Major French Authority Adopts InfoWorks ICM for Critical River Flood Modeling

Innovyze, a leading global innovator of business analytics software and technologies for smart wet infrastructure, today announced that Etablissement Public d´Aménagement de la Meuse et de ses Affluents (EPAMA) has adopted industry-leading InfoWorks ICM (Integrated Catchment Modeling) for modeling flood flows in France’s Meuse river region. The selection further substantiates the company’s standing as a leading provider of comprehensive flood modeling software for both urban and rural catchments.

With a total length of 925 km, the Meuse, is a major European river originating in the Langres plateau in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea. EPAMA was founded in 1996 following severe flooding of the river in 1993 and 1995, tasked with developing plans to reduce both the frequency and the socio-economic consequences of flooding. The organization includes a number of regions, departments and municipalities bordering the Meuse, including the regions of Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine.

InfoWorks ICM is uniquely suited to this multifaceted task. It gives engineers the ability to create a single model that contains the salient features existing in an environment with a single, unified hydrology. Natural and manmade channels can be combined with manholes, pipes, and inlets to create a model in which the catchment and the floodplain are one. The additional ability to model structures such as bridges, sluices, weirs and pumps allows the creation of models that are more complete and accurate than ever before.

A hallmark of InfoWorks ICM is its dynamic integration of one-dimensional (1D) hydrodynamic simulation of flows in rivers, open channels and pipe networks and two-dimensional (2D) hydrodynamic simulation of surface flooding in the urban environment and river floodplain. The linking of 1D river channels and 2D floodplain is achieved by means of lateral banks. The simulated flow can pass between these two components at any location along the river, allowing real life conditions to be more accurately modeled.

Combining the comprehensive integrated catchment modeling capabilities of InfoWorks ICM with the powerful real-time operational forecasting abilities of ICMLive, water utilities and river authorities can access timely, accurate and reliable forecasts of what will happen within a catchment. Such advanced capabilities greatly enhance their ability to predict flood risks, support cost-effective drainage design and management, develop online urban flooding forecasts, conceive and evaluate sound and reliable urban catchment strategies, and improve the operation of any drainage system.

"Because both urban and rural areas are at risk of flooding, it was essential for us to implement a proven solution that could effectively model both these environments in a fully integrated manner," said Jeremy Leplus, Hydraulic Engineer at EPAMA. "InfoWorks ICM provides this vital capability in a single software package that allows reliable two-dimensional flood modeling of all areas of particular interest. Additionally, the software’s fast simulation run capabilities will be invaluable as we look to using our models for real-time flood-forecasting in the near future."

"Water authorities around the world are critically aware of the need for fast, detailed and reliable river models to alleviate both the personal and economic impacts of the severe flooding they increasingly face," said Paul F. Boulos, Ph.D., BCEEM, Hon.D.WRE, Dist.D.NE, F.ASCE, President, COO and Chief Technical Officer of Innovyze. "We are delighted that Innovyze's advanced smart water solutions will contribute to EPAMA’s continued success in meeting that challenge."

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