Increasing Performance of Water Distribution Network by Using Pressure Management and Database Integration

Abstract

The performance of a water distribution networks (WDN) varies according to various factors such as physical, operational, and environmental and should be monitored to reduce and control the water losses. This study discussed the methods and tools applied to reduce, control, and monitor the leaks in a water distribution system and the results obtained after their application to a real WDS. The aim was to improve the performance of the WDS in terms of water losses and leaks monitoring and management. Denizli, a city in western Turkey, was selected as the study area. In the application area, a method with high-tech solutions for pressure management using demand modulating pressure reduction valve (PRV) controllers was applied to reduce water losses. Furthermore, data integration with an existing supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system, GIS, customer information system (CIS) databases, and district metered areas (DMAs) were applied as essential for the effective water management. The results obtained by applying pressure management strategy using PRVs at the DMA scale showed that significant saving were achieved by giving less water to the system. In addition, the pressure changes and input flow rates and volumes in the DMAs were monitored in real-time by using the SCADA system to increase the performance of the WDS.