Identification of sections inhibiting the reliable operation of water supply and distribution systems

Abstract

A methodology for identifying sections in water supply and distribution systems (WSDSs) that inhibit high-quality water supply is proposed. The study is based on the previously developed mathematical models of water withdrawal (cross-sectional method) and flow distribution. Effective WSDS manage-ment requires not only consideration of water withdrawal patterns from WSDSs and probabilistic structural variations, but also assessment of the impact of individual components (sections) and their weight contribution on the system performance. During the analysis, Kj and Рj probabilistic reliability indicators of water supply to consumers were used. These indicators include the following compo-nents: probabilities of WSDS fault-free and emergency structural states (ordinary failure stream) and probabilities of supplying water to consumers in these states. The reliability of consumer supply in each state is assessed using partial indicators Kji and Рji. Conclusions about the operational quality of each section can be made by comparing partial indicators with normalized values. Using partial indi-cators obtained in structural states, it is possible to assess the overburden of sections and their im-portance for ensuring the necessary quality of consumer supply, as well as to evaluate their backup line operation. An example of a particular system is used to demonstrate all steps of the proposed methodology. The need to use the previously developed software application for analysing the WSDS operation is justified. The software allows partial reliability indicators Kji and Рji to be determined for each structural state of the system. The proposed methodology for identifying WSDS sections with a capacity inhibiting reliable water supply can be used when designing new or surveying existing WSDSs.