Water Simulation Packages (WSP)

Lewis Rossman just announced the release on a New Maintenance Release of EPANET 2:

In preparation for the release of the Multi-Species Water Quality Modeling Extension to EPANET, we have just loaded a new maintenance update of EPANET, 2.00.11, to the new home page for EPANET: http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/wswrd/dw/epanet.html.

The only new features we added were to increase the allowable size of ID labels to 31 characters, to save the epanet2.ini settings file to the users Application Data folder so that the program is easier to deploy within networked environments, and to make several additional parameters available to the ENgetnodevalue function of the Toolkit that are required by the multi-species extension.

We have made a number of changes to the hydraulic engine code so that it can better handle combinations of control valves connected to one another. In particular, it now produces correct solutions for multi-valve regulator stations that have two or more PRVs connected in parallel. I want to thank Rod Allen of the Portland Water Bureau for his assistance with this. These changes have resulted in some networks requiring more trials than before to reach convergence, so keep this in mind when applying the new update to your existing models.

The full list of updates and bug fixes is available from the web site. A more complete overhaul of the program, including a fix for the scaling problem with the backdrop map, is still in preparation and may be ready for release by the end of the year.

We, as water resources engineers, have a lot of data for our water distribution systems and other projects we run. To maintain the data we use all kind of ways: databases, Excel files, AutoCAD drawings and more. There is a new tool that can help us keep our data in a more intuitive way. A 3D information organizer.

This new computer information organizer software lets you organize your information just the way you like in 3D space. You can have different areas for elements like pumps, valves, tanks and more. Each area in the 3d space you divide into sub sections for different network section and more.

Take a quick look at this demo video and consider signing up as beta-testers for the software.

See what other people wrote about 3d mindmapping software review.

The shower accounts for approximately 20% of indoor water use, and about 60% of hot water use. Older shower heads put out water at a rate of 4.5 to 8 gallons per minute (gpm). Low flow models operate at a range of 1.5 to 2.5 gpm. Low flow shower heads are available in a wide range of flow characteristics, so it should be possible to find a model that suits you. At the end of the day you will be saving water.

But water is not the only thing you will save. There is also CO2. You will save about 136 kg of CO2 each year just by installing low flow shower heads. If you also adjust your hot water heater from 60°C to about 50°C, you will save an additional 217 Kg of CO2 (you can find 20 simple tips fro lowering your home’s carbon footprint here).

At the end of the day, when you install a low flow shower heads and adjust your water temperature, you save water, CO2 and money!

Have you noticed the new web site EPANET.com? This new site states that it is:

Your one-stop source for software technology, news, and collaboration for the municipal water distribution modeling industry.

The site brings industry headlines, EPANet files download, few white papers, one book for sale and a registration form for a forum.

In the footer of the web page it is said that:

EPANET.com is not affiliated with or managed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency or any other governmental agency

So who is behind this web site?
Looking at the one book offered, “Advanced Water Distribution Modeling and Management “, the software link to “WaterCAD V8 XM“, the registration option to “WaterTalk” and the authors of the withe papers, it is clear that Haestad Methods (currently Bentley) is behind the site.

To make sure I have checked the domain registry for the owner of the epanet.com domain. Up until about a month ago the domain was registered under the name of Bentley. At this time the owner of the domain is hidden. I suspect that the owner did not change - but I could be wrong.

I have nothing against Bentley opening a site at EPANET.com but it would be only fair that they will disclose this fact.

During the last year, 277 posts were sent for 100 topics in the EPANet user-list.

The archive for all the posts can be found in the forums section.

Armando Barreto over at Zonum Solutions is looking for beta-testers for his new release - epa2kmz.

From Zonums Solutions web site:

Epa2kmz transforms NET Files to KMZ format. It allows to visualize Epanet projects in Google Earth, using the GE imagery as background.

Epa2kmz can transform the Network Map or the Network Map and the Hydraulic Analysis.

Epa2kmz wizard interface allows the user to navigate the process of transformation step by step, from the input file to the Google Earth visualization file. If the output visualization is not what you wanted, just click the back button and make the changes, no need to repeat to whole process.

