Automated Unidirectional Flushing Software Programs Proven Technology or

Automated Unidirectional Flushing Software Programs Proven Technology or Vaporware? Presented by: David Stangel, P. E. ds@msa-ep. com Murray, Smith & Associates, Inc. www. msa-ep. com 1

Engineer as a Designer of the Human Body q Three engineering students were gathered together discussing the possible designers of the human body. q One said, ``It was a mechanical engineer. Just look at all the joints. '' q Another said, ``No, it was an electrical engineer. The nervous systems has many thousands of electrical connections. '' q The last said, ``Actually it was a civil engineer. Who else would run a toxic waste pipeline through a recreational area? ” www. msa-ep. com 2

What is Unidirectional Flushing or UDF? q The sequential closing of system valves and opening of hydrants to obtain adequate pipe velocities to flush debris, dirty/discolored water from the system www. msa-ep. com 3

How is it Different than Traditional Flushing Methods? q Additional planning is required Identification of flushing areas using hard copy maps Typically aided by a hydraulic model to identify valve/hydrant sequence and simulate velocities and discharge rates q Targets velocities of 5 ft/s (min 3 ft/s) q Traditional flushing doesn’t guarantee adequate velocities Normally positive redundancy and looping works against flushing q Traditional flushing may drop system pressure below 20 psi q Traditional flushing may involve all hydrants www. msa-ep. com UDF only flushes strategically placed hydrants 4

UDF Compared with Traditional Flushing Flushed Hydrant Closed Valves www. msa-ep. com 5

Why Flush? (other than for obvious personal reasons) q Maintains distribution system water quality www. msa-ep. com Restores disinfectant residual Reduces disinfectant demand Reduces bacterial growth Dislodges biofilms Removes sediments and deposits Restores flows and pressures Eliminates taste and odor problems 6

Why Flush? q Other reasons for UDF www. msa-ep. com Increases general system understanding for staff – Integrates new staff Identifies missing/broken valves/hydrants Leverages hydraulic model/GIS investment Uses less water than traditional techniques (up to 40%) Corrosion control 7

Keys to an Effective UDF Program q Plan, plan q Quality maps with pertinent information for field crews q Operations staff input Incorporate parts of existing flushing programs where possible q Public notification q Yearly or bi-yearly flushing schedule www. msa-ep. com 8

What Information is Required to Develop a UDF Plan? q Hydraulic model Requires a calibrated model Steady state or extended period mode q Hydrant/valve GIS layers CAD information can be utilized if available Assumptions for locations can be made if layers don’t exist q Firm understanding of system operation www. msa-ep. com 9

UDF Software Recent releases by software vendors suggest that developing a UDF plan using their tools is an easy next step. Should we believe it? www. msa-ep. com 10

UDF Software cont. It is relatively straightforward with completely clean data in exactly the required format. We all know how often that is the case. www. msa-ep. com 11

Available Tools q MWH Soft & Bentley Systems q MWH Soft UDF - separate module Requires Info. Water (Arc. GIS) license q Bentley www. msa-ep. com Includes UDF with all platforms (stand alone, CAD, Arc. GIS) 12

Available Tools q Pricing dependent on number of pipes q Example List Prices for 5000 pipe model Bentley – Water. GEMS $12 k + cost of AV MWH Soft - Info. Water $8 k + UDF $7 k + cost of AV q MWH Soft Valves and hydrant laterals do not increase pipe count Pipes are not split q Bentley www. msa-ep. com Requires a split where hydrants intersect pipes Laterals must be entered No split for valves 13

Approaches to UDF q MWH Soft UDF focus – Can automatically close all valves along pipe alignment q Bentley Starts with conventional flushing Progresses to UDF – Valves open as default – User closes www. msa-ep. com 14

UDF Model Building Process q Add valves/hydrants Was the model created from GIS? Valves/hydrants to be operated should be provided QA/QC – Are hydrant and valve numbers populated and unique? – Valves ○ Does layer “register” with model? – Hydrants ○ ○ Number of ports and size Elevations – Hydrant laterals ○ www. msa-ep. com Length and diameter 15

UDF Model Building Process q Valves & Hydrants are key for building the UDF database www. msa-ep. com 16

Hydrants q Pertinent attributes associated with hydrant q Requires preprocessing “Pipe” attributes not normally associated with hydrants – Length, roughness, diameter q Non-hydraulic information can be tracked www. msa-ep. com 17

Hydrants q Auto-associated to model pipes in Info. Water UDF Auto-calcs mainline distance Hydrants can be associated “mid-pipe” q Must be “built” into Bentley’s network www. msa-ep. com Includes splits at hydrant laterals Generated by Info. Water UDF 18

