In its ongoing quest to equip the global water industry with the world’s most powerful and comprehensive GIS-centric infrastructure modeling and design solutions, MWH Soft, a leading global innovator of wet infrastructure modeling and simulation software and technologies, today announced the worldwide availability of the V8.1 Generation of InfoWater for ArcGIS (Esri, Redlands, CA). InfoWater has long been renowned for its legendary power, speed, and comprehensive toolsets and extensions. With this release, MWH Soft has further refined the superb water supply and distribution modeling features that have helped make it a leading choice among the world’s top water utilities.

Built atop ArcGIS, InfoWater seamlessly integrates advanced network modeling and optimization functionality directly within the ArcGIS setting. From fire flow and water quality (including multi-species) simulations, valve criticality and energy cost analysis to pressure zone management and advanced Genetic Algorithm and Particle Swarm optimization, the InfoWater product suite comes equipped with everything modeling professionals need to best plan, manage, operate and sustain their water distribution systems. The software also serves as a base platform for advanced modeling, operational, and capital planning extensions. Among these critical applications are InfoWater UDF (unidirectional flushing); CapPlan Water (risk-based capital planning); InfoWater MSX (multi-species, temperature, and particle transport/deposition modeling); InfoSurge (surge/transient analysis); and Sustainability (carbon footprint calculation).

Via new cutting-edge algorithms, Version 8.1 automatically calculates pump speeds over time during extended period simulation (EPS) runs, enables simple and full logical controls, and maintains user-specified fixed or time-varying (pattern-based) heads at nodes anywhere in the system as well as fixed or time-varying pump discharge flows. These advantages, all delivered with incredible speed and accuracy, allow users to mimic the actual operational behavior of VSPs in the field — a critical step in providing customers with a complete network modeling solution.

The version fully supports the modeling of single pump elements or complex batteries of variable speed pumps to accurately simulate parallel installations. An improved numerical solution algorithm and significantly enhanced graphical performance and model management tools optimize speed and streamline workflow, making the software especially well-suited for modeling very large and complex networks. The result is better, more accurate models completed more quickly, with enhanced energy management capabilities and new efficiencies at every step.

This latest release also further advances the state of the art in dynamic water quality analysis of drinking water distribution systems by adding the ability to simulate spatial and temporal variations in water temperature and temperature gradients throughout the most complex piping networks. This will greatly enhance the ability of water utilities to optimize their overall treatment and distribution processes and improve customer satisfaction.

These enhancements propel the InfoWater family of solutions into the next generation, carrying on MWH Soft’s time-honored practice of continually adding critical value to its software and bringing unsurpassed modeling and design capabilities into the mainstream. The suite has the robustness and feature set needed to handle the most demanding analyses. Yet it’s intuitive enough for a new user to master without a drawn-out learning curve, making it the ultimate GIS-centric decision support tool for water supply and distribution systems. Like all MWH Soft products, it’s backed by unparalleled high-touch technical support. Organizations may also opt to call on MWH Soft Implementation Services to accelerate deployment, integration and implementation of best modeling practices for an even faster return on investment.

“We’re constantly innovating to help our customers excel and achieve their most important goals while making their jobs easier,” said Paul F. Boulos, Ph.D., Hon.D.WRE, F.ASCE, President and Chief Operating Officer of MWH Soft. “The version 8.1 release closely follows July’s version 8.0, reflecting our ongoing commitment to equipping customers with the ultimate ArcGIS-centric decision support tool for water distribution systems by delivering significant product enhancements in short release cycles. As we continue to add new features to the software, users can take advantage of the benefits almost immediately.”