Identifying Sampling Interval for Event Detection in Water Distribution Networks

It is a generally adopted policy, albeit unofficially, to sample flow and pressure data at a 15-min interval for water distribution system hydraulic measurements. Further, for flow, this is usually averaged, whereas pressure is instantaneous. This paper sets out the findings of studies into the potential benefits of a higher sampling rate and averaging for flow and pressure measurements in water distribution systems. A data set comprising sampling at 5 s (in the case of pressure), 1 min, 5 min, and 15 min, both instantaneous and averaged, for a set of flow and pressure sensors deployed within two DMAs has been used. Engineered events conducted by opening fire hydrants/wash outs were used to form a controlled baseline detection comparison with known event start times. A data analysis system using support vector regression (SVR) was used to analyze the flow and pressure time series data from the deployed sensors and hence, detect these abnormal events. Results are analyzed over different sensors and events....