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2025 USBR Workshop: Reservoir Sedimentation Analysis using HEC-HMS
2025 USBR Workshop
Reservoir Sedimentation Analysis using HEC-HMS
8-9 July 2025
Hydrologic Engineering Center, Davis, CA
Training Description:
The Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is pleased to introduce the incorporation of dynamic reservoir volume reduction, specifically reservoir sedimentation analysis, into its esteemed hydrologic software, HEC-HMS. This significant upgrade empowers HEC-HMS with the capability to accurately compute long-term reservoir sedimentation, both pre- and post-wildfire events. Through sediment trap efficiency methods and dynamic reservoir volume reduction techniques, HEC-HMS now enables continuous updating of elevation area and elevation storage curves, facilitating the simulation of short- and long-term sediment deposition in reservoirs. This workshop aims to leverage these advanced capabilities within HEC-HMS to calculate reservoir volume reduction in both unburned and burned watershed areas.
Objectives:
- Gain an understanding of the dynamic reservoir volume reduction process and empirical sediment trap efficiency equations incorporated in HEC-HMS.
- Acquire hands-on experience in developing a comprehensive long-term reservoir sediment model, including parameter estimation, calibration, and utilization of HEC-HMS.
It is recommended that you use HEC-HMS version 4.13-beta 6 or higher version and HEC-DSSVue version 3.4.15 for the class. You do not need administrative privileges to install HEC-HMS and HEC-DSSVue. Download HEC-HMS version 4.13 beta 6 (hec-hms-4.13-beta.6-win-x64.zip) from here (https://www.hec.usace.army.mil/software/hec-hms/downloads.aspx). Download HEC-DSSVue version 3.4.15 from this page, https://www.hec.usace.army.mil/software/hec-dssvue/downloads.aspx. Then use 7-zip and unzip the files to the C:\Programs directory on your computer (you should have a folder named HEC-HMS-4.13-beta within the C:\Programs directory). Then you can pin HEC-HMS.exe and HEC-DSSVue.exe to your taskbar and open these programs by clicking on the icons.
Workshop Details
- Time: 8-9 July 2025, 0800-1700
- Location: HEC Classroom in Davis, CA. 609 Second St. Davis, CA 95616
- Closest Hotel from HEC: Hilton Garden Davis 110 F St — Discover Hilton Garden at 110 F St, CA
- Instructor:
- Jay Pak, Ph.D., P.E., Sr. Research Hydraulic Engineer, US Army Corps of Engineers, Hydrologic Engineering Center
- Melissa Forster, Ph.D., P.G., Fluvial geomorphologist, USBR, Technical Service Center
- Nathan Chrisman, Civil Engineer, US Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District
- Contact: jay.h.pak@usace.army.mil
- Instructor Short Biography:
Dr. Jang (Jay) Pak boasts over two decades of experience with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), currently serving as a Senior Research Hydraulic Engineer at the Hydrology & Statistics Division of the Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC). His expertise encompasses surface water hydrology, post-fire hydrology, river hydraulics, debris flow analysis, land surface erosion, and more. Dr. Pak earned his Ph.D. and Master’s degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Southern California, focusing his doctoral research on real-time debris prediction models integrating wildfire and subsequent storm events. He is a registered civil engineer in the state of California.
Dr. Melissa Foster is a fluvial geomorphologist with the Sedimentation and River Hydraulics Group at the Technical Service Center. Since joining Reclamation in 2016, Melissa has developed a keen interest in reservoir sedimentation. Specifically, she seeks to couple modeling and remote sensing to constrain sediment production and yield rates in basins. She is an interdisciplinary scientist and much of her work focuses on the crossover between engineering and river science. Her professional interests include reservoir sedimentation, hydraulic modeling, Quaternary dating techniques, and landscape evolution. Prior to joining Reclamation, she received her Ph.D. from the University of Colorado at Boulder in Geological Sciences and worked as a consultant in river restoration and sedimentation.
