Use of Flow Meters for Managing Water Supply Networks

A study of water consumption data collection and processing in the context of on-line monitoring and burst detection in water distribution networks is presented using a methodology for positioning of flow meters and selection of a monitoring time step. A stochastic model analyzes the propagation of initial uncertainty in water consumption through a water supply network and its influence on calculated flows. The model combines EPANET and a Monte Carlo based random sampling procedure that simulates the usage of domestic appliances. The model is validated on a medium-sized water distribution network, located in the southeast region of England. Statistical analysis of the calculated flows suggests that flow meters should be located at pipes with the highest variance in flow in order to make sudden changes in monitored flow detectable. As a result, an appropriate size of a district metering area (DMA) can be proposed. For the case study network studied here, a compromise DMA size of 250 properties is suggested.