Overview

The Control and Visualization Interface (CAVI) is the central interface for the CWMS real-time decision support system. It integrates real-time data with a suite of HEC models, enabling users to simulate forecast scenarios across key components, including:

  • HEC-MetVue for meteorological data processing
  • HEC-HMS for hydrologic modeling
  • HEC-ResSim for reservoir operations
  • HEC-RAS for hydraulic modeling
  • HEC-FIA for consequence analysis

The CAVI serves as the core platform for coordinating these tools to support informed water management decisions in real time.

Accomplishments

Manual Testing

The team conducted manual testing prior to software releases for CWMS 3.4 and CWMS 3.5. This included execution of pre-existing step by step test plans, validation of bugfixes, and spot checks to confirm software behavior. Throughout the year the team collectively spent approximately 1,100 hours testing the software. Manual testing efforts were enhanced through multiple details by field staff, who helped with test plans as well as testing with their district watersheds. 

Improve Overall Testing Procedures

The CWMS team collectively spent 700 hours improving testing procedures during FY25. This effort included adding additional tests to the automated and manual suite of tests, thereby expanding testing coverage of the software. Additionally the team worked to maintain the automated testing framework, troubleshooting issues as they arose, as well as updating tests as necessary. 

Improve Documentation and Develop Tutorials

CWMS Documentation improvements were extensive in FY25, and the team contributed over 400 hours to this effort. Accomplishments included a complete overhaul of the CWMS User's Manual, improving structure and breaking out many topics into standalone tutorials. The team also redesigned the tutorial website, while adding additional tutorials to help water managers. Existing tutorials and guides were updated to reflect the latest version of the software. 

CWMS NIP Workshop

The team participated in a virtual workshop in June 2025, with 13 participants in attendance. The workshop focused on helping attendees improve their watershed models used for real-time forecasting, with instructors providing hands-on guidance and best practices.

Provide Field Support

One of the primary functions of the CWMS team is to provide prompt field support to USACE water managers and to assist with any issues they may have with the CWMS software. Throughout FY25, the team spent approximately 1,200 hours providing support to the field. The primary avenues of field support included responding to Teams and Discourse questions, email support, working sessions, and one on one support meetings. The team also provided technical support to offices migrating watersheds to the latest version of CWMS, and provided technical assistance on CAVI forecasting during flood events.

Award Maintenance Contract

The team successfully awarded a contract for ongoing CWMS software maintenance, including bug fixes and minor improvements to existing features. In FY26, 161 issues were addressed towards the release of CWMS3.5, 41 minor improvements of existing capability were completed, and 32 investigations of possible issues or improvements were completed.

Develop Regulation Assistance Tools

The team collected user feedback on feature requirements to assists with daily hydropower operations.  The team also investigated options for feature implementations in preparation for discussions with CURG in FY26-Q1. The regulation assistance tools are capabilities added within HEC-RTS to provide functionality that Districts currently rely on spreadsheets or legacy tools to perform. One goal of the CWMS NIP is to retire legacy tools and use enterprise functionality with CWMS. 

Implement New Impact Response Tool

The team started development of a new Impact Response Tool to be incorporated into CWMS. During FY25 the team designed the new application and began development. Instead of a plugin to CWMS that would be part of the Program Order, the new application will be flexible, and able to be launched from either a forecast or the Setup Tab. Development work will continue into FY26. 

Award Contract for Extract and Post Enhancements

The team successfully awarded a contract for Extract and Post Enhancements to be implemented in FY26.  The effort will improve the extract and post code base especially to modularize the data transformation processes, as well as add support for handling paired data, location levels, ensemble time series, and versioned time series.

Design Forecast Evaluation Tool

The team awarded a contract and completed the investigation and design for a forecast evaluation tool that could be leveraged by any HEC program, in particular HEC-RTS for CWMS real-time modeling and HEC-WAT for planning and FIRO studies.  The team is planning to share the design with the CURG tech team and seek out funding options for implementation.

Field Helping the Field Visits

Field Helping the Field is an initiative where experienced users deliver technical and organizational support to Water Management offices. A small team—typically a mix of HEC and field staff—travels to individual districts to help address district implementation challenges. In FY25, these visits were held:

  • Omaha District/Northwestern Division Missouri River
  • South Atlantic Division
  • Hydropower Working Session
  • Walla Walla District
  • St. Paul District