Heuristic Approach for Operational Response to Drinking Water Contamination
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 134, Issue 5
Abstract
This paper introduces a simple topological approach to systematize the isolation of contaminated areas within the pressure zones of drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs). Assuming optimal location of contaminant detectors and known flow conditions, a heuristic procedure delineates the area to be isolated and identifies the valves to be closed by response teams sent in the field, taking into account a response delay from the time of first detection. As a first step leading to the development of a more comprehensive algorithmic application, the approach was elaborated and validated from a pragmatic perspective using two real-world DWDSs. Depending on each network’s design, configuration, and assumed flow conditions, application of the isolation procedure will result in different isolation strategies (extent of isolated areas, number of required isolation valves). The current approach is based on a set of simplifying assumptions, and needs to be further validated with other networks. The proposed methodology can be used to assess the required emergency response capabilities and even possible network design improvements.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This work was funded by a scholarship from National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada and Aqua Data Inc., a consulting firm in computerized diagnosis of water distribution and wastewater collection systems. The writers also wish to thank the reviewers for their insightful and valuable comments.NRC
References
Allman, T. P., and Carlson, K. H. (2005). “Modeling intentional distribution system contamination and detection.” J. Am. Water Works Assoc., 97(1), 58–91.
Aqua Data. (2005). “Aqua Cad Suite software.” ⟨http://www.aquadata.com/⟩ (December 10, 2007 ).
ASCE. (2004). Interim voluntary guidelines for designing an online contaminant monitoring system, Reston, Va.
Baranowski, T. M. (2007). “Development of consequence management strategies for water distribution systems.” Ph.D. thesis, Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, Tenn.
Bell, R. N., et al. (2004). “Interim voluntary security guidance for water utilities.” American Water Works Association, Denver.
Berry, J., Fleisher, L., Hart, W. E., Phillips, C. A., and Watson, J.-P. (2005). “Sensor placement in municipal water networks.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 131(3), 237–243.
Berry, J., Hart, W. E., Phillips, C. A., Uber, J. G., and Watson, J.-P. (2006). “Sensor placement in municipal water networks with temporal integer programming methods.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 132(4), 218–224.
Craun, G. F., and Calderon, R. L. (2001). “Waterborne disease outbreaks caused by distribution system deficiencies.” J. Am. Water Works Assoc., 93(9), 64–75.
Craun, M. F., Craun, G. F., Calderon, R. L., and Beach, M. J. (2006). “Waterborne outbreaks reported in the United States.” J. Water Health, 4(2), 19–30.
Epp, R., and Fowler, A. G. (1970). “Efficient code for steady-state flows in networks.” J. Hydr. Div., 96(1), 43–56.
GNU–GNU’s Not Unix. (2006). “GLPK–GNU linear programming kit.” ⟨http://www.gnu.org/software/glpk/⟩ (December 10, 2007 ).
Guan, J., Aral, M., Maslia, M. L., and Grayman, W. M. (2006). “Identification of contaminant sources in water distribution systems using simulation–optimization method: Case study.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 132(4), 252–262.
Hart, W. E., Berry, J. W., Murray, R., Phillips, C. A., Riesen, L. A., and Watson, J.-P. (2007). “SPOT: A sensor placement optimization toolkit for drinking water contamination warning system design.” Proc., World Environmental and Water Resources Congress: Restoring Our Natural Habitat, Environment and Water Resources Institute, Tampa, Fla.
Herrick, C., Pratt, J., Raucher, R., and Kalas-Adams, N. (2006). “Emergency response and recovery planning for water systems: A kit of tools.” Research Rep. No. 91097f, American Water Works Association Research Foundation, Denver.
Hill, J., van Bloemen Waanders, B., and Laird, C. (2006). “Source inversion with uncertain sensor measurements.” Proc., Water Distribution System Analysis Symp., ASCE, Cincinnati.
Kessler, A., Ostfeld, A., and Sinai, G. (1998). “Detecting accidental contaminations in municipal water networks.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 124(4), 192–198.
Laird, C. D., Biegler, L. T., and van Bloemen Waanders, B. G. (2006). “Mixed-integer approach for obtaining unique solutions in source inversion of water networks.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 132(4), 242–251.
Murray, R., Uber, J., and Janke, R. (2006). “Model for estimating acute health impacts from consumption of contaminated drinking water.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 132(4), 293–299.
Ostfeld, A., and Salomons, E. (2004). “Optimal layout of early warning detection stations for water distribution systems security.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 130(5), 377–385.
Ostfeld, A., and Salomons, E. (2005). “Securing water distribution systems using online contamination monitoring.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 131(5), 402–405.
Poulin, A., Mailhot, A., Grondin, P., Delorme, L., and Villeneuve, J.-P. (2006). “Optimization of operational response to contamination in water networks.” Proc., Water Distribution System Analysis Symp., ASCE, Cincinnati.
Preis, A., Mayorchik, Y., and Ostfeld, A. (2007a). “Multiobjective contaminant response model.” Proc., World Environmental and Water Resources Congress: Restoring Our Natural Habitat, Environment and Water Resources Institute, Tampa, Fla.
Preis, A., Ostfeld, A., and Perelman, L. (2007b). “Contamination source detection with fuzzy sensors data.” Proc., World Environmental and Water Resources Congress: Restoring Our Natural Habitat, Environment and Water Resources Institute, Tampa, Fla.
Propato, M. (2006). “Contamination warning in water networks: General mixed-integer linear models for sensor location design.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 132(4), 225–233.
Propato, M., Cheung, P. B., and Piller, O. (2006). “Sensor location design for contaminant source identification in water distribution systems.” Proc., Water Distribution System Analysis Symp., ASCE, Reston. Va.
Rahal, H. (1995). “A cotree flows formulation for steady state in water distribution networks.” Adv. Eng. Software, 22(3), 169–178.
Tryby, M. E., Propato, M., and Ranjithan, R. (2007). “Monitoring sensor network design for water distribution source inversion problems.” Proc., World Environmental and Water Resources Congress: Restoring Our Natural Habitat, Environment and Water Resources Institute, Tampa, Fla.
USEPA. (2003). “Response protocol toolbox: Planning for and responding to drinking water contamination threats and incidents—Overview and application.” Report EPA 817-03-007 Interim Final—December 2003, Washington, D.C.
USEPA. (2004a). “Response protocol toolbox: Planning for and responding to drinking water contamination threats and incidents—Module 5: Public health response guide.” Report EPA 817-03-005 Interim Final—April 2004, Washington, D.C.
USEPA. (2004b). “Response protocol toolbox: Planning for and responding to drinking water contamination threats and incidents—Module 6: Remediation and recovery guide.” Report EPA 817-03-006 Interim final—April 2004, Washington, D.C.
USEPA. (2005). “Watersentinel system architecture.” Draft Report 12105, Washington, D.C.
Walski, T. M., Chase, D. V., Savic, D. A., Grayman, W. M., Bockwith, S., and Koelle, E. (2003). Advanced distribution system modeling and management, Haestad Press, Waterbury, Conn.
Watson, J.-P., Greenberg, H. J., and Hart, W. E. (2004). “A multiple-objective analysis of sensor placement optimization in water networks.” Proc., World Water and Environmental Resources Congress, Environment and Water Resources Institute, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Wood, D. J., and Rayes, A. M. (1981). “Reliability of algorithms for pipe network analysis.” J. Hydr. Div., 107(10), 1145–1161.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 134 • Issue 5 • September 2008
Pages: 457 - 465
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Dec 18, 2006
Accepted: Nov 7, 2007
Published online: Sep 1, 2008
Published in print: Sep 2008
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.