MUSIC Guidelines

Recommended input parameters and modelling

approaches for MUSIC users
Draft January 2016 update
Table of contents

1. Introduction 1
2. Purpose of document 1
3. Climate data 2
4. Hydrologic routing 4
5. Source nodes 4
6. General guidelines for treatment nodes 10
7. Swales 12
8. Gross pollutant traps (GPTs) 13
9. Sediment ponds (labelled “sedimentation basin” in MUSIC) 13
10. Wetlands 14
11. Lakes 16
12. Bioretention systems 17
13. Permeable pavement 18
14. Imported data nodes 18
15. Generic treatment nodes 18
16. Use of secondary links 18
17. Exporting results 20
18. Submission requirements for MUSIC modelling 22

MUSIC Guidelines Melbourne Water i

Introduction

1. Introduction
MUSIC is software that simulates rainfall, stormwater runoff and pollution. It also
simulates pollution removal and flow reduction through stormwater management
systems such as sediment ponds, wetlands, bioretention and harvesting.

Stormwater management minimum requirements are set by the Victorian

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Best Practice Environmental
Management Guidelines (BPEMG). The latest BPEMG information is available via the
EPA Victoria website:

http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/business-and-industry/guidelines/water-guidance/urban-
stormwater-bpemg

Melbourne Water, Councils and EPA may require different stormwater management
levels depending on the receiving environment.

The design intent for any treatment system must be clearly documented and
discussed with Melbourne Water early in the conceptual design stage. Melbourne
Water uses MUSIC to assess the impacts of proposed development against
performance targets. If methods or models other than MUSIC are used, the designer
must demonstrate to Melbourne Water’s satisfaction that performance targets can be
achieved.

2. Purpose of document
This document provides guidance on modelling approaches and input parameters for
MUSIC that are recommended by Melbourne Water. The MUSIC User Manual is also
useful for building a model.

These guidelines support people submitting MUSIC models to Melbourne Water.

The objectives are to:
 Ensure a consistent, fair and evidence based approach is applied to MUSIC
models.
 Be specific to the climate and geology of the Melbourne region
 Reduce the time taken by Melbourne Water in assessing models.

Users are expected to have an understanding of water sensitive urban design

principles and approaches and have knowledge and training in the use of the MUSIC
software.

MUSIC Guidelines Melbourne Water 1

 This document is a modelling guideline, and should be read in conjunction with
appropriate design guidelines such as:
 WSUD Engineering Procedures: Stormwater (Melbourne Water, 2005) and
 Melbourne Water Constructed Wetlands Design Manual (Melbourne Water,
2014)
MUSIC can help validate a design, but is not the only validation. Many other
requirements are outlined in the above documents. Other referral authorities,
including Local Government, may have their own requirements for MUSIC modelling.

3. Climate data

Rainfall period
Climate data including rainfall and evapotranspiration are essential inputs to MUSIC.
MUSIC is a continuous simulation model and requires an input time series of rainfall
data. Data is available from the Bureau of Meteorology at a 6 minute timestep for a
number of gauges across Melbourne Water’s service area. The selection of a rainfall
gauge and period should consider:

 local rainfall patterns for the site of interest

 completeness of record
 representation of a range of conditions including wet and dry periods and a
variety of storm events of varying size and antecedent dry periods
 purpose of the model
The choice of meteorological data is a balance between the level of accuracy required
and the time and effort required for modelling. The following levels are recommended:
 1 year MW reference period: Simple concept designs and preliminary
modelling of stormwater treatment systems for urban areas with an impervious
fraction of at least 40% with no harvesting of rainwater or stormwater.
 10 year period: A minimum period of 10 years for:
o functional and detailed designs
o all wetland design
o modelling of stormwater treatment trains including rainwater tanks or
stormwater reuse
o modelling of areas including significant areas of pre-development, rural
or pervious land.
o Analysis of flow frequency objectives such as number of flow days,
stream erosion index and flow frequency curves
 20+ year period: Municipal and larger integrated water management
strategies, waterway flow analyses, analysis of large pervious catchments (>
100 ha).

