OUC Water Quality Modeling, Phases I & II
The Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) provides potable water service to the City of Orlando and a significant portion of Orange County, Florida. OUC water engineers maintain a hydraulic model of the potable water distribution system to help master plan, expand, support infrastructure design, operate and optimize water pressure, and deliver quality service to its customers. To continue providing high-quality service to its customers, OUC has proactively performed this project to upgrade its hydraulic model with water quality modeling capabilities and utilize the updated water quality model to analyze the system. The water quality model provided OUC water production and distribution staff with a new dimension in performance monitoring, performance benchmarking, operations optimization, and regulatory compliance.
Under a continuing services contract, CHA updated a hydraulic model and performed hydraulic verification, water quality calibration, water quality modeling, and distribution system water quality optimization. A desktop computer application was created to enable OUC planning, production, and water quality staff to track historical water quality sampling data and compare model-predicted results. The model is a key tool used by OUC as part of its ongoing disinfection byproducts regulatory compliance strategy. OUC staff input and direction regarding the Phase I results helped to develop a list of tasks to complete in Phase II. The Phase II water quality modeling tasks involved structurally updating, calibrating, evaluating, and troubleshooting the hydraulic and water quality model. Phase II of the project included water quality monitoring for enhanced model calibration and unidirectional flushing pilot testing.
Because of this water quality modeling project, OUC water production and distribution staff has an updated and enhanced desktop computer application that can track historical water quality sampling data for comparison to model-predicted results. In summary, the objective of this project was to evaluate and update OUC’s current hydraulic model and optimize the system to continue providing OUC customers the highest quality water at their taps.
Project Services:
- Hydraulic modeling
- Evaluation of potable water distribution system
- Predictive system performance and monitoring