| Water tanks are essential components of water distribution systems. The design of tanks for water distribution systems is more complex than it looks due to the influence of several parameters: the hydraulic performance, the costs of the installations, the energy consumption, the water quality and the potential locations on the existing network. The result must take into account all those parameters to produce an efficient and reliable solution.;Nowadays in Quebec, the design approach of water tanks is based on policies from cities, insurance companies and the environment ministry which give the main rules to fulfill. The general tendency in this approach tends to implement large water tanks which are supposed hydraulically safe for water distribution systems. Those large tanks can however be a source of trouble regarding the quality of the water provided to the citizens (long hydraulic residence time in the tank).;The research project aims to define a new design methodology based on an optimization model of the dimensions, the supply operations and the localization of the tanks. This methodology takes into account hydraulic and water quality aspects.;The application of the optimization model leads to the realization of a computing algorithm. This algorithm is developed to run in parallel with the EPANET hydraulic modeling software and allows generating a number of solutions for the set up of ground or elevated tanks. The analysis and sorting of the solutions following important criteria for water distribution systems managers (inverse-flow in pipes, quality of the water supply, pressure constraints, etc.) gives an "optimal" solution from the batch of solutions.;This methodology is applied to two real case study to validate the developed algorithm. This project studies the reliability of the water distribution systems where tanks have be optimized: improvement in terms of construction costs have obtained whereas the water quality is improved. |
