Optimising the distribution system of existing scarce water supply in a mountain indigenous community

Abstract

ABSTRACTDeveloping rural areas in the Philippines are in urgent need of advanced technologies and analytical solutions to optimise the use of the existing gravity-fed scarce water supply and its proportional distribution to the community. Low water velocity, pipe clogging, tank spills, and unequal water distribution are among the challenges being faced by the Waterworks Supply System in Bontoc, Philippines. EPANET software was used to resize the distribution pipes to maintain optimal water flow. To maximise the use of the available water supply, analytical models were developed to determine the maximum number of taps to be connected per source, the water service time variation at a certain discharge, and the specified water service hours per manifold for proportional water supply to every tap. The analysis showed that optimisation of a gravity-fed water supply can mitigate pipeline clogging, unequal water supply distribution, and spills on main tanks.

Keywords

• Water supply optimisation
• EPANET software
• mathematical model
• gravity-fed water supply
• equal distribution
• Optimisation de l’approvisionnement en eau ; Logiciel EPANET ; modèle mathématique ; approvisionnement en eau par gravité ; Répartition égale