US-Brazil Cooperative Research: Modeling and Optimization of Large-Scale Water Distribution Systems

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In this U.S.-Brazil cooperative research award, William W-G. Yeh of the University of California, Los Angeles will develop a practical optimization model to assist operators to manage and operate a large-scale regional water distribution system. Together with his Brazilian collaborator, Dr. Paulo S. Barbosa of the State University of Campinas, UNICAMP, Yeh will study the Sao Paulo Metropolitan Water Distribution System, currently managed by the Sao Paulo government agency SABESP. SABESP is one of the largest water systems in the world, delivering water from eight major reservoir systems to 17 million people in the metropolitan area of Sao Paulo. Large water supply systems are prone to major failures (analagous to that recently experienced by the electric grid in the Northeastern U.S.), and the proposed work would make a valuable contribution to system design to prevent this eventuality. This Brazilian water system offers a unique site that would be difficult to duplicate in the U.S. for developing and testing alternatives. The project will result in state-of-the-art modeling of such systems, advancing knowledge in both countries.