Comment by lbutler

5 years ago

This particular software is for water utilities to model and simulate their water and waste water networks.

It's mostly used so utilites can forecast growth in their areas for the next 25+ years and see the impact on their networks and feed into their capital work projects.

A decently sized utility may spend up to $200M/yr on capital works so $40k isn't even a line item!

There is completion in the market but consultants are forced to use what their clients pick and most utilites aren't that price sensitive.

There are also open source alternatives by the EPA[1][2], and most commercial operators are just wrappers around this public domain software.

I'm trying to create FOSS to help view and run these models.

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPANET

[2] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_Water_Management_Model

3 comments

lbutler

divbzero 5 years ago

Thanks for sharing! Your FOSS projects [1] look awesome, wish you the best in building them out. I’m fascinated by examples of niche but critical software applications. It reminds me of Patrick MacKenzie’s thesis that there are more B2B software opportunities out there than you’d expect. [2]

[1]: https://github.com/modelcreate/

[2]: https://twitter.com/patio11/status/1213188681843892224

lbutler 5 years ago

Thanks! If you're interested I wrote an article listing all 7 FOSS apps I created this year on LinkedIn [1], I also have a site for my main library [2].
I'll eventually convert part of one of these into a B2B app to keep what I do sustainable but I want to keep as much free and open source.
[1] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/seven-water-modelling-apps-on...
[2] https://epanetjs.com

blackrock 5 years ago

It sounds like they are using just a basic Linear Regression to forecast growth.

And to the uninitiated, this sounds like a very fancy word, that makes the software seem smart.

But really, it’s just drawing a straight line. And as you add more counts to your x axis, the Linear Regression “forecasts” what the value is on the y axis. This is the magical number, given by the computer, and is used to determine future load or capacity needs.