Pump scheduling and reservoir releases for the optimization of water supply system operating costs.

Abstract

The main goal of this project was to optimize pump scheduling and reservoir releases for the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton's (RMOC) water supply system. The first objective was to identify, through application of an optimization model (OM), the potential savings from improved pump scheduling for RMOC's water supply system. A computer model was designed to optimize electricity costs at RMOC's water purification plants (WPPs) using linear programming (LP) with a Borland's Quattro Pro spreadsheet and its built-in LP solver called Optimizer. The model has two levels of optimization: Level I, solving for pumping times and Level II, creating pump schedules. Model results were compiled for typical summer and winter days and monthly estimates were compared to the WPPs electricity bills. Although the model was not calibrated, energy costs were within 5% of the electricity bills. The second objective was to study the impact of different water management alternatives on energy costs. The alternatives considered were: (i) increasing operating volumes in the Billings Bridge and the Glen Cairn/Stittsville branches; (ii) increasing the treatment capacity at the Lemieux Island WPP; and (iii) considering a larger pipe size and additional smaller pumps in the Hurdman Bridge branch. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)