What's New in OpenFlows Water 2026 (version 26.00.00.508)


Products: WaterGEMS, WaterCAD
Version(s) 26.00.00.508
Area: Installation
Released on: 2026-May-7

Overview

A new version of OpenFlows Water 2026, which consists of WaterGEMS, WaterCAD, and HAMMER, has been released. This article provides an overview of the new features and updates in this release, specifically for WaterCAD and WaterGEMS.

For information on What's new in HAMMER 2026, see: What's New in HAMMER 2026 (version 26.00.00.508)

Table of Contents

Expanded Coordinate System support

With this release, you can now specify the coordinate system of external data and the software will automatically reproject as needed, to align with the model's coordinate system:

This enables you to seamlessly align external data with your hydraulic model without the need for GIS integration. Additionally, you can now easily fix a model's coordinate system without relying on external workflows to reproject, by changing the model's coordinate system in the Options dialog and choosing the option to reproject.

Lastly, the coordinate system selection dialog now displays a map when selecting a coordinate system, highlighting the covered area. This helps you verify that the coordinate system is correct:

 

More information on using coordinate system in the standalone version of the OpenFlows products can be found at the following link: Working with coordinate systems in the OpenFlows standalone platform.

Graphical Editor Performance Improvements

Performance of the graphical editor has been improved and optimized. Mouse-based operations such as panning, zooming and dragging selected objects should feel faster and more responsive especially in large models.

These improvements do not introduce visual or functional differences compared to previous versions.

Water Quality and MSX Performance Improvements

Performance for MSX (Multi-species Extension) and regular Water Quality runs has been greatly improved (faster time to compute):

Copy Initial Conditions Feature for Water Quality "Hot Starts"

You can now copy results from a scenario for use as the initial conditions of a water quality run, such as water age, constituent, or trace analysis. This enables you to "prime" or "hot start" a water quality run for example based on the water quality results at the end of a previous run. Doing this enables the subsequent run to balance on reasonable water quality results early in the simulation, potentially preventing the need for long water quality runs that were previously needed in order to achieve such a balanced state.

There are multiple ways to access this new feature. First, from the Alternative, you can click the Set Initial Conditions button:

Second, you can click Home > Compute > Set Water Quality Initial Conditions:

With either option, this will open a new dialog where you can either use the current scenario or select another from the pull down menu. Once you click Okay, the program will copy the water quality results for the time step selected to use that the initial water quality input.



The following example graph compares a previous run to a "hot started" run using the new set initial conditions feature. For example the blue line represents concentration for a standard constituent run where you can see it takes multiple days of simulation time to balance on a normal concentration, due to the standard zero initial concentration. The red line shows a subsequent run where the new Set Water Quality Initial Conditions feature has been used to set the initial concentration based on the concentration at the end of a previous run. Notice how this enables it to "balance" right away:



Set annotations for specific scenarios in Element Symbology

You can now set a specific scenario when using annotations in Element Symbology. This enables you to easily compare results between two scenarios in a single drawing. When you create or edit an annotation in Element Symbology, there is an option to select a scenario.

If you create another annotation for the same property field, you can select another scenario to display the results. In the screenshot below, you can see the flow results at a pipe for two different scenarios. Prefixes were used to help differentiate between the results.



Text Output for Formula-derived User Data Extensions

It is now possible to create a formula-derived User Data Extension (UDX) that outputs text. Previously, only numeric output was supported, via the "Real (Formula)" data type.

For example, you could use the IIF (if-then) function to give a "pass" or "fail" value. It is also possible to edit existing text values using different text-based functions.

In the User Data Extensions manager, create a new UDX and set the Data Type to Text (Formula). Click the Formula cell and click the ellipsis (…) button.

The properties for the element you selected will be displayed on the left. The available functions will display on the right. You will be able to build your formula using these.

Note: when using enumerated fields (dropdown list) in the list on the left side as part of your formula, you can hover your mouse over them for a tooltip preview of the numeric ID values corresponding to each choice, which you would use in the formula. This provides a quick reference so that you do not need to exit your formula editor to go check the available enumerated values.



See more here: Creating Formula-Based User Data Extensions

Export to Word feature added to Graphs and FlexTables

A new Export to Word feature has been included for Graphs and FlexTables. When you open a graph or FlexTable, you will find an Export to Word feature. This will export the graph or FlexTable to a new Word document.

This functionality streamlines the process of creating reports and sharing model results, as you can now seamlessly integrate tabular data and graphical plots into your project documentation.

Furthermore, you can customize the appearance of the exported content using Chart and Table Templates. For graphs, the underlying data remains accessible in the Word document and can be edited via Excel, offering greater flexibility for reporting and presentation.

For graphs, you can also edit the data source by right-clicking on the graph in Word and choosing Edit Data, which will open the numerical data in Excel. For example, you could adjust the column header to display differently in the Word document compared to the graph in the OpenFlows product.

See this link for more information: How to Export FlexTables and Graphs to Microsoft Word

Improvements to Report Output

Several improvements have been made reporting, to improve the quality and clarity of report output. These improvements primarily focus on the reports seen when clicking the Report button from places like Flextables, the Report menu, and printouts of the plan view.

Improved support for FlexTable filters in Custom Reports

A Filter option is now included in the FlexTable section for Custom Reports. There are options to use the current filter, a custom filter, or no filter.

Information on using Custom Reports can be found here: Creating Custom Reports

Export elements decoration lines (dashed lines) as shapefiles

An export option has been included that will export the decoration lines that show the dashed line links between elements into shapefiles. This is available in both the Standalone and ArcGIS Pro platforms. To access this, click on File and then choose Export > Decorations.

