Pollution Source Identification of Accidental Contaminations in Water Distribution Networks

In the present technical note, a simple methodology for identifying the source location of an accidental contamination in a water distribution network is formulated. Starting from measured solute concentration data and using the pollution matrix concept, the methodology first selects a group of candidate nodes, which are possible intrusion points. Among all candidate nodes, the source location is then identified, minimizing the differences between simulated and measured concentrations. The source location procedure, which incorporates a hydraulic network simulation model, is formulated as an optimization problem, linearized using the water fraction matrix concept. An example illustrates methodology effectiveness. An uncertainty analysis is performed in order to demonstrate the methodology robustness with respect to uncertainties in some input data, like concentration measurements and water demands.