OPTIMAL ALLOCATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF WATER SUPPLY:

Abstract

Many of the Nigerian urban centres are facing erratic water supply due to reasons ranging from socio-economic to technical problems. Urban centres in Ondo and Ekiti States are also faced with these serious water supply problems. This research work carried out socio-economic appraisal the water supply situation of the study area and technical appraisal of the existing water schemes. Results of the appraisal were used to develop two models viz: Allocation of water to demand centres in the most economical way and transmission of water from one headwork to another in the most optimal way to ensure efficient use of the existing water schemes in the study area. To find the best radius or diameter, the construction cost plus the fluid friction loss were expressed in terms of the pipeline size and this function minimized by the procedures of differential calculus. To express the total cost as a function which can be differentiated, the overall size was characterized by one dimension such as radius. This dimension was treated as a variable for computation but as it varied, all other dimensions of the aqueduct cross-section varied accordingly. In this work, water was allocated optimally to consumers where demand is greater than the available supply using the equations that were developed. The rate at which water is supplied to the consumers which is the principal determinant of the cost of the system and the least cost of supply was achieved through optimization techniques. When tested with the local cost data, these equations enable prediction of system costs for variety of design conditions and construction materials. Thus the equations provide the basis for decisions on the basic design variables. The models were tested with data from some water supply schemes in Ondo State. Some specific facts which result from our analysis are presented. The results of this study will be useful to designers, researchers, policy makers and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that are involved in water supply activities