These decoration links include the dashed lines between catchments and outflow nodes or isolation valves and pipes, among others.

Additional information on this can be found here: How to Export Element Decoration Lines as Shapefiles

Rearrange and Relabel Flushing events

It is now possible to rearrange and relabel multiple flushing events in a given flushing area. In the Flushing manager, you can select the Rearrange button in the lower part of the manager. This will open a new dialog where you can rearrange the order of one or more flushing events. You can multi-select and drag to adjust the order, then click OK to reflect the changes in the Flushing manager.

The "Relabel" option uses the same standard relabeling operations found in Flextables (see more in this article). For example you can choose "Renumber", provide a prefix and the program will relabel the events based on the rearranged order.

Note that you cannot undo this once you click Okay and update the order or labels in the Flushing manager.

More information can be found here: 

Conducting Flushing Studies in WaterGEMS and WaterCAD

Changing the order of Flushing Events or Flushing Areas

"Find connected in zone" query added to Network Navigator

A new Network Navigator is included where you can identify elements that are within a given pressure zone, named zone, or DMA boundary. To access this, open Network Navigator (Analysis > Navigator). Click the > button and choose Network Trace > Find Connected Within Zone.

A Select toolbar will open so you can select an element. A new dialog will then open where you can choose a Pressure Zone Study (from the Pressure Zone Manager), a named Zone (from the Zone manager), or a District Metered Area (DMA) Boundary.

You will then have a list of elements that you can display and highlight in the drawing.

Bentley Copilot

Bentley Copilot is a new conversational artificial intelligence (AI) assistant that provides contextual intelligence, guides users through workflows, searches relevant documents, makes changes to model inputs, and analyzes data inputs and outputs through natural language conversation. By enabling users to "talk" to their hydraulic models and removing the need to memorize tool locations or complex query syntax, Bentley Copilot empowers users and accelerates project delivery, reducing the learning curve and enabling users to focus on engineering decisions.

To access Bentley Copilot, click on the Bentley Copilot item in the Home tab of the Ribbon interface. This will open a dialog where you can start the chat with Copilot.

Note: If you do not wish to install Bentley Copilot, it can be disabled during or after installation. See details in the article below.

  

Prompts can include asking for general information about the model (“how many pipes are there with a diameter greater than 12 in?), model functionality (“compute the active scenario”), how-to type questions (“how can I model a connection to an existing water main?), and more.

With this release, Bentley Copilot is offered as a Technology Preview, which means that it is still under development and may not represent the full functionality intended for a future (non-tech preview) release. Therefore, please use this feature for evaluation purposes. Please be aware that at some point, you may receive notice from Bentley that such use must cease or this Technology Preview will become unavailable to you. As we receive feedback, this Technology Preview may also be enhanced, updated or also discontinued without notice. As a Technology Preview, it is provided to you "as-is" without the benefit of any Bentley warranty, indemnity or support obligation.

More details can be found here: [Tech Preview] Using Bentley Copilot in OpenFlows Products

iModel Connector

This version introduces an iModel Connector, to synchronize a hydraulic model to Bentley's Infrastructure Cloud. iModel Connectors provide a bridge to transform data into the standard iModel format, which can be viewed in Bentley Infrastructure Cloud (BIC). This can help with a number of workflows such as performing clash detection across different programs (like OpenFlows Water and OpenFlows Sewer), as well as provide a method a model to be viewed without the need to own the OpenFlows product.

Note: results are currently only exported for the current timestep, as time-series (EPS) results are not yet supported in the iModel format.

Details on using this workflow can be found here: Using iModel Connector in the OpenFlows products

Example of an iModel as viewed in Bentley Infrastructure Cloud:



Additional functionality, such as Zoom To and Export, added to Alternatives

Zoom To and Export functionality has been included for Alternatives. These features are available in other places in the program, like FlexTables. Including this in the Alternatives manager gives you additional options for viewing and editing elements and element data.=

To export data to a shapefile, text file, or CSV file, click the Export to File button in the upper left of a given alternative.

The Zoom To functionality works like it does in FlexTables or User Notifications. You can right-click on a row and choose Zoom To, which will highlight that element in the drawing.


Edit SCADA Signals Option (WaterGEMS)

An option to edit SCADA Signals as been added to the Database Source manager for SCADAConnect Simulator (available in WaterGEMS), enabling you to quickly edit SCADA signals in the model. From the Database Source manager, click the SCADA Signals button, which will display options to select the SCADA signals or edit them.

See this link for more information on using SCADAConnect Simulator: Using SCADAConnect Simulator

Google Maps replacing Bing Maps background layer

Google Maps tiles are replacing the Bing Maps background layer, because Bing Maps is being deprecated by Microsoft:

The overall use and functionality are otherwise the same and the feature is now simply referred to as "Background Map".

No conversion or extra steps are needed for existing models that previously used Bing Maps.

Updated Installation file with Deployment Image Support

This release uses the standard Bentley installation technology, which supports the creation of a deployment image for mass/silent deployment. This is done using the /layout switch when running the installation executable, to configure and create a .lyt file with your deployment preferences. See more details here:

Compatible Platforms and Operation Systems

Compatible Operating Systems:

Supported Platforms:

ProjectWise integration:

Support for ProjectWise 2025, 2024, 2023 and CONNECT Edition

See: Platform Compatibility

Model Compatibility 

Older models can be opened in this version of WaterGEMS, WaterCAD, and HAMMER.

See: Model backward / forward compatibility

Stability enhancements and fixes to reported issues

As with all new versions, this release includes fixes to various user-reported issues from the previous release, providing an overall more stable experience.

See Also

WaterGEMS and WaterCAD TechNotes and FAQs

Downloading OpenFlows Software