Using water quality data from a water distribution lab model in calibrating computer models

Water distribution modeling for hydraulics and water quality is an important tool for managing system performance of water utilities. Numerical models of water distribution systems have limitations in modeling real systems. A water distribution system was constructed at the University of Kentucky hydraulics lab for the purpose of investigating the performance of water distribution models. The model contains numerous hydraulic (pressure, flows) and water quality sensors for measuring travel time of a conservative tracer and can be run with unlimited configurations. This report presents a case study illustrating the results of a hydraulic calibration using both hydraulic data in terms of pressure head, water quality data in terms of travel time estimates from electrical conductivity sensors, and combinations of both. It also presents, in a case study form, an example of a small experimental system where velocity data as a basis for a calibration effort and pressure-based data as a basis for calibration effort do not converge to the same solution. Thus some engineering judgment, above purely quantitative basis, was required for optimal system calibration.