3rd Oct, 2022
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
Discussion
Started 7th Apr, 2022
What is the average pressure in water distribution system and how to manage the unexpected pressure rise during operation?
The acceptable industry standards for water pressure is 140 kPa - 560 kPa. Domestic appliances operate under the intermediate pressure magnitudes. Topographic features and the increase of customer density cause deviations in water pressure throughout the supply system. In some cases, some water supply networks provide water in exaggerated high pressure to reach some customers in high altitude. This higher pressure accelerates the volume of water running out through unobserved leakages in supply system which results on microbursts of water pressure that may cause large scale failure and demands higher maintenance cost for water supply providers.
Dear researchers, what is your recommended solution to prevent these unnecessary pressure rise against transient scenarios?
Most recent answer
Safety valves and pressure release valves are the only way.
All replies (5)
In our country, the water company fixes the pressure at around 3 bars, ie the equivalent of 30 meters of the water column. The water, therefore, reaches a user who is 30 meters above the ground.
The installation of a pressure reducer makes it possible to regulate the untimely increase in pressure in the network. The pressure reducer, as its name suggests, reduces the pressure of the water in the public network when the latter becomes important.
Indeed, an overpressure can make the pipes noisy. You have certainly heard "water hammer" in a pipe. These noises come from the overpressure of the pipes which can then be damaged as well as certain hot water production devices.
You have two types of water pressure reducer:
1. preset at 3.5 bar;
2. adjustable, with or without pressure gauge: you can adjust the pressure yourself.
Regards
Water network pressure is mostly dictated by the expected performance of the network in terms of supply continuity, and available pressure at consumers taps; (and water quality where required).
This might be dictated by water supply legislation.
Factors affecting performance include, amongst others:
topography of the area
network inlet pressure
network storage facility operation
pumping operations / scheduling *
consumer demand *
demand patterns
condition of network assets such as corrosion / C value of the pipes
operational practice, e.g, closing and opening valves within the network *
Those factors above with an asterisk, *, are common causes of water hammer. Water hammer is generated by transient pressure waves travelling rapidly, back and forth, through the pipes in the network.
The objective of water network management, is to supply all connected customers, continually, whilst optimising network pressure for minimal leakage and burst pipes.
Flow meters, pressure transducers, AI systems and network modelling tools can be used to measure, understand, and optimise network performance.
The major assets used to manage network performance include: network storage facilities (service reservoirs), pressure reducing / sustaining valves, air release valves, pumps, and inter-network connections.
Pressure transients are controlled by ensuring there are no sudden / rapid changes in flow.
A lot of information, and case studies, are available on the internet.
Gate valves and pressure relief tanks may be used at points where pressure rises are expected or rather where feasible use wider pipe diameter for the the transmission systems
Similar questions and discussions
Scientists Support Ukraine
Like so many, I am shocked and saddened at seeing war break out in Europe. My thoughts – and those of the ResearchGate team – are with the people of Ukraine and everyone affected.
ResearchGate is an international company, whose purpose is to enable scientists across the world to work together openly and collaboratively, regardless of borders or nationality. We have people from over 40 countries on our staff of around 200, and being based in Berlin, we are profoundly aware of the human cost of conflicts, the echoes of which have shaped and scarred our home city. We join with the international community in condemning the actions of the Russian state.
We have been asking ourselves: What can we do?
From today, we will offer free advertising space worth $2.5 million on our network to humanitarian organizations working to respond to the crisis. ResearchGate benefits from over 50 million visitors every month, and we hope this initiative can help raise funds and awareness for those organizations that are having direct impact and need support.
We also want to use our platform to highlight the response from the scientific community. Personally, I have found the messages of support from scientists everywhere to be truly heartfelt, and I would like to highlight some of the community initiatives I’ve seen here:
- Science for Ukraine provides an overview of labs offering a place for researchers and students who are affected to work from, as well as offers of employment, funding, and accommodation: https://scienceforukraine.eu/
- Labs supporting Ukrainian Scientists is an expansive list of labs and PIs offering support at this time. Submissions go here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeRGe5Da_b6GGyC6VT7CLGViGs06SzeuX7wRKpC4K5tnvlhgg/viewform Find the full list here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HqTKukfJGpmowQnSh4CoFn3T6HXcNS1T1pK-Xx9CknQ/edit#gid=320641758
- This open letter from European scientists expressing solidarity and promoting peace is open for signatures: https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/an-open-letter-from-european-scientists-against
Additionally, I’m posting here some of the organizations responding to the crisis and actively soliciting donations:
- Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF): https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/countries/ukraine
- The UN Refugee Agency: https://donate.unhcr.org/int/en/ukraine-emergency
- UNICEF: https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/conflict-ukraine-pose-immediate-threat-children
To help gather more support for these initiatives, please consider sharing this post further (you don’t need a ResearchGate account to see it), and I will continue to update it with other initiatives as I find them. You can also click “Recommend” below to help others in your ResearchGate network see it. And if you know of any other community initiatives that we can share here please let us know via this form: https://forms.gle/e37EHouWXFLyhYE8A
-Ijad Madisch, CEO & Co-Founder of ResearchGate
-----
Update 03/07:
This list outlines country-level initiatives from various academic institutions and research organizations, with a focus on programs and sponsorship for Ukrainian researchers:
Related Publications
This paper presents the analysis and assessment of water losses in water distribution systems of three water supply companies operating water supply networks in the area of effect of underground mining. The analysis of water losses was conducted based on numerous indices allowing for obtaining objective information on the condition of the water sup...
: Water losses occurring in water distribution systems (WDSs) are now considered as a serious problem, necessitating a robust and effective management strategy. Non-revenue water (NRW) data indicate that most cities in Gaza Strip, Palestine experience high NRW. In 2015, the average percentage of NRW in Gaza Strip was 39%. This figure resulted in ma...
All of the possible strategies to reduce water losses in piped distribution systems follow the law of diminishing returns: the higher the expenditure on water loss reduction, the lower the progressive return in terms of water saved. Therefore, water utilities need to estimate the economic level of water losses (ELWL) so that they can reduce their w...