Product(s):	WaterSight
Version(s):	10.00.
Area:	Documentation

What is OpenFlows^TM WaterSight^TM ?

OpenFlows WaterSight main goal is to habilitate water utilities with a powerful tool to improve network operations and therefore optimize operational costs while assuring or improving the service provided to customers. OpenFlows WaterSight combines SCADA, GIS, hydraulic modeling, and customer information into a single, interoperable dashboard. Access to cloud-based insights from various enterprise sources delivers a utility-wide view into the real time performance, forecasts, and detection of critical system and individual assets, enabling more efficient operations and maintenance decisions.

OpenFlows WaterSight is composed by the following modules: Home Dashboard, Network Monitoring, Pumps, Tanks, Water Audit, Event Management, Real time Simulation, Weather Forecast, Power BI, Capital Planning and Administration. For more information about the product please click here. 

Does WaterSight include Asset Management capabilities ?

OpenFlows WaterSight includes a Capital Planning module (that can be used as standalone or together with all other modules of WaterSight) that integrates asset data, GIS, failure history data and performance results into a single view of truth to support the definition of rehabilitation plans. Easily calculate likelihood and consequence of failures and combine them together by creating and compare different risk scenarios. With the power of a Digital Twin platform, you can also combine risk with asset performance to support the identification of the priority pipes. More information can be found here - This is WaterSight.

Can WaterSight be applied to any type of water utility? What is the minimum required data?

Yes! WaterSight can be applied to any type of water utility, regardless the digital maturity level. It can apply well for both utilities that are now starting the digital journey, for those that already have several digital processes in place or even for those that are in a more advanced stage. The type of data you have available will influence which of the modules and capabilities you will have access, being the only minimum requirement to have a SCADA system or other telemetry system in place. 

The digital transformation process is a journey and can never be done in one single step. And you can embrace this journey with Bentley: based on the data you have now available we will already provide to you with a powerful platform that will give you further insights. Along time, as new and more data becomes available, we will continue to incorporate this data in the platform so that you are equipped with more and more capabilities along time.

Is there any limitation in terms of the number of sensors, number of pipes or hydraulic model size that can be incorporated into the platform?

There is no limit in terms of the number of sensors or network length, number of pipes or hydraulic model size. WaterSight can deal with smaller or larger amounts of data while assuring good performances. The amount of data to be incorporated will only depend on the commercial agreement between Bentley and the end user and there are 3 license tiers: small, medium and large. Reach to your Bentley point of contact to understand better what is included in the different tiers. 

In terms of limitation the only exception is regarding the smart meters ingestion. WaterSight does not intend to replace the traditional AMI software, and it is prepared to ingest and analyse real time data from large or critical customers (not for all customers), up to a limit of 2 000 smart meters. 

What type of customization does WaterSight require? Can I build my own reports?

WaterSight comes already with pre-built menus and dashboards. Therefore once the data is imported into the software, you will immediately have access to actionable insights coming from all these pre-built menus and dashboards. And the user can define which modules of WaterSight will be available and which will be hidden. For more information please read this article, under Topic Visibility section.

Besides this, WaterSight also offers the possibility for the user to customize and create their own reports and dashboards, through the use of PowerBI. More information can be found here.

Does WaterSight have a limited number of users?

No. You can add as much users as you want to your cloud solution, and several team members can be accessing the platform simultaneously. To add a team member, please take a look here.

Can I define different levels of permissions? For example operator access VS engineer access?

Yes. You can define two different levels of permissions:

• User role - Those that have access to all application, including edit mode access to all the administration options/configurations
• Admin role - Those that have access to all dashboards except the administration menu, where only  the read only access mode is available (this means they can not make changes in the digital twin)

For more information about roles, please take a look here.

For each role (user and admin) you can also define which modules of WaterSight will be available and which will be hidden. For more information please read this article, under Topic Visibility section.

Do I need a WaterGEMS  model to start using WaterSight? 

