Drain-IQ — Help & User Guide

Overview

Drain-IQ is a field-ready web app that puts a complete, pre-generated LiDAR stack at your fingertips—elevation, contours, depression/ponding depths, wetness index, and flow routes—hosted behind your own custom URL. No software to install, no login. Open the link on any device and your layers stream instantly.

It’s the modern replacement for paper maps and waiting on consultants: trace routes, check grades and depths, add to a design, and export georeferenced files in minutes—right from the field.

Fields

Select the field you want to work on. Each field loads its own set of layers and export files.

Switching fields

• Use the Fields accordion to pick from the list.
• The map recenters and shows the boundary automatically.

Layers

Toggle visibility and adjust settings for each analysis layer.

Field Boundary

• Shows your supplied or digitized boundary.
• Used for exports and fit-to-view.

Elevation

• LiDAR elevation surface displayed to emphasize the highest and lowest parts of the field.
• Use this for general terrain context and spot checks.

Contours

• Pre-generated KML contour sets based on field elevation range (e.g., 6 in, 1 ft, 2 ft, 5 ft, 10 ft).
• Very flat fields will see 6in, 1ft, 2ft contours. Moderately flat fields will have 1ft, 2ft, and 5ft contours. Rolling lands have 2ft, 5ft, and 10ft contours. And very hilly land has 5ft, 10ft,, and 15ft contours.
• Click a contour set to load. Only one contour layer can be loaded to the map at once

Flow Lines

• Display the major natural overland flow routes in the field.
• Modeled using 'fill-and-spill' (where low areas fill up, where will the water go next?) method.
Following natural flow routes where possible results in efficient drains with less earth to move for surface draind, and easier installs for tiles.
• Use the slider to filter minimum contributing acres and identify the most important drains on the field.

Ponding / Depressions

• Identifies areas prone to standing water and wetness.
• Usually the priority areas to target with surface or targeted tile drainage.
• Move the Overlay intensity slider right to emphasize depressions, and to the left to expand to ponding-prone areas on flat fields.

Wetness Index

• Topographic Wetness Index (TWI) predicts likelihood of areas being wet based on relief. Blue = wetter-prone, Red = drier.
• Highlights subtle ridges and raised areas on flat fields, and more pronounced features on rolling ground, as relatively drier zones (note: less reliable on very flat terrain).
• Useful to guide targeted tile placements on more rolling land - try to get tiles into the blue and green-blue areas.

Mark Elevations

Tap/click to label a spot elevation anywhere in the field. Use Undo to remove the last point, or Clear to remove all.

• Great for comparing ridges, draws, and outlet candidates.

Quick Profiler

Draw a line across your field to sample elevations every few meters and instantly view a profile chart with auto-computed “best-fit” drainage lines. These fits are intended for planning and information purposes only: Best-Fit Surface assumes a minimum grade of 0.05%, while Best-Fit Tile assumes a minimum grade of 0.10% with at least 2 ft of cover. Before installing, all routes should be surveyed and confirmed with an RTK-grade control system.

Workflow

1. Open Quick Profiler (drawing is armed automatically). On desktop: click to drop points, double-click to finish. On touch devices: long-press to drop each point—a single tap will close the line immediately.
2. Review the chart: ground surface (black), Best-Fit Surface (red, ≥0.05%), and Best-Fit Tile (green, ≥0.10% with 2 ft cover).
3. Use Reverse Outlet if your drawn profile appears to run “uphill.” This usually happens if the line wasn’t traced along the absolute lowest channel. In practice, your in-field RTK survey and common sense will confirm the true lowest route.
4. Press Add to Design to add the route to your working plan. You can build a complete design this way and then use Print & Export to produce maps or export deliverables for use in Ditch Assist, SD Drain, or Ditch Pro.

Buttons

• Clear Profile – remove the current drawn line and profile chart.
• New Profile – re-arm drawing for another route.
• Reverse Outlet – recompute best-fit lines in the opposite direction.
• Add to Design – push the current profile to the active plan.
• Undo Last Add – removes the most recent item added to the plan (from this tab) and lets you re-add after changes.

Depth guides: toggle the dashed −1, −3, −5 ft lines in the chart legend to visualize cut depth. For example, if you are planning for surface drains, turn OFF the 3ft, 5ft, and tile best fit guides so you can better see the depths and cuts for surface drains.

Quick Designer

Quick Designer lets you turn one or more profiler routes into a working plan. Think of it as a simple design board: every route you Add to Design from Quick Profiler is stored, tallied, and displayed on the map as a thick purple line with arrows pointing toward the outlet. With the tab open, a stats box appears in the lower-right corner showing combined lengths, averages, and totals.

Plan Basics

• Save Design – download your current plan as design.json for backup or sharing. This also lets you pause work and continue later.
• Load Design – import a saved design.json back into the app to continue editing, or share it with someone else so they can open your custom URL and view your exact plan.
• Clear Current Plan – wipe the slate clean and remove all design lines.

Important: This is a web app – designs are only saved for the current session. If you refresh the page or navigate away, your plan will be lost. Always use Save Design if you’ll need it again!

Exports

• Export Design Report (PDF) – snapshot of your field with design lines plus full statistics. Useful for planning discussions or even as supporting documentation for permit applications.
• Export Plan to KML / CSV / XYZ – take your design into Google Earth, spreadsheets, or GNSS tools.
  • KML: overlay your plan in Google Earth or other mapping apps.
  • CSV: simple table with latitude, longitude, and elevation columns.
  • XYZ: can be imported into Ditch Assist (Layers → Import XYZ). This allows Slope-IQ to follow your planned grade without re-driving the survey. Important: use caution – always run Auto Height Calibration to align GPS elevation with LiDAR. Recommended for excavators, not surface implements.

On-map Styling

• Design lines are shown in purple with arrows pointing to the outlet.
• The Designer stats box (lower-right) updates live as you add or remove routes.

Best Use

Use Quick Designer to sketch out a drainage plan before going to the field. Share the saved plan with a custom operator, agronomist, or crew. It’s a quick way to communicate intent and test “what-if” layouts without extra trips to the field.

Print & Export

Export maps and data for reporting, machine control overlays, or GIS analysis.

Which export should I use? PDF for reports, JPG+JGW/BMP+BPW for machine overlays, KML for Google Earth, GeoTIFF/SHP for GIS.

Geolocation (GPS)

• Enable GPS Tracking – request location access and show your position.
• Follow GPS – keeps the map centered on your live position.
• Tip: On iOS/Safari allow “Precise Location”. On Chrome/Android ensure Location is on with “High accuracy”.

Using Offline

Drain-IQ is a web app. Offline use generally works only within the same browser session that you loaded the data. In practice: go online, open your field, let layers finish loading and hit Save for Offline, then do not refresh or close the tab/app before you drive to the field. The layers should remain available while you stay in that session.

Save for Offline (session cache)

1. Select a field in Fields and wait for all layers to load.
2. Open Layers and tap Save for Offline.
3. You’ll see an Offline badge next to that field in the list.

• Contours are not cached due to file size; use Elevation, Ponding/Depressions, and Wetness Index offline.
• To free device storage later, go to Layers and tap Clear Offline.

Install as an App

Installing Drain-IQ as a home-screen app gives you a full-screen experience, quick launching, and more reliable session persistence while you’re in the field.

• You may see an install prompt on first load. If not, there’s also an Install App button under About & Help.
• Installing does not change the offline behavior: you still need to Save for Offline while online and keep the session open.

Troubleshooting & FAQ