The Battle of the Water Sensor Networks (BWSN): A Design Challenge for Engineers and Algorithms
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 134, Issue 6
Abstract
Following the events of September 11, 2001, in the United States, world public awareness for possible terrorist attacks on water supply systems has increased dramatically. Among the different threats for a water distribution system, the most difficult to address is a deliberate chemical or biological contaminant injection, due to both the uncertainty of the type of injected contaminant and its consequences, and the uncertainty of the time and location of the injection. An online contaminant monitoring system is considered as a major opportunity to protect against the impacts of a deliberate contaminant intrusion. However, although optimization models and solution algorithms have been developed for locating sensors, little is known about how these design algorithms compare to the efforts of human designers, and thus, the advantages they propose for practical design of sensor networks. To explore these issues, the Battle of the Water Sensor Networks (BWSN) was undertaken as part of the 8th Annual Water Distribution Systems Analysis Symposium, Cincinnati, Ohio, August 27–29, 2006. This paper summarizes the outcome of the BWSN effort and suggests future directions for water sensor networks research and implementation.
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Acknowledgments
The contributions of Alzamora and Ayala (2006) and Guan et al. (2006), and the verification of solution accuracy by Dr. Zheng Wu, are gratefully acknowledged.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 134 • Issue 6 • November 2008
Pages: 556 - 568
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Aug 2, 2007
Accepted: Apr 4, 2008
Published online: Nov 1, 2008
Published in print: Nov 2008
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