A multicriteria approach for a phased design of water distribution networks

Abstract

Water distribution networks are key infrastructure that provide essential water supply to communities. Planning water distribution networks involves many actors, including water companies, governments, environmentalists, consumers and financing institutions, and they tend to have conflicting perspectives. This work proposes a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) as a useful tool for providing decision support in such circumstances. A phased planning horizon scheme is proposed that identifies the design for the first time interval while considering possible future conditions that the network might have to cope with. The results identify the best ranked phased design solutions.