Broomfield, Colorado USA, July 20, 2005 - In a radical technology breakthrough for water utilities worldwide, MWH Soft, a leading global provider of environmental and water resources applications software, today announced the release of its acclaimed Designer™ extension, the premier automated design solution for water distribution systems, for the H₂OMAP Water GIS platform. The new extension further secures the standing of MWH Soft's H₂OMAP Utility Suite as the indispensable geospatial engineering complement to infrastructure management software technologies.

By leveraging the advanced, customer-driven functionality of this major software release, water utilities worldwide can dramatically raise productivity and efficiency by rapidly developing optimal capital improvement strategies that minimize costs while enhancing system reliability and performance. These important capabilities break new ground in engineering efficiency by making engineering professionals more productive and their organizations more competitive. Users can then pass these benefits on to their customers through better designs and higher quality standards, achieved in a shorter turnaround time.

H₂OMAP Designer's sophisticated pipe network optimization capability represents a major step forward for water distribution system modeling. An invaluable and complete master planning and decision support tool, it combines the latest advances in computational Genetic Algorithm optimization technology with superior elitist and global control strategies. This gives Designer unprecedented power to quickly identify the best combination of system improvements - rehabilitation (cleaning and lining), replacement, strengthening, and expansion options - to meet desired hydraulic and water quality performance criteria at minimal cost.

Other key features in H₂OMAP Designer enable water industry professionals to develop more accurate and compelling design and rehabilitation solutions by considering any modeling condition time frame (e.g. maximum day), multiple design scenarios (e.g. maximum day plus fire), and complete extended period simulation designs (e.g. 24-hour operational design). The result is the fastest, most practical, comprehensive and accurate GIS-based water distribution optimization solution ever created for water engineers.

"H₂OMAP Designer delivers the easy-to-use, advanced functionality our customers need to determine effective and economical design, rehabilitation, and enhancement alternatives quickly and reliably," said Paul F. Boulos, Ph.D, President and COO of MWH Soft. "Because Designer is able to retain the reality of existing water distribution systems and analyze very large systems efficiently, it enables water utilities to pinpoint the best possible design and improvement alternatives with minimum effort and at significant cost savings. These capabilities will prove invaluable in planning and designing sound systems and optimizing capital improvement programs. MWH Soft is very proud to offer this revolutionary new power tool to our clients."

"H₂OMAP Designer was built in close collaboration with our engineering communities to ensure that their expectations and requirements were met," said J. Erick Heath, PE, Vice President of Sales and Client Relations for MWH Soft. "We are happy to have once again succeeded in delivering the advanced functionality our clients need to strengthen and optimize their hydraulic infrastructures and keep them operating efficiently well into the future."

Customers using MWH Soft's Designer consistently applaud its positive impact on their bottom lines. "We have seen MWH Soft Designer used with great success, producing better designs for our customers more quickly," said Brett Stewart, Project Manager and Network Modeling Specialist for MWH in Brisbane, Australia. "This extension is a powerful, practical tool engineers can rely on to improve the reliability, integrity and performance of their water distribution systems. It is remarkably easy to use, highly flexible and rich in functionality. We're delighted to see such a powerful tool being integrated into the H₂OMAP Suite that makes our job so much quicker, easier, and simpler."

Pricing and Availability
The new H₂OMAP Designer 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.