When an accurate hydraulic network model is available, direct modeling techniques are very straightforward and reliable for on-line leakage detection and localization applied to large class of water distribution networks. Nonetheless, the assumption of single-leak scenarios is usually considered and may not hold in real applications. This paper presents a leakage detection and localization method suitable for multiple-leak scenarios in a large class of water distribution networks. This method can be seen as an upgrade of a direct-modeling approach in which a global search method based on Genetic Algorithms (GAs) has been integrated in order to estimate the water loss hotspots and their size. This is an inverse / direct modelling method which seeks to take benefit from both approaches: the exploration capability of GAs and the straightforwardness and reliability offered by the availability of an accurate hydraulic model. The application of the resulting method in a district metered area of the Barcelona water distribution network is provided and discussed.

Peer Reviewed