WDS Designer - Generator of Water Distribution Systems using GIS-Data

Robert Sitzenfrei* Michael Möderl* and Wolfgang Rauch*
* Unit of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering , Institute of Infrastructure, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 13, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria

Abstract

In the field of water distribution system (WDS) analysis, case study research is a well known approach to test strategies or new developed technologies. However, data availability for investigation of real cases is limited due to the time and cost consuming data collection. Also fear of terrorist attacks induces restricted access to sensible data of WDS. However, for research tasks as model-building, identifying of system coherences or software testing it is crucial to gather such data. With the WDS Designer a tool is presented which algorithmically generates WDS using GIS-data for population density, housing density and elevation. It is shown that the generated WDS are comparable with properties of a real world WDS. Therefore, a powerful and user friendly tool is presented to identify system coherences in WDS for research and education tasks. Moreover, the tool provides data of WDS with varying properties (e.g. network layout) to answer research questions on a case independent basis. As an example for a practical application of the WDS Designer the assessment of construction costs of WDS for new development is discussed.

Keywords: Algorithmic Network Generation, GIS-Data, Hydraulic Simulation, Water Distribution System, Modular Design System

(Note: The MCRInstaller version 7.13 is free available on request for WDS Designer users.)