Pressure performance assessment of juja water distribution network using EPANET model

Abstract

The current study was carried out to analyse the pressure performance within the existing Juja water distribution network. The study used EPANET as a simulation tool, and the nodal demand was calibrated using an inversion approach. The nodal demand was first calculated using population projection and secondly adjusted to feet field pressure collected with gauges at some point in the network. The analysis was run for an extended period using demand pattern multiplier collected from the water company in charge of the network. The analysis shows that the network is not able to meet the required pressure at the maximum hour of consumption. This results by slight pressure precisely around Gate C (Joyland and Greenfield); however, the pressure seems to be reasonable at the regular hour of consumption. In addition, the network during the night faces high pressure because of the decrease in consumption. This may explain the frequency of leakages occurs mostly during the night in the Juja distribution system. The study recommended the capacity building of the network, which will provide better services to Juja consumers.