Water Supply Network Renewal Strategic Planning Utilizing the VIKOR Method

Abstract

Water networks are critical infrastructure components, ensuring the continuous supply of high-quality drinking water to consumers. To secure such water supply, regular maintenance, including the replacement of deteriorating pipelines, is essential. In this study, a methodology has been developed for determining optimal pipeline replacement solutions in water supply systems at water utilities with limited data availability. Hydraulic analysis has been conducted on the segment of 25 km of the water supply network using the free software EPANET. Applying water network optimization, eight pipeline replacement projects according to 13 pre-defined criteria have been identified and evaluated. The paper outlines the methods for evaluating the criteria, including defining specific quantitative limits. The Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) method was used in the paper to determine the weights of the criteria. The reason for applying this method refers to problems that involve a set of criteria with a mixed structure, including both quantitative and qualitative aspects. Also, the paper describes the steps of the multi-criteria optimization method VIKOR, used to select the optimal project. This paper, considered as case studie, describes a method, i.e. application of a new principles and an innovative way to solve a problem for developing countries.

Development of a Cross-Asset Model for the Maintenance of Road and Water Pipe Assets using AHP Method

“…In addition, an urgency level rating was used in this study to prioritize the rehabilitation of the selected pipe network. Orasanin et al [31] determined the weights of the criteria for renewal of water supply networks using AHP. Altogether, 13 criteria were compared in this study, and the results revealed that water quality, investment value, frequency of failures, and pipe flow velocity possessed higher weights compared to other criteria such as pipe age, length, diameter, number of connections, soil condition, population density, pipe pressure, and hydraulic condition of the pipe.…”

“…Researchers [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] have used AHP for multi-criteria decision-making related to various aspects of road asset maintenance, including prioritizing maintenance options, identifying high-priority regions, identifying critical road asset elements, and comparing maintenance options. Similarly, AHP has been used to make maintenance-related decisions about water pipe assets, including identification of failure modes, prioritizing high-risk network segments, and identifying critical criteria for rehabilitation and high performance in the network [31][32][33][34][35].…”