Computational Hydraulics International (CHI)
Computational Hydraulics International (CHI) has been developing and supporting professional software systems for stormwater management and wastewater/watershed modeling since 1978. Our technology is used in over 10,000 projects throughout the world and is the preferred water management software for large and small engineering firms, cities, government agencies, research centers and universities. Our technology is used by more than 5,000 clients in over 85 countries. We are dedicated to developing solutions that provide better drainage and water quality, and ultimately improve quality of life. These solutions are practical and easy to implement globally — promoting healthier communities, sustained ecosystems, increased bio-diversity and reduced environmental impact.
Company details
Find locations served, office locations
- Business Type:
- Software vendor
- Industry Type:
- Stormwater
- Market Focus:
- Globally (various continents)
- Year Founded:
- 1978
- Employees:
- 1-10
About Us
PCSWMM, our principal software, allows engineers to analyze flooding and facilitate responsible urban and natural drainage planning and design. Powerful and scalable, yet easy-to-use and affordable, it continues to be the trusted spatial decision support system for US EPA SWMM.
Built with a practicing engineer in mind, PCSWMM streamlines workflow, improves efficiency and accuracy, reduces project time, saves resources, and improves collaboration — all of which enables our clients to be more productive and more competitive.
CHI is made up of professional engineers, seasoned educators and software professionals with a wealth of industry knowledge and a long history (35+ years) of application development.
We are highly committed to technological innovation and continually collaborate with clients to improve tools and develop new applications — our team has published over 200 technical papers on water management.
Our Mission
We’re dedicated to the global development of healthier communities and ecosystems by providing and advocating for best water management practices and software.
Quality of life is highly dependent on the quality of the local water environment, so our mission is to bring about better planning, design, construction and management of water systems. We achieve this by developing, distributing and supporting innovative software solutions that are easy to use and apply by the widest possible user community around the world.
Our Philosophy
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.
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.
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.