Houston Public Works’ Journey Toward a Digital Twin

By Melissa Mack, PE, Amy Byland, PE, Lynn Chamberlain, PE, Charles Shumate, PE and Satish Tripathi, PE (City of Houston)

Rapid advances have been made in hydraulic modeling capabilities since the introduction of EPANET hydraulic modeling software in the early 1990s. In a matter of minutes, utilities can optimize pump operations for energy efficiency, assess disinfectant residuals, and even predict future system behavior in real time with links to supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) feeds.

To take advantage of these kinds of functionalities, Houston Public Works began developing a digital twin to assist in master planning and operational support for its water distribution system in 2016. Learn more about how the City’s Public Works team developed a digital twin for one of the most complex water systems in the world. Subscription to Journal AWWA required.