2 Melbourne Water MUSIC Guidelines

Melbourne Water has developed reference rainfall templates for 1 and 10 year
periods. The templates have been selected to reflect the rainfall gradient across
metropolitan Melbourne.

All models must use either Melbourne Water’s recommended rainfall templates or
appropriate local rainfall. Use of alternative rainfall data is permitted if it can be
demonstrated that the selected rainfall data is of a high quality and representative of
the area to which it is being applied.

The rainfall distribution map below can be used to find the best weather station for a
site; a large-scale version of the map and the rainfall templates are available on the
Melbourne Water guidelines webpage. Rainfall data is available from the Bureau of
Meteorology www.bom.gov.au.

Figure 1. Greater Melbourne Rainfall Distribution

MUSIC Guidelines Melbourne Water 3

 Timestep

All models must be run at a 6 minute timestep where this is possible. The use of
longer timesteps can result in significant errors and increase the variability of results.
Where a different timestep is adopted it must comply with the following:

The timestep must be equal to or less than:

1. the Time of Concentration of the smallest Sub-Catchment, and
2. the shortest detention time (under design flows) of the treatment measures
being modelled.

Circumstances where a different modelling timestep may be appropriate include:

1. concept level modelling of systems that have long times of concentration and
detention times, such as rivers or lakes, where no representative 6 minute data
is available
2. where a larger timestep is required to interface with another model and allow
consistent rainfall to be used. Depending on the outputs required, it may be
possible to run MUSIC at a 6 minute time step and export results at a longer
time step.

4. Hydrologic routing
Hydrologic routing should be used where appropriate to reflect the Time of
Concentration of the Catchment as calculated using a recognised procedure. Routing
can be ignored to reduce the complexity of the model. Not using routing will usually
result in the performance of treatment systems being underestimated. Routing
should be applied (or not applied) consistently across a model; otherwise timing of
peak flows (and possible coincident peaks) will not be modelled correctly.

5. Source nodes

Source node selection (urban, forest, agricultural etc)

Urban nodes are recommended for most modelling purposes to represent existing
urban, new development and parkland areas. Forest nodes are only recommended for
use when representing old growth or well established forested areas. The agricultural
node has elevated nutrient concentrations and can be used to represent actively
farmed areas.

Source nodes can be split by surface type (e.g. roads, roofs). Input parameters for
stormwater pollutant concentrations (other than default values) are listed in Table 3
on page 9. Other parameters may be accepted if there is suitable published data to
support this - subject to prior agreement by Melbourne Water.

4 Melbourne Water MUSIC Guidelines

Impervious fraction

The “effective impervious” percentage (portion of impervious area that drains directly
to the receiving waterway via a constructed drainage system) must be used. Ideally,
the effective imperviousness fraction would be calibrated using local rainfall and
stream flow data, but in most cases this is not possible. The preferred method for
catchments smaller than around 10 hectares is to physically measure the proportion
of impervious surfaces that are effectively connected to the drainage system. An
example of physical measurement of effective imperviousness is provided below:

1 2 3 4

Figure 2- Impervious fraction calculation example

Property 1 has all downpipes charged (as in Figure 1 of Technical Solution Sheet 4.05:
Drainage (Below Ground Stormwater) – VBA 2014) to an aboveground planter box
raingarden in the front yard. The roof connected to the raingarden must still be
counted as “directly connected”. It also has a 15m2 paved area in the backyard that
drains to an equivalent area of surrounding grass, not connected to the drainage
system.

Property 2 has 30% of the roof draining to a rainwater tank that is connected to a
toilet for flushing. The roof connected to the tank must still be counted as “directly
connected”. The back yard has an uncovered wooden deck that allows rainwater to
fall through to the ground below. This deck is not counted as an impervious surface.

Property 3 has additional paved area in the front yard connected to the drainage
system and a 15m2 paved area in the backyard that drains to an equivalent area of
surrounding grass, not connected to the drainage system.

MUSIC Guidelines Melbourne Water 5

 Property 4 has synthetic grass in the front yard that connects to the drainage system.

