Exploring the GIS-Centric Advantage for Water Utilities

MWH Soft and ESRI invite you to the 2008 series of free comprehensive seminars that explore how water, wastewater and stormwater professionals can leverage GIS technology and advanced geocentric modeling and information management applications to do their jobs better and more efficiently. These important technology seminars (8:30am till 3:00pm, including lunch) will showcase the latest advances in geocentric applications for business planning and asset management and water and sewer systems modeling.

Attendees Will Have The Opportunity To:

• Learn about the word-leading ArcGIS-centric water and wastewater modeling solutions
• Deploy advanced ArcGIS-centric water and sewer modeling applications
• Learn what solutions are being used today to improve operations, customer service, emergency response, and more
• See demonstrations that show how easy it is to streamline workflows, enhance service, and have critical information at your fingertips
• Explore the key components of an enterprise GIS
• Discover the benefits of teaming GIS with asset/maintenance management systems and hydraulic and water quality modeling packages to optimize performance and meet regulations
• Hear about successful methodologies for creating an integrated environment
• See how other organizations have successfully integrated GIS into their workflow (this is your opportunity to learn and share with your peers about GIS successes, approaches, and tips and tricks)

Who Should Attend:

• Federal, State and Local Government Officials
• Water/Wastewater Utility General Managers/Executive Directors
• Public Works Directors
• Facilities Directors
• Planning, Engineering, and Maintenance Department Managers
• GIS Coordinators
• Financial Officers
• Field Crew Managers
• Water Quality Managers
• Engineering Consultants
• Water and Wastewater Modelers
• Project Managers

Schedule:
(please note that dates and locations are subject to change)

Albany, NY                                                                Minneapolis, MN
September 4                                                                October 7

Allentown, PA                                                           Naperville, IL
October 14                                                                  October 16

Anaheim, CA                                                             Newark, NJ
September 18                                                              October 16

Arlington, TX                                                            Oakland, CA
September 16                                                              September 16

Atlanta, GA                                                               Overland Park, KS
September 9                                                                September 30

Brookfield, WI                                                          Portland, OR
October 14                                                                  October 16

Dayton, OH                                                               Reno, NV
October 7                                                                   October 16

Denver, CO                                                               Seattle, WA
September 18                                                             October 14

Detroit, MI                                                                Silver Spring, MD
October 9                                                                   September 16

Houston, TX                                                              Tampa, FL
September 18                                                             September 11

Irvine, CA                                                                 Worcester, MA
October 14                                                                  September 9

Las Vegas, NV
November 5

How to Register:

To register for a no-cost seminar near you, visit www.esri.com/water_seminars. Space is limited, so be sure to register today.

If you have questions about this event, contact water_seminar@esri.com.

Click here for the seminar brochure and agenda.

Paper Judged to Represent a Significant Contribution to the Water Field

The Engineering and Construction Division of the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the world’s largest organization of water professionals, awarded MWH Soft the Division Best Paper Award at the ACE 2008 World Water Event in Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday, June 9 during the special TEC Plenary Session at the Georgia World Congress Center.

The award-winning paper is co-authored with Professor Bryan W. Karney of the University of Toronto, Canada, and Professor Emeritus Don J. Wood of the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky.

The ability to accurately predict and control objectionable hydraulic transients in water distribution systems is a problem of great importance for water utilities worldwide. Hydraulic transients can destroy pipelines and induce other catastrophic system failures, cause unnecessary leakage, and create serious public health risks from intrusion of contaminants into the distribution system. The potential for severe hydraulic transients should always be carefully evaluated for all water supply and distribution systems. Any careless generalization can easily lead to incorrect results, poor design and inadequate protection.

Titled “The Need for Comprehensive Transient Analysis of Distribution Systems,” the paper reviews and challenges the validity and reliability of a number of commonly used design guidelines for simplified water hammer analysis, and presents a set of warnings about the misunderstandings and dangers that can arise from such simplifications.

The paper concludes that no simplified rules can provide accurate prediction of worst-case performance under all transient conditions, and that only systematic and informed water hammer analysis can be expected to resolve complex transient characterizations and adequately protect water distribution systems from the vagaries and challenges of rapid transient events.

Premier Event Highlighted Modeling Innovations Shaping Future of Drinking Water Industry

MWH Soft’s President Dr. Paul F. Boulos chaired the American Water Works Association (AWWA) workshop on integrating hydraulic network models with infrastructure management technology, on Sunday June 8, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The workshop drew record attendance with a remarkable group of engineering and GIS professionals who came to share their knowledge and experience from around the world.

Sponsored by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) Engineering and Construction Division, “Hydraulic Model Integration to Reduce Capital and Operational Expenses: Creating the Future” workshop featured a variety of real-world case study presentations by water utility leaders from around the world. Each participant drew from hands-on experience in successfully implementing these critical distribution systems strategies. (See full agenda below.)

