ArcHydro Problem Solvers

[MarkBoucher]

This is a collection of actions I've learned to take when I'm having problems with ArcHydro or HEC-GeoHMS. I'll add to the list when I find more.

1. Make sure the Geoprocessing extents include the whole project: Go to the Geoprocessing menu>Environments...>Processing Extent. Under Processing Extent choose a layer that you know covers the full extent of the waters you are processing and click OK. This should ensure that the processing extent is large enough to do what you want.


2. Delete everything you can in your temp folder: Mine is C:\Users\mboucher\AppData\Local\Temp. Get out of ArcMap first to clear temp files related to your project. You can do this without getting out of ArcMap through the ArcHydro Toolbar under ApUtilities>Additional Utilities>Clean User's Temp Folder.


3. Make sure your Target Locations are correct: Under ApUtilities>Set Target Locations, make sure the HydroConfig and they GeoHMSConfig Targets make sense. The raster data should go to the project folder vector data to a geodatabase. The raster data will go to a folder in the project folder with the dataframe name and the vector data to a feature data set with the dataframe name. Through the ArcHydro Toolbar under there is a function to reset the target locations: ApUtilities>Additional Utilities>Reset Target Locations. I've not tested this to see if it corrects everything.


4. When working on a complicated model, don't use the model mxd for your presentation map. It just adds baggage to an already "heavy" mxd.

If you have additional actions or clarifications on these, please chime in.

[MarkBoucher]

I've never worked with deranged basins, or "create sink structures", so I'm not sure I'd be of any help. Sorry.

[Siri_JodhaKhalsa]

I seem to be digging myself into a deeper hole. Can't finish an archydro project due to the tools throwing errors or ArcMap crashing. I keep starting clean projects in new directories, following your advice, hoping something will magically get resolved, but now merely attempting to set default locations causes ArcMap to crash. Installed 10.4.With last project I got all the way through defining the catchment grid but it exited with error at the polygon processing step. I've cleared my temp folder, have lots of RAM and diskspace. I've successfully been creating catchments for years.

[Siri_JodhaKhalsa]

the maddening thing is that when ArcHydro crashes map there is (apparently) no log to diagnose what went wrong. I'm getting the impression it has something to do with writing or modifying the files that it creates. For example, I can get through the processing step all the way to creating the catchment polygons. The processing takes several minutes, then ArcMap crashes ("encounters a serious error"). However, the "catchment" feature layer is in fact created, but it's attribute table doesn't have HydroIDs in it. No amount of coaxing will get hydrotools to execute past this step.

[Siri_JodhaKhalsa]

p.s. I was running on an HP desktop, 8 cores, 32 GB RAM. Thinking the problems were somehow tied to my installation, I began running ArcGIS 10.4 on a Parallels VM on my macbook. Exact same behavior - continual crashes. Makes me think the problem began with recent versions.  I was running hydrotools under 10.1 and 10.2 with no problems

[MattNash]

Hi Siri, I am having the exact same problem.  I have been using ArcHydro for years, and am usually able to troubleshoot problems that come up, but this one has me stumped.  Just last week I performed some ArcHydro basin analyses that went smoothly.  The day before yesterday, the IT folks installed ArcGIS 10.4 on my machine.  I then downloaded and installed ArcHydro tools for 10.4, and everything went fine up to creation of catchment polygons.  Complete ArcMap crash.  A catchment feature class was created, but like with your experience, the HydroID field is all "Null".  I started again from scratch and had the same result.  

The basins I am working on are generally small.  Prior to 10.4, most ArcHydro operations were taking no more than a couple minutes.  If you've found some solution to this I'd appreciate hearing about it.

[MattNash]

On the main Arc Hydro Tools toolbar, under the Attribute Tools dropdown, is a "Add Hydro ID" tool.  I tried using it to populate the HydroID field in the catchment polygon layer.  Instant ArcMap crash, with the unhelpful and unapologetic "Send ESRI an Error Report" dialogue box.  

[MattNash]

I downloaded and installed ArcHydro 10.4.0.3, everything works now.  

[MarkBoucher]

I just today had to upgrade to 10.4. I also downloaded the 10.4 Arc Hydro install and am about to install it. If I notice the same problems I'll let you know.

[Siri_JodhaKhalsa]

Thanks, Mark. The community is grateful for the service you provide.  BTW, I am processing large basins (Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, Amu Darya, Syr Darya, separately, using a 90m DEM) so I wonder whether I'm running into issues with the attribute tables being too large. I don't recall running into problems when I process small basins.

[MarkBoucher]

My projects are not so large. I don't know if the large size of the tables causes problems. I have heard, and do practice normally, putting data in geodatabases to reduce the instability issues that can come when using simple shape files.