Australian Water Management Review Vol. 1 2014 | Page 50

optiMising deCision MAking

Within the water industry hydraulic
computer models have been processing
data for more than 20 years, with
continual improvements in computing
speed allowing the models to become
increasingly more complex. However, the
type of data input into these models has
remained largely unchanged with historic
maximums or derived averages being the
key assumptions in the model. This has
been acceptable to date as the only goal
of modelling historically was to inform
strategic or desktop studies that were
looking to provide an engineered solution
to a particular problem. As we start to
unlock data from SCADA/telemetry systems
for use in real-time this goal needs to be
challenged. It is no longer enough to just
collect this additional data – it needs to be
rapidly contextualised to create information
that allows organisations to quickly make
smart decisions.
Innovyze has developed a range of new software
technologies designed to equip organisations for
timely and accurate decision making, two of which
are explored below.

InfoWorks ICM to let users accurately assess and
better manage their systems and protect properties
from flood events. It accurately calculates both the
damage caused by specific flood events as well as
providing a predicted annual flood damage cost.

Operational Flood Modelling
Severe urban flooding in the United Kingdom during
2007 prompted new legislation that has driven the
uptake of 1D & 2D integrated models that incorporate
not only urban drainage networks, but also the
hydraulic, hydrologic and water quality processes of
rivers and floodplains. InfoWorks ICM was developed
to provide these advanced capabilities in a single
solution, but was also developed to take advantage
of GPU and distributed computing technologies that
allow simulations to be performed quicker than ever
before.
Added to this, the availability of reliable telemetry
feeds and spatially varying radar rainfall forecasts
are the last ingredients required to allow mod elling
to be a used in real-time as a flood/emergency
forecast and response tool. ICMLive provides this
ability in a solution that has been designed with the
Network Operator in mind. The processes required
for harvesting and processing observed and/or
forecast data has been automated and the system will
produce forecasts using calibrated hydrologic and
hydraulic models. Following each forecast results
analysis occurs and alerts can be automatically
generated to notify operators of significant catchment
events and unfavourable conditions. This advanced
warning provides the operator with the time to assess
the response of the system and consider various
strategies, in turn allowing operational decisions to
be made in a timely manner.

44 | AustrAliAn water man age m e nt re v ie w

For organisations looking only to analyse 1D pipe
networks InfoWorks ICM (Sewer Edition) is available
without the additional cost of the 2D module.
Assessing the Risk of Flooding
Traditionally, flood management policies have
also been based on the design standard approach,
where an appropriate protection level to be achieved
is determined and used to design the system. In
contrast, new flood management policies based on
a risk approach focus on the consequences of flood
events and the best alleviation measures over a given
time period.
With powerful risk-based analytics, InfoWorks
ICM RiskMaster expands the modelling power of

Rather than assessing the physical network to
simply meet a specific design level, this tool takes
into account all types of events based on their
probability of occurrence. It combines the inundation
results of multiple events at user specified points
of interest and considers their vulnerability, based
on the probability of occurrence. Calculations are
based on the hydraulic, hydrologic and economic
data for user defined locations such as residential,
commercial and industrial properties, or key assets
such as bridges or levees. These powerful, predictive
analysis capabilities provide both a quantification of
the current flood risk associated with the stormwater/
flood networks they manage and a long-term planning
framework for making the most effective decisions on
flood risk management and alleviation strategies.
The outcome is an estimate of the economic impact
of floods in terms of Expected Annual Damage value,
and a record of inundation depths for each location
for each of the events analysed. The results provide
a comprehensive view of the hydraulic system
performance and the consequences of flood events.
This critical information is invaluable to engineers
and stakeholders in alleviating the impact of flooding
by making informed, cost-effective decisions that
improve the design, maintenance, rehabilitation and
management of their systems.