Overview
Around the world, it is becoming more and more challenging to provide water at the required quantity and quality, while maintaining equitable costs. On the one hand, demand rises as the population grows, while on the other, most distribution networks operate poorly due to their aging physical infrastructure with significant leakage rate, manual operation, and limited or no real-time information.
As part of IBM's vision for a smarter planet, the business optimization group is developing real-time and off-line optimization algorithms that make the water distribution supply chain more sustainable. Our work is intended to proactively enhance and optimize the performance of the water distribution network by aggregating data coming from different sources, studying the current state of the system, and predicting future needs and events.
Such optimizations are made possible by using advanced mathematical algorithms that can explicitly take into account the complex objectives and constraints of water distribution systems, including the hydraulic aspects, and intelligently consider possible alternatives. Ultimately, the optimizations can present solutions that far surpass the capabilities of unaided human decision makers.
Specific examples of our work include:
- Leakage reduction using dynamic pressure control and optimal valve placement for pressure reduction
- Non-revenue water reduction using analytics and optimization, through automatic meters and SCADA sensors
- Preventive and optimized condition-based maintenance
- Efficient energy management
More information on IBM's smarter planet initiative is available here.