Investigation of pressure transients induced on a real water service line by user’s activity

Recent studies point out that water distribution networks can be affected by long- and short-term pressure oscillations due to the users' activity. However, these transients, generated at the household level, before reaching the water distribution network pass through, and thus affect, the water service line and can contribute to its deterioration. Despite the role of user-induced transients in stressing service lines, few studies in the literature explored the topic, exclusively by means of laboratory tests. The current study is aimed at exploring the effects of user's activity on a real service line starting from the field monitoring of pressure data at 500-Hz temporal resolution. Pressure signals are collected both when activating single water devices of the user supplied by the service line and during the ordinary use of domestic devices. The analyses of the acquired data highlight that the domestic service line is subjected to significant pressure variations (which can reach extreme values of −15 and +65 m) based on the device type and distance between the device and the service line and that the use of these devices can continuously stress the water service line.