Bentley OpenFlows SewerCAD 2026: Easy-to-Use Sanitary Sewer Modeling & Design Software

Bentley OpenFlows SewerCAD 2026 is an easy-to-use sanitary sewer modeling and design application trusted by thousands of municipalities, utilities, and engineering firms worldwide to design, analyze, and plan wastewater collection systems. You can model both pressurized force mains and gravity hydraulics with ease using steady-state analysis with various standard peaking factors, as well as extended-period simulations. OpenFlows SewerCAD takes advantage of Bentley CONNECT services by associating a hydraulic model with a CONNECT project, enabling all team members to easily share access to the model.

???? Primary Users

This professional sanitary sewer modeling software is designed for:

• Civil & Environmental Engineers designing, analyzing, and planning wastewater collection systems.

• Municipal Utilities & Public Works Departments managing sanitary sewer networks, capacity, and rehabilitation projects.

• Consulting Engineering Firms performing wastewater loading studies, infiltration/inflow (I/I) analysis, and regulatory compliance reporting.

• Land Development & Site Engineers designing gravity sanitary sewers and force mains for new subdivisions.

• Asset & Operations Managers evaluating system performance, overflow risks, and pump station operations.

⚡ Key Features & Capabilities

???? Flexible Deployment & Interoperability

???? Gravity and Pressure Hydraulics

• Flow Profile Methods – Capacity and backwater analysis for gravity networks

• Pressure & Free Surface Flow – Robust, gradually varied, standard-step algorithm; solves for subcritical, critical, and supercritical conditions

• Extended Period Simulations (EPS) – Visualize system behavior over time; animate results in 4D to locate hydraulic jumps and surcharging sections

• Steady-State Analysis – Automated design features produce cost-effective sewer designs under extreme flow conditions

???? Wastewater Loading Allocation & I/I

• LoadBuilder Module – Allocate sewer loads from GIS sources (water billing data, flow measurement, population/land use polygons)

• Customizable Unit Load Libraries – Estimate sanitary flows based on population, service area, total dry weather discharge, or custom loading types

• Pre-defined Extreme Flow Formulas – Babbit, Harmon, Ten State, Federov’s, with user-defined formulas/tables

• Infiltration & Inflow – Determine infiltration in gravity pipes based on pipe length, diameter, surface area, or user-defined data

• Multiple Flow Patterns – Use hydrographs and/or pattern-based loads for EPS simulations

????️ Automatic Design & Rehabilitation

• Constraint-Based Design – Automatically design gravity piping and structures; specify elements from single pipes to entire systems

• Cost-Effective Optimization – Automatically determines pipe sizes and invert elevations to avoid unnecessary trench excavation

???? Scenario Management & Decision Support

• Scenario Management Center – Configure, run, evaluate, visualize, and compare unlimited what‑if scenarios within a single file

• Rehabilitation Alternatives – Analyze multiple planning horizons, pump operation strategies, and overflow scenarios

???? What’s New in OpenFlows 2026

The 2026 release (starting with October 2025 builds) introduces significant enhancements:

• Bentley Copilot AI – Natural-language interaction with models for faster navigation, queries, and basic editing

• Expanded Coordinate System Support – Eliminate need for external reprojection tools

• Enhanced Reporting Capabilities – Clearer visualization of results

• iModel Connectors – Share OpenFlows models alongside other Bentley design data for improved collaboration

• New Bentley Standard Installers – Silent installation deployment using /layout syntax

???? Data Management & Interoperability

• Unified File Format – Compatible with OpenFlows CivilStorm and SewerGEMS

• CAD/GIS Conversion Utilities – Import/export LandXML, Shapefile, DXF, and database connections

• Terrain Model Integration – Dynamic elevation updates from terrain models; elevation extraction from DEM data

• ProjectWise Support – Enterprise-scale project collaboration