Total Area 3000 m2

Impervious Area Directly Connected
All Roofs 744 m2
Road 933 m2
Driveways 387 m2
Footpath 104 m2
House 4 synthetic turf 38 m2
House 3 additional front yard paving 38 m2
Impervious Area Not Directly Connected
House 1 & 3 backyard paving 30 m2
Total Impervious Fraction = 76%
(744+933+387+104+38+38+30)/3000
Effective Impervious Fraction (to be used in MUSIC) = 75%
(744+933+387+104+38+38)/3000
Table 1 - Effective Impervious calculation example

Note – All impervious areas that drain to WSUD features, such as the raingarden and
rainwater tank in this example, must be counted in the effective impervious fraction.

For larger catchments, the following table indicating the fraction effective impervious
for different land uses can be used as a guide. Any significant deviation from the
figures in the table below must be supported by relevant information (i.e. long term
flow data that enables calibration of the model).

6 Melbourne Water MUSIC Guidelines

Zone Zone Brief Description / Normal Typical
Code Examples Range Value
Residential
Zones:
Residential Growth RGZ, Large Residential. (Allotment 0.50 – 0.80 0.60
Zone, General GRZ size 601m2 – 1000m2)
Residential Zone & Standard densities. (Allotment 0.70 – 0.80 0.75
2 2
and Neighbourhood NRZ size 300m – 600m )
Residential Zone High densities. (Allotment size 0.80 – 0.95 0.85
2
<300m )
Low Density LDRZ Allotment size >1001m 2 0.10 – 0.30 0.20
Residential Zone
Mixed Use Zone MUZ Mix of residential, commercial, 0.6 – 0.90 0.75
industrial and hospitals.
Township Zone TZ Small townships with no 0.40 – 0.70 0.55
specific zoning structures
Industrial Zones
Industrial 1 Zone IN1Z Main zone to be applied in 0.70 – 0.95 0.90
most industrial areas
Industrial 2 Zone IN2Z Large industrial zones away 0.70 – 0.95 0.90
from residential areas
Industrial 3 Zone IN3Z Buffer between Zone 1 and 0.70 – 0.95 0.90
Zone 3
- for garden suppliers/nurseries 0.30 – 0.60 0.50
- for quarries 0.10 – 0.30 0.20
Commercial
Zones
Commercial 1 Zone C1Z Main zone to be applied in 0.70 – 0.95 0.90
most commercial areas
Commercial 2 Zone C2Z Offices, manufacturing 0.70 – 0.95 0.90
industries and associated uses
Rural Zones
Rural Zone RUZ Main zone to be applied in 0.05 – 0.20 0.10
most rural areas
Rural Living Zone RLZ Predominantly residential use 0.10 – 0.30 0.20
in rural areas
Public Land
Zones:
Public Use Zone
- Education PU2Z - schools and universities 0.60 – 0.80 0.70

MUSIC Guidelines Melbourne Water 7

 Zone Zone Brief Description / Normal Typical
Code Examples Range Value
- Service and Utility PU1Z power lines, pipe tracks and 0.00 – 0.10 0.05
retarding basins
- reservoirs 0.40 – 0.60 0.50
- Health and PU3Z - hospitals 0.80 – 0.90 0.85
community
- Transport PU4Z - railways and tramways 0.60 – 0.80 0.70
- Cemetery/ PU5Z - cemeteries and crematoriums 0.50 – 0.70 0.60
Crematorium
Local Government PU6Z - Libraries, sports complexes 0.50 – 0.90 0.70
and offices/depots.
- Other Public Use PU7Z - Museums 0.50 – 0.80 0.60
Public Park and PPRZ Main zone for public open 0.00 – 0.20 0.10
Recreation Zone space, incl golf courses.
Public Conservation PCRZ Protection of natural 0.00 – 0.05 0.00
and Resource Zone environment or resources
Road Zone – RDZ1 Major roads and freeways 0.60 – 0.90 0.70
Category 1
Road Zone – RDZ2 Secondary and local roads 0.50 – 0.80 0.60
Category 2
Special Purpose
Zones
Special Use Zone SUZn Development for specific 0.50 – 0.80 0.60
purposes
Comprehensive CDZn Large and complex 0.40 – 0.80 0.50
Development Zone developments – residential
Urban Floodway UFZ Land identified as part of an 0.00 – 0.05 0.00
Zone active floodway
Capital City Zone CCZn Special use Zone for land in 0.70 – 0.90 0.80
Melbourne’s central city
Docklands Zone DZn Special use Zone for land in 0.70 – 0.90 0.80
Docklands area
Commonwealth CA Army Barracks, CSIRO 0.50 – 0.80 0.60
Land
Table 2 - Effective Impervious values for source nodes

