Rehabilitation Planning of Water Distribution Network through a Reliability – Based Risk Assessment

Abstract

The efficient and effective management of existing water distribution systems (WDSs) faces challenges related to aging of infrastructure, population growth, extended urbanization, climate change impacts and environmental pollution. Therefore, there is a need for integrated solutions that support decision makers to plan today potential interventions, considering the possible consequences and variations in mid- and long-term perspectives. This study is a part of a more comprehensive project, where advanced hydraulic analysis of WDS is coupled with a dynamic resources input-output analysis model. The proposed modeling solution provides a robust tool to support planning of intervention actions and can be applied to optimize the performance of a water supply system considering energy consumption and environmental impacts. This paper presents an application of the proposed method in pipe rehabilitation/replacement planning, maximizing the network mechanical reliability and minimizing the risk of unsupplied water demand and pressure deficit evaluated at nodal level, under given economic constraints.