Relating Water Quality and Age in Drinking Water Distribution Systems Using Self-Organising Maps

Understanding and managing water quality in drinking water distribution system is essential for public health and wellbeing, but is challenging due to the number and complexity of interacting physical, chemical and biological processes occurring within vast, deteriorating pipe networks. In this paper we explore the application of Self Organising Map techniques to derive such understanding from international data sets, demonstrating how multivariate, non-linear techniques can be used to identify relationships that are not discernible using univariate and/or linear analysis methods for drinking water quality. The paper reports on how various microbial parameters correlated with modelled water ages and were influenced by water temperatures in three drinking water distribution systems.