Effect of Water Distribution Network Pipes Size on Flow Rate of a House Connection and Its Hydraulic Analysis

Supply of water from the distribution pipeline to the house service connection varies street to street due to variation of water pressure. It is commonly noticed that houses located near to the service tank or pumping station get more supply than the houses located far away from the source or at dead-end users despite the house service connection pipe diameter is being the same. Supply at the outlet point of house connection directly depends on the pressure available at that point. In general water distribution analysis, the demand in the particular street will be divided into two quantities after clubbing the demand estimated in the street and assigned as a nodal demand. So, the demand is fixed and for which analysis will be carried out using hydraulic simulation. But, actual supply to the house is difficult to ascertain in this method. In the present study, how to determine the actual supply to the house service connection point through a hydraulic simulation is illustrated using a sample network. The study illustrates how simulation can be done without fixing nodal demand in the hydraulic simulation engine for house service connection having intermittent water by treating it as open orifice and water is being collected directly in the sump. The result of the study depicts that the diameter of water distribution lines and loss of pressure head poses unequal distribution of water to the consumer. Further, the study reveals that equity of supply can be ensured unless the flow at the house service level is controlled.