Walking towards digital twins in water distribution networks: SENSEI software tool based on state estimation

State estimation (SE) techniques have been extensively explored in the technical literature for a variety of purposes in water distribution networks, such as monitoring the hydraulic state, identifying failures, inferring operational statuses, and supporting model calibration. However, despite these contributions, no accessible software tool exists that enables their operational implementation in practice. This paper introduces SENSEI, a novel software tool that integrates SE methodologies into the widely used EPANET environment. By leveraging EPANET’s versatility in representing the multiple components of water distribution systems, SENSEI allows utilities and researchers to exploit SE at an operational level on real networks. A key feature of the proposed approach is its compatibility with EPANET’s multi-period simulation capabilities, enabling state estimation over time horizons for real-time applications, while also supporting instantaneous SE. Calibration is naturally embedded by including selected network parameters as additional state variables to be estimated. Furthermore, the tool accommodates both instantaneous and accumulated measurements, consistent with flow metering practices that integrate water volumes over specific time intervals. Altogether, the proposed framework paves the way towards digital twins in water distribution networks by bridging the gap between advanced SE methodologies and operational applicability.