Analyzing the role of consumer behavior in coping with intermittent supply in water distribution systems

Gopinathan R. Abhijith, Maddukuri Naveen Naidu, Sriman Pankaj Boindala, A. Vasan, Avi Ostfeld

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A substantial number of water distribution systems (WDS) worldwide are operated as intermittent water supply (IWS) systems, delivering water to consumers in irregular and unreliable manners. The IWS consumers commonly adapt to flexible consumption behaviors characterized by storing the limited water available during shorter supply periods in intermediate storage facilities for subsequent usage during more extended nonsupply periods. Nevertheless, the impacts of such consumer behavior on the performance of IWS systems have not been adequately addressed. Toward this direction, this article presents a novel open-source Python-based simulation tool (EPyT-IWS) for WDS, virtually acting like an IWS modeling extension of EPANET 2.2. The applicability of EPyT-IWS was demonstrated by conducting hydraulic simulations of a typical WDS with representative IWS attributes. Different IWS operation cases were considered by varying the amount and consistency of the water availability to the consumers. EPyT-IWS outputs showed that domestic storage of water within underground tanks and subsequent pumping into overhead tanks allows consumers to cope with the intermittent water availability and suitably meet their demands. Besides the interval, the clock time of the water supply was predicted to influence IWS consumers’ ability to meet water demands.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1766-1787
Number of pages22
JournalJournal of Hydroinformatics
Volume25
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Sep 2023

Keywords

  • EPANET-Python
  • intermittent water supply
  • pressure-dependent analysis
  • water distribution
  • water scarcity
  • water security

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Water Science and Technology
  • Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology
  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Atmospheric Science

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