Modeling Strategies to Identify Water Distribution System Sampling Locations
Citation:
Haxton, Terranna AND J. Burkhardt. Modeling Strategies to Identify Water Distribution System Sampling Locations. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/S-23/268, 2023.
Impact/Purpose:
Drinking water utilities are responsible for the delivery of safe, potable water to communities. Unfortunately, as the water moves from the treatment plan though the distribution system to the customers, the water quality can degrade due to interactions with the pipe walls and constituents in the water itself. Drinking water utilities collect samples throughout the distribution system to evaluate the quality of the water to protect the health of the community. Sampling can be conducted to meet regulatory needs, to aid in the operations and maintenance of the system, to respond to customer complaints, and to investigate possible contamination incidents. Water distribution system modeling tools can aid the water utilities in selecting the best locations to take samples. This technical summary report provides examples of the research conducted to examine these tools and their applications. This research can be used by drinking water utilities around the world to plan and evaluate different sampling strategies.
Description:
The delivery of safe, potable water to communities is the primary objective of drinking water utilities. However, the quality of the water can deteriorate as it is transported from the treatment plant through the distribution system to the customers due to interactions with the pipe walls and constituents in the water itself. Additionally, drinking water distribution systems can be vulnerable to intentional or accidental contamination incidents. Since these systems consist of thousands of pipes and service connections over large geographic regions, utilities cannot financially afford to install continuous online monitoring sensors everywhere in the system. Thus, drinking water utilities collect samples throughout the distribution system to evaluate the quality of the water to protect the health of the community. Sampling can be conducted to meet regulatory needs, to aid in the operations and maintenance of the system, to respond to customer complaints, and to investigate possible contamination incidents. Water distribution system modeling tools can help water utilities identify the best location to take grab samples. A summary of the research completed in this area is provided.