PROVO, UTAH, March 29, 1999 � Representatives of the Indian government will be visiting the offices of Environmental Modeling Systems, Inc., (EMS-I) today to begin a four-day training session with EMS-I�s highly regarded software package for groundwater modeling. Use of this software may facilitate better access to safe, pollution-free water in India.

EMS-I provides software, support, training and consulting services for water resources modeling using the Groundwater Modeling System (GMS), Surface-water Modeling System (SMS) and Watershed Modeling System (WMS) software. This state-of-the-art software for environmental and water resource modeling was developed at Brigham Young University�s Environmental Modeling Research Laboratory (EMRL). This training session may result in a substantial trade opportunity for the Utah firm and the developers at Brigham Young University.

Groundwater, the major source of drinking water for India�s population, is overexploited and polluted. Members of India�s Ministry of Water Resources and Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) have found that deep water, below 800 meters, is free from pollution in many places and excellent for drinking, domestic and industrial usage. EMS-I�s software will enable the Indian government to tap that resource to improve the availability and quality of its water resources. "This opportunity enables us to provide tools and expertise to the Indian government that will dramatically improve their ability to manage their precious water resources," said Royd Nelson, President of EMS-I.

The visit is part of a series of activities spanning two-months sponsored by the United States-Asia Environmental Partnership�s (US-AEP) Environmental Exchange Program administered by the Institute for International Education in Washington, DC. Following their visit to EMS-I, the Indian representatives of the CGWA will also be hosted by Psomas Associates of Salt Lake City, Utah, on a site visit to their groundwater recharge project in the Los Angeles Basin. Later, they will have meetings at the International Groundwater Modeling Center in Golden, Colorado.

Launched as a presidential initiative in 1992, US-AEP is a public-private, interagency program designed to promote environmentally sound economic growth in Asia, with the assistance of U.S. technology, services and experience. The program, led by the United States Agency for International Development, works in 11 priority Asian economies: Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and � starting this year � Vietnam.