Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) of Laurel, Maryland has selected Optimatics’ award-winning Optimizer™ software platform as the foundation for a breakthrough Water Main Replacement Program Optimization tool. Utilizing the Optimizer™ software, WSSC staff, supported by engineers from Black and Veatch (B&V) and Optimatics, will seek to develop a unique approach that will replace the manual process currently used to select water mains for replacement.
The Optimizer™ software platform includes Optimatics’ high performance computing stack, suite of optimization algorithms and graphical user interface. For this application a configured scripting engine will be used to define WSSC’s specific decisions, design criteria and objectives. The tool will allow its users to optimize the selection of water mains for replacement in consideration of cost, spatial efficiency, community impact and risk as defined in the PowerPlan Asset Management Planning (AMP) Suite (formerly Riva Modeling Asset Management Suite).
Data for the water mains replacement optimization analysis will be provided by Black and Veatch in the form of geodatabases from ArcMap. These inputs will be generated using the GIS tool developed by B&V and then imported into Optimizer™ for the optimization analysis. The tool will be designed so that WSSC and B&V are able to perform optimization runs for approximately 210 areas (determined by B&V based on municipal and county boundaries and pressure zones) and a number of business case alternatives. It is envisaged that Optimizer™ will provide optimized pipe packages for each area that can ultimately be utilized to define an optimal plan for the entire service area.
“Being able to support WSSC in its efforts to develop this invaluable water main replacement program optimization tool is extremely satisfying. The tool will help WSSC identify the most cost-effective pipe packages and allow for a transparent and unified approach for selection.”, said Product Manager, Dr Joshua Cantone.
Optimizer™, a cloud-based optimization software solution, comprehensively analyses water and wastewater systems by evaluating hundreds of thousands of asset options and capacity combinations against multiple objectives such as cost, hydraulic performance, energy, and water quality. In contrast to traditional approaches which combine best engineering judgment, trial and error and limited scenario evaluations, Optimizer automates the scenario analysis process and produces many potential combinations that meet the desired requirements. Optimizer allows planners and engineers to focus on effective results and avoid costly over-designs.
For further information on how your organization can experience the benefits of the Optimatics advanced optimization technology, please contact sales@optimatics.com or +1-913-538-7219.
Established in 1996, Optimatics was founded by engineers who recognized the potential of Computational Intelligence to revolutionize water system planning.
