Shannon Graup

Steven House
Page




City of Welland Unidirectional
Water Main Flushing: Final
Report
Shannon Graup & Steven House


Shannon Graup
135 Taylor Rd
Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
L0S 1J0
shannon.graup@gmail.com
(905) 641-2252
Jamie Leitch, GISP, A.Sc.T.
GIS Coordinator
Information Services, GIS Services
City of Welland
60 East Main St
Welland, ON
L3B 3X4
jamie.leitch@welland.ca



Re: City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing Project

Dear Mr. Leitch,

Please accept this letter as the formal submission of the final report for the City of Welland
Unidirectional Water Main Flushing project.

The report outlines the project goal and objectives, methodology, findings, schedule and budget,
and an outline of the challenges faced by the project team. Additional documents outlining the
data preparation methodology, and the query and script methodology were created to allow City
of Welland staff to complete the same tasks on a different area of interest.

The project team members completed the project on time, with a total project cost of $18,900.00
including 13% HST. The project team created a number of queries and scripts that allow a user
to select a start and finish nodes and a water main to be flushed. Using the selection a map,
showing appropriate data is created and data values for the flush hydrant ID, total gallons to
flush and minimum flushing times are generated onto a unidirectional flushing form.

If you have any questions regarding the final report submission, please feel free to contact me
by phone (647-921-4930) or e-mail (shannon.graup@gmail.com) at your convenience.

Sincerely,




Shannon Graup BAH
GIS GM Candidate
S.G\

Enclosures
1) City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing: Final Report
2) City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing: Data Preparation Methodology
3) City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing: Query and Script Methodology
4) City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing: Map and UDF Form Book
CC: Steven House
City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page i

Executive Summary
The City of Welland is located in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario. The
City of Wellands Information Services, GIS Department is responsible for implementing and
running the Unidirectional Flushing program. The City of Welland has implemented the
unidirectional water main flushing program as a part of Wellands clean drinking water quality
strategy. Unidirectional flushing (UDF) is the practice of forcing water through a water pipe
distribution segment at higher than normal velocities in one direction. Water main valves and
hydrants are strategically open and closed in sequences designed to promote the appropriate
flows. The project area of interest in the City of Welland borders East Main Street to the south,
Ross Street to the east, Downs Drive to the north and River Road to the west.
The project goal is to increase the efficiency of the current unidirectional flushing program in the
planning and field operation phases. The project team achieved this goal by creating a number
of queries and scripts that allow a user to select start and finish nodes and a water main to be
flushed. With this user selection, the queries and scripts create a map document showing the
flush route, and a unidirectional flushing form. The UDF form shows the flush hydrant ID, total
gallons to be flushed, and the minimum flush times for two different water hose speeds.
The project was completed in six main phases; meetings, bi-weekly progress reports, project
understanding, GIS data organization, data analysis and project summary. The unidirectional
water main flushing project began on October 31, 2013 and was completed on June 11, 2014.
The total project budget is $18,900.00 including a 13% HST.









Note: This project budget has been prepared solely for learning purposes and the client is not expected to pay any of
the proposed project costs. The value of the completion of the Unidirectional Water Main Flushing project is being
donated to the City of Welland on behalf of the project team members, Shannon Graup and Steven House as well as
the project advisor from Niagara College, Mike Wallace.
City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page ii
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................... i
List of Tables .......................................................................................................................... iii
List of Figures ......................................................................................................................... iii
List of Appendices .................................................................................................................. iii
1.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Area of Interest ................................................................................................................. 1
1.2 Project Understanding ...................................................................................................... 3
1.3 Project Benefits ................................................................................................................ 3
1.4 Client Overview ................................................................................................................ 3
1.5 Background Work ............................................................................................................. 4
1.5.1 Literature Review ....................................................................................................... 4
2.0 Project Goal and Objectives ................................................................................................. 5
2.1 Project Goal ...................................................................................................................... 5
2.2 Project Objectives ............................................................................................................. 5
3.0 Methodology ........................................................................................................................ 6
3.1 Work Breakdown Structure ............................................................................................... 6
3.1.1 Meetings .................................................................................................................... 7
3.1.2 Bi-Weekly Progress Reports ...................................................................................... 7
3.1.3 Project Understanding ................................................................................................ 7
3.1.4 GIS Data Organization ............................................................................................... 8
3.1.5 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................. 8
3.1.6 Project Summary .......................................................................................................10
4.0 Findings ..............................................................................................................................11
5.0 Project Schedule .................................................................................................................12
6.0 Project Budget ....................................................................................................................13
6.1 Budget Analysis ...............................................................................................................14
7.0 Risk Assessment, Challenges, & Mitigation Strategies ........................................................15
8.0 Closure & Recommendations ..............................................................................................16
9.0 Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................17
10.0 Bibliography ......................................................................................................................18
City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page iii
11.0 Appendices .......................................................................................................................19

List of Tables
Table 1: Phase 1.1 Meetings ...................................................................................................... 7
Table 2: Phase 1.2 Bi-Weekly Progress Reports ........................................................................ 7
Table 3: Phase 1.3 Project Understanding ................................................................................. 7
Table 4: Phase 1.4 GIS Data Organization ................................................................................ 8
Table 5: Phase 1.5 Data Analysis .............................................................................................. 9
Table 6: Task 1.5.1 Scripting to show Pipe Flush via User Pipe Selection ................................. 9
Table 7: Task 1.5.2 Map Creation for each Pipe Flush ............................................................... 9
Table 8: Task 1.5.3 Scripting to Automate Production of UDF form for each Pipe Flush ............ 9
Table 9: Phase 1.6 Project Summary ........................................................................................10
Table 10: Major Project Milestone Schedule .............................................................................12
Table 11: Major Project Phases ................................................................................................12
Table 12: Data Analysis Cost Breakdown .................................................................................13

List of Figures
Figure 1: Area of Interest ........................................................................................................... 2
Figure 2: Work Breakdown Structure ......................................................................................... 6
Figure 3: Project Costs ..............................................................................................................13
Figure 4: Earned Value Report ..................................................................................................14

List of Appendices
Appendix A: Project Terms of Reference ..................................................................................20
Appendix B: Project Overview Statement (P.O.S) .....................................................................22
Appendix C: Project Change Request Form ..............................................................................27
Appendix D: Unidirectional Flushing Route Map .......................................................................28
Appendix E: Unidirectional Flushing Form .................................................................................29
Appendix F: Project Gantt Chart ...............................................................................................30

City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 1
1.0 Introduction
Unidirectional flushing (UDF) is the practice of forcing water through a water pipe distribution
segment at higher than normal velocities in one direction in order to; scour sediment and biofilm
from the inner walls of the pipe. Typically, water main valves and hydrants are strategically open
and closed in sequences designed to promote appropriate flows.
The following subsections will introduce the project in more detail and will cover such topics as
the area of interest, project understanding and description, project benefits, and client overview,
and initial background work needed in order to begin the project.
1.1 Area of Interest
The City of Welland has asked the project team to focus on a specific area of interest. Located
to the East of downtown Welland, the project team will be creating the automated GIS
Unidirectional Flushing tool for the neighbourhood surrounding East Main Street, Ross Street,
Downs Drive, and River Road. The area of interest is shown in Figure 1.
City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 2
Figure 1: Area of Interest
City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 3
1.2 Project Understanding
The City of Welland will be undertaking a unidirectional flushing project throughout its water
distribution network as part of its clean drinking water quality strategy. A GIS tool will help to
plan the flushing sequences and guide field crews in the opening and closing of water valves.
The City of Welland requires a GIS tool to plan and execute the unidirectional flushing program.
The tool should be; designed in Manifold GIS, easily operated by City staff, and usable year
after year for the unidirectional flushing (UDF) program. City staff will be able to produce maps
and corresponding unidirectional flushing forms showing the flush hydrant, total gallons to be
flushed, minimum flush times and open and closed water valves during and after each flush.
1.3 Project Benefits
The development of a unidirectional flushing program provides many benefits for the City of
Welland. Compared to conventional water main flushing methods, unidirectional flushing has
many advantages, which include; increased sediment-scouring, removal of biofilm deposits and
discoloured water and odors, reducing high bacterial concentrations and chemical
contamination, and improving water quality. In addition, unidirectional flushing will not only
increase and maintain the life of water mains and pipe segments but will also use up to 40%
less water than conventional flushing methods, (Charles Duncan, 2012). This will help to reduce
the city's overall operating costs and increase city revenue.
The creation of an automated GIS tool, in Manifold 8.0, used to plan the flushing sequences and
guide city field crews, provides an additional set of benefits for the City of Welland. The
automated GIS tool will help improve the efficiency of the Unidirectional Flushing program in
both the planning and field operations phases. The automation of the production of maps and
associated UDF forms for each flush sequence will save the city additional time and money and
will help aid in the long-term development of an optimal Unidirectional Flushing Program.
1.4 Client Overview
The City of Welland, nicknamed the Rose City, is located in the heart of the Regional
Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario with a population of 50,631 in 2011 (Statistics
Canada, 2013). In 2011, the city had 21,486 private dwellings with a population density of 624.4
persons per square kilometer with a land area of 81.09 square kilometers, (Statistics Canada,
2013). The City is responsible for revenue collection, local planning, local economic
development, building permits, local water and sewer mains, local streets, fire protection and
parks and recreation, (Welland Community Profile, 2013). Furthermore, the urban area of the
City is serviced by modern piped water and sanitary and storm sewage systems with treatment
facilities.
The City of Wellands Information Services department, more specifically the GIS services
department is responsible for implementing and running the Unidirectional Flushing program.
The main contact within the department is Jamie Leitch, GISP, and A.Sc.T. Mr. Leitch is the GIS
Coordinator for the City of Welland with certifications as a GIS Professional and an Applied
Science Technologist. Mr. Leitch will be the client from the City of Welland primarily in contact
City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 4
with the project team. His experience and expertise in the field of GIS will be a valuable asset to
the project team, towards the completion of the automated Unidirectional Flushing program
project.
1.5 Background Work
In order to understand the project scope and lifecycle, research of background work is required.
An initial client meeting provided the project team with a familiarity of the project and the clients
needs and expectations.
The project team received all necessary data required to undertake and complete the project for
the City of Welland. The project data was not 100% topologically clean, and needed some
cleaning or editing in order to obtain accurate results from tools such as the Optimal Route
(visual) function in Manifold 8.0.
The Unidirectional water main flushing project uses Manifold System 8.0. The project team
proceeded with an in-depth exploration of Manifold in order to gain a familiarity with the GIS tool
and to grasp the scripting and query language needed to automate the GIS tool.
1.5.1 Literature Review
The Unidirectional Water Main Flushing project being completed by project team
members for the City of Welland is working to increase the efficiency in the unidirectional
flushing program in the planning and field operations phases. Jiao, Lio, Sun, Xu, & You
identify unidirectional water main flushing as the practice of forcing water through pipe
distribution segments at higher than normal velocities (2008). Unidirectional water main
flushing can help with the removal of biofilm and sediment in water main pipes (Jiao, Lio,
Sun, Xu, & You, 2008). Conventional flushing techniques are said to do an adequate job
flushing a water main system, and modeling can help engineers to implement
unidirectional flushing in cases where conventional flushing will be unsuccessful (Walski,
Yi Wu, Hartell, & Cullin, 2008).
The City of Welland is implementing the unidirectional flushing program as part of
Wellands clean drinking water quality strategy. The City of Toronto identified the reason
for implementing a unidirectional water main flushing program is to clean water mains
and improve water quality by removing sediment. Unidirectional flushing techniques will
save the City of Welland approximately 40% water volume than conventional flushing
techniques. Many cities have water main flushing programs to help clean out water
mains. The City of Toronto identifies unidirectional flushing programs as the best way to
improve water quality and increase the reliability of distribution systems.


City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 5
2.0 Project Goal and Objectives
2.1 Project Goal
The project goal for the City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing project is to help
improve the efficiency of the unidirectional flushing program in both the planning and field
operation phases. The City of Welland has not automated the current unidirectional flushing
program, meaning that city staff must work to plan out the entire flush sequence, pipe for pipe.
With an automated GIS tool, city staff can create maps and UDF forms with more efficiency.
The GIS tool produced will use start and end nodes and water main pipe selection by the user
and will automate the production of a map showing the selected pipe flush. The tool will also
create a unidirectional flushing form (UDF form) for the selected pipe flush. During the field
operation phase, maps and UDF forms will help guide field crews. Each map produced will have
road information, the flushing route, water valves, and the flushing hydrant. The UDF form
produced will have the sequence number, flush hydrant ID, valve IDs with instructions
regarding whether or not the valve is open or closed during and after the flush, the minimum
flush times and the total gallons to flush. With the automation of the GIS tool, the Unidirectional
Flushing program will have improved efficiency in both the planning and field operation phases,
easing the implementation of the program year after year.
2.2 Project Objectives
There are three main project objectives associated with the City of Welland Unidirectional Water
Main Flushing project. Each of these objectives or project deliverables will help to increase the
efficiency of the program, ultimately achieving the project goals.
The main project objective is to develop a working GIS tool in Manifold GIS 8.0 to automate the
production of a map and UDF form for a unidirectional flush sequence. This tool will help
improve the efficiency during the planning and field operation phases of the unidirectional
flushing program. The tool will have proper documentation for the scripts and queries used as
well as methodologies to help city staff operate the tool. The third main objective is to produce
flushing sequence maps and UDF forms for each pipe flush in the area of interest to help guide
field crews for the 2013-2014 unidirectional flushing program.


City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 6
3.0 Methodology
3.1 Work Breakdown Structure
The work breakdown structure of the City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing project
is below in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Work Breakdown Structure
The work breakdown structure lists the main phases of the project and each task completed
during these phases. The project is broken down into six main phases; meetings, bi-weekly
progress reports, project understanding, GIS data organization, data analysis and project
summary.

City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 7
3.1.1 Meetings
Meetings were ongoing throughout the entire project lifecycle. Meetings are broken into two
different sections: advisor and client meetings. Advisory meetings were scheduled biweekly
starting in January 2014 until May 2014 with the project advisor Mike Wallace. Project team
members scheduled client meetings once a semester to discuss project progress and to confirm
the project is meeting all of the clients needs and expectations. Table 1 shows the start and end
dates for phase 1.1, as well as the total time and cost.
Table 1: Phase 1.1 Meetings
Start Date Thursday October 31
st
, 2013
End Date Wednesday May 21
th
, 2014
Total Time (Person Hours) 19 Hours
Total Cost (Labour and Materials) $1,750.00

3.1.2 Bi-Weekly Progress Reports
Bi-weekly progress reports were completed for each advisory meeting, starting in January 2014
until May 2014. Bi-weekly reports summarize project tasks completed during the period since
the last advisory meeting, and indicate whether the project is on schedule and on budget. Table
2 lists the start and end dates for phase 1.2, as well as total time and cost.
Table 2: Phase 1.2 Bi-Weekly Progress Reports
Start Date Tuesday January 14
th
, 2014
End Date Tuesday May 23
th
, 2014
Total Time (Person Hours) 10 Hours
Total Cost (Labour and Materials) $825.00

3.1.3 Project Understanding
The project-understanding phase is the first main phase of the project. The completion date of
this phase was December 11, 2013. There are eight main tasks in this phase. These tasks can
be seen listed in Figure 2. Table 3 below shows the start and end dates for phase 1.3, as well
as the total time and costs.
Table 3: Phase 1.3 Project Understanding
Start Date Friday November 1
st
, 2013
End Date Wednesday December11
th
, 2013
Total Time (Person Hours) 41.4 Hours
Total Cost (Labour and Materials) $3,105.00


City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 8
3.1.4 GIS Data Organization
The GIS data organization phase is crucial to the successful completion of the project. The
project team completed this phase on March 19, 2014. This phase consists of nine main tasks
to prepare the data for further use in the project, and preparation of the project progress
presentation and report. The start and ends dates, and total time and cost are below in Table 4.
Table 4: Phase 1.4 GIS Data Organization
Start Date Monday January 13
th
, 2014
End Date Wednesday March 19
th
, 2014
Total Time (Person Hours) 59.4 Hours
Total Cost (Labour and Materials) $4,460.00

There are five main project tasks in this phase to prepare the data for further use in the project
for the optimal route business tool, optimal route script and unidirectional flushing form script.
These tasks can be found in detail in City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing: Data
Preparation Methodology document.
Once the topology edits and data preparation tasks were completed the appropriate flush
sequence and associated open and closed valves can be determined. The optimal flushing
sequence was determined using the Optimal Route (visual) tool in Manifold 8.0. The optimal
route (visual) tool functions by choosing locations within a road network (in this case, a water
main network) so that the user can find an optimal or shortest route between locations. The
optimal route (visual) tool takes into account such factors as length and speed. There are
certain rules for the optimal route (visual) tool to work. The line network (active water mains
drawing) and the start and end points must be within the same drawing. The project team used
water junctions as start points and hydrants as end points. The project team created a speed
column within the attribute table of the Water Mains drawing and filled values with a '1' to satisfy
this function. Moreover, for an ideal flushing sequence, it is best to flush the study area
sequentially in one direction for improved overall results. The project team determined that there
are 30 individual flushes in order to flush all pipe segments in the area of interest. The flushing
sequence was determined using guidance from the lead engineer on the unidirectional flushing
project in the City of Welland.
3.1.5 Data Analysis
The data analysis phase is the longest phase of the project. This phase began on March 31
st
,
2014 and was completed on May 27
th
, 2014. The three main tasks are scripting to show pipe
flush via user pipe selection, map creation for each pipe flush and scripting to automate the
production of a unidirectional flushing form for each pipe flush. Two methodology documents
were created outlining the data preparation methodology and the query and script
methodologies.


City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 9
Table 5 shows the start and end dates, and the total time and cost for phase 1.5 of the project.
Table 5: Phase 1.5 Data Analysis
Start Date March 31
st
, 2014
End Date Wednesday May 27
th
, 2014
Total Time (Person Hours) 70 Hours
Total Cost (Labour and Materials) $5,250.00

The script writing tasks are the three most intensive tasks of the project. The completion of
these three tasks produced the first deliverable for the project, a working GIS tool in Manifold
8.0. The following two tasks of methodology documents will produce the second deliverable for
the project, methodologies to help City staff to operate the created GIS tool. During this phase
of the project, a scope change was made, lowering the amount of scripting in the project. The
project scope change document can be found located in Appendix C. The initial plan was to
write a script to automate the determination of the entire optimal flushing route, but after
meeting with the project client, the scope was changed to eliminate scripting to determine the
entire flushing route. The project team completed scripting to automate the production of a map
for a pipe flush using user pipe selection and scripting to automate data values on a
unidirectional flushing form. Detailed methodologies for the queries and scripts used to
complete tasks 1.5.1, 1.5.2 and 1.5.3 can be found in City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main
Flushing: Query and Script Methodology document.
Table 6, Table 7, and Table 8list the start and end dates, and the time and cost for the first three
tasks in the data analysis phase.
Table 6: Task 1.5.1 Scripting to show Pipe Flush via User Pipe Selection
Start Date Monday March 31
st
, 2014
End Date Thursday May 22
nd
, 2014
Total Time (Person Hours) 25 Hours
Total Cost (Labour and Materials) $1,875.00

Table 7: Task 1.5.2 Map Creation for each Pipe Flush
Start Date Monday March 31
st
, 2014
End Date Tuesday May 20
th
, 2014
Total Time (Person Hours) 15 Hours
Total Cost (Labour and Materials) $1,125.00

Table 8: Task 1.5.3 Scripting to Automate Production of UDF form for each Pipe Flush
Start Date Monday March 31
st
, 2014
End Date Tuesday May 27
th
, 2014
Total Time (Person Hours) 10 Hours
Total Cost (Labour and Materials) $750.00

City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 10
After completing these tasks, a number of queries and scripts were produced, to be used as a
GIS tool that will show a pipe flush via user pipe selection, create a map for the pipe flush, and
automate the production of a unidirectional flushing form. Scripting for the UDF form uses pipe
selection to show the flush hydrant ID, total gallons to flush and minimum flush times.
To create the map document for a user selected pipe flush an optimal route script, and layout
buffer query were used. The unidirectional flushing form script had three associated queries;
minimum flush times query, select hydrant query, and sum of gallons query. Methodologies for
all the scripts and queries used for the GIS tool can be found in the City of Welland
Unidirectional Water Main Flushing: Query and Script Methodology document.
3.1.6 Project Summary
The project summary phase is the final phase of the project and consists of five main tasks.
These tasks require team members to prepare a PowerPoint for the final project presentation,
presenting, writing the final project report, submitting the project report to the advisor and finally
presenting the final deliverables and final write-up to the client. Table 9 below lists the proposed
start and end dates, time and cost for this phase.
Table 9: Phase 1.6 Project Summary
Start Date Monday May 26
th
, 2014
End Date Friday May 6
th
, 2014
Total Time (Person Hours) 17 Hours
Total Cost (Labour and Materials) $1,275.00


City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 11
4.0 Findings
For the working GIS tool to function properly, the flushing sequence for the study area had to be
determined. Using the optimal route (visual) tool within Manifold 8.0, the project team
determined that it would take 30 flushes in total to flush all pipe segments owned by the City of
Welland. These 30 flushes are numbered in a logical sequence from 1 to 30 in order to design
an efficient unidirectional flushing route for the city field crews to operate and carry out.
While working towards the initial plan to script the automation of finding the optimal flush route
for all pipes within the entire study area, the project team discovered that the level of
programming and scripting required was too difficult and advanced for both members. Due to
the complexity of the scripting level required to automate the optimal flush route for all pipes
within the study area, the project team was able to script the working GIS tool to function with a
user pipe selection process. Therefore, the user will have to select the pipe flush route manually
in order to generate a map layout for the desired pipe flush. With the use of the optimal route
script that was created, the map layout identifies the pipe flush route, the start and finish points
of the route, the hydrant ID that is being flushed and the valves associated with the pipe flush to
be opened and closed accordingly. Furthermore, in order to fill the unidirectional flushing form
with the necessary data values corresponding to each pipe flush sequence, the user will utilize
and run the UDF form script.
During the automation phase of the GIS tool, the project team discovered that it would not be
feasible to write the piece of script that would open and close the valves corresponding to each
pipe flush sequence. To achieve this task, it would require a level of programming and scripting
within Manifold far beyond the capabilities of the project team. Instead of automating this task,
the project team determined which valves would open and close manually according to the pipe
flush sequence.
Furthermore, due to the lack of experience involving query and script writing within Manifold,
additional help was needed from the client to get started and for the automation of the GIS tool,
which would produce the map layout, as well as the UDF form. In order to complete the project
in its entirety (the original project terms of reference is located in Appendix A), a higher level of
scripting expertise is required as the task of automating the GIS tool is quite advanced.

City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 12
5.0 Project Schedule
The Unidirectional Water Main Flushing project began on October 31
st
, 2013 when project team
members had their first client meeting with Jamie Leitch from the City of Welland, the project
was completed on June 11
th
. 2014. Table 10 lists major presentation and report milestones and
their scheduled completion dates.
Table 10: Major Project Milestone Schedule
Major Project Milestones Scheduled Completion Date
Milestone 1: Project Proposal Presentation / Report December 11
th
, 2013
Milestone 2: Mid-Project Progress Report March 19
st
, 2014
Milestone 3: Final Project Presentation / Report June 5
th
, 2014
Milestone 4: Finished Project Data to Client / Presentation June 11
th
, 2014

The main phases proposed and revised start and completion dates are below in Table 11.
Table 11: Major Project Phases
Major Project Phases Start Date Completion Date
Meetings October 31, 2013 June 6, 2014
Bi-Weekly Progress Reports January 14, 2014 June 3, 2014
Project Understanding November 1, 2014 December 11, 2014
GIS Data Organization January 13, 2014 March 19, 2014
Data Analysis March 31, 2014 May 27, 2014
Project Summary May 26, 2014 June 11, 2014

The meetings phase began promptly with the project start date, as this was the first client
meeting. Both advisory and client meetings are ongoing starting in January 2014 and continue
until project completion in late May 2014. Bi-weekly progress reports go hand in hand with
advisory meetings, as each advisory meeting marks the completion of a bi-weekly progress
report. The project understanding phase began on the date of data acquisition (November 1,
2013) and continued until December 11, 2013 upon completion of the proposal report. The GIS
data organization phase began on time in early January; the project team completed this phase
on the revised date of March 19, 2014 when the progress report was completed. Phase four,
GIS data organization began on January 13, 2014 and was completed on March 19, 2014.
Phase five, data analysis began on March 31, 2014 and was completed on May 27, 2014. Once
the data analysis phase is completed, the final project phase, project summary can begin. This
phase lasts roughly a month, beginning in mid-May and continuing until the project completion
date of June 11, 2014.
City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 13
6.0 Project Budget
The total cost of completing the Unidirectional Water Main Flushing project is $18,900. This cost
includes 13% HST. A breakdown of costs by phase can be seen below in
Figure 3.


Figure 3: Project Costs
The project was completed under budget as the previously estimated cost was $28,250.00 with
a 10% contingency of $2,825.00. The total project cost decreased because of the scope change
in the data analysis phase, eliminating the scripting to automate the determination of the optimal
flushing route for the area of interest. It can be noted in
Figure 3 that Phase 1.1, meetings has been separated into two separate costs of advisor and
client meetings and an extra cost called Administrative has been added to account for printing of
formal project documents. A cost breakdown of each project tasks can be found located in
Appendix F. The main changes in cost were in the data analysis phase. The total cost is
$5,250.00. Table 12 lists the costs of each individual task during the data analysis phase.
Table 12: Data Analysis Cost Breakdown
Task Name Resources Cost ($)
Scripting to show pipe flush via user pipe
selection
Shannon Graup, Steven House $1,875.00
Map creation for each pipe flush Shannon Graup, Steven House $1,125.00
Scripting to automate production of UDF form
for each pipe flush
Shannon Graup, Steven House $750.00
Write script and query documentation and
methodologies
Shannon Graup, Steven House $750.00
Write methodology for data preparation Shannon Graup, Steven House $750.00
$1,450
$300
$3,105
$750
$4,460
$5,250
$1,275
$100
$2,169.70
Project Costs
Advisor Meetings
Client Meetings
Project
Understanding
Bi-Weekly Progress
Reports
GIS Data
Organization
Data Analysis
Project Summary
City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 14
6.1 Budget Analysis
Figure 4 below shows the earned value over time report created in Microsoft Project.

Figure 4: Earned Value Report
The planned value is to total cost of the work scheduled or planned, the earned value is the total
cost of the work that has been completed and the actual cost is the total cost taken to complete
the work. The cost variance is the difference between the planned value and the actual project
costs. The planned and earned values and the actual costs were on par for the first half of the
project, it was during the data organization and data analysis phases that changes between the
planned, earned and actual costs occurred. It can be seen in Figure 4 that the actual project
cost ($16,700) is well below the planned value ($26,000). The project was completed below
budget, with a cost variance of negative $9,300.


Note: This project budget has been prepared solely for learning purposes and the client is not expected
to pay any of the proposed project costs. The value of the completion of the Unidirectional Water Main
Flushing project is being donated to the City of Welland on behalf of the project team members, Shannon
Graup and Steven House as well as the project advisor from Niagara College, Mike Wallace.
$0.00
$5,000.00
$10,000.00
$15,000.00
$20,000.00
$25,000.00
$30,000.00
Week
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Q4 Q1 Q2
2013 2014
C
o
s
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(
$
)

Earned Value Over Time Report
Earned Value Planned Value AC
City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 15
7.0 Risk Assessment, Challenges, & Mitigation Strategies
As with every professional project, there were inherent challenges, issues, and risks that
occurred during the project life cycle, which had the potential to drastically affect the outcome or
success of the project. The project team was fully aware that even a small issue in the course of
the project might cause considerable setbacks and time delays. In order to overcome the issues
faced during the project life cycle, risk assessment and mitigation strategies were developed
accordingly.
During the first phase of the project life cycle, the main challenge faced by the project team was
becoming familiar with Manifold 8.0 and all of its various tools and functions for data analysis. At
the beginning of the project life cycle, both project team members lacked experience using
Manifold and therefore, an extensive amount of time and effort was needed in order to be able
to understand how Manifold 8.0 operates. Using the Manifold user manual and forum help files
extensively, the project team was able to gain an understanding on how to utilize this GIS
program and its numerous tools and functions to complete the necessary tasks for the UDF
project. Another challenge critical to the success of the project was the assumption that the
project team understood the unidirectional water main flushing methodology. It was critical that
the project team understand the flushing sequence methodology because if a mistake is made
in the automated GIS tool regarding the opening and closing of valves, the consequences could
result in the loss of water to certain houses or whole streets. This challenge was overcome
through the consultation of detailed notes, created by the City of Wellands lead engineer on the
project.
During the data analysis phase, a major challenge critical to the success and completion of the
project was scripting within Manifold 8.0 to automate the production of the flush sequence map
and the UDF form. The scripting language, in VBscript, was too complex for the project team's
current skill set and therefore, help from the client was needed in order to overcome this
obstacle. The client provided the project team with numerous query and script examples to be
able to automate the production of the flush sequence and the UDF form. Using these
examples, the project team was able to overcome these challenges and issues and create and
edit scripts and queries to complete the project goals.


City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 16
8.0 Closure & Recommendations
The Unidirectional Water Main Flushing project for the City of Welland was vigorous and time
consuming but was ultimately a rewarding project. The project team was able to successfully
complete the project deliverables set out by the client and was completed on time and on
budget. In completing this project, the efficiency of the unidirectional flushing program for the
City of Welland has been greatly improved in both the planning and field operation phases and
therefore will be easier to implement year after year.
The project life cycle took approximately 8 months to complete, beginning on October 31
st
2013
and ending on June 11
th
2014. The total project cost came in at $18,900.00, including 13%
HST.
It has been recommended by the project team that any future work for creating a working GIS
tool to automate the production of a pipe flush sequence and UDF form, be carried out by
individuals who demonstrate a high level of programming, as well as script and query writing
experience within Manifold and VBscript language.


City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 17
9.0 Acknowledgements
Without the help of many individuals, the project team would not have experienced such
success in completing the project. Niagara College provided all the necessary software and
hardware components allowing the project team to both plan and execute the project.
The project team would like to thank Mike Wallace, the project advisor for all of the help he
provided throughout the entire project lifecycle. Mr. Wallace provided expertise in project
management, guiding the project team in the development and planning of the project. Biweekly
advisor meetings with Mr. Wallace helped ensure the project team stayed on schedule, keeping
the project scope within reach.
Lastly, the project team would like to thank the client, Jamie Leitch from the City of Welland. Mr.
Leitch was a great contact throughout the entire project lifecycle, confirming the work the project
team was completing satisfied the project terms of reference. The help and guidance he
provided with script and query writing throughout the project was a great help to the project
team.

City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 18
10.0 Bibliography
Charles Duncan, P. (2012). Developing Unidirectional Flushing Programs.
City of Toronto. (n.d.). Watermain unidirectional flushing (UDF). Retrieved December 2013, from
City of Toronto: http://www.toronto.ca/311/knowledgebase/90/101001062690.html
Jiao, W.-h., Lio, Z.-q., Sun, J.-m., Xu, H.-f., & You, Z.-l. (2008). Study on Unidirectional Flushing
of Water Distribution System. China Water & Watershed.
Statistics Canada. (2013, 1 18). Retrieved from Statistics Canada:
http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/fogs-spg/Facts-csd-
eng.cfm?LANG=Eng&GK=CSD&GC=3526032
Walski, T., Yi Wu, Z., Hartell, W., & Cullin, K. (2008). Determining the best way to model
distribution flushing. World Environmental and Water Resources Congress, (pp. 1 - 10).
Welland Community Profile. (2013, January 1). Retrieved from The City of Welland's
Community Profile 2013: http://www.welland.ca/EDC/profile/aIntroduction.pdf





City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 19
11.0 Appendices

City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 20
Appendix A: Project Terms of Reference
Project ID: 201314-07 (for our office use only)
Contact Person & Organization Details
Contact Person Name: Jamie Leitch
Title: GIS Coordinator
Telephone: 905-735-1700 ext 2302
Fax: 905-732-1919
Email: Jamie.leitch@welland.ca
Organization Name: City of Welland
Address: 60 East Main St, Welland, ON L3B 3X4
Website: www.welland.ca
Date: 9/3/2013

City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Project Details
Project Background
Project Problem/Opportunity: Unidirectional flushing is the practice of forcing water through a water
distribution pipe segment at higher than normal velocity in one direction in order to scour sediment and
biofilm from the inner walls of the pipe. Typically, water main valves and hydrants are strategically opened and
closed in sequences designed to promote the appropriate flows. The City of Welland will be undertaking a
unidirectional flushing project throughout its water distribution network as part of its clean drinking water
quality strategy. GIS will be used to plan the flushing sequences and guide field crews in the closing and
opening of water valves and hydrants.
Business Goal: The deliverables will improve the efficiency of the unidirectional flushing program in the
planning and field operations phases.
Primary Project Objectives [Provide a list of the project objectives.]
Develop a GIS tool, documentation, and repeatable methodology using Manifold GIS for City staff to be
able to plan the unidirectional flushing program from year to year. The solution should allow City staff to
plan the flushing programs and produce the map products for field crews autonomously and
automatically.
Produce map products to guide field crews in the opening and closing of the appropriate valves and
hydrants in order to produce desired results for the 2013/2014 flushing program. City staff must be able
to recreate the maps as necessary.

Primary Project Deliverables [Provide a list of the project objectives.]
Working GIS tool (scripts, methodology, queries, etc) in Manifold GIS.
Documentation and repeatable methodology to allow City staff to operate the GIS tool.
Unidirectional flushing sequence maps (in Manifold GIS) for 2013-2014 program to guide field crews.
City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 21


Requirements
Number of students required to
complete the project:
At least 1
Equipment required (if any): GPS, transportation, desktop computer, printers, etc
Data required (if any): Provided by City of Welland.
Software required (if any): Manifold GIS 8.x (most recent update), standard office software, email, etc
Confidentiality Student(s) will be required to sign data license and confidentiality agreement.



City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 22
Appendix B: Project Overview Statement (P.O.S)

City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 27
Appendix C: Project Change Request Form
Project Change Request Form
Requested Change: Scope adjustment Project Name: City of Welland Unidirectional
Water Main Flushing
Date of Request: May 7, 2014 Project Manager: Shannon Graup
Business Reasons for Change:
Meeting with client, discussed difficult project scope regarding scripting to automate optimal
flush route, automate map creation, and automate UDF form creation. Scope adjustment was
made investigate scripting to allow user to select pipe to be flushed & create map for user
selected flush.

Analysis of Change:
Final budget of project is lowered because of this scope change.

Project Impacts of Change:
Scope Impact: Scope was changed to eliminate much of the scripting in the project

Schedule Impact: No impact

Budget Impact: (-$5,250.00)

Risk Impact:

Other Project Impact:

Acceptance:
Business Sponsor (signature) Project Manager (signature)
Date:

Change Request Log
Change Request ID Change Request Date Status
1 Scope Adjustment
May 7,
2014
Approved





City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 28
Appendix D: Unidirectional Flushing Route Map

City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 29
Appendix E: Unidirectional Flushing Form

City of Welland


Unidirectional Flushing Program

Sequence
No: 1 Flush Hydrant: W47H003 Total Gallons To Flush: 428
Valves: Flush: After:
Minimum Flush Time (min):

W42V028 CLOSE CLOSE
20 psi 1
W42V073 CLOSE OPEN
10 psi 1.5
W47V097 OPEN CLOSE



Static Pressure:


Start Time:

Start
Pressure:

End Time:

End Pressure:



Flush Water Quality (Interval of 2 minutes)
Time Turbidity Cloudy Brown Tubercles
White
Particles Other
Initial
During
Flushing












Final Chlorine Residual:
Comments:
City of Welland Unidirectional Water Main Flushing
Shannon Graup
Steven House
Page 30
Appendix F: Project Gantt Chart