Note: Values included in this table are not runoff coefficients and should not be used
as runoff coefficients for flood modelling.

8 Melbourne Water MUSIC Guidelines

Soil parameters

In MUSIC the pervious area properties default to Brisbane properties. These will need
to be altered to reflect Melbourne properties. Any deviation from the Melbourne
parameters listed here should be described in the report provided with the model.
Supporting evidence should also be provided.

The soil input parameters recommended here are based on a review of twelve
catchment calibrations undertaken for Melbourne catchments in recent years.

Soil Store Capacity = 120mm Field Capacity = 50mm

Pollutant concentration data

The default values provided for TSS, TP and TN should generally be used, unless
additional data is available. Any new data must be published and demonstrate that
there is a significance difference between the new data and the default data. In
models where roofs, paved areas and the remaining vegetated areas of urban areas
are split into separate source nodes, the following guideline values will be accepted:

Pollutant Surface Type Wet Weather Dry Weather

Mean (log SD (log Mean (log SD (log
mg/L) mg/L) mg/L) mg/L)
Roof 1.301 0.333 n/a n/a
Road and paved areas 2.431 0.333 n/a n/a
SS Urban area not covered
by roof, road or paved 1.900 0.333 0.96 0.401
areas
Roof -0.886 0.242 n/a n/a
Road and paved areas -0.301 0.242 n/a n/a
TP Urban area not covered
by roof, road or paved -0.700 0.242 -0.731 0.360
areas
Roof 0.301 0.205 n/a n/a
Road and paved areas 0.342 0.205 n/a n/a
TN Urban area not covered
by roof, road or paved 0.243 0.182 0.455 0.363
areas
Table 3 - Pollutant concentration data for source nodes

MUSIC Guidelines Melbourne Water 9

 Any changes to default or guideline pollutant concentrations for the modelling of
development or Melbourne Water works must be agreed by Melbourne Water in
writing.

Serial correlation

The Serial Correlation (R squared) must be zero for TSS, TP and TN for analysis of
stormwater quality. This is especially important where a single reference rainfall year
is used as it can otherwise result in significant fluctuations in predicted performance.

Stochastic versus mean generated data

Stochastically generated data is always to be used, except where there is a

requirement to examine behaviour for a particular storm event or set of operating
conditions.

6. General guidelines for treatment nodes

K, C*, C**

Melbourne Water must approve any changes to these parameters in writing. Any data
used to modify these parameters must be published data, and be appropriate for the
circumstances being modelled.

Number of CSTR cells

The CSTR input parameter in MUSIC represents the mixing behaviour of treatment
nodes. The default number of CSTR cells for a treatment node can be changed
through the “More” button. The number of CSTR cells for sedimentation basins can
also be changed through the “Estimate Parameters” button.

The length to width ratios for the shapes used to estimate the number of CSTR cells is
listed in the figure below.

10 Melbourne Water MUSIC Guidelines

Figure 3 - Treatment node shape to determine the number of CSTR cells (Persson,
2000). Length to width ratio: A, B, C, D, E, G, O, P, Q – 2:1; H – 1:1; I – 4:1; J
– 12:1; K – 3:1; P contains an island blocking the central flow path and Q
contains a structure to distribute the flows evenly.

Treatment trains

Treatment nodes within a MUSIC model must be linked in an appropriate order, with
primary treatment devices first and tertiary treatment devices last (if present).

Figure 4 - example treatment train

Exfiltration

The exfiltration rate relates to the seepage rate (in mm/hr) of the soil surrounding
and underlying a treatment system and is used to represented losses from a
treatment system into the surrounding soils. Exfiltration does not refer to the
hydraulic conductivity of the soils contained within the treatment system.