Valves q Ensure correct valve/pipe association q Auto-associated Info. Water UDF Bentley q Non-hydraulic information can be tracked www. msa-ep. com 19

Valve Registration q What we want to see www. msa-ep. com q Making our life interesting 20

Registration Issues q Valve registration can be critical www. msa-ep. com If the user wants to use valve ids for closing in the field 21

Model Tools q Many Info. Water QA/QC and data building tools are unavailable in UDF www. msa-ep. com Unique valve/hydrant identifiers Hydrant elevation interpolation Association of lateral attributes to hydrants – Lateral length and diameter Visual check for valve associations General editing of valve/hydrant databases Cannot fully leverage Domain Manager in UDF 22

Model Tools cont. q In general the Bentley flushing tools are integrated into the modeling platform Biggest limitation is the requirement for building hydrants and laterals into the model database – Adds pipes to model increasing price – Adds unneeded complexity for most modeling procedures www. msa-ep. com 23

UDF Model Building q Don’t underestimate the effort q Can be significant depending on input data quality Particularly if the model has not been created from GIS q When old data is put to a new use, previously unknown “issues” arise www. msa-ep. com Plan for it 24

UDF Analysis Criteria q Typical flushing velocity Min 3 ft/s Target 5 ft/s Shear stress criteria can be used in Info. Water q Min system pressure typically 20 psi www. msa-ep. com 25

Analysis Process q Using large format system map: www. msa-ep. com Mark up flush zones – Typically pressure zones or smaller – Each zone associated with a “primary” source – Each zone includes a number of flush sequences – Work from source to system periphery 26

Analysis Process q In the model: Identify initial flush pipeline(s) Identify what hydrant(s) will be opened Identify valves to be closed – Take care not to isolate portions of the system from water – Minimize valve closures ○ www. msa-ep. com Labor intensive for field crews 27

Example Info. Water UDF Flushing Sequence 1 Sequence 2 Sequence 3 Sequence 4 www. msa-ep. com 28

Tabular Info. Water UDF Output www. msa-ep. com 29

What Does the Field Crew Use? q They need to know: www. msa-ep. com What system sources should be operating What valves should be closed and when they should be reopened – Identify valve number and/or street intersection What hydrants should be opened – Identify hydrant number – Identify flow to target – Identify how long to run hydrant They need a series of maps clearly showing the sequences and associated information 30

What is Currently Available for Field Maps? www. msa-ep. com 31

Field Maps q Bentley does not offer field map template q Utilities are turning to in house or consulted Arc. GIS programming to develop field maps q Some utilities want maps in the same format as their standard field books www. msa-ep. com 32

So What Should You Do? q Software vendors focus on “first to release” rather than the product’s “polish” www. msa-ep. com Positive – Vendors willing to work with users to enhance products Negative – Enhancement turnaround time can be slow due to large number of software packages supported What level of usability and beta testing should users expect? – Price dependant 33

Who Should Purchase these Tools? q Developing a flushing program Not like modeling tools that are used regularly Takes an initial focused effort No need to redo on a weekly/monthly basis – unless growing rapidly q If utilities use Bentley then they already own it www. msa-ep. com Otherwise: – Utilities – No – Consultants – Yes 34

Additional Development q Primary areas for further development www. msa-ep. com Info. Water UDF – Model building and QA/QC – Field map customization capability Bentley – Associate hydrants without permanent pipe splits – A field map generator 35

Future Enhancements q MWH Soft Committed to more than 20 enhancements More incentive – UDF module sold separately q Bentley www. msa-ep. com Open to suggestions for enhancements Less incentive – Included in modeling suite 36

Summary q UDF www. msa-ep. com Ensures adequate flushing velocities are being achieved Can reduce the number of hydrants operated Can reduce the amount of flushed water used Can reduce the frequency of required flushing – Does a more effective job of removing debris, biofilm and dirty water Provides a target flow rate for flushing – Should minimize unnecessary low pressures 37

Summary cont. q AWWA and industry supports UDF plan development beyond traditional flushing q Software tools will be more valuable/usable once additional enhancements have been made q If a utility has: Invested in a hydraulic model Accurate valve/hydrant information they can develop a UDF plan with reasonable effort www. msa-ep. com 38

So Flush Away! q Special Thanks to: Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District City of Redmond, Oregon Matt Caldwell, Bentley Systems Erick Heath, MWH Soft q Questions? ds@msa-ep. com www. msa-ep. com 39