Download or read book Simulation of Post-earthquake Water Supply Restoration written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this thesis is to calibrate and apply a discrete event simulation model of post-earthquake restoration for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) water supply system. Based on extensive collaboration with LADWP engineers and managers, the model mimics the real-life restoration process in detail, simulating the movement of different types of crews as they inspect, reroute around, isolate, and repair system damage. The model is run using historic damage and system data from the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Results for the calibration simulations suggest the model is capable of accurately estimating the time and spatial sequence of the restoration. The model is applied to estimate durations of post-earthquake water supply outages in Los Angeles for five possible earthquakes. The analysis suggests that earthquakes on different faults can cause significant variability in damage as well as the duration of the loss of service. Finally, the model is used to evaluate the effectiveness of key post-earthquake water supply restoration strategies that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) plans to use following a major earthquake. The strategies are: (1) maximizing the groundwater pumped into the system, (2) reconnecting some reservoirs that have been removed from the system due to water quality concerns, (3) rationing water use, and (4) all three. For each of five realistic earthquake scenarios the restoration with and without implementation of the key restoration strategies are compared. The results suggest that opening the reservoirs and rationing are effective post-earthquake restoration strategies that would help to minimize the water outages.