For all nodes, adoption of an exfiltration rate greater than 0 mm/hr must be
supported by geotechnical information, and, for Melbourne Water assets, prior
agreement by Melbourne Water is needed. Exfiltration is encouraged where practical.

MUSIC Guidelines Melbourne Water 11

 Instream works and waterways

Do not include constructed or natural waterways, or grassed retarding basins as

treatment nodes.

Stormwater harvesting (labelled “reuse” in MUSIC)

Details on Melbourne Water’s processes for stormwater harvesting can be found here:

http://www.melbournewater.com.au/planning-and-building/stormwater-
management/stormwater-harvesting/pages/stormwater-harvesting-licence.aspx

For large scale stormwater harvesting, a reuse master plan must be provided which is
to be signed off by all relevant authorities (Local Government, Retail Water Company,
Melbourne Water). Calculations should be provided to support volumes of harvested
stormwater. All harvested stormwater should be treated to a fit-for-purpose standard
that also supports the long term sustainability of the reuse infrastructure (including
irrigation infrastructure). Guidelines on quality of harvested stormwater are here:

http://www.environment.gov.au/water/quality/publications/nwqms-australian-
guidelines-water-recycling-managing-health-phase2-stormwater

Stormwater harvesting can contribute to treatment train performance if the demands

are reliable (e.g. toilet flushing – 20 litres per person per day; laundry – 80 litres per
household per day). Irrigation of residential blocks is encouraged, however will not be
accepted as a demand for reuse in a model due to the high variability of this demand.

For stormwater harvesting to be accepted as part of a MUSIC model there needs to be

a suitable agreement between the relevant stakeholders.

A minimum of ten years of six minute rainfall data must be used to model all stages of
a design that includes stormwater harvesting.

7. Swales
Suggested vegetation heights:

 Grass swale (mowed) height range: 10 – 100mm

 Vegetation (not mowed): 100 – 400mm

12 Melbourne Water MUSIC Guidelines

In the case where unmown vegetation is being used, the proponent should identify
what type of vegetation is proposed, and how it will be managed within the landscape
and maintenance requirements of the development. Waterways within developments
cannot be deemed as swales and shall not be included in the treatment train model.

8. Gross pollutant traps (GPTs)

No treatment should be attributed to a GPT unless it is supported by reliable studies.
Where reliable and locally representative data is available, gross pollutant and
sediment treatment may be attributed to a GPT. In the absence of specific data, the
default treatment performance for sediment removal provided in the MUSIC Manual
can be applied (70% removal for concentrations greater than 75mg/L).

Nitrogen and phosphorus reductions from GPT’s must be set to zero.

9. Sediment ponds (labelled “sedimentation basin” in MUSIC)

Concept Design

For the concept design stage, the sediment pond can be assumed to be 10% of the
macrophyte zone area and have an average depth of 1.5 metres.

Use of separate ‘sedimentation pond’ and ‘wetland’ nodes

Where there is a difference in water level between the sediment pond and wetland
macrophyte zone (at top of extended detention), the sediment pond and wetland
macrophyte zone should be modelled using separate nodes in MUSIC (i.e. a
“sedimentation basin” node and a “wetland” node). When separate nodes are used,
the wetland node’s “Inlet Pond Volume” should be set to zero. The sedimentation
basin node’s equivalent pipe diameter must reflect the hydraulic control between the
sediment pond and macrophyte zone (this is likely to need to be defined using the
custom outflow function). The surface area and extended detention depth should
match the dimensions shown on the functional design plans.
Where the sediment pond and macrophyte zones have a common water level at (at
top of extended detention), a single “wetland” node should be used to represent the
system in MUSIC with the sediment pond represented by input parameters of the Inlet
Pond Volume of the wetland node (see below for more detail).

