We believe that urban water systems can be designed in a way that supports environmental goals rather than working against them. Our PCSWMM software gives engineers the tools to design urban water systems that are less invasive, less disruptive, closer to the intended natural hydrologic function, and that encourage higher biodiversity. These tools not only facilitate responsible planning and design; they ultimately lead to healthier human communities.

INFORMED DESIGN

Traditional engineering and its bedfellows have sought to minimize entropy — using methods that ultimately replace natural habitats with surfaces that are generally abiotic or worse.

We believe that the design of sympathetic water systems greatly impacts the quality of life for humankind and all nature. Rather than confining thinking to just Newtonian physics, we believe that practitioners ought to direct their attention further up the hierarchy of concerns towards ecology and Darwinian principles. In this view, a sustainable drainage system is an environment supporting a diverse host of life-forms, which adjusts as the population mix evolves – and which ideally is designed to maximize bio-diversity.

This fostering of a wider biodiversity of plants and animals inevitably encourages the development of thriving human societies.

CONTINUOUS MODELING

Changing traditional mindsets and planning such systems is challenging — it requires building more complex models that support wider bases for knowledge. For instance, we model the gamut of flow velocities, depths, temperature, pH, turbidity and chemicals and link to aquatic ecosystem models — this approach requires a continuous modeling philosophy.

CHI has developed, and will continue to develop, solutions that ultimately result in reducing our ecological footprint, bettering our environment and improving the quality of life for all.