Using a digital twin to explore water infrastructure impacts during the COVID-19 pandemic

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the daily pattern of activities changed dramatically for people across the globe, as they socially distanced and worked remotely. Changes in daily routines created changes in water consumption patterns. Significant changes in water demands can affect the operation of water distribution systems, resulting in new patterns of flow, with implications for water age, pressure, and energy consumption. This research develops a digital twin to couple Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) data with a hydraulic model to assess impacts on infrastructure due to changes in water demands associated with the COVID-19 pandemic for a case study. Using 2019 and COVID-19 modeling scenarios, the hydraulic model was executed to evaluate changes to water quality based on water age, pressure across nodes in the network, and the energy required by the system to distribute potable water. A water supply interruption event was modeled as a water main break to assess network resiliency for 2019 and COVID-19 demands. A digital twin provides the capabilities to explore and visualize emerging consumption patterns and their effects on the functioning of water systems, providing valuable analyses for water utility managers and insight for optimizing infrastructure operations and planning for long-term impacts.