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MWH Soft Ships CapPlan for H2OMAP SWMM, Delivering Optimal Renewal Planning of Sewers


WEBWIRE

State-of-the-Art Condition and Risk Assessment Plus Rehabilitation Technology Return Sewer Systems to Near-Original Condition and Performance at Minimum Costs

Broomfield, Colorado USA, July 2008 — MWH Soft, a leading global provider of environmental and water resources applications software, has once again moved the wastewater industry to the head of the line for key new business planning capabilities with the release of CapPlan for H2OMAP SWMM, a ground-breaking GIS-based condition/risk assessment and rehabilitation decision support software for optimal sewer system renewal planning.

Rapid population growth and the deterioration of aging infrastructures — some over a century old — are seriously overtaxing sewer systems worldwide. Increasingly, these stresses are causing sewer surcharges, backups and failures that directly impact human health and the environment while increasing agency liabilities. The usual localized, “find and repair as you go” approach is not cost-effective or reliable, and may not even improve overall collection system performance.

CapPlan assesses not only system structural and O&M condition, but the probability and consequence of failure for each asset. Armed with this big-picture view, wastewater utilities can create fully prioritized short- and long-term sewer rehabilitation, maintenance and management plans and develop sound, cost-effective capital programs to support them.

System structural condition is determined through collection system evaluation studies using CCTV (closed circuit television) data. This allows defect coding to be assigned for each asset (e.g., based on NASSCO/PACP, WRc, or other defect standards) in order to describe internal sewer pipe conditions using a pre-determined grading system. Once a system’s structural condition has been assessed, CapPlan generates a prioritized list of sewer pipes requiring rehabilitation or replacement (i.e. having one or more major defects or multiple minor defects).

The most cost-effective rehabilitation methodology for each pipe is then determined by considering a number critical factors including hydraulic capacity needs; methodology limitations; physical pipe characteristics (e.g., age, diameter, material, and type — gravity or pressure); surface restoration; site characteristics (e.g., soil type, traffic, water table); unit costs; length of point repairs to total pipe length and other utility-specific criteria.

Sewer assets can also be evaluated in terms of the probability and consequence of failure based on predictive deterioration, failure history and CCTV data. Probability of failure is normally described as number of collapses per mile (km) per year for various pipe materials and diameters and number of blockages per mile (km) per year as a function of pipe material and age. Consequence of failure ranking depends on such data as pipe attributes, number of connected customers and proximity to critical facilities (e.g., rivers, water bodies, wetlands, tourist sites, schools, hospitals, fire stations).

Assets affecting system operation will normally rate high on the consequence scale, while assets in poor condition will have a high probability of failure. The risk of each asset is then calculated as the product (multiplication) of its probability and consequence of failure. Focusing greatest attention on assets with the highest risk enables the utility to create a prioritized list of the maintenance and capital improvements most critical to achieving optimum service levels.

Powerful, comprehensive and engineer-friendly, CapPlan for H2OMAP SWMM reflects MWH Soft’s time-honored practice of continually adding value to its world-class software and bringing critical new infrastructure design and management capabilities to the water/wastewater industry. The program’s intuitive interface, easy-to-use functionality and rich analytical, graphing and reporting capabilities save utilities considerable resources by allowing them to quickly and easily pinpoint assets with the greatest risk of hydraulic deficiencies or structural failure, identify optimal rehabilitation methods and avoid future sewer backups or overflows.

“As for previous major new product releases, we are pleased to continue to meet customer expectations with more powerful and expansive tools that contribute to complete asset management,” said Paul F. Boulos, Ph.D, President and COO of MWH Soft. “CapPlan has the power to help wastewater utilities worldwide greatly improve and sustain their sanitary sewer systems at minimum costs. It will enable users to quickly convert CCTV videos of thousands of feet of sewer pipes into prioritized rehabilitation projects, produce biddable construction contract documents for needed improvements, and return their systems to near-original condition and performance. This revolutionary product makes sewer rehabilitation planning easier, faster and more cost-effective and reliable than ever before. We are proud to release another landmark product that will have an immediate impact on our users’ productivity, performance and bottom line while making a positive difference in people’s lives and the ecological health of our nation’s waterways.”

Pricing and Availability
CapPlan for H2OMAP SWMM is now available by subscription worldwide. For the latest information on the MWH Soft Subscription Program, including availability and purchase requirements, visit www.mwhsoft.com or contact your local MWH Soft Certified Representative.




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