Evaluación del sistema de distribución de agua potable de la parroquia Sinincay del cantón Cuenca incorporando modelización hidráulica unidimensional como herramienta de soporte a la toma de decisiones en la reingeniería del proyecto

Abstract

In this study, hydraulic modeling of flow processes was added to the conventional procedures for evaluating drinking water distribution systems. Numerical models support the analysis of various scenarios, an aspect that indisputably contributes to decision-making, basing choices not only on technical criteria but also on valuable information and precise data. In this sense, the EPANET computational software developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency -EPA), was used, through which it is possible to evaluate the hydraulic performance of a network. It started by establishing a database, through a comprehensive survey of key information that has characterized the current state of the system and its components. Once the information was organized, the current hydraulic performance was evaluated to identify functionality and service deficiencies, from which the subsystem with the greatest problem was redesigned, incorporating alternatives and technical solutions for improvement. Both the current state of the system, as well as the redesign and flow scenarios, were modeled in EPANET, a process that allowed validating the main flow parameters (velocities, flows, and pressures) in the most unfavorable scenarios.