Evaluation of Response Measures for Water Cutoffs Using Pressure Driven Analysis Simulations

Water distribution network (WDN) research rarely explores the effects of response measure configurations for water cutoffs. Furthermore, the research that does explore cutoff response measures quantifies performance with resilience metrics that are often difficult for water utilities to apply in operation. These factors hinder the subsequent exploration of tools that water utilities can use to find solutions for resilient water networks. Failure to address resilience in a WDN can lead to prolonged periods of water supply emergencies after failure events such as source-water contamination. Water supply emergencies are critical problems because they affect the welfare of communities and commercial operations. Thus, it is important for water utilities to have response measures that maintain adequate supply while full operation of the WDN is restored. This study analyzes the network-wide impact of response measures on a benchmark WDN undergoing a water cutoff scenario. Simulation is performed until supply is exhausted to explore the effect of the measures under pressure deficient conditions. The findings in this paper present a methodology that can be used to analyze response measures and aid water utilities in mitigation planning.