You don't need a WaterGEMS model in order to start using WaterSight. WaterSight is composed by modules, so the type of data you have available will influence which of the modules you will have access. In case you don't have a hydraulic model for example, you will be able to access the following modules: Home Dashboard, Network Monitoring, Pumps, Tanks, Water Audit, Event Management (Active Events), Weather Forecast and Power BI. In case you have a WaterGEMS model, you can directly upload it into WaterSight and have access to the Real time simulation module and to the Operational Response simulation.

You don't have a WarterGEMS model but you have other vendors model and you are interested in using them in WaterSight? Please reach to Bentley team experts to better guide you in the process.

The only minimum required data to have WaterSight running is the access to sensors data (from SCADA or dataloggers). To get this data in WaterSigth, Bentley will need to install an On-Premise tool on a local user machine or server that will automatically run in the background as a service and will be responsible to collect and transmit sensors data into WaterSight. More information can be found here. 

What are the main differences between WaterGEMS and WaterSight?

WaterGEMS is a desktop application, hydraulic model based, and more tailored to engineers, for analysis, planning and design of water systems. WaterSight is a cloud based application, which integrates different types of information and systems (SCADA and other telemetry systems, GIS, hydraulic models, customer meter information and billings, asset information - pumps, tanks, zones, amongst others) in one single view of truth. WaterSight is more tailored to the operations department of water utilities, as a decision support platform to improve water operations. Its easy, simple and intuitive interface make the application assessable to any water utility worker, from operators, non-engineers, engineers, asset managers, etc. WaterSight can run/work with or without an hydraulic model. The data that is available will influence which of the modules the user will have access.

Although WaterSight is a very comprehensive solution (more information here) one of the several capabilities it can offer is around the hydraulic modelling. When directly comparing the hydraulic modelling capabilities within WaterGEMS and WaterSight, the main difference is that WaterSight can automatically consume the WaterGEMS model and bring it live, replicating the concept of a living digital twin. In WaterSight, the hydraulic model boundary conditions are continually updated with the real time measurements from sensors (such as real time measured tank levels, real time measured pump status, real time measured PRV settings, etc) and real demand patterns can also be automatically inputted into the model, turning the traditional static hydraulic model into a much more accurate real time hydraulic model of the water system. In WaterSight the model will run automatically at a given frequency defined by the user, with a user defined hindcast and forecast period.

Regarding the hydraulic model capability, what are the differences between WaterGEMS and WaterSight?

• Automatic and accurate - with WaterSight the model will automatically run in real time (without the need of any human intervention), and the model boundary conditions will be updated in real time based on the real sensors measurements. One big difference to WaterGEMS is that current demands and forecast demands are also automatically adjusted and inputted to the model using the power of AI and other statistic analysis, which can improve significantly the accuracy of the real time model;

• Availability and easy of use - with WaterSight the model runs in the cloud and there are no limitations in terms of number of users that can access (it just requires an internet connection), which differs from the desktop solutions (one license/one user at each time). Besides this, WaterSight easy interface allows to bring the hydraulic model capabilities and advantages to everyone inside the organization, even those that never worked with a hydraulic model before.

• Predicting short-term future scenario - WaterSight can be  more accurate predicting next days (until one week) as model boundary conditions are being updated by sensors and forecasted demands are automatically adjusted in the model using the power of AI and other statistic analysis. Medium and long term future scenarios (2 years, 10 years, 20 years) should be simulated using WaterGEMS

• Emergency response simulation - with WaterSight easy interface anyone at the organization can easily and confidently simulate and understand the impact of events in the network such as bursts, fires, pump outages, valves operations and understand customers impacted (without water or low pressure). Furthermore in WaterSight the emergency response simulation can be done using as base an accurate real time hydraulic model of the system  

• Synergy between WaterGEMS and WaterSight – both products together comprise one complete solution for the all life cycle, from planning, design, analysis to operations. A WaterGEMS model can be seamlessly integrated in WaterSight and vice-versa (WaterSight can seamlessly export the real time model again into WaterGEMS in case further analysis is required by the engineers team)

 

Do I need a calibrated model?

