Optimización de redes de distribución de agua utilizando un algoritmo genético

Un algoritmo genético (AG), es un procedimiento de búsqueda del óptimo de una función basado en la mecánica natural darwiniana de supervivencia de los individuos mejor adaptados. En el presente trabajo se ha desarrollado un algoritmo genético que permite determinar la red de distribución de agua de coste mínimo para una topología y una condición de carga dadas. El procedimiento consiste en asimilar las redes a cadenas binarias (conjuntos de unos y ceros). Partiendo de una población de redes generada aleatoriamente, se realizan los procesos naturales de selección, cruce y mutación, obteniéndose una nueva población. Así, generación tras generación, se llega al individuo mejor adaptado, es decir la red de distribución de mínimo coste. El algoritmo, implementado en FORTRAN-77 y ejecutable en PC, se ha aplicado a un ejemplo extraído de la bibliografía, obteniéndose resultados satisfactorio

Open-Source Application for Water Supply System Management: Implementation in a Water Transmission System in Southern Spain

Sustainable water use has become a critical issue for the future of the planet in face of highly probable climate change. The drinking water supply sector has made significant progress over the last 20 years, although improvements in the management of urban hydraulic infrastructures are still required. The proposed system, Integrated Tool for Water Supply Systems Management (ITWSM), built on three interconnected modules (QGIS database, Epanet hydraulic model, and Google My Maps app), was developed on open-source software. The core of ITWSM allows analyzing the behavior of water supply systems under several operation/failure scenarios. It facilitates decision making supported by the mobile application ITWSM-app. Information flows easily through the different decision levels involved in the management process, keeping updated the georeferenced database after system changes. ITWSM has been implemented in a real public water supply company and applied to manage breakdown repairs in water transmission systems. The use of the proposed methodology reduces the average cost of failure repair by 13.6%, mainly due to the optimal planning of the resources involved

Multi-Objective Spatial Optimization: Sustainable Land Use Allocation at Sub-Regional Scale

The rational use of territorial resources is a key factor in achieving sustainability. Spatial planning is an important tool that helps decision makers to achieve sustainability in the long term. This work proposes a multi-objective model for sustainable land use allocation known as MAUSS (Spanish acronym for “Modelo de Asignación de Uso Sostenible de Suelo”) The model was applied to the Plains of San Juan, Puebla, Mexico, which is currently undergoing a rapid industrialization process. The main objective of the model is to generate land use allocations that lead to a territorial balance within regions in three main ways by maximizing income, minimizing negative environmental pressure on water and air through specific evaluations of water use and CO2 emissions, and minimizing food deficit. The non-sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) is the evolutionary optimization algorithm of MAUSS. NSGA-II has been widely modified through a novel and efficient random initializing operator that enables spatial rationale from the initial solutions, a crossover operator designed to streamline the best genetic information transmission as well as diversity, and two geometric operators, geographic dispersion (GDO) and the proportion (PO), which strengthen spatial rationality. MAUSS provided a more sustainable land use allocation compared to the current land use distribution in terms of higher income, 9% lower global negative pressure on the environment and 5.2% lower food deficit simultaneousl

The paradox of irrigation scheme modernization: more efficient water use linked to higher energy demand

In recent years, many modernization processes have been undertaken in irrigation districts with the main objective to improve water use efficiency. In southern Spain, many irrigation districts have either been modernized or are currently being improved. However, as part of the modernization process some unexpected side effects have been observed. This paper analyzes the relative advantages and limitations of modernization based on field data collected in a typical Andalusian irrigation district. Although the amount of water diverted for irrigation to farms has been considerably reduced, consumptive use has increased, mainly due to a change in crop rotations. The costs for operation and system maintenance have dramatically risen (400%) as the energy for pumping pressurized systems is much higher now compared to gravity fed systems used previously. Then a regional analysis in ten Southern Spain irrigation districts of the relationship between energy requirements and irrigation water applied has been carried out. Results show that to apply an average depth of 2590 m3 ha, the energy required was estimated to be 1000 kWh ha�1. A new approach is needed that involves efficient management of both water and energy resources in these modernized systems. Finally, some energy saving options are identified and discussed

Efectos de la modernización de regadíos en consumo de agua, energía y coste

En: XIII Congreso de Comunidades de Regantes, Huelva, 14-15 Mayo 201

Literature review on rebound effect of water saving measures and analysis of a Spanish case study

The hypothesis of a rebound effect as a consequence of water saving investments is taken analogically from the Jevons paradox models in energy economics. The European Commission (EC) alert about the consequences in water stressed regions that are investing heavily in modernization of irrigation networks and systems. This paper reviews the literature, linking water savings with water diversion and water depletion, both from theoretical models and empirical evidence from the published research. In order to increase knowledge of this phenomenon, a new empirical case study is presented based on a survey of 36,000 ha of recently modernized irrigated areas in the Guadalquivir basin (southern Spain). The results of the case study illustrates the conditions that may avoid rebound effect, although the results of the available empirical evidence and the published theoretical research are diverse and lead to contradictory results. Further research is therefore needed to determine the causes and solutions of water saving investment impacts and the possible speculative rebound effect

Incorporación de predicciones climáticas y medidas de sensores de humedad de suelo en el riego de precisión. Póster

La agricultura es el principal usuario de los recursos hídricos, aproximadamente el 70% de las extracciones totales de agua corresponden al sector agrícola. En Andalucía se prevé un escenario especialmente desfavorable como consecuencia del cambio climático, por lo que es imprescindible implementar sistemas de riego de precisión que mediante el uso de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TICs) y los datos recogidos por los sensores instalados en campo permitan optimizar los escasos recursos hídricos disponibles. Sin embargo, los datos recogidos por dichos sensores se emplean en el control y la vigilancia, para conocer la respuesta del cultivo al riego aplicado y su análisis y tratamiento se realiza de forma externa e independiente para cada tipo de sensor por lo que aún no se ha extraído todo el potencial de esta tecnología.Este trabajo forma parte del proyecto HUELLA DEL AGUA EN EL SECTOR ECOLÓGICO ANDALUZ, cofinanciado por la Junta de Andalucía y la Unión Europea a través del FEADE

Design and Implementation of a Pressure Monitoring System Based on IoT for Water Supply Networks

Increasing the efficiency of water supply networks is essential in arid and semi-arid regions to ensure the supply of drinking water to the inhabitants. The cost of renovating these systems is high. However, customized management models can facilitate the maintenance and rehabilitation of hydraulic infrastructures by optimizing the use of resources. The implementation of current Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring systems allows decisions to be based on objective data. In water supply systems, IoT helps to monitor the key elements to improve system efficiency. To implement IoT in a water distribution system requires sensors that are suitable for measuring the main hydraulic variables, a communication system that is adaptable to the water service companies and a friendly system for data analysis and visualization. A smart pressure monitoring and alert system was developed using low-cost hardware and open-source software. An Arduino family microcontroller transfers pressure gauge signals using Sigfox communication, a low-power wide-area network (LPWAN). The IoT ThingSpeak platform is used for data analysis and visualization. Additionally, the system can send alarms via SMS/email in real time using the If This, Then That (IFTTT) web service when anomalous pressure data are detected. The pressure monitoring system was successfully implemented in a real water distribution network in Spain. It was able to detect both breakdowns and leaks in real time