The origins and development of DRAINS
DRAINS was developed by Bob Stack and Geoffrey O’Loughlin and is distributed by Watercom Pty Ltd. It was released in 1998 and is used by hundreds of engineering organisations throughout Australia.
Bob Stack is a specialist in water supply engineering and software development, with over forty years experience in government and consultancies. He developed the PIPES and PIPES++ programs for analysis of water supply networks.
Dr. Geoffrey O’Loughlin was formerly a lecturer at the University of Technology, Sydney, and has been involved with teaching, research and consulting in urban stormwater management for over forty years. He has collaborated in the development of significant design procedures and manuals, and developed the ILSAX program. He currently works as a trainer and an occasional consultant.
DRAINS drew on parts of the PIPES and ILSAX programs, combined with many additional procedures. The following table outlines the major developments and features that have been added to DRAINS since its first release.
These changes have been prompted by the needs of users, a general plan to expand the program, and by opportunities that have arisen through new technologies and information sources. Most recently, it has been upgraded to perform calculations using ARR 2019 data and procedures.
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