WINFAP – FEH 3

Significant developments have been made to the industry-standard WINFAP-FEH flood estimation software.

WINFAP-FEH 3, launched on 9 September 2009, incorporates recent scientific advances (Kjeldsen et al, 2008) to the Flood Estimation Handbook statistical methods, and offers improved functionality and ease of use.

WINFAP-FEH 3 is the most up-to-date tool for applying FEH statistical procedures for flood frequency estimation in the UK. With this software you can quickly estimate a flood peak of a given rarity at both gauged and ungauged sites:

At the gauged site you can apply flood frequency analysis techniques to either gauged annual maximum and/or peaks-over-threshold flood peak data where available.
At the ungauged site you can automatically create a pooling group of similar gauged sites based on comparison of FEH CD-ROM 3 catchment descriptors. Flood frequency curves are then created through analysis of the pooling group flood peak data.

What's new in WINFAP 3

New science

The new science incorporated within the software includes:

Enhanced single site analysis
The new FEH statistical procedures have two different methods for weighting each member of the pooling group. If the target site has a gauged record, a higher weighting is given to this; if the site is urban or ungauged, the weightings are determined solely by similarity index.
Improved estimation of QMED from catchment descriptors
The equation used to estimate QMED from catchment descriptors has been improved through detailed analysis.
Updated QMED adjustment from donor gauges
The equation used to adjust QMED at the ungauged site using data from a gauged record has been improved.

Donor QMED adjustment

New catchment descriptors (FPEXT, CENTROID)
New catchment descriptors have been developed for use in the new methods, and all are to be available on the forthcoming FEH CD-ROM 3. Two new catchment descriptors are used in WINFAP-FEH 3. Floodplain extent (FPEXT) is used in the pooling group development. The suitability for donor adjustment of QMED is determined by proximity as measured using the catchment centroid (CENTROID).
Enhanced pooling procedures
A new procedure has been implemented for development of the pooling group. The more detailed procedure no longer relies on pooling group ranking, but calculates separate weighting equations for 2nd and 3rd order L-Moments, based on record length and similarity to the target catchment.

Pooling group development

Recommended pooled record length
Updated recommendations for the record length advise that a standard 500 years is used regardless of the target return period. WINFAP-FEH 3 implements this protocol as standard practice, but with the flexibility to change the record length if required by the user.
New urban adjustment method
Further work undertaken by Kjeldsen (2009) has updated the urban adjustment methods. These are available in WINFAP-FEH 3 together with the existing methods.

Urban adjustment options

User-interface improvements

WINFAP-FEH 3 has been re-engineered to produce a significantly more user-friendly interface and logical menu structure, including:

Licensing via USB 'dongle'
WINFAP-FEH 3 will be licensed using a USB 'dongle', allowing greater flexibility to the user and a more simple installation.
Intuitive and user-friendly menus
WINFAP-FEH 3 has been overhauled to provide a user-friendly interface and more logical menu structures. The software is much easier to use as a result.

Welcome screen

Improved pooling group development and flood frequency curve wizard
The pooling-group wizard has been developed to provide simple options to implement the new pooling group methodology. Pooling-group forms provide enhanced comparison of catchment descriptors and flood data.
Full integration with FEH CD-ROM 3
The standard catchment descriptor file for transferring information from the FEH CD-ROM has been updated to include the new catchment descriptors, taking the form of a CD3 file.
Calculator tool for estimating flood characteristics
A calculator allows easy determination of return period for a specific peak flow, and vice versa.
Safe editing of catchment descriptors and flood data
Safe editing modes now protect the accidental overwriting of catchment descriptors and flood data.
Integration with the HiFlows-UK website
WINFAP-FEH 3 links to the HiFlows-UK website to allow quick assessment of gauging station quality when used in pooling or donor QMED adjustment.
Copy and paste functionality
WINFAP-FEH 3 provides the ability to copy from integrated tables and paste directly into reports for accurate audit trails of design flood estimation.

Safe editing of flood data

Purchasing WINFAP-FEH 3

WINFAP-FEH 3 is available for purchase/upgrade from our online shop. WINFAP-FEH 2 and WINFAP-FEH 1 licence holders can upgrade to WINFAP-FEH 3 at reduced rates with provision of old licence details. A discounted educational version is also available for teaching purposes at recognised academic institutions.

Support and maintenance

Annual support and maintenance for WINFAP-FEH 3 may be purchased from our online shop.

Please note that this will not cover support and maintenance for WINFAP-FEH 2. From 9 September 2009 we will no longer renew or provide new support and maintenance contracts for WINFAP-FEH 2 and from 8 September 2010 we will no longer provide licence key support for WINFAP-FEH 2.

Training

WINFAP-FEH 3 software training courses are available from September 2009 to help customers get the most out of this new software.

Technical specification for WINFAP-FEH 3.