Mr. Nathan Chrisman works as a hydraulic engineer in the River Engineering and Restoration Section in the Kansas City District. He joined the Corps in 2017 as a student intern and has since worked on various sedimentation studies. He assisted in the Kansas River Watershed Study, which evaluated reservoir sedimentation for 17 USACE and USBR reservoirs in the states of Kansas and Nebraska. He also has experience with 1D and 2D mobile bed modeling using HEC-RAS and AdH software.
Workshop Agenda:
Tuesday, 8 July 2025
Time | Duration (min) | Module | Topics | Instructor(s) | Links to Materials | Presentation Slides |
08:00 - 08:20 | 20 | Admin | Welcome, introductions Logistics, bathrooms, etc. | Jay Pak |
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08:20 - 08:50 | 30/18 slides | Lecture | Lecture 1: Application of Land Surface Erosion Modeling Watershed‐scale surface‐erosion modeling application, incorporating lumped‐parameter, two-dimensional, and hybrid approaches. | Jay Pak | ||
08:50 - 10:00 | 70 | Special Lecture | Lecture 2: Silt Happens: Modeling reservoir sedimentation across the United States | Melissa Foster | ||
10:00 - 10:15 | 15 | Break |
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10:15 - 11:00 | 45/40 slides | Lecture | Lecture 3: Surface Erosion in HEC-HMS Overview of surface erosion methods in HEC-HMS, incorporating MUSLE and BUWO. | Jay Pak | ||
11:00 - 11:45 | 45/31 slides | Lecture | Lecture 4: Channel Sediment Routing in HEC-HMS Overview of channel sediment routing processes and methods in HEC-HMS. | Jay Pak | ||
11:45 - 12:45 | 60 | Lunch | ||||
12:45 - 14:30 | 105 | Workshop | Workshop 1: Modeling Surface Erosion within HEC-HMS | Jay Pak | ||
14:30 - 14:45 | 15 | Workshop Review |
| Jay Pak | ||
14:45 - 15:00 | 15 | Break |
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15:00 - 16:00 | 60/49 slides | Lecture | Lecture 5: Reservoir Modeling Methodologies Modeling reservoirs using the HMS Reservoir element, including specified releases, outflow curves, outflow structures, rule-based reservoir routing, and sedimentation. | Jay Pak | ||
16:00 - 17:00 | 60/60 slides | Lecture | Lecture 6: Reservoir Sedimentation Analysis Overview of HEC-HMS's enhanced long-term dynamic Reservoir Volume Reduction Process and Sediment Trap Efficiency Equations | Jay Pak |
Tuesday, 9 July 2025
Time | Duration (min) | Module | Topics | Instructor(s) | Links to Materials | Presentation Slides |
08:00 - 08:15 | 15 | Admin | Recap and Preview | Jay Pak |
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08:15 - 10:00 | 105 | Workshop | Workshop 2: Applying Reservoir Volume Reduction Methods in HEC-HMS Introduction to the Reservoir Volume Reduction Methods Task 1: Reservoir Volume Reduction Modeling with Outflow Structure Routing Method (Elevation-Storage-Area) Task 2: Reservoir Volume Reduction Modeling with Outflow Curve Routing Method (Elevation-Storage-Area-Discharge) | Jay Pak | Introduction to the Reservoir Volume Reduction Methods Task 1: Reservoir Volume Reduction Modeling with Outflow Structure Routing Method (Elevation-Area) | |
10:00 - 10:15 | 15 | Workshop Review |
| Jay Pak | ||
10:15 - 10:30 | 15 | Break |
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10:30 - 11:30 | 60 | Demonstration | Tuttle Lake Reservoir Sedimentation Case Study | Nathan Chrisman | ||
11:30 - 12:00 | 30 | Q&A for Demo |
| Nathan Chrisman | ||
12:00 - 13:00 | 60 | Lunch | ||||
13:00 - 17:00 | 240 | USBR Case Study Development | USBR |
- Wish List:
- Dynamic Gradation Curve: Input time-series sediment data by grain size
- Brune TE Method: Input time-series (annual) Annual Inflow Volume and Capacity Elevation