Optimization of pumping schedule based on water demand forecasting using a combined model of autoregressive integrated moving average and exponential smoothing

Stable water supply to end users is the most important element in water supply systems (WSSs). The portion of energy used by the water distribution system is up to 40% of the total energy consumed by WSSs. To save energy cost for pumping systems, a number of attempts have been made. Especially, an optimization scheme for scheduling the water-pumping operation has attracted the interest of water engineers. In this paper, a binary integer program was applied to optimize pumping schedule of a WSS in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka based on the hourly water demands for the next day. The water demands were forecasted by a combined model consisting of an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model and an error compensation routine based on exponential smoothing technique. The result showed that the optimization system could reduce the operation cost of the WSS by minimizing electricity for water pumping; electricity cost for pump operation could be reduced by 55%.