Water infrastructure management and modelling

Providing a complete hydraulic and infrastructure management solution to enhance current and future water network performance.

Proactive and reactive infrastructure management, and associated modelling, to understand the hydraulic and water quality performance of your network, from water treatment work outlets to customer taps. The insights we provide facilitate contingency planning, maintenance, and investment decisions. Our holistic ‘source to tap’ approach, which encompasses innovative data analysis tools, provides evidence-based solutions to mitigate current and future risk.

Everything we do is linked to the customer to ensure you proactively manage your targets, whether that’s internal performance commitments or regulatory Outcome Delivery Incentives (ODIs), whilst building resilience within your networks.

Our evidential, auditable, and holistic infrastructure management processes align with both your corporate data and the data you deliver to the regulator.

We build or update network models to identify the root cause of performance issues and subsequently design interventions to improve performance in the long term, complete with evidence base. Our data supports your cost / benefit analysis for your investment proposal.

Our value

Our in-house proprietary, SMART, integrated modelling and GIS data warehouse systems makes model building and maintenance affordable, efficient, and integrated.

The SMART system is compatible with all GIS formats and modelling software applications.

Over 130 combined years water infrastructure management and modelling experience (inc. 35 years direct for Water Companies) from nine in-house experts.

SMART system: Greater accuracy = greater benefits

A key element to determining whether a given set of hydraulic models is fit-for-purpose, and where improvements could be made, is the deployment of our SMART model audit tools.

The SMART modelling system is an integrated modelling and GIS data warehouse with significant model build time and costs savings (up to 60%) making it affordable even for small projects. It is compatible with all GIS formats and modelling software applications and has immediate integration with other water infrastructure related projects.

There are four stages in our audit process

The process contains a decision point, after audit stages 1 and 2, as these stages are designed to identify unfit models at the earliest possible opportunity with the minimum amount of effort and cost expended.

As all models can be audited in a consistent manner against the exact same compliance elements, scoring rules can be applied consistently across the entire programme and a cost per entire rebuild vs maintenance can be generated.

How we can help

Water network modelling

A network model is a computer-based representation of the hydraulic capacity, demands and dynamic controls present in a water network. It represents actual network hydraulic conditions at regular intervals throughout the day.

It is used to identify network deficiencies which would then stimulate scenario modelling and undertake scenario modelling projects.

*System knowledge and real data analysis is a pre-requisite to any successful model-based study

What benefits do hydraulic models provide? (Model accuracy dependant)

Analysis of network performance under current, peak, and forecast demand conditions
Identification of the root causes of capacity constraints and other performance issues
Support tool for network operations
Optimisation of system controls e.g. pump scheduling, pressure management
To support the decision-making process as an evidentiary investment tool

Network modelling services include:

Model build and calibration
Model maintenance
Model conversion
Model audits
Surge modelling
Model build specification development
Discolouration risk modelling
Water quality modelling
Leakage ‘hot spot’ modelling
Pressure optimisation modelling
High velocity mains cleaning designs
Trunk main conditioning modelling
Growth forecast modelling
Tankering and backfeed contingency modelling

Water infrastructure design and maintenance

We provide a number of services to aid you in the optimum design of new water network assets. Our dedicated, experienced team of network engineers deploy calibrated network models, and significant engineering judgement, to devise the most efficient, effective, and resilient configuration of network assets whatever the constraints may be.

In addition, we will deliver a suite of associated, follow-on network interventions, from mains conditioning activities to planned preventative maintenance schedules, to enable the effective operation of the assets in question and meet future challenges pertaining to growth and climate change. This tried and tested approach to whole-life network management also ensures you benefit from the total possible lifespan of your assets whilst ensuring customer performance targets are met or exceeded.

Feasibility and conceptual design studies
Design support modelling / network analysis
Network care plans to maintain regulatory target performance
Design optioneering
Design challenge / validation
Optimised mains rehabilitation design
New water network hydraulic design
Industrial fire system assessment and design
Non-potable pressurised systems – assessment and design
New development impact assessments
New asset hydraulic design
Network optimisation
Solution development and value management
Strategic irrigation network design
Water conservation and growth assessments
Optimatics* optimum design (*3rd party software)

Asset health and optimisation

This service focuses on delivering reliable and resilient water services to current and future customers. We review your asset base, at the granularity of individual assets, to develop a bespoke, holistic ‘source-to-tap’, risk-based set of measures with robust and transparent methodologies. Outputs are evidential, auditable, and quantitative and, as a result, resilience and investment can be linked to customers and regulatory performance targets.

Our services in this area include:

Source to tap assessments
Holistic zonal studies for regulatory target-based investment
Integrated network management studies
Asset health assessments
Risk and consequence analysis
Root cause analysis
Critical asset assessments
Strategic trunk main assessments
Evidence / risk-based investment plans
WRMP source to tap transmission assessment
Network criticality assessments
‘Individual asset’ & ‘asset systems’ resilience assessments
Pressure transient risk assessments
Operational maintenance: optimised programme development
Operational performance reviews
Total system energy cost optimisation
Complex data analytics
Process and software support
GIS network connectivity assessments
GIS-based risk and resilience asset management reporting
Asset and zonal level contingency plans
Database development

Regulatory / advisory services

Our extensive experience within the water industry, working with and directly for the majority of UK water companies and consultancy organisations, gives us a unique insight into the challenges involved in delivering industry leading water services. We provide tailored support to aid with a myriad of tasks and activities ranging from Third-party verification of business plans being submitted to a regulatory body to benchmarking and redesigning operational practices.

Strategy development
Specification and industry best practice support incl. DOMS
NRW (leakage) management
KPI performance assessments
Regulatory risk assessments
Third party verification for DWI
Technical assurance
Business case development
Business plan / price review ‘evidence-based justification’ support
Provision of evidence base for PR24 and WRMP submissions
Power BI risk and performance dashboards

Specialist training

To allow our clients to successfully carry out in-house future network assessments, beyond the end of our project involvement, we have developed a suite of training materials and can provide tailored 1 to 1 training.

Specialist training services include: