Creating Districted Metered Areas in the Water Distribution Network Using Optimal Selection Indices

Estimation of leakage, pressure management, and emergency management are among the advantages of establishing DMA in the WDN. However, the unprincipled development of WDN in a traditional way has turned this issue into a complex problem in terms of essential indexes in creating DMA. In this study, a method is presented to design DMAs with optimal selection indicators. For this purpose, three water distribution networks of Balerma, Madena, and D-Town were used for clustering using the Girvan-Newman and Fast Newman methods, which are based on the modularity criterion. Then, with use of a genetic algorithm and EPANET software, to reduce the cost in physical zoning, it was determined by observing the condition of minimum nodal pressure, and with the help of cost, hydraulic, and quality indicators, the zoning results of the research were analyzed and their effectiveness was discussed. The results showed that the mentioned indicators could lead to the optimal selection of the best-proposed plan to modify existing traditional networks and stablish DMA in WDN. The cost and modularity criteria had more effect than other indicators in determining the optimal number of areas. The Girvan-Newman's method provided more relevant results in comparison with the Fast Newman's method.