SacCalc: The Hydrologic Calculator
The Sacramento County Hydrologic Calculator, SacCalc, is a Microsoft Windows application that makes it easy to comply with the Sacramento County hydrology standards. It replaces the DOS-based computer program SACPRE. David Ford Consulting Engineers, Inc. developed SacCalc under contract with the County.
The calculator program is complete and ready for use.
CD-ROMS are available on request by email or you can download the program here.
Features
SacCalc has the following features to help you complete
your hydrologic design:
- Graphical user interfaces for watershed layout and design storm selection.
- Wizards that guide you in specifying basin parameters such as land use and lag computation components.
- Diversions and return flows, detention ponds with pumps.
- The Nolte method. Same SacCalc project file can contain both HEC-1 and Nolte method specifications.
- XML file format, output to HEC-DSS, and COM API for export to and customization by other programs: your hard work isn't locked up for SacCalc's use only.
- HEC-1L: extra-large array version of HEC-1.
- Comprehensive Help file that includes guidance from the Hydrology Standards and links to documents on the County's Web site.
- Developed and tested by registered professional engineers with practical design experience.
Requirements
SacCalc runs on computers meeting current office standards. Specifically:
- An Intel x86-type processor PC with Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows XP. SacCalc is not supported (and should not be run) on Windows 3.1, NT, 95, 98, or non-x86 platforms. Running SacCalc on unsupported operating systems could crash your computer.
- A Zip file viewer and current versions of Windows Installer, Internet Explorer, Microsoft XML, and Windows Scripting. Windows 2000 and XP come with these items, or you can download them from Microsoft. Please consult your system administrator or knowledgeable colleague before modifying your computer's configuration, especially if you don't understand what these things are.
- Older or preliminary versions of SacCalc must be removed (uninstalled).
Downloads
Download SacCalc software here. Simply download the following installation packages by clicking the hyperlinks. If your computer is up to date with current Windows components, you just need to install the main SacCalc program from the Zip file. You can run some of the installation programs directly (no need to save them to disk first). If your computer operates on a network, you may need "Administrator priviledges" to do this.
- SacCalc version 1.1 (1/5/04) installation disc Zip file. Simply unzip this file to a temporary folder and run setup.exe. If you don't understand what this means, please consult a colleague who has software setup experience.
- If needed, installation package for the Windows Installer version 2.0. Most Windows computers have this already.
- If needed, Microsoft XML 3.0, Windows Scripting for Windows 2000, or Windows Scripting for Windows NT. By the way, these files from Microsoft have digital signatures. Do not run them if the digital signature is missing or corrupt.
- If needed, Microsoft Internet Explorer, current version.
- (Optional) SCQVue installer. Beta version of SacCalc QVue, a program for viewing plots of SacCalc flow hydrographs and other HEC-1 output time series.
Sample files: The following downloads are not executables. They are example SacCalc project files. Download them to a folder on your disk (such as My Documents), then double-click them to open them in SacCalc.
Reminder: to save files to your disk, you should right-click the links above and choose Save as.
Bugs
SacCalc has been under extensive development and testing since 2001, and there are no unresolved bugs. Therefore, please notify us at once if you suspect a bug.
Before you report a program bug, please review applicable sections of the Drainage Manual. Then, if you are using the HEC-1 method, please review the HEC-1 input file generated by SacCalc, especially the comment cards that SacCalc includes. Numerous consultants offer HEC-1 support and HEC-1 manuals for purchase. Run a report of your SacCalc project and look over it carefully; perhaps you entered the wrong value. Also, SacCalc may not be able to run HEC-1 if you specified input values that are beyond hydrologically reasonable limits, even if stock HEC-1 outside of SacCalc appears to give results. Consult a professional engineer. All right, then, if you still suspect a program bug, please send an e-mail message to the Development Review & Hydrology Section staff, the owners of the program. Include an example ".scalc" file as an attachment.
