Problem

Is there a criteria for selecting a pipe limit when purchasing or upgrading a WaterGEMS or WaterCAD license? How can one evaluate the number of pipes needed to cover a certain amount of population or area for
example?

Problem ID#: 46071

Solution

The number of pipes needed to cover a certain area or population depends on the amount of detail you want in your model. For example, you could include every single service connection to each property (in which case you would need a lot of pipes), or just the trunk mains (in which case you don't need many). However a very rough rule of thumb would be 1000 pipes for every 10,000 population.

It is important to note that a 'pipe' in WaterGEMS and WaterCAD is not the same as a physical length of pipe that you would put in the ground. A WaterGEMS/CAD pipe is the link that connects two nodes in the model. You usually place a node where pipe diameter or material changes, where you have several pipes joining together (i.e. at a tee junction), or where you want to place a demand.

Also, if you need to include detailed information down to the service lateral, you can use the tap and lateral elements to connect customer meter elements and associate them with a single pipe, instead of splitting that pipe. The lateral link elements do not count toward the license pipe limit.

The hydrant element can model the lateral pipe headloss right inside the hydrant node element, so hydrants can be placed on the main pipeline if desired, instead of having to explicitly lay out a pipe element to connect to it.

If you find you need more pipes at any time, it is very simple to upgrade. The software is identical (so no installation/uninstallation is required), and the pipe limit is controlled by your license. Once you purchase an upgrade your license is updated and, if your license is 'hosted' by Bentley, you can start using the upgrade almost immediately. You would select the new pipe limit using the Municipal License Administrator.

Note: In the new licensing system "Subscription Entitlement Service" you would have to use the Bentley Licensing Tool to set your pipe limit. See the below article for more details on this;

Licensing OpenFlows products - Subscription Entitlement Service (CONNECT Licensing)

Note that if you have SELECT OpenAccess, you can select the new feature level right away, and will be billed according to your usage (no need to wait for procurement.) For example if you have a need to work on a much larger project than usual for a certain period of time, you can switch to the higher pipe limit, then switch back to the lower pipe limit later on when you no longer need to work on the large model.

See Also

Setting the correct feature level in the municipal license administrator

Using LoadBuilder to assign Customer Meters to the nearest pipe using taps and laterals