Municipal Water Supply Planning Model

LRE Water developed a GoldSim model to support municipal water supply and capital infrastructure planning for a client’s complex water system that relies on a diverse portfolio of water supplies with multiple raw water storage and transit (delivery path) options. The client’s previous spreadsheet-based supply and demand model became insufficient for complex long-term planning and maximizing the use of water supply and infrastructure assets.

The GoldSim model incorporates numerous demands and obligations, existing and potential future water supplies, and planned operational and infrastructure changes. It allows the client to determine the magnitude and timing of future potential supply gaps and capacity bottlenecks, the reliability of their system at a variety of demand levels, and to track their projected water usage against renewable supply goals. The model has helped the client take a holistic approach to better identify the timing of infrastructure projects in conjunction with future supply gaps at various demand scenarios, and allows them to evaluate near-term efforts, such as conservation or increasing storage, with uncertain long-term effects to better understand future supply and infrastructure needs.