DETECTING ACCIDENTAL CONTAMINATIONS IN MUNICIPAL WATER NETWORKS

A methodology for finding the optimal layout of a detection system in a municipal water network is formulated and demonstrated. The detectio n system considered consists of a set of monitoring stations aimed at detecting a random external input of water pollution. The level of ser vice provided to the consumers is defined by the maximum volume of con sumed polluted water prior to detection. The methodology involves the establishment of an auxiliary network that represents all possible flo w directions for a typical demand cycle, an ''all shortest paths'' alg orithm to identify domains of pollution, and a ''set covering'' algori thm to optimally allocate the monitoring stations. The algorithm outco me is a minimal set of monitoring stations that satisfies a given leve l of service. The methodology is demonstrated on a small illustrative case and on a midsize water network.