Like other large infrastructure capital projects, water distribution systems are expensive to build, and they should be designed with a long-term lifespan in mind. Starting in the early design phase, it is crucial to incorporate consideration of future expansion and population growth in communities.

During the analysis and planning phase, mistakes can later result in operational problems or network inefficiencies. Changes are costly and disruptive once the infrastructure is built under the street.

These costs alone showcase why advanced model insight and analysis are essential in the design phase. So, as a water distribution system designer, do your responsibilities include selecting efficient pumps, selecting appropriate pipe diameters, achieving optimal pressure ranges, or checking fire flows?

Suppose a new subdivision is proposed to be added to an existing system. Are you tasked with verifying the feasibility and determining if pressures and flows in nearby zones would be disrupted?

Are you contemplating investing in a software modeling program but concerned about the learning curve, worried about a potentially unfriendly user interface, or not having technical support available?

Your time is extremely valuable! OpenFlows WaterGEMS offers a set of features that that make water network design easier, including an unmatched platform interoperability (CAD & GIS) and Scenario Management tools. This allows you complete your modeling projects quickly and with fewer headaches, while surprising your clients with bonuses like energy savings.

Your Water Network May be Complex, But Your Water Network Design Workflow Shouldn’t Be

OpenFlows WaterGEMS, a powerful water system modeling program, has been the premier choice of the world’s biggest utilities and leading consultants for over 20 years. Through a set of built-in tools for advanced design and modeling tools, a friendly and easy-to-learn user interface, and flexible results outputting formats, OpenFlows WaterGEMS will help you simply design water networks.

ModelBuilder, a feature included in OpenFlows WaterGEMS, allows engineers to leverage the most used engineering data sources into your water distribution system. With this tool, designers can import shape files, geospatial drawings, databases, and other engineering data to build or maintain your model. It makes it simple and fast to convert from other software platforms or incorporate newly acquired data from a corresponding GIS model.

Periodic model updates, which would otherwise be meticulous and time-consuming, can be automated and completed quickly, streamlining your workflow. By leveraging this tool, you are left with more time to focus on more important tasks and engineering decisions.

Save Time Designing Water Networks

Do you spend too much time picking pipe sizes? OpenFlows WaterGEMS can save hours on repetitive modeling tasks. Let OpenFlows WaterGEMS do the heavy lifting. Work smarter, not harder!

For instance, using the Darwin Designer tool’s genetic algorithm for optimization, you can easily evaluate and identify the most optimal design and rehabilitation strategies based on three objectives: minimization of costs, maximization of benefits, or multi-objectives. It allows designers to define global and local restrictions, allowed pipe sizes, and associated unit costs to execute manual or automatic designs.

Another part of the challenge of designing water distribution systems is that you must be thoughtful of capital expenditures (CAPEX). You must prioritize the replacement of pipes that are most at-risk of failing and propose the best performing network with the least cost.

OpenFlows WaterGEMS assists in planning capital expenses. You will be able to analyze and choose which design alternatives will meet the budget while staying efficient despite future expected urban development and changes in the demand patterns.

Designers can apply Darwin Designer to determine the size of rehabilitation action for pipes. It also allows you to design new pipe layouts or pipe rehabilitation for existing pipes. A genetic algorithm-based approach will help you avoid manual trial and error to find the most efficient and cost-effective design.

Additionally, designers need to know which parts of the system are vulnerable to fix potential problems before disruptions occur. OpenFlows WaterGEMS provides the user with a unique and flexible tool to evaluate a water distribution system and identify the most critical elements.

Using the Criticality Analysis, Designers can shut down individual segments of the system and view the resulting system performance. A variety of indicators are reported for each outage during this analysis. Depending on the type of run, the criticality analysis can report the demand shortfall, volume shortfall, or pressure shortfall in the distribution system for each segment outage.

Water systems designers can find peace of mind when using the Pipe Renewal Planner, which gives the user guidance to determine which pipes in the model may be most vulnerable. This allows them to remedy issues that have caused the pipe to have a high vulnerability score, which is determined through a weighted score method to calculate user-defined aspects of the model.

Another layer of the design challenge is leveraging energy-efficient infrastructure to reduce operational costs. The energy manager can analyze energy and peak demand costs associated with pumps, pump stations, power meters from multiple scenarios or system-wide.

With the support of OpenFlows WaterGEMS, you will be able to effectively master complex systems while accurately considering the Total Expenditure (TOTEX), which can be defined as the capital expenditure plus the operating expenses. This is the only way to guarantee effectiveness for sustainable financial growth and quick returns on the huge investments already made.

Cut Down Your Costs with Bentley Solutions

If you’re finding that you’re spending endless hours trying to evaluate different scenarios and proper alternatives, and even more time to review and find mistakes, it’s time to consider OpenFlows WaterGEMS. This proven and optimized solution will reduce time and effort to plan, analyze, and design efficient water networks. OpenFlows WaterGEMS provides an easy-to-use environment that will make these tasks easier and quicker so your team can focus on the most critical part of the designing processes: evaluating and deciding the best alternatives.

Additionally, the Keys included in every Virtuoso subscription will grant you access to the training you need to get your projects done efficiently. With training tailored to your challenges and needs, you can use Bentley’s software to its fullest potential, therefore making the most out of your investment and every working hour.

Save Time with WaterGEMS' Design Efficiency

Say goodbye to fruitless working hours in designing water networks. OpenFlows WaterGEMS offers a unique and effective solution that will be instrumental in decreasing your delivery time and costs while improving the quality of your projects and deliverables to step up your game.

Using OpenFlows WaterGEMS enables your team to increase planning and analysis capabilities, unlocking long-term and assertive decision-making. With Bentley's technology, utilities around the globe are maximizing their investments in water infrastructure that is built to last and perform.

Do you want to discover more about OpenFlows WaterGEMS and everything it offers? Contact our experts. We will be very happy to understand your challenges and help you out!