In order to do any kind of hydraulic modeling, whether it is for water distribution, sewage or stormwater, it is necessary to determine the head loss over a range of flow rates. Much of the early days of hydraulic engineering were consumed with engineers trying to come up with the right equation to do these calculations.
Modeling pump status or speed or valve position is generally pretty straightforward in most automatically controlled systems.
Pressure and water quality could deteriorate in the customer’s plumbing system. The problem has become more acute with regard to the COVID-19 crisis in that many buildings such as schools, hotels and offices have been shut down for extended periods and need to be brought back online. But the quality of water in the pipes is poor. Modeling can help plan flushing the system.
Water utilities everywhere struggle to reduce real water loss using a variety of tools from acoustic leak detection, to water audits, to pressure anomaly detection, to ground penetrating radar, to pressure management. Each of these addresses a portion of the problem and there is no single perfect solution.