Broomfield, Colorado USA, September 24, 2008 — MWH Soft, a leading global provider of environmental and water resources applications software, today announced the worldwide release of Generation V3 of CapPlan for InfoSWMM, its industry-leading GIS-centric condition/risk assessment and rehabilitation software for optimal sewer collection system renewal planning and wastewater decision support. The latest release features a host of new and unique capabilities to help wastewater utilities return their sewer systems to near-original condition and performance at minimum cost.

Rapid population growth and the deterioration of aging infrastructures — some over a century old — are seriously overtaxing sewer systems worldwide. Increasingly, these stresses are causing sewer surcharges, backups and failures that directly impact human health and the environment while increasing agency liabilities. The usual localized, “find and repair as you go” approach is not cost-effective or reliable, and may not even improve overall collection system performance.

The introduction of MWH Soft’s CapPlan sparked a revolution in asset management tools for planning and optimizing sewer rehabilitation, causing a paradigm shift in how engineers do their work. CapPlan assesses not only system structural and O&M condition, but the probability and consequence of failure for each asset. Armed with this big-picture view, wastewater utilities can create fully prioritized short- and long-term sewer rehabilitation, maintenance and management plans and develop sound, cost-effective capital programs to support them.

System structural condition is determined through collection system evaluation studies using CCTV (closed circuit television) data. Defect coding is assigned for each asset based on NASSCO/PACP, WRc, or other defect standards). The codes are then used to describe internal sewer pipe conditions based on a pre-determined grading system. (Other grading conditions include coarse condition grading, blockage condition grading, and observed structural condition grading from inspection.)

Once a system’s overall structural condition has been assessed, CapPlan generates a prioritized list of sewer pipes requiring rehabilitation or replacement (i.e., having one or more major defects or multiple minor defects). It also gives sound suggestions on how best to plan for both capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operational expenditures (OPEX).

The most cost-effective rehabilitation methodology for each pipe is determined by considering a number critical factors. They include hydraulic capacity needs; methodology limitations; physical pipe characteristics (e.g., age, diameter, material, and gravity or pressure type); surface restoration; site characteristics (e.g., soil type, traffic, water table); unit costs; length of point repairs to total pipe length; and other utility-specific criteria.

Sewer assets can also be evaluated in terms of the probability and consequence of failure based on predictive deterioration, failure history and CCTV data. Probability of failure is normally described as number of collapses per mile (km) per year for various pipe materials and diameters and number of blockages per mile (km) per year as a function of pipe material and age. Consequence of failure ranking depends on such data as pipe attributes; number of connected customers; proximity to critical facilities (e.g., rivers, water bodies, wetlands, tourist sites, schools, hospitals, fire stations); and risk of sewer overflows as predicted by a dynamic hydraulic analysis of the system.

Assets affecting system operation will normally rate high on the consequence scale, while assets in poor condition will have a high probability of failure. The risk of each asset is then calculated as the product (multiplication) of its probability and consequence of failure. By focusing greatest attention on assets with the highest risk, the utility can create a prioritized list of the maintenance and capital improvements most critical to achieving optimum service levels.

Chris Young, P.E., Sewer Rehabilitation Technical Leader and Office Manager of MWH Global in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said of the new release, “By working closely with utilities and engineering firms, MWH Soft has developed a unique understanding of the global wastewater industry. As a direct result of that understanding, each new release delivers an unmatched level of usability and innovation excellence. With InfoSWMM CapPlan, wastewater engineers can now quickly assess sewer inspection and modeling data; identify all sewer defects; and reliably generate prioritized, cost-effective structural and O&M improvements that best achieve system performance objectives — while taking both the condition and criticality of sewer pipes into account.”

Powerful, comprehensive and engineer-friendly, CapPlan for InfoSWMM reflects MWH Soft’s time-honored practice of continually adding value to its world-class software and bringing critical new infrastructure design and management capabilities to the water/wastewater industry. The program’s intuitive interface, easy-to-use functionality and rich analytical, graphing and reporting capabilities save considerable resources by allowing utilities to quickly and easily pinpoint assets with the greatest risk of hydraulic deficiencies or structural failure, identify optimal rehabilitation methods, and avoid future sewer backups or overflows.

“The unprecedented market success of CapPlan is a direct result of our determination to respond to customer wants and needs and provide the comprehensive functionality they require — along with our trademark superior speed, performance and usability,” said Paul F. Boulos, Ph.D, President and COO of MWH Soft. “Our goal in creating V3 was to deliver the simplest, most powerful and comprehensive GIS-centric condition and risk assessment software for sewers with the highest pound-for-pound return.

“The result surpasses all competitive offerings by far. It enables users to quickly convert CCTV videos of thousands of feet of sewer pipes into prioritized rehabilitation projects, produce biddable construction contract documents for needed improvements, and return systems to near-original condition and performance. This revolutionary new release makes sewer rehabilitation planning easier, faster, more reliable and more cost-effective than ever before. We are proud to continue refining this best-in-class GIS-centric product, knowing that it will make an immediate difference in people’s lives and the ecological health of our nation’s waterways.”

Pricing and Availability
Upgrade to InfoSWMM CapPlan V3 is now available worldwide by subscription to the MWH Soft Gold program. Subscription members can immediately download the new version free of charge directly from www.mwhsoft.com. The MWH Soft Subscription Program is a friendly customer support and software maintenance program that ensures the longevity and usefulness of MWH Soft products. It gives subscribers instant access to new functionality as it is developed, along with automatic software updates and upgrades. For the latest information on the MWH Soft Subscription Program, visit www.mwhsoft.com or contact your local MWH Soft Certified Representative.

About MWH Soft
MWH Soft is a leading global provider of technical and infrastructure software and professional solutions designed to meet the technological needs of utilities, government industries, and engineering organizations worldwide. Its clients include the majority of the largest North American cities and ENR top design firms. The multifaceted, state-of-the-art CAD, GIS and Internet enabled products created by MWH Soft empower thousands of engineers across the globe to competitively plan, manage, design, protect, maintain and operate highly efficient and reliable infrastructure systems. For more information, call MWH Soft at (626) 568-6868, or visit www.mwhsoft.com.

MWH Soft Contact
Adam J. Simonsen
Director of Marketing
Adam.Simonsen@mwhsoft.com
(626) 568-6868