The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) sponsors ongoing development of four computer programs that perform both routine and complex hydrologic and hydraulic analyses of watersheds, river and stream systems, and transportation infrastructure. These programs incorporate procedures and equations documented in FHWA Hydraulic Design Series (HDS) documents, Hydraulic Engineering Circulars (HEC), technical briefs, and research reports. The continual evolution of the national hydraulic engineering state of practice necessitates ongoing development of and upgrades to these tools. Brief descriptions of each of the four computer programs follow: 1) Surface-water Modeling System (SMS). SMS is a complete program for building and simulating surface water models. SMS allows users to efficiently and effectively run the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Sedimentation and River Hydraulics – Two Dimensional (SRH-2D) model, which is the primary focus of the Every Day Counts (EDC) CHANGE initiative. Common SMS SRH-2D applications include studies of: complex floodplains and river crossings, bridge and culvert design alternatives, flood risk assessment, flood mapping, channel restoration, fish habitat analysis, channel stability, sediment transport, bridge and channel scour, and scour countermeasures. 2) Watershed Modeling System (WMS). WMS is an integrated hydrologic modeling program that creates a digital representation of a watershed and calculates parameters necessary for hydrologic modeling. This program is capable of running common hydrologic models such as HEC-1, HEC-HMS, TR-20, TR-55, the Rational Method, and the National Flood Frequency (NFF) regression equations. WMS includes a complete graphical user interface (GUI) to assist with preparing, editing, and running these models as well as viewing the model results. 3) Hydraulic Toolbox. The Hydraulic Toolbox program includes a suite of calculators to complete the detailed calculations necessary for the hydrologic and hydraulic analysis and design of ditches, curb and gutter sections, drop inlets, weirs, detention basins, bridge foundations, riprap installations, and other infrastructure constituents. The Hydraulic toolbox may be used jointly with the SRH-2D model in SMS to perform scour calculations. 4) HY-8 Culvert Hydraulic Analysis Program. HY-8 automates culvert hydraulic computations allowing users to quickly and efficiently analyze a multitude of culvert design and retrofit alternatives and scenarios. In the hands of experienced designers and engineers, these software tools may increase design efficiency and reliability while enhancing collaboration and communication among project team members and customers. Research is needed to update these tools to keep them consistent with the evolving state of the practice.

This Transportation Pooled Fund (TPF) project will: 1. Enhance the capabilities of the four FHWA sponsored software programs and ensure they remain consistent with the latest FHWA technical reference documents. 2. Update the software user manual documentation. 3. Make new software versions publicly available. 4. Develop and deploy technology transfer materials and workshops to test and demonstrate new software content and features. 5. Inform users of the availability of new software versions and features through website postings, email notifications, newsletter articles, conference presentations, and other avenues.

A FHWA and state DOT Steering Committee will serve as lead for the execution of this TPF project. The principal tasks are to: 1. Prioritize implementation of new software features, updates, and bug fixes for all four software programs. 2. Perform software upgrades based on prioritization and available funding. A few planned upgrades include: • Refinement of SMS SRH-2D sediment transport and floodway modeling capabilities • Adjustment of Hydraulic Toolbox curb-open and grate inlet capture efficiencies based on the most current research study results • Added HY-8 capability to analyze culverts with changes to barrel shape and roughness along the barrel lengths 3. Update software documentation (i.e. user manuals, help files, and release notes) to describe new features and updates. 4. Develop technology transfer materials and tutorials (e.g. videos or recorded webinars) for new software features and major upgrades. 5. Provide progress reports on software upgrades during national and regional conferences and meetings. Quarterly reports will be posted on the TPF website.

The Federal Highway Administration will serve as the coordinator for this pooled-fund project. State DOT's will be solicited for their interest and participation. This project is expected to have a minimum participation of at least ten agency members per year (including FHWA). The suggested minimum annual state commitment is $10,000. When submitting financial commitments, agencies may email the TPF Lead Agency Contact with a desired apportionment of their funds to one or more of the listed software programs. Deliverables and rendered services will include the following: • Updated software applications (SMS, WMS, Hydraulic Toolbox, and HY-8) and documentation • Software technology transfer tutorials demonstrating new features • Progress reports and notifications of new software releases and features via: quarterly TPF reports, email alerts, conference presentations, webinars, and newsletter articles • State DOT access to SMS, WMS, HY-8, and the Hydraulic Toolbox.