Optimizing the City of Omaha's Long Term Control Plan: A Balanced, Multi-Objective Approach

The City of Omaha conducted an optimization study to support its upcoming Long Term Control Plan update. The goal of the study was to identify whether no-tunnel alternatives to the current tunnel-based plan existed, and to identify the most cost-effective ways of achieving 85% wet-weather volume capture. A transparent, inclusive approach maximized the City’s knowledge throughout the optimization process. Over one hundred fifty potential projects were identified as inputs to the optimization and were added to the City’s calibrated hydraulic collection system model. Lifecycle costing was performed to represent capital, operations, and maintenance costs of projects. Optimatics’ Optimizer software was used to evaluate over 100,000 distinct alternatives, including both tunnel-based and no-tunnel alternatives. No-tunnel alternatives providing significant savings potential over Omaha’s current LTCP were identified. Five high-performing alternatives were identified, considering additional decision factors such as flood risk benefits and City preferences. These alternatives will be vetted to make a final LTCP update recommendation.