Water distribution systems face increasing threats from natural disasters, aging infrastructure, component failures, and malicious attacks. Water distribution network resilience against these threats largely depends on both the ability to maintain performance during disruptions and the capacity to recover functionality afterward. As such, optimal network design should not only capture networks’ absorptive capabilities but also adequately quantify networks’ restorative capacity during catastrophic events or other emergencies. In this study, a multi-objective optimization problem is considered and implemented to concurrently optimize network recovery strategies and operational performance in water supply and cost. The methodology integrates hydraulic simulation with multi-objective algorithms and resilience indices that capture infrastructure component restorability and operational response strategies while optimizing the network performance. It enables trade-off analysis between hydraulic efficiency, redundancy, and, functionality loss and restorability for benchmark networks subjected to failures and recovery actions. The presented resilience-based assessment and optimization approach allows for a more comprehensive modeling of water infrastructure resilience. Enhanced capabilities can guide cost-effective investment and management decisions for water utilities seeking to improve overall system resilience. Thereby, decision-makers are presented with viable design alternatives for optimal selection and operation of network components to further bolster network resilience capabilities.
