Segment Identification Procedure for Water Distribution Systems

Isolation valves are a fundamental element of water distribution systems because they provide the ability to disconnect sections of the network, which is essential to address routine maintenance and emergency conditions. In order to have a more accurate assessment of the distribution network and consider the role of valves, reliability and resilience assessment methods based on segments (i.e., the smallest set of pipes that can be isolated by the available valves in the distribution network) should be favored. This paper presents a general procedure that uses a standard EPANET network file structure to identify such segments, their elements, and unintended isolations resulting from shutdowns. This procedure is then tested on a set of real water distribution networks.