Live Forecast Modeling for a More Resilient Utility

Abstract Submission: For years, engineers and utility planning teams have used hydraulic and hydrologic (H&H) models to adjust and plan for long term changes to the system. Often, when an H&H model is completed, the model is left without updates for long periods making it more irrelevant over time.
Utilities and engineers have the opportunity to utilize these one-time use models to support ongoing planning and real-time system management by connecting with SCADA telemetry, rainfall forecasts, and real-time controls (RTC). While this concept is relatively new to stormwater management, successful implementations of these systems have been deployed around the US and other parts of the world.
Key challenges that arise from managing a real-time modeling system include model management, maintaining data integrity, and verifying data is accurate according to true field conditions. These challenges will be acknowledged throughout the presentation and will highlight through case studies ways that these challenges can be mitigated.
Through these case studies, I will also describe how these systems can be developed using models, sensors, and radar data that is typically already a part of or easily available most utilities, and see how the system can be used to do more with less and better manage floods, protect human life, and manage assets.
Attendees of this session will be able to understand the multiple benefits of real time water, wastewater, and stormwater management, understand and mitigate challenges associated with it, and break down the seemingly overwhelming complexity into easy-to-understand concepts.

Learning Objectives/Expected Outcome (Optional) : To understand the difference between a planning model and one that can be used to support and inform operations in an accurate way.

Gain a better understanding of how this system would work at my utility and how it could be beneficial to the community being served.

Further understand the impacts a digital twin by relating some of the case studies to problems being faced by my utility/community.