Network Analysis Tool developed for water company wide data analysis

The Challenge

The client sought to build a network analysis tool that utilised the Company’s corporate data and hydraulic models to provide a companywide analysis of network risk and resilience.

Network Analysis was developed to manage the entire water Company’s data sets in one place. In doing so a better understanding of operational risk can be achieved across a water network using Company performance, hydraulic and asset data. The data needs to be regularly updated to ensure the performance and risk picture is current.

The Solution

The Network Analysis tool developed by the WRc team enables multiple sources of Company corporate data to be viewed and cleansed within the client's GIS software. Consistent data analysis and professional engineering judgement was fundamental to the success of the services provided. The team provided not only clear and accessible data analysis, but an accompanying detailed methodology that would provide the framework for successful future database maintenance.

Outputs were developed in order to improve network knowledge, resilience and process efficiency, including:

• Assessment of supply resilience and immediate and secondary impacts on the operational region from source to tap.
• Mains renewal delivery for AMP 5.
• Delivery of a comparison report to guide easy targeting of model investment.
• Investigation of ways that Network Analysis can assist in delivering water quality improvements and investment guidance.
• Engagement to deliver a trunk mains conditioning project.
• Golden Hour incident management support tools.
• Prediction of, and adoption of defined, predicting property impacts following interruptions and the mitigation (rezone) options available to network operators.
• Identification of individual customer pressure ranges.
• Leakage and burst reduction analysis - establishing every customer’s hydraulic source and proximity to frequent areas of leakage.
• Proposed optimum targets of network operation.
• Burst location analysis and prediction using Water and Network Distribution Analytics (WANDA) software functionality.

The Network Analysis platform grew as the project developed, but this facilitated a customer focused approach to network analysis that provided the client with the knowledge to make informed decisions about the water network. The platform, whilst being initially developed for the modelling team, has become beneficial to several areas within the business, including but not limited to: modelling and 'live modelling', pipe renewal, incident management, and network resilience strategy.