Watercalcs
Estimates only — verify before relying on results. Terms of Use
v2.7
About the Continuous tab

Purpose. Size tanks, sumps, wet wells, balance tanks, and storage reservoirs that receive flow continuously at varying rates. Typical applications: post-filtration re-lift tanks, inter-stage balance tanks, raw water break tanks.

What it does. Runs a 1-minute time-step simulation of inflow vs pump outflow over the chosen window. Inflow tracks per-filter contribution and applies backwash disturbances per the plant-flow control philosophy you select. Outflow is either VSD-controlled (level setpoints with a %/min ramp constraint) or fixed-speed cycling.

How to use. Set the inflow (constant value or 24-hour profile), filter count, and pump configuration. Pick a scenario — single backwash, repeated BW cycles, or N+1 (one filter offline for the whole sim). Watch the volume and flow charts — overflow and dry-run minutes are flagged in the alerts. Pumps are sized correctly when peak utilisation is under ~95% and there are no overflow / dry-run events.

Inputs

Inflow
Single value for steady-state sizing, or a 24-hour profile that tiles across the sim period
ML/d
filters
Total in-service filters delivering to this tank
For a post-filter sump: surviving filters take the inlet load AND the offline filter drains down to the sump — total briefly exceeds plant flow by 1/N. The case most designs miss.
Backwash event
min
min
Total filter offline time = BW + drain/refill
min
Time to ramp from 0 to full filtration rate after return
Tank geometry
Volume between low-low and high-high alarm levels
m
For converting volume to level
Outlet pumps
L/s
pumps
VSD response
% vol
At or below this level pumps run at min speed
% vol
At or above this level pumps run at full speed
% cap
%/min
Soft-start rate; real VSDs are typically 60–200 %/min
Simulation
hours
hours
Time each filter runs between backwashes. BW interval = filter runtime ÷ filter count (used for the Repeated BW scenario)
min
Auto-calculated · rounded up to nearest 5 min

Scenario

Results

Single backwash
Tank volume over time
Inflow vs outflow
About the Washwater Tanks tab

Purpose. Size backwash settlement tanks for plants with a fill → settle → decant → desludge cycle. Calculates per-tank volume requirement, full cycle duration, lag between cycles, and minimum tank count needed so each tank empties before the next wash arrives at it.

What it does. Builds the cycle from a backwash batch fill, a settle hold, two decant rates separated by a switch level (% of fill volume), and a desludge phase. BW interval is derived from filter run time × filter count and rounded up to a practical 5-minute increment. Auto-sizing accepts up to 30 minutes of cycle overlap into the next interval (matches the Te Marua / Wainui sizing convention).

How to use. Set filter cycle, BW rate and duration, then tune settle / decant / desludge rates. Use the tank-count toggle for auto-size or manual override. Volume and Gantt charts show how multiple tanks stagger through their phases over a 24-hour window.

Inputs

Filters
filters
hours
min
Air scour + backwash + drain/refill
Backwash
m³/min
Backwash pump rate (filter rise rate × area)
min
Auto-calculated: rate × duration
Settle & decant cycle
min
m³/h
Higher rate while supernatant is clear
% vol
Switch to slower rate at this volume
m³/h
Slower rate near interface to avoid carryover
Desludge
% vol
Fraction of filled volume that becomes sludge
m³/h
Tank configuration
Auto: calculate min tanks for given volume. Manual: specify both.
Simulation
hours
% of vol
Volume above this triggers overflow alert

Results

Tank volumes over time
Tank cycle timeline
About the FTW / Recycle Tank tab

Purpose. Size a tank that receives discrete rapid fills and discharges slowly — without the settle / decant / desludge cycle of the Washwater tab. Typical applications: filter-to-waste (FTW) holding tanks where the first ~20 min of filter run is recycled to plant inlet, recycle tanks for slow side-stream return, and any holding tank capped on discharge rate.

What it does. Schedules multiple fill events across the simulation window (one per filter return, spaced by the filter cycle / N filters). Each event fills at the configured rate for the configured duration. Discharge runs continuously at either a fixed rate or as a percentage of plant inflow (so the return is bounded by the regulatory or process limit, typically ≤10% of plant flow).

How to use. Set fill event count, rate and duration. Choose discharge mode: Fixed rate for sized return pumps, or Proportional to plant inflow for ratio-controlled return where the constraint is a % of plant flow. In proportional mode the plant inflow can be a single constant or a custom 24-hour profile built from time segments (e.g. low overnight, two daytime peaks). The volume chart shows tank level over time; the flow chart shows fill, discharge, and (in proportional mode) the plant inflow reference. Adequate sizing means peak volume stays below capacity and the tank empties between events.

Inputs

Fill events
events
Typically one per filter per day (matches filter count)
m³/min
Filtrate rate during FTW (filter rate when returning to service)
min
Time directed to recycle tank per event
Discharge
m³/min
Constant return pump capacity
Tank
% full
Simulation
min
hours

Results

Tank volume over time
Fill and discharge rates
About the Report & Save tab

Purpose. Export results for documentation and resume work later.

Outputs.

  • PDF — uses the browser print dialog. Tick the tabs to include, click Open print preview, and choose "Save as PDF" as the destination.
  • CSV — comma-separated time-series of the selected tab simulations, ready to drop into Excel.
  • JSON — full project state (all inputs across every tab) saved as a single file you can reload later.

Save and resume. Use the JSON export to snapshot a project, then drag the file back in via the import card to restore every input across all tabs.

PDF report

Tick the tabs to include in the printed report. The browser print dialog will open with all selected tabs laid out for printing or saving as PDF.

CSV time-series

Download per-minute simulation traces for the selected tabs as separate CSV files. Useful for further analysis in Excel.

Save project (JSON)

Download all inputs across every tab as a single JSON file. Use the import card opposite to restore the project later.

Load project (JSON)

Restore inputs from a previously saved project file. Overwrites all current values across every tab.

Summary of current results

Snapshot of the headline outputs from each tab.