Arc Hydro: Project Development Best Practices

Arc Hydro consists of a data model, toolset, and workflows developed over the years to support specific geographic information system (GIS) implementations in water resources. The initial implementation of Arc Hydro was in 2002 with the data model. It was accompanied by an Arc Hydro book published by Esri Press and a set of about 30 tools. Since then, Arc Hydro has been used in many projects, and in the process, new tools and workflows have been developed. There are more than 300 Arc Hydro tools now, and they continue to be expanded.

This document captures what works well when implementing Arc Hydro projects. It is based on many years' experience in implementing ArcGIS and Arc Hydro projects around the world; providing support and training for Arc Hydro users; and receiving specific feedback from some of our Arc Hydro users (which is always welcome). There are other recommendations that could/should be made, and this document will be expanded in the future to include them as they become apparent. 

This document is not focused on a specific version of ArcGIS or Arc Hydro—it is a set of generic recommendations that transcend specific versions. Most of these recommendations will work well for any ArcGIS project, not just the ones based on Arc Hydro.

• Arc Hydro - Basic Information
• Arc Hydro Tools Installation
• Data Organization
• Improving the Arc Hydro implementation experience
• Debugging and Workarounds