Identification of Monitoring Stations in Water Distribution System

The location of water quality monitoring stations in a water distribution system should be such that the network is represented with the minimum number of monitoring stations. The present guidelines do not describe how the sampling locations are to be optimally identified. The concept of “pathways” helps in reducing the number of monitoring stations and shows that the best set of stations is that which maximizes the demand coverage of the network. The optimal locations are then identified using integer programming. However, dimensionality of the integer programming increases manifold with the increase in network size and for multiple demand patterns. In this study, modifications in this procedure are suggested to reduce the computational efforts and to make the procedure simpler. The present study identifies the location of monitoring stations from the hydraulics of flow and eliminates the use of cumbersome integer programming. The algorithm is illustrated with the help of two examples.