TUFLOW CATCH Tutorial M01 Project Initialisation QGIS

Introduction

QGIS is used to configure the TUFLOW CATCH project with the TUFLOW CATCH plugin. For installation, see TUFLOW CATCH QGIS Plugin.

Suggestion: Missing hyperlink for “TUFLOW CATCH QGIS Plugin”.

There are three steps to set up the TUFLOW CATCH project:

1. Define the QGIS Project Coordinate Reference System (CRS).
2. Use the TUFLOW CATCH plugin to create the model folder structure and to write empty GIS files for model inputs.
3. Set up the QGIS workspace to contain the DEM of the site.

Coordinate Reference System (CRS)

Define the CRS, also called 'Projection', for the QGIS workspace:

1. Open QGIS.
2. Go to Project > Properties…
3. In the CRS tab, type ‘WGS 84 / UTM Zone 60S’.
4. Select the matching projection in the 'Predefined Coordinate Reference Systems' section.
5. Click ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’.
6. Ensure that the projection is set correctly by viewing the bottom right hand corner of the workspace. It should read ‘EPSG:32760’.
   
   
   
   

TUFLOW CATCH Plugin

Create the TUFLOW CATCH project:

1. Go to Processing > Toolbox from the top drop down menu options to open the Processing Toolbox.
2. Go to TUFLOW Catch in the processing tool list and select create page 'Create TUFLOW Catch Project'. This opens the dialog shown below.
   • Project Name: TC01
   • Project Folder: Click '...', and navigate to the TUFLOW_CATCH_Module_01\Modelling folder.
   • Project CRS: Click the drop down menu and select 'Project CRS: EPSG:32760 - WGS 84 / UTM zone 60S’.
   • TUFLOW HPC Executable: Click '...', and navigate to the exe\TUFLOW\2025.0.2 folder. Select TUFLOW_iSP_w64.exe.
           → Suggestion: exe\TUFLOW\2025.0.3 folder.
           → Explanation: Should this point to the latest available release of TUFLOW Classic/HPC at the current time of writing (e.g. 2025.0.2 vs 2025.0.3)? Note current exe folder provided to users references (exe\TUFLOW\2025-02-ED\TUFLOW_iSP_w64.exe).
   • TUFLOW FV Executable: Click '...', and navigate to the exe\TUFLOWFV\2025.0.0 folder. Select TUFLOWFV.exe.
   • Default GIS Format: Click the drop down menu and select 'SHP'.
   • Tick on 'Create Empty Files', 'Create Folder Structure' and 'Setup Control File Templates'
   • Control File Templates: Click '...', and tick on: TUFLOW CATCH Control file (.tcc), Batch file (.bat) and ESTRY Control file (.ecf). Ensure all other files are ticked off.
3. Click 'Run' and a console window will open. This creates the TUFLOW CATCH folder structure, the projection files, the empty GIS files and template control files.
4. Once the tool has finished, click 'Close'.
   
   File:Image of tool dialog
   
   

The TUFLOW CATCH folder structure will now be set up in the TUFLOW_CATCH_Module_01\Modelling folder. The template files TC01_001.tcc, Demonstration.bat and TC01_001.ecf will be in their respective folders. Note that the Modelling\TUFLOW folder still contains all files from TUFLOW Tutorial Module 6 (part 3).

QGIS Workspace

Set up the QGIS workspace to contain the model elevation data, and save the workspace:

1. In Windows File Explorer, navigate to the TUFLOW\model\grid folder. Drag and drop the DEM.tif file into QGIS.
2. Change the symbology of the DEM:
   • In the QGIS Layers panel, right click the DEM file and select 'Properties'.
   • From the Symbology tab, under 'Band Rendering' select the following options:

   • Render type: Singleband pseudocolor
   • Color ramp: Spectral
   • Color ramp: Invert Color Ramp
   • Mode: Equal Interval

   • From the Transparency tab, set the Global Opacity to 75%.
   • Click 'Apply' and 'OK'.
   
   
   
   
3. Create a hillshade of the DEM:
   • Right click on the DEM file in the QGIS Layers Panel and select 'Duplicate Layer'.
   • Right click on the DEM_copy and select 'Rename Layer'. Rename the layer to DEM_Hillshade.
   • Right click on the DEM_Hillshade and select 'Properties'.
   • From the Symbology tab, under 'Band Rendering' select the following options:

   • Render type: Hillshade
   • Z Factor: 3

   • Click 'Apply' and 'OK'.
   
   
   
   
4. Save the QGIS workspace:
   • Go to Project > Save As.
   • Navigate to the TUFLOW_CATCH_Module_01 folder and save the workspace as CATCH_M01.qgz.

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