Comparing Topological Partitioning Methods for District Metered Areas in the Water Distribution Network

Haixing Liu,Chi Zhang,Guangtao Fu,Mengke Zhao

doi:10.3390/w10040368

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative analysis of three partitioning methods, including Fast Greedy, Random Walk, and Metis, which are commonly used to establish the district metered areas (DMAs) in water distribution systems. The performance of the partitioning methods is compared using a spectrum of evaluation indicators, including modularity, conductance, density, expansion, cuts, and communication volume, which measure different topological characteristics of the complex network. A complex water distribution network EXNET is used for comparison considering two cases, i.e., unweighted and weighted edges, where the weights are represented by the demands. The results obtained from the case study network show that the Fast Greedy has a good overall performance. Random Walk can obtain the relative small cut edges, but severely sacrifice the balance of the partitions, in particular when the number of partitions is small. The Metis method has good performance on balancing the size of the clusters. The Fast Greedy method is more effective in the weighted graph partitioning. This study provides an insight for the application of the topology-based partitioning methods to establish district metered areas in a water distribution network.

Highlights

Districted metered areas (DMAs) play an essential role in water distribution system (WDS)management, such as pressure management, leakage reduction, and water quality incident control [1,2,3,4].Many partitioning methods are available to divide the water distribution network into isolated DMAs, whose inlets and outlets can be monitored with flow and pressure meters
The solutions derived from the Fast Greedy method are better than those from the other two methods, though they are very close to those from the Random Walk method
With respect to the conductance and expansion indicators, Fast Greedy and Random Walk are better than Metis

Summary

Introduction

Districted metered areas (DMAs) play an essential role in water distribution system (WDS)management, such as pressure management, leakage reduction, and water quality incident control [1,2,3,4].Many partitioning methods are available to divide the water distribution network into isolated DMAs, whose inlets and outlets can be monitored with flow and pressure meters. Districted metered areas (DMAs) play an essential role in water distribution system (WDS). Management, such as pressure management, leakage reduction, and water quality incident control [1,2,3,4]. Many partitioning methods are available to divide the water distribution network into isolated DMAs, whose inlets and outlets can be monitored with flow and pressure meters. The partitioning methods have stemmed from, and advanced, the field of complex networks [5,6]. The water distribution network—a typical complex network—is usually constructed under the ground and along the road and provides drinking water to communities and cities. The network layouts are usually shaped by the community characteristics, such as geography and building distribution

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