WaterSight does not require a calibrated model, but the quality of the data provided will influence the quality and accuracy of the results displayed in the solution. WaterSight can automatically:

• calibrate/adjust your model demands based on the real flow in each zone and patterns, that are automatically created using the real sensors data. For more information about the automatic demand calibration, please take a look at this article.
• calibrate/adjust reservoir or tank's hydraulic grade line. More information here.
• feed model boundary conditions by real time sensor measurements, such as real tank levels, real pump status or real PRV settings, making the model a more realistic digital representation of the system and assets

However there might be other factors to consider when calibrating a model. Bentley offers WaterGEMS users with a powerful tool called Darwin Calibrator that can help calibrate other variables such as pipes roughness coefficients, leakage (by adjusting emitter coefficients) or status of elements (find open/closed valves). 

If you still are concerned about your model data quality, try to upload it into WaterSight. By leveraging the powerful visualizations offered by the solution, it will be easier for you and your team to understand the areas where the model is less accurate and how the model can be improved (by easily and directly comparing model and sensors results for example - graph below). 

 

Can WaterSight include both hydraulics and water quality modeling?

Yes, you can model both hydraulics and water quality in WaterSight (such as age and any constituent dispersion such as chlorine). Please make sure that you have both conditions set up in the WaterGEMS file, before uploading it to WaterSight (more information here, under the WaterGEMS Model Setup section).

Is WaterSight only limited to SCADA data or can I bring any other time series data from any other telemetry systems (such as dataloggers)?

WaterSight is data agnostic, this means that it can connect to any type of system, SCADA or non-SCADA (any IOT devices), as long as it can access the data through a database connection (Excel, Access, ODBC, OLEDB, SQL Server, Oracle), OPC or Citect Sources. A rest API connection can also be used to connect to online datasources.

In order to bring sensors data into WaterSight, Bentley will need to install an On-Premise tool that will automatically run in the machine background as a service and will be responsible to collect and transmit sensors data into WaterSight. More information can be found here. 

How does WaterSight integrate sensor data?

Sensor data (any time series data), from any vendor or provider, can be automatically integrated into WaterSight, feeding the platform with real time insights. To get sensor data in WaterSigth (ideally in real time), Bentley will need to install an On-Premise tool on a local user machine or local server which needs to have direct access to the data source (Excel, Access, ODBC, OLEDB, SQL Server, Oracle; OPC or Citect Sources can also be used). The on-premise data pusher tool will automatically run in the background as a service and will be responsible to collect and transmit sensors data into WaterSight. A rest API connection can also be used. More information can be found here. 

Does WaterSight takes advantage of AI algorithms? For which applications/use cases?

Yes, WaterSight uses AI algorithms and advanced data analytics as a support to calculate the expected behaviors (patterns) for sensors and zones, as well as to calculate forecasts, including demand forecasts up to one week. Some examples where these patterns and forecasts are used:

• to calculate patterns and help the user predicting what is expected to happen in the next days . Variables such as historical data, grouping days (weeks VS weekend), holidays and other special periods, events and weather conditions (temperature and precipitation) are considered for the AI algortihms;
• to help triggering automatic alerts (based on deviations to patterns);
• to improve the accuracy of the model runs, by adjusting the model demands based on the real inflows entering into each system/zone.

 

Patterns and forecasts calculation

 

Alerts generated based on deviations to patterns

What are the main differences between WaterSight Network Monitoring module and SCADA systems?

Water utilities already have to manage several different systems and platforms and OpenFlows WaterSight is not intended to be one more. The idea is to have one single solution that can bring all the information coming from the different systems together and provide the one single view of truth, helping utilities optimizing their workflows. Reduce the time spend on data collection, analysis and integration, by using only one single platform! Apart from this, gain additional insights into your network operations. When directly comparing WaterSight Network Monitoring module capabilities and SCADA systems capabilities, these are the key differences:

