Comparison of AMI and SCADA Systems for Leak Detection and Localization in Water Distribution Networks
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 149, Issue 11
Abstract
Various water distribution leak detection and localization methods have been proposed for supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) data collection systems. However, because their available numbers of measurements are limited, the SCADA systems are often insufficient to identify realistic sized leaks. A clear next step is to develop detection and localization methods for smart systems that collect advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) data (i.e., AMI systems); however, only the authors have proposed tools for the AMI data collection systems. To encourage the usage of AMI data, this study tested five types of data collection systems for leak detection and localization that measure (1) only source flows, (2) source flows and a few nodal pressures, (3) source flows and AMI demands, (4) AMI demands and a few nodal pressures, and (5) AMI pressures and AMI demands. An appropriate leak detection and localization tool for each data collection system is applied and tested for two water distribution networks: one located in Austin, TX, and the other in Tucson, AZ. Each system’s performance was evaluated using metrics of detection probability, false alarm rate, time to detect, and localization pipe distance. Overall, based on the obtained results, the SCADA systems were poor in detecting realistic-sized leaks, while the AMI systems successfully identified those small failures. Thus, the AMI systems were required to improve detection, and a pressure-supplemented AMI system was necessary to obtain high localization performance, particularly for a large network, such as Austin, Texas.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This material is based in part upon the work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. 1762862. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF. The authors would like to thank the reviewers for their effort. Their comments and suggestions improved the quality of the paper.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 149 • Issue 11 • November 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 12, 2022
Accepted: Jun 29, 2023
Published online: Aug 30, 2023
Published in print: Nov 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Jan 30, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Comparative studies
- Data collection
- Detection methods
- Engineering fundamentals
- Flow measurement
- Infrastructure
- Measurement (by type)
- Methodology (by type)
- Pipe leakage
- Pipeline management
- Pipeline systems
- Research methods (by type)
- Water and water resources
- Water leakage and water loss
- Water management
- Water supply
- Water supply systems
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