Water Distribution Network Design for SRM University using EPANET

The main objective was to study and design the water distribution system requirements using EPANET, so that water is supplied equitably to the consumers with sufficient pressure head at the desired locations in SRM University. The materials used for this study include SRM campus plan, water distribution parameters such as block wise population, and water demand, distribution network parameters such as elevations, pipe length and EPANET software. The water demand was obtained after considering the population of each block. The nodal elevations were measured using Height and Instrument method of levelling. Digitization of streets and buildings in SRM campus was done in Google Earth and it was further used as backdrop in EPANET to carry out the hydraulic simulation. The water distribution network of SRM campus consists of 29 pipes of uniform material, 32 junctions, 5 pumps and a source reservoir from which water is pumped and later distributed to the entire network. The pipes used in the network system are of uniform diameter of 250 mm. The cast iron pipes having roughness coefficient of 85 are used throughout the network system. The total length of the pipes in the network is 2422 m. The water demand during the peak hour is around 310 m 3 /hr, while the demand during the non- peak hour is around 83 m 3 /hr. Thus the overall water demand for a day is about 3354 m 3 , although the supplied quantity of water is about 4950 m 3 . Hence there is no overall shortage of water throughout the day. Moreover the excess water generated during the non- peak hours can be stored in the sump and later used during peak hours.  The demand during the peak hours is 3.75 times the demand during the non- peak hours. There is also a decrease in pressure head occurring at the peak hour as compared to the non- peak hours with an overall reduction of 26% throughout the nodes. The main problem encountered in this water distribution network is the presence of dead ends which in turn leads to stagnation of water in pipes and thereby reducing the pressure and velocity at these ends. Although this constraint can be removed by looping the pipes in the network, the site conditions are not conducive for looping, as the area near the dead ends when looped goes out of the campus limits.