World Water Day is observed every year on March 22, and the 2026 campaignāāWhere water flows, equality growsāāspotlights safe water and sanitation as fundamental human rights and critical enablers of gender equality. As communities and water utilities work to strengthen water systems and close service gaps, itās essential that womenās voices, leadership, and agency are centered in water system planning and decision-making so that services are inclusive, sustainable, and built to last.
Bentley Systems is proud to celebrate World Water Day. This yearās theme focuses on how water and gender equality are deeply interconnected. Without safe water, sanitation, and hygiene close to home, women and girls bear a heavier burdenācollecting and managing water, caring for people made sick by unsafe water, and, too often, being left out of decision-making. Put simply: the global water crisis is also a womenās crisis, and itās time to center women and girls in water solutionsānot only as users, but as leaders, engineers, farmers, scientists, caregivers, and changemakers.
Designing water distribution networks that reach everyone, faster and more sustainably
Delivering safe, reliable water, especially at the scale communities need, requires more than good intentions. It takes strong planning, sound engineering, and the ability to evaluate options quickly while balancing cost, energy use, and long-term operations. Bentleyās infrastructure engineering software helps water professionals to model and analyze distribution systems, optimize designs, and apply digital workflows that improve collaboration and decision-making. The result: projects that expand access, strengthen service reliability, and help reduce energy and carbon impacts. These benefits matter for everyone and can be especially transformative for women and girls when water is available closer to home.
Bentley software is used around the globe. Here are a few examples of Bentley-powered projects delivering cleaner, more reliable water for communities across India, where water software has made a huge impact for gender equity.
Bentley-powered projects delivering clean water across India
Multivillage rural water supply network: Godda
Until recently, there were 604 villages in Indiaās Godda district that were being supplied with untreated water. A multivillage rural water supply plan was proposed to supply clean drinking water to residents. The project required forecasting the population over two 15-year intervals between 2020 and 2050 to determine a sustainable water supply network, ultimately supplying a population of over 560,000 at its final stage. The undulating topography presented challenges planning an optimal gravity-based network alignment that previous software failed to accommodate. ATLC Infraconsultants needed an integrated hydraulic and structural modeling and analysis solution.
Leveraging OpenFlows Water and STAAD, the team modeled the alignment, planned the district metered areas, and designed the elevated service reservoirs and intermediate pumping station. Bentleyās integrated solution optimized decision-making and the design scheme, converting the system into a gravity-based network that saved machinery, electricity, and operations and maintenance costs. Working in a connected digital environment reduced modeling time by 25% and delivery time by 25 days to complete the project on schedule while saving INR 10 million in costs.
Pressurized water network design: Uttar Pradesh
As part of the India governmentās programs to provide safe, reliable drinking water and eliminate gravity-fed distribution networks, Ayodhya Authority contracted Geoinfo Services to plan and design a pressurized city water supply scheme in Uttar Pradesh. The new pressurized network provides 24-hour access to clean water and reduces nonrevenue water by 35%. Geoinfo Services faced challenges modeling the hundreds of network pipes and nodes that previous software could not accommodate. To convert Ayodhyaās existing system to a reliable, energy-efficient network, Geoinfo Services needed advanced hydraulic modeling and digital twin technology.
Geoinfo Services selected OpenFlows Water to generate a hydraulic model and digital twin of the cityās 24-hour supply plan, using variable frequency drive pumps to produce the required nodal pressure. Bentleyās technology reduced design time by 75% and optimized pipe diameters, saving USD 2.5 million. The optimized network is saving USD 1.5 million in annual operating expenses and USD 46,025 in annual energy costs, while eliminating 347 tons of carbon emissions per year. The digital twin facilitates virtual monitoring with 95% confidence to improve decision-making and mitigate emergency situations.
Rural safe water access at scale: Rajghat
Rajghatās multivillage rural water supply plan provides clean and safe drinking water to rural villages across India via a 7,890-kilometer pipe system, including 698 overhead tanks and ancillary pumps and equipment. The water network offers access to clean drinking water for 2.5 million people in Madhya Pradesh. Varying soil properties and terrain presented hydraulic and structural design and analysis challenges amid a short project timeline. Initial software applications proved time-consuming and ineffective to meet the project schedule.
Leveraging OpenFlows Water, PLAXIS, and STAAD, L&T Construction completed engineering within four months, compared to 12 to 13 months using traditional methods. Working in an open digital environment saved 50% in modeling time, increasing productivity by 32 times. Bentleyās applications automated and optimized hydraulic, structural, and geotechnical design and analysis, reducing the foundation size and precisely fitting the treatment plant to minimize the carbon footprint to save 10% in construction time. The 3D models and data are linked with monitoring devices for digital operations and maintenance.