• OpenFlows WaterSight can generate more accurate alerts for bursts or other network anomalies, by setting triggers based on the difference between actual measured values and expected values (patterns). Usually SCADA systems are limited to absolute base type alerts;
• OpenFlows WaterSight can help geolocate the problem (more information below);
• With OpenFlows WaterSight the user can create additional fictitious meters that can represent the combination of other meters. This is useful to calculate for example zones flow, by summing all the inflows and subtracting all outflows (plus accounting for storage);
• WaterSight allows to define triggers for both sensors and zones (in SCADA systems alerts are only assigned to sensors)
• Possibility to trigger an alert based on the increase of the minimum nightly flow (can be an indication of a leak in the system) for sensors and zones;
• OpenFlows WaterSight can automatically calculate the volume lost in each event as well as the duration;
• It is possible to manage alerts: update status, category, make a comment, etc;
• OpenFlows WaterSight automatically calculates patterns and forecasts (up to one week) for each sensor/zone;
• Minimum night flow calculation and evolution, per sensor and per zone;
• Calculation of the ratio between minimum and average flow for each sensor/zone (usually used as a quick quantification of the real losses component for each zone).
• Combined alerts - possibility to create an alert that is a combination of different conditions (for example alert if there is a flow increase in sensor A followed by a pressure decrease in sensor B).

WaterSight can alert in advance when real values goes outside the expected trends and before a minor leak becomes a larger burst. Volume lost in each event is automatically calculated, and user can manage the event (update status, category, made comments, etc) -  see below an example.

How to configure Alerts? Pattern type or Absolute type alerts? 

Alerts can be configured by the user in the Alerts administration page. The user can define four different types: Pattern based, Absolute based, No Data and Flat Reading. 

Absolute based alarms are evaluated directly by comparing real time series values with the user defined threshold and are more useful to identify situations that do not depend on the sensor or zone pattern, like for example problems related with pressure service requirements - pressure below the minimum or maximum required by regulation - or tank overflows (more information here).

On the other hand, Pattern based alarms are evaluated using the pattern as a reference. Pattern based alarms are useful to trigger and detect anomaly or extraordinary events that don't occur often, and therefore do not make part of the normal behavior/pattern of the zone or sensor. Some examples are events like bursts and leaks, fire events, or a flow meter or PRV malfunctioning (more information here).

Can WaterSight be used to support leaks geolocation?

In case the system is well sectorized in small DMAs (district metered areas), flow measurements exist at all zones inputs and outputs and there are several pressure measurements available inside the DMA, then all those measurements can be used to better geolocate the potential leak inside the zone. In order to achieve this please:

• Configure flow increase alerts for each zone, based on pattern type alarms;
• Configure pressure decrease alerts for each pressure sensor, based on pattern type alarms;

Whenever a flow alert is triggered for a zone, this can also generate a pressure decrease somewhere inside the zone. So if you receive a flow alert followed by a pressure decrease alert for the same zone, then it means that the leak/burst is potentially located near that specific pressure sensor. Please note that leaks geolocation effectiveness based on pressure sensors monitoring can be significantly affected in the the following cases:

• oversized networks (in those cases pressure decreases are very small and therefore very difficult to notice/detect);
• low leak flow rates (effectiveness improves with higher flow rates) 
• lack of pressure sensors inside the zone;

Also please note that this methodology can be used to detect new bursts or leaks that appear in the system, but not to geolocate existent leaks that already exist in the system for a long period (as WaterSigth generates alerts based on differences between real values and patterns, being those estimated based on historical trends that can already include leakage). 

Can I generate other types of alerts for other problems based on any observed data in WaterSight? 

Yes. You can create an issue (this is the name given in the solution) based on any observed data, directly from any page in WaterSight, by clicking the issue flag button located on the right side of the header. 

Issues are a particularly important communication tool between operators and managers to identify and track potential anomalies observed from any page within WaterSight. Some examples can  include:

• Creating issues for pumps that are operating inefficiently (pumps page)
• Creating an issue due to some significant and anomalous decrease in revenues in a particular area, which needs further investigation (water audit page)
• Creating an issue due to some significant and anomalous increase in water losses in a particular area, which needs further investigation (water audit page)
• Low storage capacity (tank page)
• Low tank turnover times (tank page)
• Low pressure or high pressures in some parts of the network (Current simulation page)
• MNF indicator really high (Minimum Night Flow page)
• Any other problem identified based on the data displayed in the software 

More information can be found here.

