QGISRed is a freeware QGIS plugin developed to assist in building and analyzing hydraulic models of water distribution networks of any complexity, up to the level of detail required by Digital Twins. The plugin works seamlessly with QGIS, which enables the user to georeference all network elements, use geographic background layers, edit graphical and alphanumeric data, use geoprocessing tools, visualize data by layers, customize the symbology, etc.

QGISRed relies on an easy-to-use relational database of SHP and DBF files based on the EPANET data model, which has been extended to add new capabilities. Starting from the EPANET data model significantly reduces the learning curve.

In fact, the previous skills required on QGIS are minimal because QGISRed provides numerous tools to help build hydraulic models, to manage demand scenarios and to analyze the results without the need to use the QGIS environment, such as:

- Project manager for easy project loading and storage.
- Automatic creation of new empty projects.
- Import/export EPANET INP files.
- Import basic network components and other auxiliary components managed by the Digital Twin (DT), such as service connections, isolation valves and sensors from Shapefiles.
- Graphical editing tools for all network elements, including those of the DT (add, delete, move, edit vertices and nodes, reverse links, multiple selection, etc.).
- Automatic generation of topological relationships between all the network elements when needed.
- A set of tools to debug the network layout and verify its connectivity and hydraulic viability.
- Default values for newly created elements.
- Property editor for all components of the model and DT, including a browser.
- Complete editor of analysis options and default values.
- Automatic calculation of pipe lengths from the coordinates of the vertices.
- Automatic interpolation of node elevations from DTM.
- Automatic estimation of pipe roughness from the material and age of pipes.
- Conversion of roughness coefficients between different head loss formulas and unit systems.
- Managing multiple demands and quality sources as distinct layers and editing their properties, integrated with those of the nodes.
- Automatic nodal demand allocation from global, sectoral or punctual consumptions.
- Managing scenarios with multiple demands by category.
- Automatic pattern and hydraulic efficiency allocation, either global or by sector.
- Scenario builder for various model parameters by importing/exporting files.
- Powerful editors for curves, patterns, controls and rules.
- Validation of any of the model properties against typical data entry errors.
- Management of service connections and isolation valves as differentiated elements.
- Loading demands to service connections from the meter readings, and moving them to the closest nodes.
- Detection of isolated zones when closing the isolation valves and cancelling the demands on them.
- Optional integration of service connections into the model.
- Declaration of the meter sensors as distinct elements and the association of signals to them.
- Reading field data for the simulation period from files and exporting to EPANET.
- Automatic identification of hydraulic sectors and demand zones.
- Identification of the isolated segments in the event of a fault at any point in the network and detection of the isolated demands.
- Creation of thematic maps for most properties of the different network elements.
- Model simulation by using the EPANET toolkit 2.3.
- Visualization of simulation results by means of tables, colour-coded layers, arrows and floating or static labels.
- Use of a navigation bar to view how results change over time, and check them with the status report.
- View the statistical parameters for the entire simulation period for the variables associated with each element.
- Automatic creation of legends and symbols for viewing data and results, which can be edited using a proper Legend Editor.
- Location of any element in the network using its ID, and identify the adjacent elements.
- Explore the properties of any element—whether data or results—from a permanent window.
- Run queries based on one or more criteria to check against the data, the results, or both.
- Show time series curves for one or more results on the same graph, whether or not they are of the same magnitude.


Nevertheless, if the user decides to use the QGIS tools to edit the data, QGISRed provides powerful facilities to detect potential editing errors before simulating the model or to fill in the missing information.

QGISRed is currently available in English and Spanish, and automatically adapts to the language selected for the QGIS interface.

The development of the new QGISRed plugin is an initiative of the REDHISP Research Group (https://iiama.webs.upv.es/en/research/research-groups/hydraulic-networks-and-pressurised-systems/) of the Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering, IIAMA (https://iiama.webs.upv.es/en/home/) of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, UPV (http://www.upv.es/index-en.html) (Spain), led by Professor Fernando Martínez Alzamora (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Fernando_Martinez_Alzamora). Its implementation was carried out up to 2022 by the WaterPi company (https://waterpi.com/) under the direction of Néstor Lerma (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nestor_Lerma), PhD Eng. Subsequently, Ingeniousware GmbH (https://ingeniousware.com/) has collaborated in the development. QGISRed versions after 0.17 are being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank, IDB (https://www.iadb.org/en) through contract C-RG-T4041-P001.

The QGISRed extension for QGIS is an update of the old GISRed application developed by our group for the ArcView 3.1 environment (see launching paper (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336170857_Upgrade_of_the_GISRed_application_for_the_free_analysis_of_WDN_under_GIS_environment)). Currently, the name GISRed has been kept in relation to the libraries developed in .net, which are used by QGISRed to improve the processing time and constitute the core of the GISRed standalone application.

For more information, the user can check the official website of QGISRed (https://qgisred.upv.es/en) or the section of QGISRed (https://plugins.qgis.org/plugins/QGISRed/) in the official QGIS plugin repository. Also a User’s Manual (https://qgisred.gitbook.io/usermanual) in English is available.

Requirements: QGIS 3.28 or higher - .Net Framework 4.8 - Windows OS.