Development of seismic vulnerability index for water distribution network (SVI-WDN) in the province of Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia: A conceptual framework

The Special Region of Yogyakarta is one of the areas impacted by the 2006 earthquake which damaged vital infrastructures, including water distribution networks (WDN). The vulnerability of these networks increases because the design process does not consider the mitigation strategy of natural disasters. This region does not have any tools to estimate the infrastructure vulnerability for underground lifeline facilities, including WDN. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a framework to generate a Seismic Vulnerability Index for Water Distribution Network (SVI-WDN) for the Special Region of Yogyakarta which has been known to be exposed to many earthquake incidences. The framework presents a process to develop a SVI-WDN which consist of three steps. First step, to obtain the criteria, sub-criteria, their value range and the corresponding score for each value. Second step, to normalize the sub-criteria score. The third step, to obtain the criteria and sub-criteria weight by using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Lastly, the calculation of a vulnerability index for water distribution. Additional steps for visualizing the index are by generating a geographical information system map representing index value. Thus, this study presents a reproducible framework that can assist water authorities to prioritize the water distribution pipe segment which requires more intensive handling and maintenance.