Flowmeter data validation and reconstruction methodology to provide the annual efficiency of a water transport network: the ATLL case study in Catalonia

Abstract. The object of this paper is to provide a flowmeter data validation/reconstruction methodology that determines the annual economic and hydraulic efficiency of a water transport network. In this paper, the case of Aigües Ter Llobregat (ATLL) company, that is in charge of managing the 80% of the overall water transport network in Catalonia (Spain), will be used for illustrating purposes. The economic/hydraulic network efficiency is based on the daily data set collected by the company using about 200 flowmeters of the network. The data collected using these sensors are used by the remote control and information storage systems and they are stored in a relational database. All the information provided by ATLL is analyzed to detect inconsistent data using an automatic data validation method deployed in parallel with the evaluation of the network efficiency. As a result of the validation process, corrections of flow measurements and of the volume of billed water are introduced. The results of the ATLL water transport network obtained during year 2010 will be used to illustrate the approach proposed in this paper.