A decision-making approach to assess and prioritise intervention solutions in water distribution systems

Abstract

[EN] The present paper aims at proposing and demonstrating the application of a decision-making approach for the identification, assessment, comparison and prioritisation of different intervention solutions. Infrastructural, financial, performance and economic perspectives are considered in the study. The proposed approach is composed of three main modules: 1) Analysis planning and database construction; 2) Infrastructure, asset or component diagnosis and prioritisation; and 3) Study of intervention solutions for priority assets or components. Three assessment levels – macro, meso and micro – are proposed, and the decision-making approach is adapted to each level. A water distribution system located in Portugal is used to demonstrate the proposed approach. This case study comprises five water subsystems, including different assets, such as water storage tanks, pumping and booster stations and water distribution pipes. Five intervention solutions are defined by identifying the main problems associated with the priority subsystem and the respective causes. The intervention solutions are compared considering the financial metrics and performance indicators, such as standardised energy consumption, energy in excess per unit of the authorised consumption, infrastructure value index and non-revenue water. New metrics regarding the assets’ physical condition are also incorporated in the assessment system. Results have shown the influence of considering different assessment criteria and performance indicators in the solutions' prioritisation, highlighting that the solution with the lowest capital cost does not always correspond to the solution with the highest overall performance.