The Reliability of Rural Water Distribution Systems in Relation to the Layout of the Pipework within the Network

In this paper, the K readiness index was adopted in order to evaluate the reliability of the rural water distribution system; complete systems were assessed using the partial survey method. Hydraulic calculations were performed, followed by reliability evaluation with our own NSW programme. In addition, the lengths of the ring and branched sections of the analysed water distribution systems were calculated and 256 computational variants were obtained. Taking into account the values of the K readiness index and the cable lengths, the influence of the pipework system on the level of reliability of a water distribution system with a pumping-hydrophore structure was determined. In the case of a branched system, a moderately strong negative correlation was identified between reliability and the length of pipework.