AWWA ACE94269

The realization of this distribution network pilot is the first phase of a 2-year research program carried out with financial support from the Seine-Normandy Water Authority. In view of the difficulties of implementing and interpreting experiments carried out on-site, this facility is an indispensable tool for studying the deterioration of water quality in the network. Qualitative management of distribution networks can only be carried out if the various phenomena involved are described, understood, and modeled. By means of total control of the quality of the inlet water and of operating conditions, and by its instrumentation, this pilot facility enables an in-depth study of each of the mechanisms involved in the deterioration of the water, and the weighting of the various parameters affecting these changes in order to enable their modeling. The various studies planned on this pilot facility cover the following: influence of initial quality entering the network; influence of hydraulic flow on quality in the network; influence of temperature on degradation mechanism; and fitting of models of chlorine decrease and bacterial growth in the network. The purpose of these studies is twofold: to define optimum characteristics for water at the plant outlet; and to develop tools for the simulation and monitoring of water quality in the distribution network.