Economic comparison between an optimized and a traditional sewer system designs

Abstract

Sewage systems are essential for the efficient functioning of cities. Wastewater contains solids and organic matter that pose health risks, making it necessary to optimize the sewerage system design. In recent years, optimization tools have been introduced to minimize costs while still complying with regulations. Despite this, traditional designs still dominate, but the use of optimization methodologies can significantly reduce construction costs. For this reason, this research will compare the construction costs of a sewerage system designed optimally and one designed using traditional methods, to determine the cost difference between the two. In a sector of Bogota, Colombia, a sewerage system was already built and designed according to Colombian laws using traditional methodologies. The information from this area was used to implement the UTOPIA program, created by the Universidad de los Andes. This program uses the Shortest Path Problem with the Bellman-Ford algorithm to design the network and minimize costs. The results show that the optimized system was about 15% cheaper than the traditional one, and it ensured that all pipelines met the design restrictions. Optimized sewage systems are a useful alternative for ensuring universal access to safe drinking water, increasing sewerage coverage, and reducing problems associated with inadequate design.