Adaptation d'une methode de sectorisation des reseaux de distribution d'eau potable et application aux reseaux de deux municipalites au Quebec

Quebec is the Canadian province with the highest water consumption (795 liters/person/day in 2006). This large water volume is partially due to the high percentage of water loss in the water distribution networks (WDNs) (26%). Network sectorisation (district metering) consists in partitioning a WDN into several district metering areas (DMAs), permanent or not, delimited by closed valves and by flow meters (entry points) at their boundaries. For each DMA, after minimum night flow analysis, a follow-up of the inflows can be made in order to distinguish leakage from normal consumption.;Some computerized approaches have recently been developed for WDN sectorisation while respecting a set of criteria. However, these studies have mostly concentrated on European WDNs. There are three fundamental differences between the North American WDNs and the European WDNs which make the direct application of the existing approaches a challenging task: (1) the topology of North American WDNs tends to be more looped than the European WDNs (generally more branched), (2) North American WDNs are designed to meet fire protection requirements and water consumption needs therefore they are composed of larger diameter pipes than the European WDNs which are designed to meet only the water consumers' needs (3) the creation of DMAs in European WDNs is generally determined during the design phase (unlike in Quebec's WDNs).;A heuristic approach developed by DiNardo and DiNatale (2011) was adapted to define DMA boundaries (delimitation of DMAs, identification of the boundary valves to be closed and of the entry points -- flow meters to be installed). The resulting approach, developed in association with Aqua Data inc., was applied to two WDNs located in the province of Quebec and having different topological (looped and branched) and topographic (district pressure) characteristics. The approach guides the user towards a solution among a set of solutions which are geographically and hydraulically similar, and takes into account fire protection requirements. Contrary to the existing works, the boundaries of the DMAs take into consideration the available and operable valves. This part of the present works is based on the use of an optimization algorithm.;The results obtained with the sectorisation approach developed by DiNardo and DiNatale (2011) and with the sectorisation approach developed in these works are compared for the two Quebec WDNs, using a set of hydraulic and topological indicators. This comparison demonstrates the relevance of applying the newly developed method into North American WDNs, to obtain hydraulically suitable solutions. The comparison of the performance indicators of the studied WDNs puts into perspective this new approach (advantages, limitations and purposes).