OptiDamTool 0.3.4

A Python package for analytics in dam management workflows.

OptiDamTool

About

OptiDamTool is a Python package designed for analytics and decision-making in dam management. Conceptualized and released on May 29, 2025, the package offers tools for modeling and analyzing hydrological flow across a network of connected dams.

Leveraging functionalities from the open-source GeoAnalyze package, OptiDamTool provides classes that that assist users in preparing inputs for simulating water erosion and sediment transport, and supports decision-making in dam network deployment aimed at environmental sustainability.

Classes

OptiDamTool.WatemSedem

Provides tools to prepare inputs for the WaTEM/SEDEM model, which simulates soil erosion, sediment transport capacity, and sediment delivery to stream networks at the watershed scale. While this class includes built-in methods for generating most required inputs, it is still recommended to consult the GeoAnalyze documentation for any geospatial operations not covered by its methods.

• Converts Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data into the stream files required for the WaTEM/SEDEM model with the river routing = 1 extension enabled.
• Extends input rasters beyond the model region and fills NoData cells with valid values, as WaTEM/SEDEM does not support NoData.
• Performs reprojection, clipping, resolution rescaling, and reclassification of rasters.
• Processes open-source Esri land cover data.
• Generates a land management factor raster from land cover inputs.
• Computes the product of soil erodibility and rainfall erosivity factors.
• Converts raster files to the Idrisi raster format, with the .rst file extension.
• Generates effective upstream drainage area polygons for selected dam locations within a stream network.

OptiDamTool.Network

Offers methods for establishing hydrological and sedimentation flow connectivity between dams using the stream network.

• Identifies connectivity between adjacent upstream and downstream dams.
• Computes the controlled upstream drainage areas for selected dam locations within a stream network.
• Estimates sediment inflow to dams based on controlled upstream drainage areas.
• Simulates storage dynamics of individual dams in a system due to sedimentation, using a mass balance approach.
• Generates updated dam location points and their corresponding controlled drainage polygons when dams become inactive during system-wide storage dynamics simulation.

OptiDamTool.Analysis

Provides methods for analyzing simulation outputs and generating insights.

• Integrates sediment delivery to stream segments.
• Generates stream shapefiles with comprehensive information of each segment's drainage area and sediment input.
• Summarizes total sediment dynamics for the model region.
• Assigns a Coordinate Reference System and the default GTiff driver to output Idrisi raster files from a WaTEM/SEDEM simulation.

Installation

To install, use pip:

pip install OptiDamTool

Quickstart

A brief example of how to start:

import OptiDamTool
watemsedem = OptiDamTool.WatemSedem()
network = OptiDamTool.Network()

Documentation

For detailed information, see the documentation.

Support

If this project has been helpful and you'd like to contribute to its development, consider sponsoring with a coffee! Support will help maintain, improve, and expand this open-source project, ensuring continued valuable tools for the community.