OpenHydro Bench

Tests and results

Every model runs the same inputs against a known right answer. Each result shows its percent difference from the right answer; lower is better. See the leaderboard →

Rivers and channels

One-dimensional flow along a channel: dam breaks, backwater, jumps and flow over a hump.

Rivers and channelsA1F-001

Gentle backwater in a channel

Does the model get the water level right along a calm river reach?

  1. 1=Demo 1D suite example<0.01 %
  2. 1=OpenSWMM 6 dynamic wave<0.01 %
  3. 1=EPA SWMM 5.2.4 dynamic wave<0.01 %
  4. 4=HEC-RAS 7.0 1D · 2D SWE-ELM0.011 %
  5. 4=TELEMAC-2D openTELEMAC 9.10.011 %
  6. 6Basilisk Saint-Venant0.014 %
  7. and 7 more
Rivers and channelsA1F-010

Dam break onto dry ground

How far, and how fast, does the flood travel?

  1. 1Basilisk Saint-Venant0.45 %
  2. 2=Demo 1D suite example0.52 %
  3. 2=ANUGA 4.0.10.55 %
  4. 4=OpenSWMM 6 finite volume0.88 %
  5. 4=GeoClaw Clawpack 5.90.93 %
  6. 6=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · FV11.3 %
  7. and 11 more
Rivers and channelsA1F-011

Dam break into shallow water

Does the model form the right bore when a flood runs into standing water?

  1. 1Basilisk Saint-Venant0.047 %
  2. 2Demo 1D suite example0.056 %
  3. 3ANUGA 4.0.10.07 %
  4. 4GeoClaw Clawpack 5.90.092 %
  5. 5=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · FV10.18 %
  6. 5=OpenSWMM 6 finite volume0.18 %
  7. and 11 more
Rivers and channelsA1F-020

Standing hydraulic jump

Does the model hold a hydraulic jump in the right place, at the right height?

  1. 1TELEMAC-2D openTELEMAC 9.10.049 %
  2. 2Basilisk Saint-Venant0.093 %
  3. 3Demo 1D suite example0.15 %
  4. 4ANUGA 4.0.10.28 %
  5. 5OpenSWMM 6 finite volume50 %
  6. 6Hydra urban drainage71 %
  7. and 2 more
Rivers and channelsA1F-040

Calm flow over a hump

Does the model get the dip in the water surface over a bump in the bed right?

  1. 1Basilisk Saint-Venant<0.01 %
  2. 2=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · FV10.03 %
  3. 2=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · DG20.03 %
  4. 2=OpenSWMM 6 finite volume0.03 %
  5. 5TELEMAC-2D openTELEMAC 9.10.047 %
  6. 6ANUGA 4.0.10.12 %
  7. and 5 more
Rivers and channelsA1F-041

Flow speeding up over a hump

Does the model switch from calm to rapid flow at the right place?

  1. 1Basilisk Saint-Venant<0.01 %
  2. 2ANUGA 4.0.10.11 %
  3. 3OpenSWMM 6 finite volume0.13 %
  4. 4=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · DG20.17 %
  5. 4=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · FV10.17 %
  6. 6TELEMAC-2D openTELEMAC 9.10.39 %
  7. and 5 more
Rivers and channelsA1F-042

Hump with a hydraulic jump

Does the jump below the hump stand in the right place?

  1. 1Basilisk Saint-Venant0.076 %
  2. 2ANUGA 4.0.10.11 %
  3. 3TELEMAC-2D openTELEMAC 9.10.17 %
  4. 4=OpenSWMM 6 finite volume0.19 %
  5. 4=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · DG20.2 %
  6. 4=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · FV10.2 %
  7. and 5 more
Rivers and channelsA1F-043

Still lake around an island

Does still water stay still over uneven, partly dry ground?

  1. 1=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · ACC<0.01 %
  2. 1=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · FV1<0.01 %
  3. 1=Basilisk Saint-Venant<0.01 %
  4. 1=TELEMAC-2D openTELEMAC 9.1<0.01 %
  5. 1=GeoClaw Clawpack 5.9<0.01 %
  6. 1=OpenSWMM 6 finite volume<0.01 %
  7. and 6 more

2D floods

Water spreading over ground: moving shorelines, floodplains, model cities and real dam failures.

2D floodsA2A-001

Water sloshing in a bowl

Does the model move a shoreline back and forth correctly?

  1. 1Basilisk Saint-Venant0.021 %
  2. 2ANUGA 4.0.10.11 %
  3. 3=Demo 2D suite example0.15 %
  4. 3=TELEMAC-2D openTELEMAC 9.10.15 %
  5. 5=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · DG20.18 %
  6. 5=GeoClaw Clawpack 5.90.19 %
  7. and 3 more
2D floodsA2A-010

Steady flow over a shaped bed

Does a 2D model balance slope, pressure and friction like the 1D answer?

  1. 1HEC-RAS 7.0 2D · SWE-EM<0.01 %
  2. 2HEC-RAS 7.0 1D · 2D SWE-ELM0.01 %
  3. 3TELEMAC-2D openTELEMAC 9.10.015 %
  4. 4Basilisk Saint-Venant0.017 %
  5. 5=ANUGA 4.0.10.02 %
  6. 5=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · DG20.021 %
  7. and 4 more
2D floodsA2A-020

Supercritical flow turned by a wall

Does the model put an angled shock wave in the right place?

  1. 1ANUGA 4.0.10.25 %
  2. 2Basilisk Saint-Venant0.36 %
  3. 3=TELEMAC-2D openTELEMAC 9.10.83 %
  4. 3=Demo 2D suite example0.89 %
2D floodsA2C-EA1

Flooding a cut-off pond

Does a pond behind a ridge fill and settle at the right level?

  1. 1LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · FV10.27 %
  2. 2Demo 2D suite example0.44 %
  3. 3TELEMAC-2D openTELEMAC 9.10.56 %
  4. 4LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · DG21.7 %
  5. 5=ANUGA 4.0.11.9 %
  6. 5=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · ACC2.1 %
  7. and 2 more
2D floodsA2C-EA2

Filling floodplain hollows

Does every drop of inflow end up stored in the hollows?

  1. 1=ANUGA 4.0.1<0.01 %
  2. 1=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · FV1<0.01 %
  3. 1=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · ACC<0.01 %
  4. 1=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · DG2<0.01 %
  5. 1=Demo 2D suite example<0.01 %
  6. 1=TELEMAC-2D openTELEMAC 9.1<0.01 %
  7. and 2 more
2D floodsA2C-EA4

Flood spreading over a floodplain

How fast does a breach flood spread over flat ground?

  1. 1=ANUGA 4.0.1<0.01 %
  2. 1=Demo 2D suite example<0.01 %
  3. 1=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · ACC<0.01 %
  4. 1=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · DG2<0.01 %
  5. 1=TELEMAC-2D openTELEMAC 9.1<0.01 %
  6. 1=HEC-RAS 7.0 1D · 2D SWE-ELM<0.01 %
  7. and 2 more
2D floodsA2C-EA5

Valley flooding

Does a dam-failure flood travel down a valley correctly?

  1. 1=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · DG2<0.01 %
  2. 1=Demo 2D suite example<0.01 %
  3. 1=ANUGA 4.0.1<0.01 %
  4. 1=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · ACC<0.01 %
  5. 1=LISFLOOD-FP 8.3 · FV1<0.01 %
  6. 6TELEMAC-2D openTELEMAC 9.10.034 %
  7. and 2 more

Sewers and drainage

Sewer pipes part full and surcharged, storage, pumps and backwater through manholes.

Sewers and drainageA1D-001

Sewer pipes running part full

Does a drainage model get the depth right in a round pipe?

  1. 1Hydra urban drainage<0.01 %
  2. 2=OpenSWMM 6 dynamic wave0.027 %
  3. 2=EPA SWMM 5.2.4 dynamic wave0.027 %
  4. 4OpenSWMM 6 finite volume1.4 %
Sewers and drainageA1D-002

Sewer pipes running full

When pipes surcharge, does the model get the water level in the manholes right?