What is the minimum required data to set up the pumps dashboards? 

The pumps dashboards uses measured data to help the user identify potential issues related with pumps, that can include for example helping the user with the identification of inefficient pumps, pumps that are deteriorating performance much faster than expected or pumps operating under strange/anomalous conditions (which may require further investigation). The pump dashboard does not requires any hydraulic model to be available or does not require any type of information from the model. 

In order to have the pumps dashboards with meaningful information, the minimum recommended data is the following:

• Flow signal for each pump or for the all pump station;
• Discharge pressure signal for each pump or for the all pump station OR level signal of the downstream tank;
• If flow and head is only available for the all pump station, then pump status signal for each pump is required;
• Pump curves (flow-head and flow-efficiency);
• Information if pumps are variable speed or not;

With this information it will be possible to show the head curves graphs (including the curve and calculated operating points), the efficiency curves graphs (including the curve and estimated operating points) and the power curves graphs (including the estimated operating points). Also estimated efficiencies for each pump are displayed.

Therefore having a power signal is not required, but instead is good to have as it will allow to more accurately calculate flow-efficiency operating points, the power-flow operating points and also each pump efficiency. Below is summarized the additional information that would be helpful to have (but not required):

• Suction pressure signal (if signal is not available, a suction signal can be estimated and created using WaterGEMS. If you have doubts, please reach to your Bentley contact);
• Power signal and curve;
• If variable speed pump, variable speed efficiency curve and speed signal;

For more information please take a look at the Pumps Configuration help page.

Which type of information is used for the Asset Management/Capital Planning Module ?

The user can create detailed and customizable queries or run more automated algorithms in order to identify the priority pipes, based on the following type of data:

• original information provided in the uploaded pipe shapefile (user should include all relevant information such as material, diameter, installation date, historical breaks, etc)
• hydraulic model results (automatically calculated in WaterSight)
• other contextual geospatial information (user should upload other relevant geospatial information such as streets shapefile, soils shapefile, etc)

More information, including how to integrate model results in the capital planning analysis, can be found in the following links:

• Prioritizing pipes
• Likelihood and Consequence of Failure help pages
• GIS Administration help page

Can I display any GIS data in WaterSight? Can I connect directly to my ArcGIS system?

Yes. WaterSight supports ArcGIS map service connection, including connection to ArcGIS online and ArcGIS Enterprise (on premise). If there is a need for you to connect with a Esri Feature Service, please reach to your Bentley point of contact for more information.

Besides this it is also possible to connect with other map layers such as WMS and WMTS and upload any other GIS data, through a shapefile upload in the GIS administration page.

For more information please take a look at this article - WaterSight - Maps (Map Layers/GIS). 

 

Can WaterSight generate the 3D context ?

Yes, it can. In WaterSight it is possible to enable the 3D context from any map page. The 3D context includes the 3D terrain, the 3D building outlines and the 3D pipes. Both 3D terrain and 3D building outlines capabilities are automatically available for the region of interest (the user does not need to upload or import additional information).

More information here.

Does WaterSight automatically compute water balances? How?

Yes, WaterSight can automatically calculate water balance for each zone based on sensors data (from SCADA for example) and billings (uploaded via administration):

• System input volumes for each zone are calculated based on the flow sensor measurements (for example from SCADA);
• Revenue water for each zone is calculated based on the customer billings;
• Non-Revenue water is calculated based on the difference between system input and total revenue;
• Water losses are calculated subtracting the authorized unbilled consumption (configured by the user in the administration) to the total non-revenue water;
• Division of water losses into real losses and apparent losses components can follow two different strategies:
  • bottom up approach: real losses are calculated based on the minimum nightly flow (MNF) of each zone;
  • top down approach: user defines a value for the apparent losses and the real losses are obtained by subtracting the apparent losses to the water losses.

For more detail about the calculations, please click here.

See also

OpenFlows WaterSight TechNotes and FAQ's

WaterSight Learning Resources Guide