Innovyze Releases DemandWatch, Real-Time Pattern-Based Water Demand Forecasting For Smart Water Networks

Breakthrough Release Delivers Accurate and Robust Forecast of Short-Term Water Demands for Real-Time Near-Optimal Control and Management of Water Networks

Expanding the boundaries of smart water network innovation, Innovyze, a leading global innovator of wet infrastructure modeling and simulation software and technologies, recently announced the release of DemandWatch. This revolutionary short-term demand forecasting software changes the way water utilities around the world leverage historical demand data to estimate future water demands for real-time, near-optimal control and management of their water distribution systems. Its primary strength lies in its adaptive demand forecasting process, which can continually update and refine estimated demand values in real time. Armed with this power, water utilities can better plan, operate and manage their water distribution systems, improve conservation measures, minimize energy consumption, meet regulatory compliance, and enhance customer service.

Water distribution network modeling is the most effective and viable way of predicting system behavior to solve a variety of design, operational and water quality problems. One critical tool for ensuring reliable network model predictions is the accurate estimation of short-term (e.g., daily) water demands. DemandWatch is designed expressly to give water utilities accurate water demand forecasts for their distribution network models. These models can help utility planners and managers understand spatial and temporal patterns of water use to optimize system operations and capital planning.

Designed for real-time applications, DemandWatch analyzes patterns from historical demand data and uses a powerful combination of Fourier transform and time-series autoregression modeling to accurately predict short-term water demands. These patterns are used to identify seasonal and weekly periodicities in daily water demands as well as daily periodicities in hourly water demands. A sequential fitting of terms is automatically generated to reveal patterns between days and hourly patterns within days. Fourier transforms are used to find daily and hourly cyclical patterns. Autoregressive terms add a “short-term memory” in order to fine tune daily and hourly predictions, greatly increasing the accuracy of forecasted values. DemandWatch generates water demand forecasts at hourly intervals or at finer user-defined resolution. Innovyze IWLive can readily use the output of DemandWatch to perform accurate simulations that reliably predict network operational performance over the next few hours or days. The results of these simulations can then be used for optimal operation and management of water distribution systems.

Extremely powerful and flexible, DemandWatch can also configure and calibrate network models, aided by graphs and other pertinent reporting tools. Its adaptive learning process enables it to continuously generate predictions, taking observations from the recent past and predicting demand for the near future. Even if there is a loss of observed telemetry data, DemandWatch can still generate predictions from cyclical components of the model.

Easy to learn and use, DemandWatch is available as a stand-alone program that runs on nearly any computer or as a complementary module of IWLive. It can be installed, up and running in just a few minutes on a utility’s local computer. DemandWatch results can easily be integrated with other Innovyze smart water network solutions including InfoWater and InfoWorks WS.

“Short-term water demand pattern forecast is essential for cost-effective operation of distribution systems,” said Paul F. Boulos, Ph.D., BCEEM, Hon.D.WRE, Dist.D.NE, F.ASCE, President, COO and Chief Technical Officer of Innovyze. “DemandWatch is an invaluable planning and operational tool for driving smart water networks, helping water utilities evaluate the relative impact of different management decisions. It exemplifies our ongoing commitment to delivering superior value to our customers who manage, operate and sustain safe, reliable drinking water distribution systems. Innovyze is very proud to offer this groundbreaking new power tool to our clients.”

About Innovyze
Innovyze is a leading global provider of wet infrastructure business analytics software solutions designed to meet the technological needs of water and wastewater utilities, government industries, and engineering organizations worldwide. Its clients include the majority of the largest UK, Australasia and North American cities, foremost utilities on all five continents, and ENR top-rated design firms. With unparalleled expertise and offices in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, the Innovyze connected portfolio of best-in-class product lines empowers thousands of engineers to competitively plan, manage, design, protect, operate and sustain highly efficient and reliable infrastructure systems, and provides an enduring platform for customer success. For more information, visit www.innovyze.com.