Automation of Water Distribution Management SUMMARY

Automation of Water Distribution Management

Automation of Water Distribution Management Mangesh Pratyush MSc Information System (2004/2005)

The candidate confirms that the work submitted is their own and the appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. I understand that failure to attribute material which is obtained from another source may be considered as plagiarism. (Signature of student)________________________________ Automation of Water Distribution Management

SUMMARY

The project has been undertaken as a 60- credit module for the MSc programme in Information Systems,

with a significant involvement from ‘Yorkshire Water’. The main objective of the company lies in the

uninterrupted supply of water to all its customers. In support of this, the following project investigates the

prevailing problem scenario and a possible solution to the water management problem. Significant research

has also been conducted on the lines of automation of zone boundaries.

Water, as we all know is a fundamental component required for the survival of all life forms. Yorkshire

Water is one of those companies that determine the quality of life by supplying pure water to all households,

grouped in various zones. However, the supply may be hampered due to unavoidable predicaments; some of

them include pipe bursts, low water pressure, water discolouration and odour. In case of any of these

complaints, the field engineers work vigorously on changing the valve status within a zone and letting in

water through an alternate path. As most of the work is done manually, the expenditure is high in terms of

time spent in sorting out the best alternate way of water distribution to the affected regions. However, in

some cases shifting of zone boundaries is inevitable.

The following project addresses this problem. The algorithm designed reduces the workload of field

engineers by letting the software decide the valves whose status need to be changed. The algorithm walk

through over a most generic water network graph is used as evaluation. A part of the project also deals with

idea of rule-based system needed to group the assets within relevant zones.

As a secondary goal, the project will serve as a prototype for future enhancement and a platform for others

wishing to carry out further research in field of water network management and zone boundary automation.

IMangesh Pratyush – MSc Information System University of Leeds (2004/2005) Automation of Water Distribution Management

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to extend my gratitude to my project supervisor, Mr. Ken Brodlie for his guidance and advice

throughout the project.

I even wish to thank the following individuals for their help with various aspects of the project:

• Richard Spencer, external supervisor Yorkshire Water.

• Mike H Turner, Manager of Asset Records Yorkshire Water

• David J Owen, Project Manager Yorkshire Water

• Jane Swift Yorkshire Water

• Ian Mitchell Yorkshire Water

Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends for their encouragement and support.

IIMangesh Pratyush – MSc Information System University of Leeds (2004/2005) Automation of Water Distribution Management

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1: Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………1

1.1 Motivation ………………………………………………………………………………………….1

1.2 Company Background ……………………………………………………………………………...1

1.3 Aim of the project ………………………………………………………………………………….1

1.4 Minimum requirement ……………………………………………………………………………...2

1.5 Project management ……………………………………………………………………………..…2

1.5.1 Overview ……………………………………..…………………………………………………..2

1.5.2 Initial project aim ……………………………..………………………………………………….2

1.5.3 Probable solution ………………………………..………………………………………………..3

1.5.4 Revised project plan ………………………………..……………………………………………..3

1.6 Project progress history …………………………………………………………………………….3

Chapter 2: Zone boundary automation ………………………………………………………………7

2.1 Rule based system …………………………………………………………………………………..7

2.2 Architecture of rule based system …………………………………………………………………..8

2.3 Rule based system in Yorkshire Water ……………………………………………………………..9

2.4 Development of rule based system …………………………………………………………………10

2.5 JESS rule engine ……………………………………………………………………………………11

2.6 Representing facts in JESS …………………………………………………………………………12

2.7 Writing rules in JESS ………………………………………………………………………………13

2.8 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………….15

Chapter 3: Literature Review ………………………………………………………………………..16

3.1 Analogy with graph theory …………………………………………………………….…………..16

3.2 Algorithms ………………………………………………………………………………….……...19

3.3 Analogy with tree structure ………………………………………………………………..……….22