Broomfield, Colorado USA, July 13, 2005 - Stretching the boundaries of innovation in the geospatial waterworks industry, MWH Soft, a leading provider of environmental and water resources applications software, today announced the release of its acclaimed Scheduler™ extension, the premier energy management solution for water distribution systems, for the H₂OMAP Water GIS platform. The new extension allows water utilities worldwide to enhance business efficiency by quickly developing sound, cost-effective pumping policies that reduce operational costs and enable more reliable operations.

Energy costs generally constitute the largest expenditure for nearly all water utilities worldwide, consuming as much as 65 percent of a water utility's annual operating budget. One of the greatest opportunities for energy cost savings is improved scheduling of daily pump operations. The new H₂OMAP Scheduler module is expressly designed to help (or train) water distribution system operators to manage energy consumption more effectively and improve overall operations, using optimized pumping strategies and reservoir control. The program automatically pinpoints the scheduling that best meets target hydraulic and water quality performance requirements at maximum cost savings.

First introduced in 1999, Scheduler has changed the way utility operators and engineering professionals around the world make informed operational decisions on managing their water distribution systems to maximize energy savings and optimize system performance. The program is widely used by both small and very large water utilities like the Cities of Arcadia and Santa Barbara (CA), Las Vegas Valley Water District (NV), Thames Water and Yorkshire Water (UK), and the Regional Municipality of Durham (Canada). In some applications, energy savings of over 10 percent were realized.

The operation policy for a pump station represents a set of temporal rules or guidelines (pump operating times) that indicate when a particular pump or group of pumps should be turned on and off over a specified period of time (typically 24 hours). The optimal pump policy is the schedule of pump operations that will yield the lowest operating cost while satisfying the desired operational requirements of the system. (These requirements prescribe lower and upper limits on system pressures, tank water levels and water age, desired tank trajectory profiles, maximum pipe velocities, maximum pumped flows or volumes, alternative supply sources, and other system constraints aimed at ensuring safe, reliable operations.) Both energy consumption ($/kW.h) and demand charges ($/max kW) are explicitly considered.

The new H₂OMAP Scheduler extension employs the latest advances in Genetic Algorithm optimization technology with sophisticated Elitist and Global Search Control strategies to automatically determine the optimal pump operation policy for each pump station in the system. By quickly pinpointing the scheduling that best meets target hydraulic and water quality performance requirements, the program facilitates greater productivity with fewer errors, reducing operational costs and maximizing energy savings.

"H₂OMAP Scheduler is an invaluable water distribution planning and operational tool," said Paul F. Boulos, Ph.D, President and Chief Operating Officer of MWH Soft. "It will greatly assist water utilities in improving the operational efficiency of their water distribution systems by evaluating various rate schedules, optimizing residence times and storage/pumping trade-offs, and ensuring more reliable operations. The addition of the Scheduler extension to H₂OMAP Water Suite exemplifies our ongoing commitment to delivering superior value to our customers who manage and operate safe and reliable drinking water distribution systems. It enhances their ability to produce the best possible pumping schedules with minimum effort, at significant cost savings. MWH Soft is very proud to offer this revolutionary new power tool to our clients."

Customers using MWH Soft' Scheduler consistently applaud its positive impact on their bottom lines. "We have been using MWH Soft Scheduler with great success, gaining insight into operation cost-saving opportunities, while maintaining appropriate levels of service," said Devan G. Thomas, P. Eng, Project Manager for Earth Tech in Ontario, Canada. "For the Regional Municipality of Durham in Ontario, Canada, we developed and calibrated a comprehensive dynamic model of their complex, multi-zone water distribution system and integrated the model with their corporate information systems, water billing, SCADA and short-term demand forecasting systems. Using MWH Soft Scheduler, we were then able to determine improved daily pumping schedules for each major zone that resulted in projected cost savings of over 12 percent. These cost savings translate to a complete project payback in under one year! Energy management is now an integral part of their master planning process."

Pricing and Availability
The new H₂OMAP Scheduler extension is now available worldwide by subscription to the Platinum program. Subscription members can immediately download the new extension free of charge directly from www.mwhsoft.com. The MWH Soft Subscription Program is a friendly customer support and software maintenance program that ensures the longevity and usefulness of MWH Soft products. It gives subscribers instant access to new functionality as it is developed, along with automatic software updates and upgrades. MWH Soft product extensions are available only through the Platinum Program. For the latest information on the MWH Soft Subscription Program, visit www.mwhsoft.com or contact your local MWH Soft Certified Representative.