Relieving pressure: Optimizing water distribution pressure management at Valley of the Moon Water District

Abstract

Efficiently managing pressure in a water distribution network is an issue for water utilities worldwide. Utilities must maintain a delicate balance between lowering the pressure as much as possible to reduce water loss and electricity usage, while keeping pressure high enough to maintain the required level of service. In this paper, we describe how we created and deployed an advanced decision support solution to help the Valley of the Moon Water District (VOMWD) in Sonoma County, California improve its pressure management. Our solution enables VOMWD to efficiently manage water pressure in its network and better handle the pressure changes resulting from seasonal variations in demand. It provides a comprehensive view of the pressure status in the network and incorporates a novel optimization algorithm and problem formulation, which efficiently solve a nonconvex optimization problem and provide recommendations for demand and input pressure changes in the network. Following the deployment of our solution, VOMWD reduced the number of leaks and bursts by 16 percent compared to the previous year and by 19 percent compared to the average of the previous three years. Less quantifiable results included a reduction in pressure spikes and improvements in tank water levels and water turnover. Our solution has widespread applicability; therefore, we plan to use it to help water utilities worldwide significantly improve their pressure-management capabilities.