Source Contamination Detection Using Novel Search Space Reduction Coupled with Optimization Technique

Abstract

Contaminant intrusion in a water distribution network is an important concern because it can have hazardous consequences for the population. Reacting immediately is crucial to prevent or reduce the further propagation of contamination. In terms of contamination scenario characteristics, optimization is researched extensively as a valuable methodology to provide information. This work presented a procedure preceding the optimization which considerably reduces the search space for a potential contaminant source location. For each suspect node, a simulation is conducted with unrealistically high contaminant concentration injected throughout the whole simulation. If the sensors do not register contamination in a subsequent scenario, then that node can be eliminated as a possible contaminant source. The methodology is applicable for both single and multiple contaminant injection nodes. This approach was investigated in multiple benchmark networks and for different sensor placements in the literature. By coupling the proposed search space reduction method with an optimization approach, a novel efficient methodology for contamination source detection was presented.