Decision-Support System Workbench for Sustainable Water Management Problems

Decision Support Systems (DSS) comprise a wide-range of computer-enabled applications that are based on some form of analytical model, commonly linked to a database. Coupled with the visualization and spatial analysis facilities provided by a Geographic Information System (GIS), a unifying framework can be developed to promote the uptake of advanced decision support technology across a wide range of stakeholders. This paper describes an architecture for a Decision Support Workbench to facilitate the rapid development of DSS applications. Custom DSS implementations supporting decision-making for a wide range of problems may be generated through an extensible, interactive environment, featuring “drag and drop” object-oriented components and dynamic connections between them. Also presented are a number of components for the workbench derived from existing tools for integrated modelling, spatial visualization and advanced decision support. The DSS Workbench prototype is demonstrated through an example development of a DSS for water distribution systems modelling and optimization. The developed DSS includes: (1) simulation modelling tools (e.g. EPANET), (2) optimization algorithms based on the Evolutionary Computing principles, (3) database tools for data storage and manipulation, and (4) spatial analysis tools based on GIS. The new DSS is tested on a case study of water distribution network design. Evolutionary Computing, which uses a computer model of the principles of Darwinian evolution to “evolve” good designs, is used here to design a pipe network. This is a highly complex problem for which classical solution techniques such as linear programming or gradient-based methods are often inappropriate or sometimes hopelessly inadequate. The solutions obtained demonstrate the feasibility of developing a DSS Workbench and its useful implementation for water distribution network modelling and optimisation.