Water Experts Unfiltered

Tackling a Water Crisis: AEGEA's Emergency Response to Historic Flooding in Brazil

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 09:33:00 -0600

In this episode of Water Experts Unfiltered, podcast host Cecilia Correia, Senior Water Solutions Manager at Bentley, speaks with Giulio de Manincor Capestrani of AEGEA, Brazil's largest private water and sanitation company, about his experience leading Corsan/Aegea's emergency response to the catastrophic floods that struck the state of Rio Grande do Sul, displacing millions and destroying water infrastructure across 448 municipalities in 2024.

Giulio recounts how AEGEA's teams responded swiftly to widespread infrastructure failures, including submerged treatment plants and broken pipelines. He shared how Bentley's OpenFlows Water hydraulic modeling software was essential in managing the crisis and rapid response redesign of the water distribution systems, helping the team make critical decision under pressure. The discussion explored how digital engineering solutions and coordinated field efforts helped restore essential services, offering a compelling look at climate resilience, innovation, and AEGEA's commitment behind restoring essential services in the face of disaster.

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Portugese version: Enfrentamento de crise: Resposta de emergência da AEGEA às enchentes históricas no Rio Grande do Sul

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 09:06:00 -0600

Neste episódio do podcast Water Experts Unfiltered, a Cecilia Correia conversa com o Giulio de Manincor Capestrani e com o Márcio Almeida da AEGEA, empresa referência no setor privado de saneamento básico no Brasil.

Ele relatam a experiência em liderar a resposta de emergência da Corsan/Aegea frente às enchentes catastróficas que atingiram o Rio Grande do Sul, desalojando milhões e destruindo a infraestrutura de água em 448 municípios em 2024.

Ouça e saiba como a AEGEA responderam rapidamente às falhas generalizadas de infraestrutura, incluindo estações de tratamento submersas e tubulações quebradas. Descubra como os recursos da modelagem hidráulica do OpenFlows Water da Bentley foram essenciais para gerenciar esta crise, permitindo simular e testar rapidamente novos traçados e propostas para os sistemas de distribuição de água, ajudando a equipe a tomar decisões críticas mesmo sob pressão.

Por fim, entenda como as soluções de engenharia digital e os esforços coordenados em campo ajudaram a restaurar serviços essenciais, oferecendo uma visão convincente sobre resiliência climática, inovação e o compromisso da AEGEA em restaurar serviços essenciais diante de desastres.

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Engineering for the Future: Digital Tools for Smarter, Safer, and Risk-Proof Water Infrastructure

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 09:13:46 -0600

Advances in digital tools are helping engineers develop more resilient infrastructure, enabling comprehensive view of infrastructure and informed decision-making throughout its lifecycle. From planning to design, analysis, and operations, OpenFlows users are creating efficient and effective workflows to support increase in demand, operational efficiencies, changing regulations, and environmental factors. In this episode of WaterExpertsUnfiltered, Bentley experts Simon Newton and Cecilia Correia discuss how digital tools are addressing everchanging design constraints and considerations, and how our users are leveraging these tools to ensure we all have resilient and efficient water infrastructure!

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Transforming Water Infrastructure: A Digital Leap in Dam Monitoring

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 12:38:19 -0600

With the average North American dam being over 61 years old, maintaining and managing these critical infrastructure assets effectively is essential to our society. In the latest episode of #WaterExpertsUnfiltered—"Transforming Water Infrastructure: A Digital Leap in Dam Monitoring"—Cecilia Correia, Senior Water Solutions Manager, and Murray Fredlund, Senior Strategic Advisor for Geotechnical Water at Bentley Systems, dive into the advancements in dam monitoring technology. The podcast addresses the historical difficulties associated with manual monitoring of dams and how recent digital innovations are revolutionizing this process. They discuss the significance of IoT and automation, and how these technologies enhance real-time data collection, provide critical insights, and consequently improve decision-making processes.

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The Future of Intelligent Water Infrastructure Series Part 2: "What Happens Under the Hood When I Hit ‘Compute’?"

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 08:10:06 -0600

In this episode of Water Experts Unfiltered, moderated by Cecilia Correia, Senior Water Solutions Manager for Bentley Systems, we explore the intricacies of hydraulic modeling with well-known water industry expert Tom Walski. Tom explains what truly happens the moment you press “Compute” on your hydraulic model, unraveling the mysteries behind the equations that power our understanding of water flow and distribution systems.

Tom sheds light on the critical equations essential for hydraulic modeling, tracing their origins back to pioneering research, including difficult tasks like gluing sand grains inside pipes to test head loss. This unique perspective provides a foundation for appreciating the reliability and accuracy of models today.

A focal point of the discussion revolves around the Darcy-Weisbach equation, a cornerstone of hydraulic modeling, and the challenges associated with determining the friction factor. Tom highlights the complexity of real-world water systems and the ongoing need for expert judgement and nuanced understanding.

Looking toward the future, Tom and Cecilia discuss the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in hydraulic modeling.

Tune in to this podcast and explore the balance between history and innovation in the quest for more efficient and accurate hydraulic models.

