Decomposition Approach for Background Leakage Assessment: BBLAWN Instance

Abstract

This article summarizes an approach for the assessment and control of background leakage on water distribution networks. The methodology was developed for the Battle of Background leakage assessment for water networks (BBLAWN) held at the Water Distribution System Analysis Conference 2014 in Bari, Italy. The problem instance posed for the conference considers an aging water network with high levels of background leakage. A range of operational and design changes including new valves, pipes, pumps, tanks, and controls are available to reduce the expenditure needed to operate the system. Constraints are imposed on nodal pressures and tank levels to meet service level requirements. The solution methodology proposed in this paper decomposes the problem according to the type of intervention, considering each type separately. An initial diagnosis of the network informs the manner and order of evaluating the various interventions. Custom implementations of network simulation, heuristic algorithms and optimization models are used to identify improvements. The recommended program of network modifications reduced the annual cost of running the system from e4M to e1.5M and had a return on investment in network infrastructure of 430%.

Leakage Detection and Estimation Algorithm for Loss Reduction in Water Piping Networks

“…It has been acknowledged that background leakage outflows posed the major threat to water utilities as they can neither be detected by measuring instruments nor surface on the ground for utility workers to notice. More recently, the battle of background leakage outflows has been a subject of discussion in the research community [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]. The current battle of background leakage assessment for water networks (BBLAWN) is an attempt to combine the methodologies for water distribution systems rehabilitation planning and sectorization [43][44][45][46][47][48][49] with pressure control management strategies [50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62] to achieve a reduced leakage ratio and lower the water distribution systems operational cost.…”