Contamination Event Detection in Water Distribution Systems

Abstract: In any society, making sure that its citizens havea clean water supply is a fundamental issue. By modernizingthe way water distribution systems (WDSs) are monitored andcontrolled, the impact of contamination can be maintained andminimized. By using sensors that monitor relevant physicalparameters, a system that detects contamination and limitspopulation exposure can be designed. To achieve this, the workpresented in this report is focused on three main topics.Firstly, parameters for determining water quality are examined.This is the basis for choosing relevant sensors. Secondly,a study of contamination event detection (CED) is presented, inparticular a method to determine whether water is contaminatedor not based on sensor measurements is proposed. This iscompleted through the use of binary hypothesis testing as wellas examining existing sensors. Thirdly, the problem of optimalsensor placement in a WDS is studied. In extension, a greedyalgorithm is implemented to optimally place sensors in a modelof real-world network.