Towards More Efficient Hydraulic Modeling of Water Distribution Networks Using the EPANET Software Engine

Hydraulic modeling of water distribution networks (WDNs) is a vital step for all water-related professionals towards the development of management practices and strategies that aim for the reduction of water losses and the associated financial cost and environmental footprint. In the current work, we develop an easy-to-implement methodology for the effective modeling of WDNs, which seeks to minimize the computational load without undermining the analysis’s accuracy, using the open access EPANET (Environmental Protection Agency Network Evaluation Tool) software package. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is tested via a large-scale, real-world application for the city of Patras.