To create a new study: 

  1. From the HEC-WAT main window, from the File menu, click New Study. 

    HEC-WAT Main Window


  2. The Create New Study dialog opens. In the Study Name box, enter a name (e.g., RussianRiver), and in the Description box, enter a description for the new study.

    Figure 6.2 Create New Study Dialog Box


  3. In the Directory box, either enter the name of the directory where to store the HEC-WAT study, or click Browser Ellipse Button, and an Open browser window opens. Navigate to the directory to store the HEC-WAT study, click Open. The Open browser closes and the Directory box updates with the path to the selected folder.

    Figure 6.3 Open Browser


  4. The Unit System for the study defaults to English (which is correct for the RussianRiver study). The other choice from the list is SI (metric).
  5. Next, the projected coordinate system of the study needs to be set. From the Create New Study dialog, click Edit (by the Coordinate System box), the Map Coordinate Information dialog opens.

    Figure 6.4 Map Coordinate Information Dialog Box with Study Projection Information


  6. For the RussianRiver study the associated map layers have the correct projected coordinate system. So, one of those map layers can be used to set the projected coordinate system for the study. From the Map Coordinate Information dialog, click Load from file (lower left corner of dialog); an Open browser window opens.
    • The map layers for the RussianRiver study are located in a folder titled RussianRiver_Maps, from that folder, click on RussianSubbasins.prj (any of the map layers will work).
    • Click Open and the Map Coordinate Information dialog updates with the information about the projected coordinate system.
    • Click OK, the Map Coordinate Information dialog closes. Now in the Create New Study dialog the Coordinate System box contains the name of the projected coordinate system (i.e., USA_Continguous_Albers_Equal_Area_Conic_USGS_version) for the study.
  7. HEC-WAT creates a default alternative - Without Project Conditions. If the user wants the default alternative to have a different name, several choices are available, including Other which allows the user to manually enter the name for the default alternative. For the RussianRiver study the default alternative is used.

At this point users have the option to add map layers that the PDT team has gathered for defining the study area. This step can be skipped if existing models will be imported which include an HEC-ResSim model with the stream alignment, all of the common computation points (CCPs), and the reservoirs necessary to model the study area. Otherwise, when building a study from scratch it is useful to add map layers when the study is created. To continue and create the study without adding map layers, click OK and the Create New Study dialog closes and the HEC-WAT main window updates.