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I need to know from the very beginning about how I start.

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Hi Namita. It would help if you could add some more details about your question so people have a better understanding of what are you trying to achieve. For example, what type of tools do you want to use? What scale are you working at? – djq Mar 7 '12 at 17:08
I am not much familier with GIS just little knowledge. I came to know that GIS can be used for Sewer design so i took that topic for my assignment. Since i am in level zero about this i was just expecting some guidance like how to start working on it. Basically i will have design a sewer for a small area may be a small community or small town? what things do i need to take care of? What tools would be appropriate for me? – Namita Sth Mar 8 '12 at 4:46
leaving the design part aside if i have to only deal with the sewer network then how am i suppose to make use of GIS in it? I mean in such case is GIS used only for the analysis part or only for the mapping or what else and how exactly? – Namita Sth Mar 24 '12 at 5:25

closed as not a real question by underdark♦ Apr 10 at 20:19

It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. For help clarifying this question so that it can be reopened, see the FAQ.

1 Answer

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Sewers are much more often driven by hydraulic considerations, which includes elevations in the z axis. The spatial layout is a close second, which deals with coordinates in the x y axis. So what are the hydraulic constraints going to be? The selection of a Mannings n is by far the most troublesome variable.

Having said that, I note that there is a hydraulic plug-in for QGIS. In the long run, you would learn a lot by exploring QGIS and the G-Hydraulic plug-in. In the short term you ought to concentrate on your assignment. Many of the hydraulic issues for a sewer design could theoretically be dealt with without many x y coordinates. There are enough pipeline design packages out there which operate in the z dimension which would deal with elementary sewer design if you input your own Mannings n.

Perhaps you just want a map? By just drawing a diagram you do not develop the hydraulic model based on the xy locations of features. CAD software and GIS software with plugins will automatically include the spatial separation of features in the calculations which make up the model. For a diagram / map only I'd strongly recommend Google Sketchup.

So you should start by gathering the available data in the question. If the examiner did not supply x y data I would not embark on GIS activities.

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Thanks for the answer Willy. I still need to make more things clear about GIS. Is there any provision that GIS does the calculation part of the design or is it only for the mapping part? I mean my assigment consist of a sewer network with certain nodes and pipe datas.other parameter that i need to input are crown elevation of outfall node, peaking factor,minimum and maximum cover depth,mannings roughness coefficient. – Namita Sth Mar 8 '12 at 14:19
my assigment consist of a sewer network with certain nodes and pipe datas.Nodes are provided with demand and elevation.Pipe datas consist of length. other parameters that i need to input are crown elevation of outfall node, peaking factor,minimum and maximum cover depth,mannings roughness coefficient,minimum scour velocity and maximum velocity. Now comes the calculation part.The main design part. Is GIS capable to do any designs with all the above datas i mentioned or do i have to use some other software? – Namita Sth Mar 8 '12 at 14:30
You appear to have detailed requirements. I expect any software package you use, GIS or CAD, will require a plugin/module to provide the output. I have noted that QGIS has a hydraulic plugin. – Willy Mar 23 '12 at 2:38
Could anyone please tell me what is the GIS exention used for sewer system analysis? – Namita Sth Apr 10 '12 at 7:02

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