Hydrants

Hydrants are non-storage nodes where water can leave the network to satisfy consumer demands or enter the network as an inflow. Hydrants are also where chemical constituents can enter the network. The hydrant element in WaterGEMS/WaterCAD can be used to efficiently model the behavior of a hydrant. It has most of same properties as a junction node with two additional properties:

Hydrant Status where a user can set the hydrant to open or closed. The default value is Closed.
Include Lateral Losses where if a user selects True, can account for minor losses by specifying length diameter and minor losses in the hydrant element without the need to create a lateral and tap element.

A hydrant element can be placed at the tap point and the losses can be accounted for in the hydrant element or the lateral can be explicitly include in the model. While the latter approach is somewhat less efficient when hydrants and laterals are explicitly include in a GIS or other source file.

Applying a Zone to a Hydrant

You can group elements together by any desired criteria through the use of zones. A Zone can contain any number of elements and can include a combination of any or all element types. For more information on zones and their use, see Zones.

To Apply a Previously Created Zone to a Hydrant

Select the hydrant in the Drawing View.
In the Properties window, click the menu in the Zone field and select the zone you want.

Hydrant Flow Curves

Hydrant curves allow you to find the flow the distribution system can deliver at the specified residual pressure, helping you identify the system's capacity to deliver water that node in the network. See following topics for more information about Hydrant Flow Curves: