Modeling of distribution network filling process during intermittent supply

The paper presents the modeling results of the filling process of a water distribution network subjected to intermittent supply. The local tanks built by users for reducing their vulnerability to intermittent supply increase user water demand at the beginning of the service period and the time required for completely fill the network. Such a delicate process is responsible of the inequalities taking part among users. Users located in advantaged positions can receive water resources soon after the beginning of the service period while disadvantaged users have to wait until the network is full. Such an highly dynamic process requires ad-hoc models to be developed in order to obtain reliable results. The paper reports a numerical model able to evaluate this complex process and its application to a real Italian case study. The model provided good agreement with calibration data and allowed for an interesting insight in network filling process