Illicit intrusion characterization in sewer systems

• Published in: Urban water journal Vol. 14; no. 4; pp. 416 - 426
• Main Authors: Banik, Bijit Kumar, Di Cristo, Cristiana, Leopardi, Angelo, de Marinis, Giovanni
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis 21.04.2017; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Computer simulation; Fluid flow; Hydraulics; Illicit; illicit intrusion; Intrusion; Methodology; optimization; Sewer systems; source identification; Stormwater; Uncertainty; uncertainty analysis
• ISSN: 1573-062X; 1744-9006
• DOI: 10.1080/1573062X.2016.1176220

A very important aspect in sewer systems management is represented by the detection of illicit intrusions, which recently supported the development of online sensors for wastewater quality monitoring. The present paper proposes a new methodology for characterizing an illicit intrusion in a sanitary or combined sewer system, using on-line pollutant concentration measurements. The source identification is formulated as an optimization problem, solved combining the hydraulic and quality simulation tool storm water management model (SWMM) with the GALib code. The methodology, which includes a pre-screening procedure useful for complex and large systems, is applied to a literature scheme and a real test-case, showing promising results. An uncertainty analysis is also performed for checking its robustness with respect to inflow uncertainty and in the presence of measurement errors.