In sharing “lessons learned,” the group helped demystify the complex process of integrating hydraulic network models with infrastructure management technology, from maintenance (CMMS), customer service (CIS) and engineering (CIP, GIS) to operations (SCADA). They also described the many benefits of melding network modeling and management technologies, from enhanced enterprise performance to an improved bottom line. Among those benefits were better design of new and replacement pipes; improved water quality, leakage, energy, project and chemical inventory management; more effective preventive maintenance; and enhanced system security, integrity, performance and customer service levels.

Participants learned about the latest innovations and improvements in water distribution system management and operations — with a special focus on integration and automation — from experienced industry leaders representing water utilities of many sizes across the US, Canada, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Presenters included experts from American Water, NJ; Cincinnati Waterworks, OH; Denver Water, CO; East Bay Municipal Utility District, CA; Gold Coast Water, Australia; Las Vegas Valley Water District, NV; San Antonio Water System, TX; Thames Water Utilities Ltd, UK; and Toronto Water, Canada. An open panel format discussion period concluded the workshop, making all speakers available to answer questions and discuss specific model integration issues.

The workshop received high accolades from attendees. “This was one of the best learning workshops I have ever attended,” said Kurt Vause, P.E., Engineering Manager at Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility in Alaska. “It offered a wealth of invaluable learning experiences shared by utility colleagues who have successfully implemented hydraulic model integration projects. All the presentations were outstanding, and represented significant contributions to the water industry. It was enjoyable to meet with colleagues who share a passion for innovation in the quest to deliver safe drinking water to our communities.”

“This was a very successful and exciting technology transfer workshop,” commented Hugh Costello, P.Eng., Senior Production Design Engineer for Calgary Water Resources in Alberta, Canada. “It presented the state-of-the-art in hydraulic network model integration for improving water distribution management activities, with a wide variety of innovative solutions to real-world problems. It also provided an excellent opportunity to see what other utilities were doing to meet today’s challenges in the water industry around integration issues. A very educational session.”

Added Thomas E. Dumm, P.E., Technical Director for O’Brien & Gere in Landover, Maryland, “This was a remarkably successful workshop with exceptional coverage of the latest advances in modeling technologies. It provided attendees with a unique opportunity to hear from key utility figures about proven, cutting-edge solutions that can significantly boost productivity and success, and optimize water distribution system operations and performance.”

With more than 60,000 members, AWWA is the largest organization of water professionals in the world. Its Annual Conference & Exposition (ACE), known as The World’s Water Event, is the most comprehensive and diverse water conference on earth. It is renowned for offering invaluable insights into breakthrough research, presenting the latest updates to government policies, and pinpointing emerging scientific trends in the water industry worldwide. This year’s conference featured more than 91 sessions and over 530 presentations representing the work of more than a thousand water industry experts.

“As the focus on protecting, improving and sustaining the reliability, integrity and performance of our drinking water infrastructure systems intensifies, the need to collaborate more effectively, share information, and discuss technological innovations and proven, cost-effective solutions is more pressing than ever,” noted Boulos. “This industry-leading workshop was phenomenally successful in giving attendees a much more focused understanding of integrated network modeling and how it can make their organizations more successful and give them a competitive edge on the future.”

For information on how to purchase the workshop presentations workbook, contact Dana Trujillo at dtrujillo@awwa.org or Susan Gunzner at sgunzner@awwa.org.

WORKSHOP AGENDA

Hydraulic Model Integration to Reduce Capital and Operational Expenses: Creating the Future
Sunday June 8, 2008
American Water Works Association Annual Conference & Exposition
Atlanta, Georgia

Welcome and Opening Statements
Paul F. Boulos, Ph.D, Workshop Chair

Realizing the Full Potential of Water Distribution Models: Data Integration, Processes and
Tools (Parts I and II)
Las Vegas Valley Water District, NV

Denver Water’s All-pipes Model: One to One GIS and Hydraulic Modeling Integration
Denver Water, CO

Networking Break

Assessing Infrastructure Criticality to Improve Service Provision
Thames Water Utilities Ltd, London, UK

SAWS Proposes Using Hydraulic Model to Eliminate Numerous Source Sampling in the Event a
Distribution Sample is Total Coliform-Positive
San Antonio Water System, TX

Prioritizing Vulnerable Backflow Locations Using AMR, GIS and Hydraulic Models

Lunch

Gold Coast Water’s Network Modeling Strategy - Meeting the Challenge Ahead
Gold Coast Water, Australia

Normalization of Historical Demand Information and Development of Adjustment Factors for
Land Use Based Demand Projections for use in GIS
East Bay Municipal Utility District, CA

Model Integration with GIS, CIS, and SCADA at the Greater Cincinnati Water Works
Cincinnati Waterworks, OH

Networking Break

Integration of Network Modeling in a GIS-Centric Asset Planning Approach
City of Toronto, Canada

Panel Discussion

Adjourn

The MWH Soft Best Innovation Awards are judged by a panel of industry experts and presented during the MWH Soft User Conference. They recognize the most innovative modeling and engineering advancements made by the extensive community of customers who use MWH Soft software, the industry-leading choice for comprehensive water and wastewater systems management. Winners are chosen for engineering excellence and ground breaking innovation.

