Relative Water Age in Premise Plumbing Systems Using an Agent-Based Modeling Framework
Citation:
Burkhardt, J., J. Minor, W. Platten, F. Shang, AND R. Murray. Relative Water Age in Premise Plumbing Systems Using an Agent-Based Modeling Framework. JOURNAL OF WATER RESOURCES PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Reston, VA, 149(4):04023007, (2023). https://doi.org/10.1061/JWRMD5.WRENG-5888
Impact/Purpose:
Tools used to predict hydraulics and water quality within premise plumbing systems have gained recent interest. An open-source Python-based tool—PPMtools—for modeling and analyzing premise plumbing systems with WNTR or EPANET is presented. A relative water age study using three real-world single-family homes was used to demonstrate PPMtools. Results showed that increased use—more people or higher flow fixtures—led to a general decrease in relative water ages. However, even with more use, one user could still experience water for drinking with a relative water age equal to, or longer than, the duration of the longest stagnant period (sleeping or absence from home). Simulations also showed that the general relative water ages increased if the homes were plumbed with larger diameter piping. Hot water heaters were found to have the largest impact on relative water age. Smaller volume uses generally had more variability in relative water ages, while larger volume uses (e.g., showering) resulted in generally low relative water ages with less variability. This study highlights the potential for using PPMtools and WNTR/EPANET to explore more complex water quality modeling within premise plumbing systems. This article lays out the Agent-based Monte Carlo Modeling Framework. This would be of interest to anyone seeking to conduct premise plumbing modeling research. Further, the findings of the article could be of interest to anyone interested in understanding the age of water in single family homes under a variety of use cases. This could inform other premise plumbing research.
Description:
Modeling Water Age in Premise Plumbing Systems
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: Relative Water Age in Premise Plumbing Systems Using an Agent-Based Modeling Framework
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