EPP 234: Introduction to HEC RAS for Stream Restoration
Course Description: This course, comprised of 6 half-day workshops, will instruct students in the basics and application of two-dimensional HEC-RAS (the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Hydrologic Engineering Center’s River Analysis System) modeling for river restoration. The course will include an overview of two-dimensional hydraulic model building, troubleshooting, and results interpretation, all taught from a practical, restoration-based perspective. Students should have a working knowledge of HEC-RAS and hydraulic modeling prior to this course.
Through a combination of lectures and hands-on exercises, the course will explore how HEC-RAS modeling can be applied to various common questions in river restoration, including: how to model engineered logjams, how to model and evaluate flood rise, and how to use hydraulic modeling to assess for benefits and risks. Each step of the way will include guidance for the use of the tools available in HEC-RAS and RAS Mapper, such as modeling 2D structures, surface editing, and results summary and visualization.
Duration: 3 days, Synchronous, Online (Zoom)
Available Professional Credit: 2.4 CEU, 24 PDH.
Course Topics and Exercises:
- Course Introduction
- Orientation to Applied River Restoration
- HEC-RAS 2D Basics 1
- HEC-RAS 2D Basics 2
- Class Exercise: Build a 2D HECRAS Model
- Understanding 2D HECRAS Results
- Floodplain Reconnection: Evaluating Hydraulics for Project Success
- Calibration and Sensitivity Testing
- Troubleshooting 2D HECRAS
- Restoration and Infrastructure: Modeling the Intersection
- Evaluating Flood Rise
- Class Exercise: Achieving No-Rise
- HEC-RAS Surface Editing Tools and Other Advanced Techniques
- Limitations of 2D Hydraulic Modeling for Restoration
- Hydraulics of Aquatic Habitat
- Elements of a Logjam
- Logjams in Hydraulic Modeling
- Class Exercise: Modeling Logjams
- Introduction to Logjam Stability and Scour
- Hydraulics, Geomorphology, and History: The Broader Context