Adjusting Nodal Demands in SCADA Constrained Real-Time Water Distribution Network Models

This paper describes the proportional demand method and the target demand method, two techniques for adjusting estimated demands in hydraulic models of water distribution networks to produce solutions that are consistent with available supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) data. The two techniques assume that pipe resistances and SCADA data are accurate and that the combination of SCADA data and demand estimates produce overdetermined problems. Nodal demands are regarded as stochastic variables which fluctuate about an estimated mean value. The method of weighted least squares is used to obtain solutions that satisfy all of the constraints imposed by SCADA data with adjusted nodal demands that most closely resemble the estimates. The methods are intended for use in real-time modeling but are limited to quasi-steady state flow. The paper demonstrates the methods on two example problems.