Water distribution network optimization by non-technical workers the application of decision support systems to analyzing peace corps data case study of el Socorro, honduras

Project Background In 2008 Peace Corps volunteers enlisted UM- EWB to assist on the development of a water distribution system for the town of El Soccorro, Honduras Student teams traveled to El Socorro five times over the next two years Pipeline was constructed in spring 2010

Key Points Problems encountered in the El Socorro project were not unique ◦The Peace Corps does not have engineers filling engineering roles ◦Decision making is haphazard ◦Management of finite resources Solutions proposed in El Socorro can be applied in all communities where Peace Corps works ◦The Peace Corps uses standardized excel forms for data collection ◦A decision support system can optimize existing water and funding resources

Presentation overview Project introduction Study tools ◦IE Tools ◦Peace Corps Data Collection Tools ◦Community Interviews Decision Support System ◦Build of Model ◦Example Run General Recommendations Conclusion

Water is one of the most basic of all needs—we cannot live for more than a few days without it. And yet, most people take water for granted. We waste water and don’t realize that clean water is a very limited resource. More than 1 billion people around the world have no access to safe, clean drinking water —Robert alan. Project Introduction

Background: water needs worldwide  Rural communities in developing countries often find it difficult to provide safe water to its residents due to costs, technical expertise, and economies of scale.  These communities rely on international aid and volunteers to assist on the projects. These volunteers often rely on 'on-the-job ' training and tools to design systems for water distribution, and lack computer software to help run initial simulations and models.  The primary motivation behind these projects is to assist the communities by helping create necessary infrastructure to meet basic water needs.

Project Introduction The project seeks to provide the Peace Corps and other non-governmental organizations an assessment tool for use in region on water distribution projects This decision support system is designed to function with Peace Corps standard topographical data collection forms

Project challenges Expertise- volunteers are generalists Competing Interests- community desires, government desires Finite Resources – limited number of resources to distribute in decision making process Long Range Planning – short terms mean high turnover and lack of ‘big picture’ awareness Public/Private Relationships – relationship between decision makers are often in conflict Business Proficiency – no budgeting awareness

The goal is to transform data into information, and information into insight” —Carly fiorina Study Tools

Industrial Engineering Tools Risk Assessment Models: Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, health and safety risk assessment Statistical Quality Control: Xbar and R charts created Cost Analysis: Created a cost analysis of the cost required to implement telemedicine in various situations. Optimization models: Usage of population density, water source location, and budget Decision Support Systems: Programs were designed in VBA/Excel for managers to create Engineering Project Management: Project was organized and managed using software such as Microsoft Project, and Microsoft Visio.

Peace Corps Data collection Topographical surveys ◦GPS of each home ◦GPS of water sources Community maps Number of people/home ◦Future construction Water quality tests Water needs survey ◦Water usage/day

Community interviews conducted Water usage Water needs Health of population (by age group) Willingness to pay (Contingent Valuation Method) Current water access

Decision Support System

Model Definition  Integer programming optimization model  Designed to handle large-volume data imports (500+ data points)  Provide optimized water lines based on the cost per capita for construction  The user can specify budget  The user can obtain volume provided/house and volume/capita

Database Provides the data from which our solver will make a decision and allows user to access, manipulate, and query data Imported file supplied by the Peace Corps

Overview: Knowledge base  Our DSS model allows for storage of information in the model through generated reports  Seeks to advance the general knowledge base by providing a preliminary design suggestion for water distribution systems designed by non governmental organizations

Our DSS is made for ‘managers’ rather than ‘staff specialists’ Designed to be user-friendly for a computer users of all experience levels.

The solver Optimal water distribution lines based on construction cost and environmental factors Solver provides us with us: ◦ Binary table of which pipelines to implement ◦ Volume of water per house for each pipeline ◦ Extra cost associated with water per house Outline of how it works ◦ “The Main procedure is called from the Start button, which then initializes the problem input parameters …etc.”

Selecting The environmental factor: Flow rate  There is a UN standard that each person needs 13.7 gallons of water a day ( m³)  This constraint seeks to determine if the gallons/day requirement is satisfied, and if not, what the additional cost is  Volume provided per house/day (in gallons)= General Equation: (Cross Sectional Area)(3600)(hrs of operation)(Sqrt((head loss*2*gravity*(Pipe Diameter/Length))/(friction factor* m³)) Specific Equation: ( m^2)(3600)(8 hrs)(Sqrt ((110 m*2*9.81 m/s^2)(.1016 m/LENGTH))/ (.0119* m³))  Used in conjunction with cost data  Cost calculation General Equation: 10 USD* ((13.7 gallons*6 people per house* number of houses)- (number of houses*6 people per house*gallons provided))

Resolve Options User has the ability to ◦ Allows user to input other datasets ◦ Add or delete specific pipelines ◦ Turn on/off environmental indicators ◦ Change budget amount

Case study El Socorro, Honduras

Background: el Socorro, Honduras  Current situation (2009)  Approximately 1200 residents only receive water pumped to their home every 15 days  The water isn’t treated to potable standards  They currently supplement water consumption with purchases from the nearest town—spending approximately 50% of their income on water.  Goal: design a water distribution system that will maximize existing resources to provide the maximum number of people potable water

User Interface: Home

User interface: Load File Data

Database

Input form

The solver: cost and Environmental factors

El socorro water project outcomes Budget of $30, out of 217 homes served (86%) Water tariff of $2.50 US for monthly delivery

Future Development Change additional cost (current program demonstrates how this function will work) Include additional constraints ◦Select type of pipe ◦Select pipe diameter Provide a calculation for expected lifetime of a system

conclusions