  1. 1Hydra urban drainage<0.01 %
  2. 2=OpenSWMM 6 dynamic wave0.034 %
  3. 2=EPA SWMM 5.2.4 dynamic wave0.034 %
  4. 4OpenSWMM 6 finite volume23 %
Sewers and drainageA1D-003

Tank emptying through an outlet

Does a storage tank drain at the right rate?

  1. 1Hydra urban drainage0.25 %
  2. 2OpenSWMM 6 finite volume0.28 %
  3. 3=OpenSWMM 6 dynamic wave0.33 %
  4. 3=EPA SWMM 5.2.4 dynamic wave0.33 %
Sewers and drainageA1D-004

Pump working on its curve

Does the model run a pump at the right operating point?

  1. 1=Hydra urban drainage<0.01 %
  2. 1=OpenSWMM 6 dynamic wave<0.01 %
  3. 1=OpenSWMM 6 finite volume<0.01 %
  4. 1=EPA SWMM 5.2.4 dynamic wave<0.01 %
Sewers and drainageA1D-005

Backwater up a sewer

Does a high water level at the outlet back up the right distance?

  1. 1=Hydra urban drainage0.024 %
  2. 1=OpenSWMM 6 dynamic wave0.025 %
  3. 1=EPA SWMM 5.2.4 dynamic wave0.025 %
  4. 4OpenSWMM 6 finite volume0.31 %
Sewers and drainageA1F-100

Real sewer network, Odense

Does a real sewer model, run as published, reproduce the water levels measured in eight storms?

  1. 1=EPA SWMM 5.2.4 dynamic wave30 %
  2. 1=OpenSWMM 6 dynamic wave30 %
  3. 1=Hydra urban drainage34 %

Sewers meeting streets

Water passing between the pipes and the street through manholes, both ways.

Sewers meeting streetsA12-010

Manhole overflowing onto a street

Does a coupled model put all of the sewer's overflow onto the street?

  1. 1SWMM + ANUGA coupled 1D/2D0.14 %
  2. 2OpenSWMM 6 coupled 1D/2D0.79 %
  3. 3HEC-RAS 7.0 pipe networks · 1D/2D7.6 %
  4. 4OpenSWMM 6 coupled 1D/2D · cross mesh10 %
Sewers meeting streetsA12-011

Flooded yard draining into a pipe

Does the flood drain down to the right level, and all of it out of the pipe?

  1. 1SWMM + ANUGA coupled 1D/2D5.8 %
  2. 2HEC-RAS 7.0 pipe networks · 1D/2D16 %
  3. 3OpenSWMM 6 coupled 1D/2D24 %
  4. 4OpenSWMM 6 coupled 1D/2D · cross mesh27 %
Sewers meeting streetsA12-012

Overflow and return

When a sewer overflows and then drains back, does every drop come out?

  1. 1SWMM + ANUGA coupled 1D/2D0.028 %
  2. 2=OpenSWMM 6 coupled 1D/2D0.22 %
  3. 2=OpenSWMM 6 coupled 1D/2D · cross mesh0.24 %
  4. 4HEC-RAS 7.0 pipe networks · 1D/2D1.3 %

Water mains

Pressurised networks: friction, loops, water hammer and pollutant transport.

Water mainsA1P-001

Friction loss in a pipe

Does the model lose the right amount of pressure to friction?

  1. 1=EPANET 2.2 US EPA0.6 %
  2. 1=Hydra water distribution0.65 %
Water mainsA1P-010

Looped water network

Does the model split flow correctly around loops in a network?

  1. 1=WNTR own hydraulic solver<0.01 %
  2. 1=EPANET 2.2 US EPA<0.01 %
  3. 3Hydra water distribution0.028 %
Water mainsA1P-020

Water hammer: valve slammed shut

Is the pressure surge right when a valve shuts instantly?

  1. 1Demo 1D suite example<0.01 %
  2. 2TSNet water hammer · MOC0.13 %
Water mainsA1P-030

Pollutant spreading in a pipe

Does the model carry and spread a pollutant correctly?