24/7 potable water supply for a million residents: Guwahati
Guwahati is the largest city in Indiaās northeastern region. So NJS Engineers India wanted to provide a 24/7 potable water supply that covers 100% of its citizens, upgrading living standards. The team was tasked with constructing two intake wells, 30 kilometers of transmission mains, and a 1,155-kilometer distribution network. The organization realized that manual methods were no longer sufficient.
NJS Engineers chose OpenFlows Water to review the hydraulics for the entire design on a uniform GIS platform, as well as conduct a surge analysis. ProjectWise helped the client receive and view the models, facilitating access to engineering data. OpenFlows Water enabled the organization to complete the redesign within a tight timeline while saving 4% in overall project cost. The surge analysis also helped save 1% in costs by removing unnecessary safety valves. By going digital, NJS Engineering saved 12,000 work hours.
Scaling community water access to 15 million people: Karnataka
To provide a functional tap connection to every household, SMEC prepared detailed project reports to implement water supply schemes for 2,467 villages in Karnataka state. The networks provide over three million tap connections, improving the health and living conditions of approximately 15 million people spread across 20 districts. SMEC sought to streamline and automate preparation of the DPRs and integrate smart technology and data analytics to achieve intelligent workflows for future operational management of the systems.
Leveraging OpenFlows Water with GIS and IoT technology to develop their DPRs, SMEC modeled the proposed water supply schemes, performed predictive network analysis, and facilitated real-time asset monitoring to enable smart maintenance and management. Using Bentleyās application reduced optioneering time to design techno-commercially efficient schemes by 25%, increasing environmental sustainability through water resource optimization and minimizing carbon footprint. Working in a digital environment streamlined coordination with various stakeholders and agencies executing the water scheme plans, accelerating positive community change for residents of the rural villages.
Hydraulic modeling cuts delivery time by 95% for rural water supply: Singrauli
To provide treated, clean drinking water to the inhabitants of 193 villages in Chitrangi in the district of Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh, the Waidhan-2 Multi Village Water Supply project was initiated. The undulating topography presented challenges designing the water distribution system, making it difficult to maintain water pressure at every network junction. The project team needed comprehensive hydraulic modeling and analysis software.
Leveraging OpenFlows Water, Viraaj Greens Consultancy performed hydraulic modeling and analysis, achieving an optimal design and cost-efficient outcome. Using Bentleyās application streamlined workflows and reduced modeling time by 95% to deliver the project on time.
Universal water connectivity through digital network modeling: Belapur
To address population growth and a changing landscape to meet current water demands in Belapur, Yash Engineering Consultants prepared a detailed project report for a renovated and pressurized water supply system. The network offers 24/7 potable drinking water to 100% of the cityās households and reduces nonrevenue water by 15%. Faced with difficulties identifying low pressure zones and areas receiving inequitable supply, Yash Engineering needed comprehensive hydraulic modeling software to digitally design an optimal solution.
Yash Engineering selected OpenFlows Water to model and simulate the network, digitally mapping pipelines to analyze and improve distribution services. Bentleyās application provided a flexible collaborative platform, facilitating integration with third-party CAD software and streamlining workflows to deliver an optimal water supply pipeline design. The interoperability and advanced features of OpenFlows Water reduced design time by 712 hours to complete the project 20 days ahead of schedule. Through accurate hydraulic modeling, Yash Engineering achieved a 41% ROI, delivering a system that not only provides 100% accessibility to clean drinking water, but also reduces power consumption and the carbon footprint.
OpenFlows Water: Built for water distribution design and optimization
For water utilities and engineering firms, turning the World Water Day message into measurable outcomes that improve quality of life for all, including women and girls, means building systems that perform under todayās constraintsāand tomorrowās uncertainty. OpenFlows Water helps teams plan, design, and optimize distribution networks with confidence through interoperable hydraulic modeling that connects to common GIS and CAD data sources; robust scenario management for fast āwhat-ifā analysis; calibration against field data; design and rehabilitation optimization; energy analysis to reduce costs and emissions; and transient (surge) simulation to help protect critical assets. If youāre working to improve service reliability, expand access, and operate more sustainably, explore whatās possible with OpenFlows Water.
Get involved
Learn more about World Water Day. Join the conversation and share how youāre supporting water for equality using #WorldWaterDay.
If your team is working to expand water access, reduce nonrevenue water, and operate more sustainably, see how OpenFlows Water can transform your hydraulic modeling workflows.Ā āÆ
