Abstract

CABRERA-BEJAR, José Antonio  and  GUEORGUIEV TZATCHKOV, Velitchko. Modeling water distribution networks with intermittent water supply. Tecnol. cienc. agua [online]. 2012, vol.3, n.2, pp.05-25. ISSN 2007-2422.

Intermittent water supply is prevalent among developing countries. Some of its consequences are inequitable water distribution, possible water contamination, wasting water, duplicated costs for consumers and water providers, meter malfunctioning and inconvenience to consumers. There are two major views on how this problem should be addressed. The first considers the problem to be derived from bad administration and management, i.e., there is enough water at the water supply sources but it is not provided continuously to the users, and so a transfer to 24-hour supply by reducing water loss is the only solution. The second view accepts intermittent supply as a reality that will continue for many years in many places and looks for appropriate design and operation methods specific to intermittent water supply that can minimize its negative impacts. Important differences between intermittent and continuous service by water distribution networks are covered by the second case, such as initial network charging and emptying, pressure-dependent water demand, and design pressure. This paper proposes and describes the use of known, free, public domain network models, such as SWMM for modeling initial pipe network charging and emptying, and EPANET for modeling networks with intermittent operations.

Keywords : intermittent water supply; EPANET; SWMM; distribution network modeling; initial network charging; household water storages tanks.

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