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The True Value of Water Through the Eyes of Will Sarni

Thu, 22 Feb 2024 08:36:49 -0600

Despite over 70% of the Earth's surface is covered by water, our freshwater security is under threat due to the extensive exploitation of rivers, lakes, and aquifers, according to a recent World Wildlife Fund report. In the latest episode of #WaterExpertsUnfiltred, Cecilia Correia, Senior Water Solutions Manager, Water, at Bentley Systems speaks with special guest William (Will) Sarni from Water Foundry, a globally recognized leader in water strategy, about “The True Value of Water.” Will discusses the importance of understanding the value of water from an economic, business, social, and environmental perspective and how stakeholders must think about water as a way to fuel economic and business growth. He also shares his insights on the adoption of digital technologies and why digital is no longer an option, but crucial for addressing the world’s major water issues.

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The Future of Intelligent Water Infrastructure Series Part 1: "Grandpa, tell us about the early days of hydraulic modeling."

Tue, 30 Jan 2024 07:33:00 -0600

Understanding the past can help us build a better future. Don’t miss the latest episode of #WaterExpertsUnfiltered ― The Future of Intelligent Water Infrastructure Series Part 1: “Grandpa, tell us about the early days of hydraulic modeling?” featuring Dr. Tom Walski, a water industry expert who is known for his significant contributions to the field of hydraulic modeling and analysis. In this podcast you will hear the unique and animated view of the history of hydraulic modeling as told by Tom and how it serves to lay the foundation for a better future for water utilities engineering and operations.

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Water Policies and Practices are Different Across the Globe - Do You Care Maybe You Should

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 12:00:00 -0600

For countries to make wise decisions and contribute to a more sustainable and agile world for all, it is important to understand how different countries view the importance of water. In this episode of 💧WaterExpertsUnfiltered, Bentley expert Cecilia Correia discusses with Government Relations Advocates, Bernardo Matos, and David Lieberman on how government leadership addresses the water sector and how water is or is not a priority topic in different parts of the world and why that matters to us all.

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Waterwise Cities and the Path to Resilience

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 12:00:00 -0600

As climate change accelerates the need to become more resilient, countries, cities, and communities are under great pressure to manage their water safely and sustainably. In this episode of Water Experts Unfiltered, Bentley expert Cecilia Correia discusses how waterwise cities are prepared to cope with new challenges by applying lessons learned and integrating new digital technologies to become more resilient to floods, droughts and the growing challenges related to water security.

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Flushing for Water Quality

Tue, 07 Nov 2023 12:46:46 -0600

When we turn the kitchen faucet, we want to have clear, great-tasting water. Flushing water distribution networks can help maintain water quality and ensure that customers are content. In this episode, we discuss the importance of maintaining a water distribution network through the lens of water quality, and how we can utilize hydraulic modeling to assist.

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Water Losses and Efficiency

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 12:00:00 -0600

Water losses (leakages) and Non-Revenue Water (NRW) are operational inefficiencies that every water utility is actively working to control and reduce. In this episode of Water Experts Unfiltered, Bentley expert Julio Issao Kuwajima discusses how strategies to manage real and apparent losses can increase the energy efficiency, increase revenue and reduce emissions, thus improving operational efficiency in the long term. Tune in to learn how digitalization can help optimize and improve water loss programs through system analysis and simulations.

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Beneath the Surface Gravity Utility Network Upgrades

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 10:24:00 -0600

Gravity networks, such as storm and sewage systems, are being enhanced through the strategic integration of advanced technologies. These efforts' main goal is to provide adaptive, resilient & sustainable utility systems to ensure the reliability of these essential infrastructure systems for now and the future. Tune in to learn more about the journey engineers go through from the initial stage of the projects towards the final design drawing & model submission.

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Stormwater Management at High Level and How OpenFlows can Help in all Parts of the Stormwater Design.

Tue, 26 Sep 2023 12:18:00 -0600

There are many components that make up the term "stormwater management." Tune in to learn more about the big picture of stormwater management and how OpenFlows can streamline your workflow.

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[Droplet] Getting Started with Hydraulic Modeling

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 07:00:00 -0600

In this episode, we’ll discuss the steps, the benefits, and examples of hydraulic modeling with one of our newest Bentley Experts. He’ll share his experience working in the industry as well as his observations on the next generation of water and wastewater engineers.

[Droplet] are podcast episodes that are 15 minutes or shorter.

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Steady State Model Calibration for Water Distribution Systems

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 13:31:00 -0600

In this episode, we discussed calibrating a hydraulic model of a water distribution system under steady-state conditions. We explain the steps and data needed to calibrate your model and why you should always start with steady-state calibration before moving on to more complicated simulations.

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Infiltration, Runoff, and Overflows

Tue, 15 Aug 2023 09:40:00 -0600

Water always finds the path of least resistance. After rainfall, water has many possible journeys it can take. Join Bentley’s new water podcast Water Experts Unfiltered with one of our experts Julio Issao to learn more about infiltration, runoffs, and how overflows impact drainage infrastructure.

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