UW has enough water pressure to fight a fire with, but just
barely enough in some locations, three students say in a
report prepared for Civil Engineering 400.
 Greg Da Re (project manager), Evan Bentz (computer
specialist), and Laurence Hamlin (senior engineer) say that
"where critical water pressures are realized, fire flows can
still be maintained" but that in some areas the hydrant
pressure would be less than what is desired.
 Their report is titled "Water Distribution System
Simulation: University of Waterloo South Campus". It was
prepared for Karl Dietrich, supervisor of mechanical
distribution in the plant operations department.
 Dietrich had wanted to find out if UW's water supply would
be adequate in the case of  major fires. "UW's water main
system had remained static despite the growth in buildings,"
he says. "I had some concerns with UW's fire protection
capabilities," he said.
 Since 1957, UW has relied on water from the city's water
mains as well as groundwater (which isn't treated before
entering Waterloo Region's network of pipes) from the
Dearborn Well, across the ring road from Needles Hall. With
growing concerns about water quality, there have been
suggestions that Dearborn should be closed, although the
water it produces has always been considered safe.
 Dietrich approached civil engineering professor Dr. Grahame
Farquhar for advice. Farquhar suggested fourth-year
engineering students could provide a report.
 Dietrich is pleased with the calibre of the report. "It was
done professionally, it's beneficial and it will save UW
money. I would have hired a consultant," he says. "There's
enough expertise on campus - UW should take advantage of
it."
 The students' report "confirmed the system is adequate," he
adds, "but it showed that part of the system isn't as strong
as it should be."
 When UW has the money, water mains will be improved or
replaced, Dietrich says.
 The students developed FLOSIM, a hydraulic flow simulation
package which incorporates the Hardy-Cross method of pipe
network analysis.
 "It's a window-based program that's easy to use," says
Bentz. "You can change a pipe's dimension and see the effect
before actually doing the work."
 The project turned out "to be a lot of work, more than I
anticipated," Da Re says. But both he and Bentz said in a
Gazette interview that they are pleased with the results.
"It turned out well. We produced a computer program that can
be used for other things as well," Da Re says.
 So they included the software with their report .
 Their conclusions about the campus water supply:
 ù Closing the Dearborn Well wouldn't have a major impact on
the ability to fight fires effectively throughout the campus
except in the arts quadrangle.
 ù A fire could cause critical pressures in the engineering
and arts buildings and the Davis Centre, the General
Services Complex and the Math and Computer building. The
reasons vary. Water mains to the engineering and arts build
ings are small in diameter. But in the other buildings there
may be too high a demand on the same water main and
inadequate distribution of water supply.
 ù The student villages and the church colleges may have
inadequate service pressure. They're at the end of the water
main so have lower pressures. As well, the Villages have a
high elevations.
 Recommendations:
 ù putting in another intake from University Avenue near the
Minota Hagey residence, to boost the low pressures in the
arts quadrangle and the church colleges;
 ù upgrading the water mains in the arts and engineering
sections to at least a 150-mm (six-inch) pipe;
 ù augmenting on-campus water supplies with water from
hydrants along adjacent streets, especially important for
the church colleges and student villages;
 ù reconnecting the water main from Federation Hall to the
Student Village 1 loop. That would eliminate critical
pressures at the University Club and Village 1;
 ù turning on the Dearborn Well, even if it's out of
commission the rest of the time, in case of fire in the arts
quadrangle;
 ù exploring the consequences of having more than one fire on
campus at the same time.