Water Resources Systems Engineering - Technion

Course taught at Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

Simultaneous sensor placement and pressure reducing valve localization for pressure control of water distribution systems

Many studies on pressure sensor (PS) placement and pressure reducing valve (PRV) localization in water distribution systems (WDSs) have been made with the objective of improving water leakage detection and pressure reduction, respectively. However, due to varying operation conditions, it is expected to realize pressure control using a number of PSs and PRVs to keep minimum operating pressure in real-time. This study aims to investigate the PS placement and PRV localization for the purpose of pressure control system design for WDSs. For such a control system, a PS should be positioned to represent the pressure patterns of a region of the WDS. Correspondingly, a PRV should be located to achieve a maximum pressure reduction between two neighboring regions. According to these considerations, an approach based on the k-means++ method for simultaneously determining the numbers and positions of both PSs and PRVs is proposed. Results from three case studies are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the suggested approach. It is shown that the sensors positioned have a high accuracy of pressure representation and the valves localized lead to a significant pressure reduction

Battle of the Attack Detection Algorithms:Disclosing cyber attacks on water distribution networks

The BATtle of the Attack Detection ALgorithms (BATADAL) is the most recent competition on planning and management of water networks undertaken within the Water Distribution Systems Analysis Symposium. The goal of the battle was to compare the performance of algorithms for the detection of cyber-physical attacks, whose frequency increased in the past few years along with the adoption of smart water technologies. The design challenge was set for C-Town network, a real-world, medium-sized water distribution system operated through Programmable Logic Controllers and a Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. Participants were provided with datasets containing (simulated) SCADA observations, and challenged with the design of an attack detection algorithm. The effectiveness of all submitted algorithms was evaluated in terms of time-to-detection and classification accuracy. Seven teams participated in the battle and proposed a variety of successful approaches leveraging data analysis, model-based detection mechanisms, and rule checking. Results were presented at the Water Distribution Systems Analysis Symposium (World Environmental & Water Resources Congress), in Sacramento, on May 21-25, 2017. This paper summarizes the BATADAL problem, proposed algorithms, results, and future research directions

03 Two-Loop System

The Two Loops system was created by Alperovits & Shamir in 1977 to optimize distribution system design using linear programming gradient method. The system has one reservoir and 8 km of pipe. It is classified as distribution dense-grid by Hwang & Lansey (2017) and gridded by Hoagland et al. (2015).https://uknowledge.uky.edu/wdst_systems/1005/thumbnail.jp

02 Water Sensor Network 1

The Water Sensor Network 1 system was a hypothetical network created by Avi Ostfield et al. in 2008 as part of a Battle of the Networks aimed to optimize water network design. The system has a total system demand of 1.3 MGD, one reservoir, two pump stations, two tanks, and 23.3 miles of pipe. It is classified as transmission dense-loop by Hwang & Lansey (2017) and Hoagland et al. (2015).https://uknowledge.uky.edu/wdst_models/1002/thumbnail.jp

03 Water Sensor Network 2

The Water Sensor Network 2 system is based on a real-world system and was used by Avi Ostfield et al. in 2008 as part of a Battle of the Networks to optimize design. The system has a total demand of 24 MGD, two reservoirs, four pumps, two tanks, and 6050 km of pipe. It is classified as distribution dense-grid by Hwang & Lansey (2017) and looped by Hoagland et al. (2015).https://uknowledge.uky.edu/wdst_models/1003/thumbnail.jp

06 Demand Management Areas

The Demand Management Areas system is based on a real-world system and was presented by Saldarriga et al. in 2016 as part of a Battle of the Networks to optimize district metering areas. The system has a total demand of 3110 CMD, five reservoirs, three pumps, 17 tanks, and 872 km of pipe. It is classified as distribution sparse-grid by Hwang & Lansey 92017) and gridded by Hoagland et al. (2015).https://uknowledge.uky.edu/wdst_models/1005/thumbnail.jp

04 Calibration Networks

The Calibration Network system serves the hypothetical town C-town and was created by Avi Ostfield et al. in 2011 as part of a Battle of the Networks focused on model calibration. The system has one reservoir, 11 pumps, 7 tanks, and 56.7 kilometers of pipe. It is classified as distribution hybrid by Hwang & Lansey (2017) and looped by Hoagland et al. (2015).https://uknowledge.uky.edu/wdst_models/1001/thumbnail.jp