Functional and Detailed Design

Do not design the size of the sediment pond with MUSIC alone. Sediment ponds must
be designed to meet the sediment pond requirements of Melbourne Water’s
Constructed Wetland Design Manual. To demonstrate water quality objectives, the

MUSIC Guidelines Melbourne Water 13

 MUSIC model sediment pond area can unrepresentatively be set to 10% of the
macrophyte zone area, rather than the size calculated to the Constructed Wetland
Design Manual requirements.

Actual design to meet the

sediment pond requirements of
Melbourne Water’s Constructed
Wetland Design Manual.

MUSIC model sediment pond

area can unrepresentatively be
set to 10% of the designed
wetland macrophyte zone area to
demonstrate water quality
objectives.

10. Wetlands
Constructed wetland systems must be designed in accordance with Melbourne Water’s
Design, Construction and Establishment of Constructed Wetlands: Design Manual
(Melbourne Water). This document is available from Melbourne Water’s web page.
MUSIC can verify the pollutant removal results of a design.

The recommendations for modelling with an inlet pond or separate sedimentation

basin node are in section 9.

For Functional and Detailed Design stages, the stage storage discharge relationships
of the wetland extended detention must be represented using MUSIC’s Custom
Outflow and Storage Relationship function. Further information on this is in section
19. Where the wetland is within a retarding basin, the MUSIC model must also reflect
the stage/storage/discharge relationship of the retarding basin (i.e. when the water
level exceeds TED).

In MUSIC the area and volume of the wetland is entered. The volume divided by the
area must be no more than 400mm.

14 Melbourne Water MUSIC Guidelines

Wetland user defined outlet

Stage storage discharge relationship

By default MUSIC automatically estimates the stage-storage-discharge relationship for

a wetland or pond. It does this with the user defined dimensions including the
permanent pool volume, surface area, extended detention depth, outlet pipe diameter
and weir length.
 Stage (m) – height or depth of water in the wetland
 Storage (m3) – water storage volume for a given stage
 Discharge (m3/s) – Outflow rate (for outflow pipe or weir and for overflow pipe
or weir)

The default approach is adequate for concept level design, but not for functional or
detailed design. Melbourne Water’s Constructed Wetlands Design Manual
recommends that, for functional and detailed design, the stage storage discharge
relationships are defined by the user to provide greater accuracy. This is especially
important for understanding the inundation frequency and duration patterns of the
wetland.

MUSIC requires three relationships to be defined:

 Stage – storage
 Stage – discharge for outlet
 Stage – discharge for overflow

Stage – storage relationship

The stage-storage relationship describes how the water storage volume of the wetland
changes as depth increases. These can be obtained from a 3D model or estimated
based on the base wetland area and batter slopes.

Stage-discharge relationship

The stage-discharge relationship equation in Melbourne Water’s Constructed Wetland

Design Manual should be used for the outlet weir for a range of water levels. It is
important that the relationships are extended across a broad range of depths, storage
volumes and discharges, even beyond what is physically realistic, to ensure the model
is always able to find a valid numerical solution. By default, MUSIC creates the stage-
storage-discharge relationship to a depth of 2 m above the extended detention depth.

MUSIC Guidelines Melbourne Water 15

 Entering data in the Custom Outflow and Storage Properties

MUSIC by default assumes a low flow orifice outlet (Pipe Flow). In most cases the
design will have a narrow slot weir plate, and this needs to be defined using the
custom outflow properties.

MUSIC by default adds in a high flow weir outlet at the extended detention depth
(Weir Flow). Overflow weirs included in the design to discharge flows above the
extended detention depth can be defined using the standard outflow properties box.

MUSIC by default assumes the wetland or other treatment has vertical sides. If that is
not a reasonable assumption for your design it can be changed using the custom
storage properties.

The figure below indicates the location of each of these input parameters within the
Custom Outflow and Storage Properties when defined by the user.

Overflow
Drawdown from
(weir flow
EDD to NWL by
above TED)
rectangular Stage storage
weir) relationship (change
in volume relative to
water level)

Figure 4 - Description of input parameters for Custom Outflow Storage Properties

11. Lakes
MUSIC is not a suitable model for in-lake processes, other than water balance
assessments. Guidance on this topic can be found in the Melbourne Water publication

16 Melbourne Water MUSIC Guidelines

“Constructed Shallow Lake Systems for Developers”. This document is available as a
PDF download from Melbourne Water’s web page.

