The Evolution of GIS and its Impact on

Sustainable Hydraulic Modeling

Dave Harrington // IDModeling, Inc.

September 15, 2009
Bentley eSeminar
www.idmodeling.com
daveharrington@idmodeling.com

www.idmodeling.com

Acknowledgments

Industry Colleagues
Cities & Utilities
Fellow Consultants

IDModeling Colleagues

Mr. Paul Hauffen

Mr. Brian Powell, P.E.
Mr. Rajan Ray
Mr. Patrick Moore, P.E.

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Agenda

Overview of the Evolution of GIS

Evolution of Hydraulic Modeling
Impact of the Evolution of GIS
on Sustainable (1:1) Models
Process and Considerations for
Building Sustainable Models

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Overview of the Evolution of GIS

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Evolution of Hydraulic Modeling

Size pipes
Master planning

Pressure zone setup

Identify critical valves

Non-revenue water analysis

Capital Cost Analysis

IDSE Modeling

Subdivision design

Operational changes

Flushing planning

System extension

Chlorine Analysis

Operator training

System rehab

Pump energy usage

Finding closed valves

Fire flow analysis

Troubleshooting

Surge Analysis

Hydraulic Modeling
Whats my pressure here?

Pump selection
Tank sizing/location
Sensor Location
Management
Online Results Viewer

Fire sprinkler systems

Raw water pumping

Water quality tracking

Leakage analysis

Water age analysis

Irrigation systems

Water quality impact of storage

Pipe Replacement Plan

Contamination analysis

Pump Scheduling
QA/QC of GIS/CAD data

PRV setting identification

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Benefits of Sustainable Models

Easier to build and update accurately

Stay consistent with data in GIS
Do not require skeletonization
Enables more detailed, flexible demand allocation
Calibration is streamlined
Opens the door for advanced applications such as
IDSE, UDF, water quality, valve criticality, energy
usage, operational modeling, etc.

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Planning for a Sustainable Model

A sustainable 1:1 model is now a realistic option
More widespread use of geometric networks and better-defined network
rules are enabling easier model creation and updating

Recommended business process steps

Review GIS structure, attributes, connectivity, rules

Verify that IDs are fully populated, unique, and stable
Identify your modeling requirements
List all the steps in the proposed model creation / update process
Identify ways to track future updates (additions, deletions, modifications)
List any changes desired in the source GIS
Discuss the proposed changes with GIS group in detail
Get consensus on the changes up front and document everything
Test the process

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Steps for Building a

Sustainable Model 2

Changes/Edits
New features

Pipe length

Aband. features

Pipe diameter

Pipe splits

Elevations

Model Components

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Pump curves

Demands

Controls

C-factors

Patterns

Scenarios

Questions

Etc.

Important Points for Sustainability - 1

How elements are connected together

(i.e., their network topology) is crucial for models
Many topological issues are difficult to find by eye
Topological accuracy in the source data is critical
for an accurate model
Geometric Networks can resolve many typical issues observed
Unfortunately problems, can still arise!!

Inspect the GIS, identify and correct any topology issues

before the model is constructed use the software tools
to help you

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Important Points for Sustainability - 2

Watch out for identity theft

Modeling requires a unique ID for each element
The GIS attribute OBJECTID may not be unique
throughout the entire GIS, and is not necessarily a
stable field not a good choice for your model ID
Consider creating a stable attribute field called
MODEL_ID. Create rules in your geodatabase to
ensure this attribute is unique throughout the
entire geodb, fully populated, and stable

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Important Points for Sustainability - 3

Not all elements in the GIS will be in the Model

Whats Hot What is included
Whats Not What is excluded
Typical elements included
Mains and elements at Main endpoints
Major Lateral lines that split mains (+ their points)

Potential approaches
Use a field in the GIS to assist
i.e. -IN_MODEL (YES or NO)
Initially determined by the modeler
Consistent application of this rule enables automatic queries to be
used to sort features for export for a model update

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Important Points for Sustainability - 3

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Important Points for Sustainability - 4

Facilities in GIS may not include much detail

Why? You typically dont need that level of detail!

Some facilities require special work to prepare

them for export from GIS to model
Some detail may have to be removed
Multiple connected reservoirs

Some detail may have to be added

Point-type PRV vaults need to represent valves in parallel
Point-type booster stations need to represent pumps in parallel

versus

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Process GIS Data to

Prepare for Modeling

Translation from GIS to model

Make the base GIS 1:1 with model topology
(typically not achievable)
OR
Use a translation utility
Home-made - custom scripting, or
Off-the-shelf

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Visual Workflow of Processing

GIS Data to Prepare for Modeling

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Important Points for Sustainability - 5

Track what has changed

What has been added?
What has been removed/abandoned?
Which attributes have been modified?

Track when it changed

To enable future incremental model updates

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Important Points for Sustainability - 6

Updates involve more than just preserving or

updating features and geometry
Model demands
Base and customized demands

Extended attributes
Diurnal patterns, pump curves, controls, etc.

Scenarios
Data sets, facility sets

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Lessons for Builders of

Sustainable Models

The best process is one that is customized for

your data and your business needs
Theres no substitute for project momentum
Rules, consistency, and documentation are just
as vital to a sustainable hydraulic model as they
are to a sustainable GIS

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Summary on Sustainable Modeling

The evolution of GIS is helping the development
of sustainable models
Review the topology of your GIS in detail and iterate to
identify and resolve connectivity issues
Review all proposed GIS changes in detail with GIS group
and get their input and buy-off
There are software tools available to help build sustainable
models, but you still need good data, and a solid,
well-documented process
Successfully building a sustainable model is a balancing
act, keeping in mind the details and the overall process

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Additional Resources
Book
Best Practices for Sustainable GIS and
Hydraulic Model Integration

To be published in 2010, ESRI Press

IDModeling, Black & Veatch, and ESRI

White Paper
A Guide for Water Utilities of All Sizes

Presenting Best Practices for Sustainable GIS and Hydraulic Model Integration
To be published in early 2010, ESRI Press
IDModeling and Black & Veatch

AWWA M32 Manual New Edition

Includes updates specific to GIS+Modeling

Discussion forums
Blogs and forums on www.hydraulicmodel.com
Bentleys Water and Wastewater Network Analysis and Design Forum
www.idmodeling.com

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The Evolution of GIS and its Impact on

Sustainable Hydraulic Modeling

Dave Harrington // IDModeling, Inc.

September 15, 2009
Bentley eSeminar
www.idmodeling.com
daveharrington@idmodeling.com

www.idmodeling.com

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