Hydraulic modeling is a powerful tool for municipal water systems experiencing rapid growth, and it plays a crucial role in supporting infrastructure planning, decision-making, and system expansion. RETTEW is well versed in providing our municipal clients with water system analyses and hydraulic modeling services. Let us know if you are facing any of the following challenges – we’d be happy to talk to you.

1. Capacity Analysis and Future Demand Projections

• Demand Forecasting: RETTEW develops hydraulic models to help forecast future water demands based on population growth, land development, and changing usage patterns. This ensures the system is appropriately sized to meet the needs of a growing community.
• Identification of Bottlenecks: By simulating various growth scenarios, our hydraulic modeling can pinpoint where the existing system may be insufficient to handle future demand, such as areas with inadequate redundancy, pipe size, material, or condition, which can result in weak water pressures or available flows.

2. Optimizing Infrastructure Design

• Pipe Sizing and Layout: Hydraulic modeling assists RETTEW’s engineers in designing water distribution systems with the correct pipe sizes, layouts, and materials, ensuring water flows efficiently throughout the system without unnecessary pressure loss or reduction in capacity.
• Pump Station and Storage Sizing: Our models help determine the optimal size and location of pump stations and tanks/reservoirs, ensuring they provide the right amount of pressure and storage capacity to meet future demand.

3. Pressure and Flow Management

• Pressure Analysis: Using hydraulic modeling, RETTEW’s engineers can simulate how the system will perform under various flow and operating conditions. This is particularly important for identifying potential pressure losses or surges that could occur during peak demand periods resulting from the addition of large developments and/or commercial/industrial customers.
• System Resilience: Our models can evaluate the system’s resilience under different emergency or stress scenarios, such as a sudden increase in demand, fire flow requirements, or system failures (e.g., broken pipes or pump malfunctions). This helps us identify where upgrades or redundancies are needed to prevent service disruptions.

4. Cost-Effective Planning

• Optimizing Infrastructure Investment: Hydraulic models provide a clear understanding of where investments are most needed and how projects should be prioritized. RETTEW helps municipalities make cost-effective decisions by targeting critical areas for improvement while avoiding overextending the abilities of the existing system facilities through expansion.
• Cost-Benefit Analysis: By simulating various system upgrades, RETTEW helps municipalities evaluate the cost-effectiveness of different solutions (e.g., replacing old pipes, adding new pump stations, expanding reservoirs) before committing to expensive infrastructure projects.
• Comprehensive Funding Strategy: Obtaining funding for projects like this can be challenging. At RETTEW, we understand the complexities of the application process, from preparing designs and budget outlines to establishing relationships with funding agencies. With our extensive experience and proven track record, including successful applications through the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST), we are your trusted advisor in navigating these challenges to expand your municipality’s system.

5. Scenario Planning for Growth and Expansion

• Simulating Growth Scenarios: Using hydraulic modeling, RETTEW can simulate different growth scenarios, such as residential, commercial, or industrial expansion, and assess their impact on the water system. Our analyses include factors such as increased demand, new development areas, or shifts in water usage patterns.
• Future-Proofing: Our models can also help municipalities plan for long-term infrastructure development, ensuring new systems are scalable and adaptable to future growth, minimizing the need for costly retrofitting or reengineering later.

6. Regulatory Compliance and System Reliability

• Compliance with Standards: Many municipalities are required to meet specific water quality, pressure, and flow standards set by local or regional regulatory agencies. RETTEW’s hydraulic modeling can ensure the system is designed to meet these standards, even as the population grows and demands increase.
• Water Quality Monitoring: Our models can also simulate water age and flow velocity to assess insufficient water turnover, which is typical in areas with low demand or long, oversized distribution lines. This situation can potentially lead to low chlorine residuals and other water quality issues, including taste, odor, or creation of disinfection biproducts.

7. Risk and Emergency Management

• Resilience to Emergencies: RETTEW uses hydraulic modeling to help municipalities plan for emergencies like fire events, main breaks, or drought conditions by simulating how these scenarios would impact water delivery. This allows the municipality to design emergency response strategies and identify critical areas for improvement, such as additional water sources, backup power, or redundant distribution infrastructure.
• Contingency Planning: The models can simulate how a water system might react if parts of the system were to fail, allowing municipalities to plan for the use of alternative water sources or by creating bypass routes for uninterrupted service.

8. Use of Real-Time Monitoring for System Optimization

• Calibration with SCADA Data: Hydraulic models can be enhanced though the integration of SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) information, providing real-world insights into the performance of the water distribution network. RETTEW has in-depth experience in the design and implementation of process monitoring and control, instrumentation, and SCADA systems.

Through hydraulic modeling, RETTEW has helped multiple municipalities make informed, data-driven decisions about infrastructure expansion and development. These models help municipalities plan for future growth, improve operational efficiency, and optimize investments in water distribution systems. By providing a clear understanding of how changes in the system will affect water flow, pressure, and quality, hydraulic modeling helps ensure the water system can meet the demands of a growing population in a sustainable, cost-effective manner.