  1. 1Demo 1D suite example0.045 %
  2. 2EPANET 2.2 US EPA1.9 %

SWMM and EPANET compatibility

Does another engine give the same answers as EPA SWMM 5.2.4 or EPANET 2.2 on the same input?

SWMM and EPANET compatibilityB-EPANET-001

Water distribution network

Does an engine give the same answers as EPANET 2.2?

  1. 1=EPANET 2.0 vs EPANET 2.2<0.01 %
  2. 1=WNTR own hydraulic solver<0.01 %
  3. 3Hydra water distribution0.11 %
SWMM and EPANET compatibilityB-EXTRAN-001

Sewer network routing

Does an engine route a sewer network the same way as SWMM 5.2.4?

  1. 1=SWMM 5.1.15 previous release<0.01 %
  2. 1=OpenSWMM 6 vs SWMM 5.2.4<0.01 %
  3. 3Hydra urban drainage4.5 %
  4. 4OpenSWMM 6 finite volume88 %
SWMM and EPANET compatibilityB-RTC-001

Pump station switched by rules

Do pumps switch on and off at the same moments as in SWMM 5.2.4?

  1. 1SWMM 5.1.15 previous release<0.01 %
  2. 2OpenSWMM 6 vs SWMM 5.2.451 %
  3. 3Hydra urban drainage90 %
  4. 4OpenSWMM 6 finite volume3e4 %

In preparation: 8 tests waiting on data

Defined, with their physics, inputs and scoring written, but each needs measurements or geometry that its owners have to release. If you hold one of these datasets, or know who does, tell us.

