Volume 18 Issue 3
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Rair Solis Jacome, Thomaz Anchieta, Bruno M. Brentan, Manuel Herrera, Xitlali Delgado Galvan, Jose Antonio Arciniega Nevarez, Jesus Mora Rodriguez. 2025: Core-periphery structure for district metered area partitioning in urban water distribution systems. Water Science and Engineering, 18(3): 262-273. doi: 10.1016/j.wse.2025.04.006
Citation: Rair Solis Jacome, Thomaz Anchieta, Bruno M. Brentan, Manuel Herrera, Xitlali Delgado Galvan, Jose Antonio Arciniega Nevarez, Jesus Mora Rodriguez. 2025: Core-periphery structure for district metered area partitioning in urban water distribution systems. Water Science and Engineering, 18(3): 262-273. doi: 10.1016/j.wse.2025.04.006
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Core-periphery structure for district metered area partitioning in urban water distribution systems

doi: 10.1016/j.wse.2025.04.006

  • a. Engineering Division, University of Guanajuato, Guanajuato 36000, Mexico;

  • b. School of Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Brazil;

  • c. School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, United Kingdom

  • Received Date: 2024-12-18
  • Accepted Date: 2025-04-02
    • Available Online: 2025-10-15
    Abstract
  • As urban areas expand and water demand intensifies, the need for efficient and reliable water distribution systems becomes increasingly critical. A widely used infrastructure management approach involves partitioning water distribution networks (WDNs) into district metered areas (DMAs). However, suboptimal designs of DMA partitioning can lead to inefficiencies and increased costs. This study presents a core-periphery-informed approach for DMA design that explicitly utilises the natural division between a densely connected core and a sparsely connected periphery. Incorporating this structural framework enhances network resilience, improves water pressure stability, and optimises boundary device placement. The proposed core-periphery-informed DMA design integrates hydraulic and topological analyses to identify central and peripheral network areas, applies a community structure detection algorithm conditioned by these areas, and uses an optimisation model to determine the optimal placement of boundary devices, enhancing network resilience and reducing costs. When applied to the Modena WDN in Italy, this approach demonstrates improved pressure stability and significant cost reductions compared to traditional methods. Overall, the findings highlight the practical benefits of the core-periphery-based DMA design, offering a scalable and data-driven solution for urban water distribution systems.

     

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