12. Bioretention systems

Sediment removal

Bioretention systems with catchments greater than 5 Ha must have a sediment pond
upstream. Bioretention systems with catchments less than 5 Ha must have a
vegetated swale, coarse sediment forebay, inlet pond or gross pollutant trap on the
inlet.

Filter media

In the model, the hydraulic conductivity of the filter media should match the
specification or be a conservatively lower figure (as recommended in the Adoption
Guidelines for Stormwater Biofiltration Systems 2015). An acceptable range for the
hydraulic conductivity of a bioretention system is 100mm/hr – 300mm/hr.

Submerged zones, or systems without an underdrain, are generally recommended if

site conditions permit. If a submerged zone is not used, the filter media depth field in
MUSIC must not include the transition or drainage layers. Drainage and transition
layers can be included as part of the submerged zone depth.

Plant species selection

The Adoption Guidelines for Stormwater Biofiltration Systems 2015 recommend some
specific plant species as well as recommending typical characteristics of plants that
provide effective nutrient removal. If effective nutrient removal plants are selected
under ‘Vegetation Properties’ (recommended), the planting specification must support
this.

The design must provide adequate soil moisture to sustain plants. This can be
achieved through:
 minimum filter media depth of 400mm (500mm preferred),
 a submerged zone
 no underdrain
 a large enough size catchment (generally 50-100 times the area of the
bioretention system)
 a reliable source of irrigation.

MUSIC Guidelines Melbourne Water 17

 Extended detention depth

Consideration should be given to the extended detention depth selected for

bioretention systems. The depth should be safe for construction, operation and
maintenance of the system. If the system has a longitudinal slope, it will not have a
uniform extended detention depth, and therefore an average should be selected.

13. Permeable pavement

Permeable pavement should be modelled as per the manufacturer’s guidelines.
Documentation supporting the modelling must be submitted for review.

14. Imported data nodes

Supporting documentation will be required to demonstrate the use of any imported
data nodes in models.

15. Generic treatment nodes

Generic nodes should not be used for modelling treatment systems unless supported
by supplementary models or if modelling as per a treatment manufacturer’s guidelines
with supporting documentation. Such models are subject to prior agreement by
Melbourne Water.

A generic treatment node may be used to simulate a pump, by setting the flow rate
passing through the node to the maximum pump flow rate. Flows in excess of the
pump flow rate may need to be accounted for using a duplicate catchment.

Generic nodes may be used to simulate the splitting of flows, where a flow rate based
diversion is used. Appropriate documentation and calculations must be provided to
justify the split of flows, if used to simulate splitting flows. Most flow splits can be
more easily modelled using a secondary link to split flows from a catchment or
treatment outlet.

For generic nodes, within a transfer curve, the outflows, or pollutant concentrations
out, must not exceed the inflows, or pollutant concentrations in. A pollutant balance
should be done to check that pollutants are not created or lost, as generic treatment
node outputs can easily be misinterpreted.

16. Use of secondary links

Secondary links can be used to direct surface flows and baseflows through different
routes. For example, surface flows may be directed through treatment systems while
baseflows pass through groundwater and discharge directly into the receiving water.

18 Melbourne Water MUSIC Guidelines

This can be modelled by adding a secondary link to a catchment and routing it around
the treatment to the receiving node.
Secondary links are particularly useful for controlling outflows from treatment nodes.
For example, they can be used top model piped flows from a treatment system
entering a downstream treatment while overflows or bypass flows are routed around
it. This is especially useful when modelling stormwater reuse systems where only
treated flows are likely to be captured for reuse, while overflows are likely to bypass
the reuse system.
Another scenario where secondary links are particularly useful is when directing
pumped flows from one treatment to another treatment/storage from which reuse is
extracted.

Figure 5 - A MUSIC model containing a secondary link

It is important when using secondary links to ensure that all flows are directed back
into the final receiving node before reporting to ensure flows are not lost.

