simulations.
• HEC-HMS Applications – Developing various applications for HEC-HMS simulations using the HEC-HMS Applications Builder.
• HEC-HMS Online – Accessing HEC-HMS simulations remotely via the web.
• HEC-HMS Support – Providing technical support for HEC-HMS simulations.
HEC-HMS is a powerful tool for hydrologic and hydraulic modeling and analysis. It is used by professionals in the fields of hydrology, hydraulics, and water resources to simulate, analyze, and visualize water flow and water quality in river basins, reservoirs, streams, canals, and other hydrologic systems. HEC-HMS can also be used to develop applications for flood forecasting, floodplain mapping, water quality modeling, watershed analysis, and other water resources management activities.
HEC-HMS enables users to accurately simulate and analyze watershed hydrology on both a small and large scale.