Conference Agenda

In the water sector, the issue of polluting source identification has primarily been investigated concerning pressurised water distribution networks for their direct impact on public health. Although the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC and equivalent legislation in numerous countries introduce the principle of polluter pays, water managers must detect the most significant pollutant discharges in sewers. Previous studies have demonstrated that a probabilistic approach to positioning water quality sensors in urban drainage networks exhibits a progressive increase in identification probability obtained through the Bayesian approach. Usually, such studies neglect sensing accuracy, which can be a relevant factor that impedes the detectability of a contamination event or a polluting source. Building upon existing literature, the present study aims to enhance the state-of-the-art source tracking approach by incorporating additional information about sensor accuracy. The strategy was developed to consider the use of fixed and Lagrangian sensors. The methodology is applied to a real-world test case represented by the sub-catchment of the sewer system in Palermo, Italy.