Optimal Management of Water Distribution Networks with Simulated Annealing: The C-Town Problem
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 142, Issue 5
Abstract
Sustainability is a major issue for water companies, who have to provide high quality services at achievable costs. In this context, water loss control and energy efficiency are two great challenges water companies have to face. Water loss represents both higher service cost (real losses) and loss of revenue (apparent losses), while the energy bill from treatment plants and pumping stations represents a significant part of the service cost. The Battle of Background Leakage Assessment for Water Networks (BBLAWN) was a competition dedicated to this subject: water distribution network (WDN) optimal management. Teams/individuals from academia, consulting firms, and utilities were invited to propose methodologies for solving the C-Town WDN problem: minimize operational and capital costs and background leakages. This paper presents one of the methodologies proposed at BBLAWN. The methodology proposed here to solve the C-Town WDN problem comprises two optimization models: a least-cost design model to identify the pipes to be replaced and size them, and an optimal operation model to define the pump controls and the PRV settings. Both models are solved by linking a hydraulic simulation model with a simulated annealing algorithm. This approach, supported by some additional engineering expertise, provided a set of good solutions in terms of operational and capital cost, and a good compromise with the environmental and financial damage caused by water losses.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Aarts, E., and Korst, J. (1989). Simulated annealing and Boltzman machines: A stochastic approach to combinatorial optimization and neural computing, Wiley, Chichester, U.K.
Cerny, V. (1985). “Thermodynamical approach to the traveling salesman problem: An efficient simulation algorithm.” J. Optim. Theory Appl., 45(1), 41–51.
Creaco, E., Alvisi, S., and Franchini, M. (2014). “A multi-step approach for optimal design and management of the C-Town pipe network model.” Procedia Eng., 89, 37–44.
Cunha, M. C., and Sousa, J. (1999). “Water distribution network design optimization: Simulated annealing approach.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 215–221.
Eck, B. J., Arandia, E., Naoum-Sawaya, J., and Wirth, F. (2014). “A simulation-optimization approach for reducing background leakage in water wystems.” Procedia Eng., 89, 59–68.
Germanopoulos, G. (1985). “A technical note on the inclusion of pressure dependent demand and leakage terms in water supply network models.” Civ. Eng. Syst., 2(3), 171–179.
Giustolisi, O., Berardi, L., Laucelli, D., Savic, D., and Kapelan, Z. (2015). “Operational and tactical management of water and energy resources in pressurized systems: The competition at WDSA 2014.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., C4015002.
Giustolisi, O., Savic, D. A., and Kapelan, Z. (2008). “Pressure-driven demand and leakage simulation for water distribution networks.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 626–635.
Gomes, R., Sá Marques, A., and Sousa, J. (2012). “Identification of the optimal entry points at district metered areas and implementation of pressure management.” Urban Water J., 9(6), 365–384.
Hamilton, S., and McKenzie, R. S. (2014). Water management and water loss, IWA Publishing, London, U.K.
Iglesias-Rey, P. L., Martínez-Solano, F. J., Mora Meliá, D., and Martínez-Solano, P. D. (2014). “BBLAWN: A combined use of best management practices and an optimization model based on a pseudo-genetic algorithm.” Procedia Eng., 89, 29–36.
Kirkpatrick, S., Gelatt, C. D., Jr., and Vecchi, M. P. (1983). “Optimization by simulated annealing.” Science, 220(4598), 671–680.
Morley, M. S., and Tricarico, C. (2014). “A comparison of population-based optimization techniques for water distribution system expansion and operation.” Procedia Eng., 89, 13–20.
Muranho, J., Ferreira, A., Sousa, J., Gomes, A., and Sá Marques, A. (2012). “WaterNetGen–an EPANET extension for automatic water distribution network models generation and pipe sizing.” Water Sci. Technol. Water Supply, 12(1), 117–123.
Muranho, J., Ferreira, A., Sousa, J., Gomes, A., and Sá Marques, A. (2013). “WaterNetGen.” 〈http://www.dec.uc.pt/~WaterNetGen/〉 (Dec. 2013).
Muranho, J., Ferreira, A., Sousa, J., Gomes, A., and Sá Marques, A. (2014a). “Pressure-dependent demand and leakage modelling with an EPANET extension–WaterNetGen.” Procedia Eng., 89, 632–639.
Muranho, J., Ferreira, A., Sousa, J., Gomes, A., and Sá Marques, A. (2014b). “Technical performance evaluation of water distribution networks based on EPANET.” Procedia Eng., 70, 1201–1210.
Rossman, L. (2000). EPANET2 users’ manual, Drinking Water Research Division, Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati.
Sousa, J., Cunha, M. C., and Sá Marques, A. (2006). “A simulated annealing algorithm for the optimal operation of water distribution networks.” Proc., Joint Int. Conf. on Computing and Decision Making in Civil and Building Engineering–DMinUCE, Montreal.
Sousa, J., Muranho, J., Sá Marques, A., and Gomes, R. (2014). “WaterNetGen Helps C-Town.” Procedia Eng., 89, 103–110.
Sousa, J. J. O. (2006). “Decision aid models for the design and the operation of water supply systems.” Ph.D. thesis, Coimbra Univ. (in Portuguese).
Sousa, J. J. O., Cunha, M. C., and Sá Marques, J. A. A. (2005). “Simulated annealing reaches ‘anytown’.” Proc., Int. Conf. on Computing and Control for the Water Industry– CCWI, Univ. of Exeter, Centre for Water Systems, Exeter, U.K.
Thornton, J., Sturm, R., and Kunkel, G. (2008). Water loss control, McGraw-Hill, New York.
U.S. EPA. (2013). “Strategies for saving energy at public water systems.”, Washington, DC.
Wagner, J. M., Shamir, U., and Marks, D. H. (1988). “Water distribution reliability simulation methods.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 276–294.
WSA/WCA Engineering and Operations Committee. (1994). “Managing leakage: UK water industry managing leakage reports A-J.” London.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 2, 2015
Accepted: Aug 11, 2015
Published online: Oct 8, 2015
Discussion open until: Mar 8, 2016
Published in print: May 1, 2016
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.