Calculate Flow Arrows add-in

[Jose_J_Esri_Spain]

@RobertKrisher : I’ve tested it and it works reasonably well on a water network (Naperville), although the results are a bit strange. I assume this is due to what you mention in the article — that it isn’t designed for looped networks. I understand that it takes network controllers into account, is that correct?

On another note, when the code becomes available, will it be accessible from this article?

Regards

[RobertKrisher]

You can find the code here: arcgis-pro-sdk-community-samples/UtilityNetwork/Calculate Flow Arrows at master · Esri/arcgis-pro-sd.... The original article has also been updated to include this link.

I'm curious why you're running this against a water network, given that its mostly looped. Are you looking for areas that aren't looped? Are you just using it to verify that everything is connected? Are you hoping to build some kind of hydrant flushing application?

The community sample does take into account all the subnetwork controllers for the subnetwork. Because it is a community sample it was written to be easily understood, so there are many optimizations that could have been put in place to make it faster but were omitted for clarity's sake.

[Jose_J_Esri_Spain]

Thanks for sharing the link to the code.

Regarding why I’m testing it on a water network: in a water utility working with ArcGIS Utility Network, having a way to visualize or estimate flow direction is essential, especially because Utility Network does not directly expose hydraulic or flow information. Even with the network correctly modeled, technicians cannot visually determine which pipe feeds which, whether there are flow reversals, how a subnetwork behaves after a valve operation, or which areas would be affected during flushing, shutdowns, or maintenance.

Even though water networks are mostly looped, understanding flow is still critical for tasks such as sectorization, hydrant flushing, preventive maintenance, identifying low-turnover areas, and verifying connectivity. Without some kind of flow visualization, Utility Network doesn’t provide this operational clarity.

In geometric networks this capability already existed, so many water utilities expect to retain similar functionality after migrating to Utility Network. That’s why I’m very interested in tools like this sample, even if they are primarily designed for electric distribution.

Thanks again for the update and for confirming that the sample considers all subnetwork controllers. I completely understand that some optimizations were left out for clarity.