Feasibility of Satellite Water Tanks for Urban Areas in Developing Countries

An intermittent distribution system delivers water to the end users for limited hours on certain days. End users often rely on service pumps, private tanks and on-site filters to cope with the unreliable low quality water supply. These coping mechanisms lead to uneven distribution of the already scarce water. Strategic deployment of satellite water tanks can provide a potential solution to mitigate the effects of an intermittent water supply and the concomitant coping burden. This study investigates the technical and economic feasibility of using satellite water tanks to provide a continuous reliable supply of water to a community that currently receives intermittent service. The study site is a residential neighborhood of 25 households in Kathmandu, Nepal. The intermittent water supply is simulated using the USEPA Storm Water Management Model (SWMM). The existing intermittent system is converted to a continuous system by increasing the inflow by 50% and by adding a satellite tank of 72,000 liters capacity in the distribution system. The proposed system is simulated using EPANET. Leakage is considered in both cases using the orifice function in SWMM and the emitter function in EPANET. Free residual chlorine is used as a surrogate for water quality and chlorine boosters are added to improve water quality in the proposed distribution system. Simulation results indicate that strategic deployment and operation of satellite storage tanks can improve the quality and reduce the cost of supplying water to the community. Economic analysis reveals that, in most cases, the benefits of installing satellite tanks outweigh the cost and depend on a tradeoff between increased leakage losses versus reduced healthcare expenses.

Name thesis:degree_name

MS

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Engineering and Applied Science: Environmental Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Cincinnati

Year dc:date

2012

Author dc:creator

• Shrestha, Manish M.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Buchberger, Steven

• Environmental Engineering
• intermittent water distribution
• satellite water tank
• leakage
• water quality
• economic analysis

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1353342510

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:ucin1353342510