ArcGIS Application in Hydrology

ArcGIS: Hydrology
ArcToolbox > Spatial Analyst Tools >
Hydrology
All the Tools under Hydrology option will
be frequently used for dealing with
hydrological analysis

Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

ArcGIS: Hydrology
DEM

Flow Accumulation

Stream order
Flow Direction

Stream line
Stream link

Sink

Yes

Are there any sinks ?

No

Depression less
DEM

Flow Length

Fill

Snap Pour
Watershed
Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

ArcGIS: Hydrology
Flow Direction
In order to calculate a drainage network, a grid must be created that
contains a code for the direction in which each cell in a surface
drains.
A perfect flow direction should only contain eight values: 1, 2, 4, 8,
16, 32, 64, and 128, representing the eight adjacent cells into which
water would flow. For example, for a cell with a value of 16, the
water is flowing to the left

Flow direction Matrix

Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

ArcGIS: Hydrology
Flow Direction
Flow direction is essential in hydrologic modeling because the flow
characteristics of each individual cell can be analyzed together to
provide us with information about drainage characteristics at the
landscape level.

ArcToolbox > Spatial Analyst >

Hydrology > Flow Direction tool

Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

ArcGIS: Hydrology
Sinks
DEM creation results in artificial pits in the landscape. A pit is a
set of one or more cells which has no downstream cells around it.

Unless these pits are removed they become sinks and isolate
portions of the watershed
Sinks in our DEM are most likely data errors or minor landscape
depressions due to the fact that our study site is densely
urbanized

Profile view of a sink

Profile view of a filled sink

Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

ArcGIS: Hydrology
Sinks
ArcToolbox > Spatial Analyst > Hydrology > Sink

Input: Flow direction

Output: Sinks

Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

ArcGIS: Hydrology
Fill
Sinks should be filled or smoothed over. When a sink is filled, it is
filled to its pour point, which is the minimum elevation along its
watershed boundary.
ArcToolbox > Spatial Analyst > Hydrology > Fill

Profile view of a filled sink

We will be using the filled DEM in all the next steps

Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

ArcGIS: Hydrology
As we have created a new filled DEM, before going to the next
steps flow direction file need to be created with the filled DEM.
ArcToolbox > Spatial Analyst > Hydrology > Flow Direction
Notice that there are only the 8 values in the fillflowdir dataset: 1, 2,
4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128

Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

ArcGIS: Hydrology
Flow Accumulation
Flow accumulation is used to generate a drainage network, based on
the direction of flow of each cell. By selecting cells with the greatest
accumulated flow, we are able to create a network of high-flow cells.
These high-flow cells should lie on stream channels and at valley
bottoms.
Each cell contains a value representing the number of cells upstream
from that cell. Cells with higher values will tend to be located in
drainage channels rather than on hillsides or ridges.

Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

ArcGIS: Hydrology
Flow Accumulation
ArcToolbox > Spatial Analyst > Hydrology > Flow Accumulation

Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

ArcGIS: Hydrology
Stream Network Raster
Spatial Analyst > Raster Calculator
Type the expression streamnetwork = con([fillflowacc] >
2000, 1) > Evaluate

Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

ArcGIS: Hydrology
Stream Network Raster
In order to create a stream network, we need to specify a
threshold for how many adjacent stream pixels make up a stream.
Here we will specify a threshold value of 2000 pixels of
accumulation (any pixel with more than 2000 pixels flowing into it
will be part of the stream network).
Stream Link
Assigns a unique value to each stream segments. Stream link can be
created using Stream link tool
a. Double click ArcToolbox>Spatial Analyst>Hydrology>Stream Link
tool, Set the Input stream raster to be Streamnetwork which has
been determined in the previous step.
b. Set the Input flow direction raster to be fillflowdir.
c. Set the Output raster to be streamlink.> ok
Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

ArcGIS: Hydrology
Stream Order
The stream ordering we choose is dependent on what kind of
method we want to use. In the Strahler method, stream order
increases when streams of the same order intersect. The
intersection of two links of different orders, however, will not result
in an increase in order.

Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

ArcGIS: Hydrology
Stream Order
The Strahler method is the most common stream ordering
method.
The Shrevemethod accounts for all links in the network. The
orders are additive, so the numbers from the Shreve method are
sometimes referred to as magnitudes instead of orders.
The magnitude of a link in the Shreve method is the number of
upstream links
ArcToolbox > Spatial Analyst > Hydrology > Stream Order

Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

ArcGIS: Hydrology
Stream To Feature
Create a stream shapefile using the Stream to Feature tool.
a. Set the Input stream raster to be
streamnetwork.
b. Set the Input flow direction
raster to be fillflowdir.
c. Set the Output polyline features
to be stream2000.shp
d. Check Simplify polylines
e. Click OK
Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

ArcGIS: Hydrology
Basin
Create a basins raster using the Basin tool.
a. Create a basins raster using the
Hydrology> Basin tool.
b. Set the Input flow direction
raster to be fillflowdir.
c. Set the Output raster to be
basin.
d. Click OK

Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

ArcGIS: Hydrology
Snap pour points
Spatial Analyst > Hydrology > Snap pour points
Set the Input raster or feature pour point data to be streamgages
[streamgages.shp is a point shape file indicating the location of
high flow accumulation, it should be either collected or created in
ArcGIS. For this example we have created a point shapefile of
streamgages] . Each point should have unique field. In this
example a new field (Identifier) is created in the attribute table
of the point shapefile, then select column >right click Field
calculator> [id]. This will assign the same values of the id in the
newly created field.
Set the Pour point field to be SITENO.
Set the Input accumulation raster to be fillflowacc.
Set the Output raster to be snap pour point.

Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

ArcGIS: Hydrology
Snap pour points
Set the Snap distance to be 2500, since that is the approximate
maximum distance the a stream gage from a major stream (as
delineated by our streamnetwork2000.shp dataset).

Click on Environments, and under General Settings, set the

Extent to Union of Inputs.

This is absolutely necessary for all the

snapped pour points to fall exactly on
the streams (otherwise, those points
wont search outside the input extent,
which oftentimes doesnt include areas
where the streams actually are!)

Click OK
Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

ArcGIS: Hydrology
Watershed
a. Create a watershed raster
using the Watershed tool.
b. Set the Input flow direction
raster to be fillflowdir.
c. Set the Input raster or feature
pour point data to be Snap
pour point.
d. Set the Pour point field to be
Value.
e. Set the Output raster to be
watershed.
f. Click OK.

Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

ArcGIS: Hydrology
Flow Length
Using the Flow Length tool, the length of the flow path, either upslope or
through a watershed can be determined.
Arctoolbox>Spatial Analyst>Hydrology> Flow Length
UPSTREAM calculates the longest upslope distance along the flow
patch, from each cell to the top of the drainage divide, or ridge.
a. Set the Input flow direction raster to be fillflowdir.
b. Set the Output raster to be upstream.
c.

Set the Direction of measurement to be UPSTREAM.

d. Click OK.
Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

ArcGIS: Hydrology
Flow Length
Downstream calculates the downslope distance along the
flow path, from which each cell to a sink or outlet on the
edge of the raster
a. Set the Input flow direction raster to be fillflowdir.
b. Set the Output raster to be downstream.

c.

Set the Direction of measurement to be DOWNSTREAM.

a. Click OK.

Sarfaraz Alam, sarfaraz_wre@yahoo.com

Thank you