The awards honor the exceptional work of MWH Soft users toward advancing the state of the art in hydraulic infrastructure planning, design, optimization, operations, and management. These projects set benchmarks for their industries and showcase the creativity and technical mastery of the organizations that created them. MWH Soft established the competitive award program in 2002. Among the many progressive organizations that have received the award are the Butler County Department of Environmental Services, Ohio, the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada, and Denver Water, Colorado.

For 2007, the Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD), Nevada and American Water, New Jersey, were the recipients of this prestigious honor. The award categories were surge modeling for water quality protection and integrated energy management for optimized operations.

The LVVWD won the award for expertly deploying advanced hydraulic and water quality modeling and GIS applications, as well as genetic algorithm optimization, in conducting distribution system operational studies to identify the most energy-efficient and cost-effective pump scheduling policies for maximum system performance and energy savings. Annual savings of $1.2M (about 8 percent) in energy cost were achieved. American Water leveraged the power of transient/surge analysis to determine the characteristics that make water systems vulnerable to negative pressure transients. A common set of modeling scenarios were tested to develop a vulnerability ranking, evaluate mitigation approaches, and provide sound guidance in selecting optimum pressure monitoring locations. This vital analysis will allow water quality professionals, regulators, and scientists around the world to better estimate the importance of negative pressure transients, identify risks, evaluate protective measures, and develop improved monitoring and operational plans and mitigation strategies.

Congratulations to both organizations. They have demonstrated the highest standards of water distribution modeling excellence.

Your connection to the visionaries who are directing the future of network modeling

MWH Soft hosted its fifth International Geoengineering Conference in Broomfield, Colorado, entitled Advances in Geospatial Infrastructure Modeling and Management Technology on August 27-28, 2007. The conference drew full house attendance with a remarkable group of engineering and GIS professionals who came to share their knowledge and experience from around the world, including the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, South Africa, and the Middle-East. The conference was sponsored by the US Environmental Protection Agency and ESRI, and featured keynote addresses from Laura Jacobsen, P.E. (Manager of Planning Division for the Las Vegas Valley Water District, NV), William R. Kirkpatrick, P.E. (Manager of Water Distribution Planning for East Bay Municipal Utility District, CA) and Kala K. Fleming, Ph.D (Environmental Scientist with American Water, NJ). Presenters from major utilities and top engineering firms rounded out the event with a wide variety of innovative solutions to real-world problems.

The International Geoengineering Conference (IGC) provides an interactive forum for presenting the state of the art in water and wastewater infrastructure geoengineering; facilitating ongoing cooperation and exchange of technological innovations and proven solutions; and discussing the issues, regulatory activities and technological challenges that face the geoenvironmental community.

During two days of content-rich gatherings, the conference offered attendees twenty-five carefully selected state-of-the-art, real-world situations and customer success stories, presented by experts from around the world. Topics covered the latest advances in transient analysis, 3-D modeling, and real-time control applications; development of improved water quality models; pressure zone design and management; planning effective unidirectional flushing programs; energy optimization; and construction and calibration of large-scale water and sewer dynamic hydraulic models. Experts also discussed the management of urban runoff and wet weather water quality problems in combined, sanitary and storm sewers aimed at optimizing BMP and LID designs, meeting SSO and CSO regulations, refining system design and rehabilitation, enhancing operations, and improving infrastructure security. MWH Soft executives also previewed a number of forthcoming products, including sophisticated tools for pond design, flood modeling, capital investment planning, asset management, and advanced treatment plant hydraulic analysis and design.

The event also looked at the latest developments in other critical areas, including innovative master planning technologies and the role of GIS and Asset Management in improving business performance.

The conference receives glowing testimonials from all attendees. “I continue to be highly impressed by the quality of speakers and audience you attract to your conferences. Congratulations to you and your team on an exceptionally successful conference. You rock!” commented Tony A. Akel, P.E., President of Akel Engineering Group, Inc., a specialty engineering firm providing consulting services in water resources infrastructure modeling and master planning.

According to the conference co-chair Dr. Kala K. Fleming, this year’s conference was the best yet. “IGC has become a true community setting for water and wastewater modeling professionals. Because this major event attracts a large international gathering of leading experts, it offers industry professionals a unique opportunity to explore exciting new technologies, join in the modeling debate, benchmark against and network with their peers, find solutions, hone their management skills, enhance operations, and boost their future productivity and success.”

Technical Program/Conference Brochure
Conference Photo Gallery