Water Simulation Packages (WSP)

EPA has released a new tool for small water utilities trying to balance the demands for quality water with their financial ability to deliver. The tool is part of an overall program to protect public health, support small water systems and keep costs of water manageable. The targeted systems serve 3,300 customers or fewer.
The document, “Setting Small Drinking Water System Rates for a Sustainable Future,” will help owners and operators understand the full costs of providing a quality and adequate supply of drinking water to their customers and guide them in setting water rates that will support these costs.

The document is available at:
www.epa.gov/water/infrastructure/pdf/final_ratesetting_guide.pdf

Source: Safe Water Trust

From Elite Software Development:

“If you’re looking for a full featured domestic supply water pipe sizing program then S-Pipe is what you want. It has lots of built-in pipe and fitting data, plus the flexibility to let you enter your own data, plus a direct link with Autodesk Building Systems. Click the Download link on the left to try the functional demo today.”

Features

• Sizes both hot and cold water supply systems
• Calculates using ASHRAE and ASPE procedures
• Supports all plumbing codes such as UPC, IPC, etc.
• Computes demand GPM quantities, pipe specific and total accumulated pressure drops and velocities
• Includes a single branch sizing calculator
• All input data is checked as you enter it
• Built-in data for pipes, fittings, and fixtures
• Links to Autodesk Building Systems 2006
• Prints bill of materials with labor costs
• All built-in data can be changed by the user
• Uses Hunter GPM Curve or your own
• Allows for all types of pipe materials
• Calculates demand water pressure and flow rates
• Computes fitting equivalent lengths & fixture unit loads

Overview
S-Pipe computes optimal pipe sizes for hot and cold water domestic water supply systems in both residential and commercial buildings. It can handle systems with virtually unlimited numbers of pipes. Besides computing pipe sizes, S-Pipe can also perform a system analysis complete with a bill of materials and labor estimate. Reports list the GPM water flow, velocity, and pressure losses through all pipe sections, the maximum system demand pressure, and the total water GPM demanded by the system. S-Pipe is very easy to use as it contains built-in data concerning fitting equivalent lengths, pipe materials, internal pipe diameters and C-Values, fixture unit quantities and pressure requirements, equipment flow and pressure requirements, materials and labor costs, and demand GPM curves. Any or all of the built-in data can be revised to meet your particular needs.

More details at Elite Software Development web site

According to the New York Sun “New York City’s water supply could be the target of contamination if a water system map made its way into the wrong hands…”

New York City’s water supply could be the target of contamination if a water system map made its way into the wrong hands, an environmentalist said.

The threat has arisen since someone broke into a vehicle belonging to a Department of Environmental Protection maintenance supervisor and stole an agency laptop containing a map of the water system. If the map was detailed enough,”there could be the opportunity to pose a threat,” the executive director for the Center for Environmental Information, Cindy Stachowski, said. Even without a map, Ms. Stachowski added, someone pouring biological, chemical, or radiological contaminants into a fresh water source could adulterate the water system.

Source: The New York Sun

In an answer to a question titled “A question about backflow” on the EPANET User-List Elin Warn gave a link to an article by the EPA:

The purpose of this document is to review existing literature, research,and information on the occurrence, magnitude, and nature of the public health risks associated with cross-connections and backflow, from both acute and chronic exposures, and methods for detecting and controlling the occurrence of cross-connections and backflow within distribution systems. More specifically,the goal of
this document is to review what we know regarding:
(1)causes of contamination through cross-connections;
(2)the magnitude of risk associated with cross-connections and backflow;
(3)costs of backflow contamination incidents;
(4)other problems associated with backflow incidents;
(5)suitable measures for preventing and correcting problems caused by cross-connections and backflow;
(6)possible indicators of a backflow incident;
(7)research opportunities.

See the full text here.