Pressure management in water distribution systems through PRVs optimal placement and settings

Optimal pressure management is a standard strategy for water loss minimization in water distribution systems (WDS). A pragmatic solution to regulating water pressures and leakage is introducing pressure-reducing valves (PRVs). This paper presents a valve positioning algorithm for optimally deciding the positions and setpoints of PRVs in a WDS. The algorithm derives the hydraulic solution of a WDS as a directed graph, established on the flow directions, using EPANET 2.2 and develops the downstream network supplied by water flowing out of every pipe in the network by applying the depth-first search method. The algorithm later recognizes the pipes leading to the most extended downstream networks, with pressures above the minimum required service pressure, and prioritizes them as the ideal locations for PRV placement. In this way, the proposed algorithm overcomes the limitations of the state-of-the-art in realistically conceptualizing the leakage reduction for optimally positioning the PRVs in WDS. Four studies with varying complexities were selected to demonstrate the algorithm's applicability for deriving pressure management solutions. The solution time for PRV positioning was in seconds for the first three networks and several minutes for the extensive fourth case study. The results corroborate the algorithm's ability to pinpoint the critical nodes with the most increased potential for downstream pressure control and for maintaining the pressure at the least required service pressure level through optimally allocating the PRVs, with acceptable setpoint values, within the pipe network.