Application of parallel computing in data mining for contaminant source identification in water distribution systems

Abstract

Contaminant source identification (CSI) procedures are drawing increasing attention due to the possibility of accidental and/or deliberate contaminant intrusion into water distribution systems. However, uncertainties that exist in the modeling have the potential to dramatically impact the capabilities of CSI procedures. Nodal demand uncertainties, as they influence false negative and false positive rates of contaminant detection, are examined. A procedure to quantify the false negative rate is provided, and the false positive issue is shown to be related to a parameter 'm'. Addressing the false positive and negative issues is demonstrated as feasible due to the use of parallel computing in a super-computer, which reduces the elapsed time for 150 scenario simulations from 37.5 hrs to only 15 min in the case study. By increasing the number of scenarios in the database for CSI through the use of a super-computer, the opportunity exists to decrease the false negative rate and reduce the number of false possible intrusion nodes. © 2013 Canadian Water Resources Association.