Project
Compesa supplies water to the city of Olinda, Pernambuco, Brazil, where the combination of spring-fed reservoirs and deep wells had been hard hit by drought. Management needed to improve the operating efficiency of its water supply system for the city, as the water system had expanded over the years to accommodate exponential urban growth. Enorsul Saneamento was retained to optimize Compesa's water distribution system and reduce water losses by 56 percent. The scope included prioritization of infrastructure replacement and improvement and implementation of 43 metering and control sectors (MCS).
Solution
Enorsul used WaterCAD and WaterGEMS to produce hydraulic simulations that were used to optimize operation of the 426-kilometer water supply network, identify and reduce water loss, and determine changes needed to meet present and future demand. The effective modeling approach shortened the period for study and diagnostics from 18 to 10 months.
Outcome
Enorsul analyzed, evaluated, and identified priority improvement projects using the hydraulic simulation enabled by WaterGEMS, which proved to be a reliable representation of the existing reality. For example, it was clear that the newly designed water distribution system optimized results, reducing physical losses from 46 percent to 36 percent by 2021. By 2037, the simulations indicate that physical losses will fall to 29 percent. Management can expect a return on investment from planned interventions in only six-and-a-half years.
Software
The design team avoided significant costs in the creation of experimental models by using WaterGEMS. The team could incorporate existing data from databases, cadastral records, plans, consumption curves, metering information, historic data, and georeferenced elements, efficiently facilitating the work of the technical team while avoiding significant costs.
Project Playbook:
WaterCAD,
WaterGEMS