Skip to main content
2024 EWRI Congress Main banner
Back

2024 EWRI Congress

Water Distribution System Analysis (Planning & Management)

Water Distribution System Design, Optimization, Operation & Maintenance, and Asset Management - II

437 - Synthetic Water Distribution Network Models: Challenges and Opportunities

Monday, May 20, 2024
4:00 PM – 4:15 PM CT
Room: S 101 E
Despite a rapid push to digitize infrastructure data, there remains a dearth of readily available water distribution network (WDN) data to assess resilience challenges such as vulnerability assessment, proactive maintenance, and network reconfiguration. Synthetic models –realistic network models that imitate real-world networks’ appearance and behavior – have been rigorously developed and tested for infrastructures – namely electricity transmission and distribution – but have not yet become pervasive for water systems. We describe the challenges of developing synthetic WDNs using the case studies including Puerto Rico, New York City, Phoenix, Kentucky, and Atlanta. The synthetic WDN models are able to estimate network topography, pipe diameter, pump location and performance, and with EPANET hydraulic performance (see synthetic.resilientinfrastructure.org for additional background). The accuracy of synthetic WDN models is estimated using a locations where true data are available. While realistic networks and hydraulic performance can be synthesized with minimal data (i.e., roadway networks and locations of WTPs), the provision of basic data (i.e., pipe diameters, pump locations and performance, and tank locations) can significantly improve accuracy. The opportunities for synthetic WDNs are described both in characterizing vulnerable assets and network configurations to disrepair and hazards (e.g., climate extreme events) as well as power system outages that cascade to the WDNs.