  • Slow valve closure with vapour cavities A1P-021
    Missing: Pipeline rig geometry, valve closure law and pressure traces from Bergant & Simpson (1999); raw traces need permission from the authors.
    Held by: University of Adelaide (Simpson) / Litostroj Power (Bergant)
  • Two channels meeting at a right angle A1F-030
    Missing: Flume geometry and inflows from Weber, Schumate & Mawer (2001); measured depth/velocity fields need redistribution terms from the authors / IIHR.
    Held by: IIHR – Hydroscience & Engineering, University of Iowa (authors of Weber et al. 2001)
  • Dam break through a model city A2L-010
    Missing: UCLouvain idealised-city flume geometry (Soares-Frazão & Zech 2008); terms not confirmed.
    Held by: Université catholique de Louvain (Soares-Frazão)
  • Flash flood in the Toce valley model A2L-011
    Missing: Toce urban-district model geometry (CADAM / IMPACT, ENEL-CRIS); terms not confirmed.
    Held by: ENEL-CRIS / IMPACT project partners
  • Dam break over a sill A2L-020
    Missing: Triangular-sill flume geometry (Soares-Frazão 2007, CADAM); terms not confirmed.
    Held by: Université catholique de Louvain (Soares-Frazão)
  • Dam break past a building A2L-EA6A
    Missing: Measured data not yet released.
  • Malpasset dam failure, 1959 A2F-001
    Missing: CADAM/EDF Malpasset topography; redistribution terms not confirmed.
    Held by: EDF R&D / CADAM partners; USACE LifeSim derivative
  • Sewer overflowing through a manhole A12-001
    Missing: Manhole/surface exchange rig geometry and measured exchange flows from Rubinato et al.
    Held by: University of Sheffield (Shucksmith group)
TestDemo 1Dsuite exampleDemo 2Dsuite exampleEPANET 2.2US EPAHEC-RAS 7.01D · 2D SWE-ELMHEC-RAS 7.02D · SWE-EMTELEMAC-2DopenTELEMAC 9.1ANUGA4.0.1GeoClawClawpack 5.9LISFLOOD-FP8.3 · FV1LISFLOOD-FP8.3 · DG2LISFLOOD-FP8.3 · ACCEPA SWMM 5.2.4dynamic waveOpenSWMM 6dynamic waveOpenSWMM 6finite volumeHydraurban drainageHydrawater distributionHydroNetfinite volumeHydroNetFVM-PINNSWMM + ANUGAcoupled 1D/2DOpenSWMM 6coupled 1D/2DOpenSWMM 6coupled 1D/2D · cross meshSWMM 5.1.15previous releaseWNTRown hydraulic solverTSNetwater hammer · MOCBasiliskSaint-VenantLandlabOverlandFlowHEC-RAS 7.0pipe networks · 1D/2DHEC-RAS 6.6previous releaseHEC-RAS 6.6previous release · 2D SWE-EMOpenSWMM 6vs SWMM 5.2.4EPANET 2.0vs EPANET 2.2
Rivers and channels
Gentle backwater in a channelA1F-001————————————————
Dam break onto dry groundA1F-010———————————
Dam break into shallow waterA1F-011———————————
Standing hydraulic jumpA1F-020——————————————————————
Calm flow over a humpA1F-040———————————————————
Flow speeding up over a humpA1F-041———————————————————
Hump with a hydraulic jumpA1F-042———————————————————
Still lake around an islandA1F-043——————————————————
2D floods
Water sloshing in a bowlA2A-001——————————————————————
Steady flow over a shaped bedA2A-010———————————————————
Supercritical flow turned by a wallA2A-020———————————————————————————
Flooding a cut-off pondA2C-EA1—————————————————————
Filling floodplain hollowsA2C-EA2—————————————————————
Flood spreading over a floodplainA2C-EA4—————————————————————
Valley floodingA2C-EA5—————————————————————
Sewers and drainage
Sewer pipes running part fullA1D-001——————————————————————————
Sewer pipes running fullA1D-002——————————————————————————
Tank emptying through an outletA1D-003——————————————————————————
Pump working on its curveA1D-004——————————————————————————
Backwater up a sewerA1D-005——————————————————————————
Real sewer network, OdenseA1F-100————————————————————————————
Sewers meeting streets
Manhole overflowing onto a streetA12-010———————————————————————————
Flooded yard draining into a pipeA12-011———————————————————————————
Overflow and returnA12-012———————————————————————————
Water mains
Friction loss in a pipeA1P-001—————————————————————————————
Looped water networkA1P-010————————————————————————————
Water hammer: valve slammed shutA1P-020—————————————————————————————
Pollutant spreading in a pipeA1P-030—————————————————————————————
SWMM and EPANET compatibility
Water distribution networkB-EPANET-001————————————————————————————
Sewer network routingB-EXTRAN-001———————————————————————————
Pump station switched by rulesB-RTC-001———————————————————————————

The demo solvers are simple worked examples that ship with the suite. EPANET 2.2, HEC-RAS 7.0, HEC-RAS 7.0, TELEMAC-2D, ANUGA, GeoClaw, LISFLOOD-FP FV1, LISFLOOD-FP DG2, LISFLOOD-FP ACC, EPA SWMM 5.2.4, OpenSWMM 6, OpenSWMM 6, Hydra, Hydra, OpenSWMM 6, OpenSWMM 6, HEC-RAS 7.0 are production software, each run with its defaults except the settings named on its score cards (time-step limits, output points, the converged SWMM variants' iteration tolerance). HydroNet is a research code (physics-informed machine learning), scored with the settings of its own examples. SWMM 5.1.15 and EPANET 2.0 are scored for compatibility with the current releases, not for physics. Columns marked submitted by … were run by others and scored here.

SWMM compatibility across real models

Other SWMM engines compared with EPA SWMM 5.2.4 on 500 models from the HydroCouple collection, node by node and pipe by pipe.

SWMM 5.1.15

Hydra 17

OpenSWMM v6 finite volume

OpenSWMM Engine v6

identicalwithin 1 %1–5 %over 5 %could not run or nothing to compare

Biggest differences are in pump models, green roofs and groundwater: real changes between engines, not noise. See the corpus →

Submitted results

None yet. Commercial codes the suite cannot run itself (TUFLOW, MIKE, InfoWorks ICM, Flood Modeller and others) can be run by their developers or users, who submit the results files; the suite scores them with the same limits as everything here.

How to submit results →