DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTEGRATED DRINKING WATER MANAGEMENT MODEL: BUJUMBURA CITY, BURUNDI

Abstract

Water utilities encounter an enormous obstacle in ensuring the efficient and sustainable distribution of drinking water. That is the case in any growing city like the case of Bujumbura City in Burundi which has an old water system. This study examines the analysis and modeling of a drinking water distribution network, which is an old network to see how to tackle all the issues in order to enhance its performance, reliability, and sustainability. The study employs EPANET 2.2 to assess hydraulic parameters like pressure, flow rate, velocity, and head loss throughout the network of Bujumbura City. The methodology encompasses data acquisition through field surveys, GIS mapping, and network simulations across various demand scenarios. Identified key issues include pressure variations, leakage, and deficiencies in pipe sizing, which affect service delivery. The hydraulic modeling of the existing networks showed very bad hydraulic parameters, too many nodes are of negative pressure, so the network cannot function deserve the entire city in one time. To resolve such obstacles, optimization options like network resizing, the installation of pressure-reducing valves, and alternative network designs were examined, these solutions gave satisfaction with a good hydraulic parameter over the whole network. The findings indicate that effective hydraulic modeling can greatly improve system efficiency, reduce water losses, and ensure equitable water distribution. This study highlights the importance of incorporating modeling methods in water resource management to facilitate accurate choices and sustainable infrastructure planning