MUSIC Guidelines Melbourne Water 19

 17. Exporting results
An inundation frequency curve illustrates the frequency with which certain depths are
exceeded within a treatment system such as a wetland.

To undertake a frequency analysis, the treatment system depth data must be

exported from MUSIC using the ‘flux file’. Recent versions of MUSIC can export the
data at a daily timestep that is easier to handle.

How to create a flux file

1. Right click on wetland and

select ‘Edit properties’

2. Click on ‘Fluxes’

20 Melbourne Water MUSIC Guidelines

3. Tick ‘Save modelled fluxes’
and set a filename.

4. Change the Timestep to ‘Daily’

(Very important)

5. Run the MUSIC model

Once the flux file is created, an inundation frequency curve can be created
automatically from a daily flux file using the Wetland Analysis Tool (on
www.MUSICauditor.com.au) or manually in a spreadsheet following the guidance
provided in the Constructed Wetlands Design Manual Part D.

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 Assessing flow rates for the 1.5 year ARI

The BPEM flows objective, or other flow objectives based on stream erosion potential,
can be assessed in MUSIC. To make sure the 1.5 year flow rate in MUSIC is sensible,
compare the partial series from MUSIC model (without any treatment/retardation)
with peak 1 to 2 year flow estimates from rational method. Options for modelling are:
a) Manually create a rainfall file to use in MUSIC that contains a range of 1.5 year
peak rainfall events (i.e. for a range of storm durations) and then run it
through the MUSIC model and compare the maximum outflow rate with the pre
development 1.5 year flow rate. This approach doesn’t take into account
antecedent conditions in storages (i.e. how full they are at the start of the
event). To be conservative, assume rainwater tanks and extended detention
storages are full at the start of the 1.5 year event.
b) Use 10 years of historical rainfall data. Open a flow timeseries plot for the
downstream end of the developed catchment. Identify the flow rate of the 7th
highest flow event (which should be the post development 1.5 year flow based
on partial series plotting position) and compare to the pre-development peak
1.5 year flow rate.

18. Submission requirements for MUSIC modelling

Constructed wetlands

Melbourne Water’s submission requirements for constructed wetlands are in Part B of

the Constructed Wetlands Design Manual. An excerpt of the submission requirements
that directly relate to MUSIC modelling are provided below.

Wetland concept design

1. 1. Summary of MUSIC modelling (or alternative method or models), including:

a) version of MUSIC
b) meteorological data used
c) map outlining catchment areas and direction of flows
d) justification for choice of source node impervious percentage
e) any routing used
f) treatment node parameters
g) any modelling parameters that are not in accordance with Melbourne Water’s
MUSIC Modelling Guidelines (this document)
h) pollutant removal results
2. A copy of the MUSIC model

22 Melbourne Water MUSIC Guidelines

Wetland functional design

1. A description of the updated MUSIC model (or alternative method or models),

including matching:
a) the inlet pond volume in MUSIC to the sediment pond volume shown on plans
(excluding the sediment accumulation volume)
b) the permanent pool volume to the proposed bathymetry (using the user
defined stage-storage relationship)
c) the high flow bypass configuration to the design
d) the extended detention controlled outlet configuration to the design (using the
user defined stage-storage relationship)
2. An inundation frequency analysis of water levels in the macrophyte zone
3. The 90th percentile residence time in the macrophyte zone
4. A report from MUSIC auditor tool (if available)

Other treatment devices

In general, the functional design report should incorporate the following information
for systems (other than wetlands) modelled in MUSIC:
1. Description of the function and intent of the treatment system.
2. Description of how fraction impervious was calculated (what figures were used for
different zonings).
3. Specification for the treatment system, including any soil or filter media.
4. Vegetation specification for bioretention systems.
5. Description of any updates to the MUSIC model at each stage of the design.
6. Summary of MUSIC modelling (or alternative method or models), including:
a) version of MUSIC
b) meteorological data used
c) catchment areas with impervious percentage
d) any routing used
e) treatment node parameters
f) any modelling parameters that are not in accordance with Melbourne Water’s
MUSIC Modelling Guidelines
g) A copy of the MUSIC model
h) A report from MUSIC auditor tool (if available)

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