Enhancing Sustainable Urban Management: A Proposal for Point Sustainability Index to Optimize Water Distribution Network Performance

Refurbishing water distribution networks necessitates simulating the impact of implementation options to enhance sustainability. The study introduces a novel point evaluation index to assess changes’ effects on consumption points based on sustainability components. The results showed that in the state of maximum consumption, the point stability distribution had lower values than in other consumption states, so that the trend of changes in the total stability index of the network decreased from 0.66 to 0.41 with pressure reduction. In the same situation and at the same time, the average point index of the network had decreased from 0.8 to 0.27. Therefore, the comparison of the total and point stability indicators of the network showed that the amount and distribution of the stability index of the network points have decreased more with the increase in consumption (pressure reduction) compared to the total stability index under the same conditions. The research revealed that enhancing point index sustainability positively influences the network’s overall sustainability. Notably, the point sustainability index, particularly in the maximum consumption mode, is recommended for local network improvement plans. Therefore, it can be recommended that in network reform and reconstruction programs, evaluation and promotion of point stability will provide more favorable operational results. In order to continue and further clarify the results of this research, it is suggested to evaluate the general and point stability indexes corresponding to the water pressure decimal intervals that form the basis for dividing the acceptable limits of the pressure conditions in the network.