modelling floods with ArcGIS

bogdanpalade1

Ok, I have searched the previous threads about water level and flood simulation but I think that there was no final solution on this topic and my conditions are slightly different.

The facts:
1. I have a dam location and want to simulate what happens if the dam breaks
2. I have a DEM of the site
3. I know the volume of the water in the dam
4. I know the water discharge in case of dam break and the consequent water velocity.

The problem:
1. I want to make a spatial-temporal simulation of a possible flood

The approach:

I want to define 30 secs periods of simulation. Knowing the time and the water discharge I can calculate how much water(volume) can be released from the dam in 30 secs for example. At this point though I am not sure how to estimate the surface covered by the water during those initial 30 secs using the water volume and the DEM.
I know that surface/volume tool would give me the water volume taking as input the height of the water body. Is there a way to to this the other way around? I mean giving a water volume and calculating the water height based on that?

Thanks a lot,

Bogdan

BrettLord-Castillo

I've always thought HEC-GeoRas with ArcHydro was the standard for doing this.
ftp://RiverHydraulics:river%2E1114@ftp.esri.com
(might have to copy paste link in some browsers)
There are better programs out there (like Mike21), but they are pricey.