Burst Detection in Water Distribution Systems: The Issue of Dataset Collection

• Published in: Applied sciences 2020-11, Vol.10 (22), p.8219
• Main Authors: Menapace, Andrea, Zanfei, Ariele, Felicetti, Manuel, Avesani, Diego, Righetti, Maurizio, Gargano, Rudy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algorithms; Anomalies; anomaly detection methods; Bursts; Datasets; Distribution; Drinking water; Flow rates; Flow velocity; hydraulic leakages modeling; Hydraulic models; Hydraulics; Inlet flow; Mechanical properties; Methodology; Methods; Pipe lines; Process controls; Simulation; Stochastic models; stochastic water request analysis; Stochasticity; Superposition (mathematics); synthetic dataset generation; Time series; Water; Water consumption; Water conveyance; Water distribution; Water distribution systems; Water engineering; Water management; Water supply; Water supply systems
• ISSN: 2076-3417; 2076-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/app10228219

Developing data-driven models for bursts detection is currently a demanding challenge for efficient and sustainable management of water supply systems. The main limit in the progress of these models lies in the large amount of accurate data required. The aim is to present a methodology for the generation of reliable data, which are fundamental to train anomaly detection models and set alarms. Thus, the results of the proposed methodology is to provide suitable water consumption data. The presented procedure consists of stochastic modelling of water request and hydraulic pipes bursts simulation to yield suitable synthetic time series of flow rates, for instance, inlet flows of district metered areas and small water supply systems. The water request is obtained through the superimposition of different components, such as the daily, the weekly, and the yearly trends jointly with a random normal distributed component based on the consumption mean and variance, and the number of users aggregation. The resulting request is implemented into the hydraulic model of the distribution system, also embedding background leaks and bursts using a pressure-driven approach with both concentrated and distributed demand schemes. This work seeks to close the gap in the field of synthetic generation of drinking water consumption data, by establishing a proper dedicated methodology that aims to support future water smart grids.