Epa2kmz uses the EPANET Toolkit function library (Epanet2.dll) as the analysis engine. Also it incorporates functions and subroutines from the source code of EPANET.

From the EPA web site:

EPANET is used in homeland security research to model contamination threats to water systems. Historically, EPANET has been limited to tracking the dynamics of a single chemical transported through a network of pipes and storage tanks. EPANET did not consider interactions between bulk species in the water or the surface species fixed to the pipe wall.

Recently, the NHSRC released a research version of MS-EPANET (Multi-Species EPANET) that allows for the consideration of multiple interacting species in the bulk flow and on the pipe walls. The multi-species modeling extensions to EPANET include the following:

1. The capability to model multi-species reactions in pipes and tanks when reactions involve bulk and surface species reactions.
2. Modification of the EPANET input file format to enable it to read water quality dynamics expressions and to accommodate various other multi-specie interactions. This allows arbitrary mathematical expressions of reaction dynamics. The model then parses the expressions and stores and structures the data for efficient evaluation.
3. The extension incorporates Newton-Raphson and Runge-Kutta algorithms into its water quality modules to solve the differential-algebraic equations that describe the reaction dynamics.
4. Modification of the EPANET Programmer’s Toolkit to allow for specification of contaminant sources and qualities.

MS-EPANET will enable users to model free chlorine loss, the formation of disinfection byproducts, nitrification dynamics, disinfectant residuals, and adsorption on pipe walls. Homeland security researchers are particularly interested in modeling the fate and transport of contaminant threats in drinking water distribution systems.

The MS-EPANET software and User’s Guide is now available to researchers and consultants as part of a beta-testing program. The User’s Guide includes several example applications. By the end of 2006, a tested version of MS-EPANET will be freely available.

Armando Barreto, a student at the University of Arizona, wrote me about his new free tool will extract geometric data contained in ESRI-shape files into EPANet INP files. shp2epa was designed with an interface similar to dxf2epa for a familiar feeling for the user.

Continue Reading »
shp2epa utility conversion

News from Manuel López-Ibáñez:

Version 1.4 of EPANET Toolkit for GNU/Linux has been released on 27 June
2006.

This version of EPANET Toolkit is an adaptation of the original EPANET Toolkit version 2.00.10 to GNU/Linux with additional bug fixes and improvements. Nevertheless, source code should compile even on Windows environments (as it has been reported by some users). The purpose of making public my own version is that other researchers can benefit from the improvements and fixes, while the amount of testing of this
version of EPANET is increased. Therefore, any feedback will be welcome.

A complete list of changes and source code are available here.

General information is available here:

MWH Soft announced the availability of the V4 Generation of InfoSewer for power ArcGIS (ESRI, Redlands, CA) users.

From MWH Soft web page:

InfoSewer is a powerful ArcGIS-based computer program for use in the planning, design, analysis, and expansion of sanitary, storm and combined sewer collection systems. The program can be effectively used to model both dry-weather and wet-weather flows and determine the most cost-effective and reliable method of wastewater collection. Built atop ArcGIS™ using the latest Microsoft .NET and ESRI ArcObjects component technologies, InfoSewer seamlessly integrates advanced hydraulic and hydrologic modeling functionality with the latest generation of ArcGIS™. InfoSewer capitalizes on the intelligence and versatility of the geodatabase architecture to deliver unparalleled levels of geospatial analysis, infrastructure management and business planning. Its unique interoperable geospatial framework enables world-record performance, scalability, reliability, functionality and flexibility - all within the powerful ArcGIS™ environment.

InfoSewer offers DIRECT ArcGIS INTEGRATION enabling engineers and GIS professionals to work simultaneously on the same integrated platform. It allows you to command powerful GIS analysis and hydraulic modeling in a single environment using a single dataset. You can now create, edit, modify, run, map, analyze, design and optimize your sewer network models and instantly review, query and display simulation results from within ArcGIS™.

For more information see MWH Soft web page.