Animating a Water Age Analysis

Any referenced datasets can be downloaded from "Module downloads" in the module overview.

Step-by-step:

After a water age analysis has been conducted, you can view the results as a graph and as an animation of the map display.

  1. Open the appropriate .aprx file in ArcGIS Pro.
  2. From the ribbon, InfoWater Pro tab, Project panel, click Initialize.
  3. In the network map, select a junction.
  4. In the Model Explorer, Attribute tab, click Graph.
    The Model Explorer with the Graph command called out and selected
  5. In the Report Manager dialog box, change the graph parameter to Water Age.

Notice the initial rise in water age. At time zero, all pipes are full, and the age is showing as zero because an initial water quality value was not entered.

  1. Click Hide.
    The Report Manager dialog box with the parameter changed to Water Age and the Hide command selected
  2. In the Model Explorer, expand Output and select 184.00 hrs.
    The Model Explorer with the Output drop-down expanded and 184.00 hrs selected.
  3. On the ribbon, InfoWater Pro tab, View panel, click Map Display.
    The ribbon InfoWater Pro tab, View panel, with Map Display called out.
  4. In the Map Display dialog box, set the Element Type as Junction.
  5. Set the Data Source to Active Output.
  6. Set Data Field to Water Age (hrs).
  7. Set Classes to 5.
  8. Click Set Breaks.
  9. In the table, set the values for the Break column to 48, 72, 96, 120, and 240.
  10. Click Apply.
    The Map Display dialog box, Junction Element Type, with other settings configured and Apply selected.
  11. Set the Element Type to Pipe.
  12. Set the Data Source to Active Output.
  13. Set the Data Field to Water Age (hrs).
  14. Set Classes to 5.
  15. Click Set Breaks.
  16. In the table, Size column, set all 5 rows to 2.
  17. In the Break column, set the values to 48, 72, 96, 120, and 240.
  18. Click Apply.
  19. Click Close.
    The Map Display dialog box, Pipe Element Type, with other settings configured and Apply selected.
  20. In the Model Explorer, set the Output timebar to a different time.

Notice the colors update in the map to reflect the current output values.

TIP: In large models, dragging the timebar may cause the map to freeze as it loads in the new data corresponding to the timestep. You can disable Refresh Output to prevent this, but you would need to re-enable it to update the map at your desired timestep.

  1. Drag the Output timebar to 180:00 hrs.
  2. In the Model Explorer, Command Center tab, expand the Tools folder.
  3. Double-click Animation Editor.
    The Model Explorer, Command Center tab, with the Tools folder expanded and Animation Editor called out.
  4. In the Animation Editor dialog box, click Save Animation to File.
  5. In the text field, enter, “AGE”.
  6. Click Create.
    The Animation Editor dialog box with the text field filled and Create selected.

A screenshot is taken of the thematic map at each output timestep. This takes a few minutes to complete. Be aware that, if you did not zoom to the extents of the model, then your animation only includes the features that were in the viewable map area when the animation was created.

  1. In the Tools folder, double-click Animation Viewer.
  2. In the Animation Viewer dialog box, click Delay Setting.
    The Animation Viewer dialog box with Delay Setting called out
  3. In the Display Delay dialog box, set Delay Time to 250 milliseconds.
  4. Click OK.

TIP: When playing the animation, for optimal results, the viewer should be the same size and dimensions as the map area when the animation was created.

  1. Click Fast Forward.

Notice how the colors display the water age within the junctions and pipes over time. As the animation plays, you can easily distinguish the areas where the water is moving well. The darker, more red colors show locations where water may be stagnating. Water pooling up for too long at a specific location can lead to water quality issues, like microbial growth and increased disinfectant byproduct formation. These are the areas where high water age mitigation strategies should be considered.

  1. Close the Animation Viewer.
  2. On the ribbon, InfoWater Pro tab, View panel, click Reset Map Display.
    The ribbon, InfoWater Pro tab, View panel with Reset Map Display called out.