ACCIngenieria, a Colombia-based civil engineering firm, has selected Bentley's Haestad WaterGEMS hydraulic modelling software for application in major water distribution projects in Colombia.

Following a comprehensive evaluation of several GIS-enabled software packages, ACCIngenieria found WaterGEMS to be the only solution that offers the flexibility to work across standalone, AutoCAD and GIS environments. This functionality is essential to the success of the firm's projects because it provides interoperability with each city's model and data type. ACCIngenieria requires this versatile modelling solution, which enables its engineering team to quickly access multiple sources of data and integrate datasets into a usable format.

ACCIngenieria is already using WaterGEMS for a project with Uniaguas, a water utility facing one of Colombia's toughest challenges: to generate operational strategies for regions of the country suffering from low rates of water coverage.

"ACCIngenieria will help solve Uniaguas' intermittent water supply problems and deliver potable water to hundreds of thousands of people, most of whom do not have reliable access to water in their homes," says Gustavo Giraldo, director for ACCIngenieria. "WaterGEMS provides us with a versatile tool for designing state-of-the-art water distribution systems, improving reliability performance, and expanding water coverage." The firm will also use WaterGEMS to design future infrastructure, reduce unaccounted-for-water (UFW) and develop long-term master plans for the water utility.

For more information contact Bentley Systems SA, 011 462 5811, www.bentley.com