Integrating Performance Indicators and Simulation Model for Assessing Operational Performance of Water Distribution Pipe System (WDPS) in Irrigation District

Water distribution pipe systems (WDPSs) are critical for delivering irrigation water in an irrigation district. Ensuring the WDPS operates with good operational performance has become a key focus for irrigation water management. Assessing the operational performance of WDPS from both water delivery capacity and pressure changes is compatible with the system, but such an approach has rare been proposed systematically. This paper establishes an integrated framework to assess the performance of WDPS by combining a performance indicator system with a simulation model. The performance indicator system encompasses Adequacy, Efficiency, Equity, and Pressure Reliability, capturing both water delivery capacity and pressure changes. The simulation model is established for providing required data for calculating the performance indicators. Applied to a case study, the framework demonstrates its applicability. Under the specified conditions of the case study, the overall assessment results of WDPS are Adequacy (0.99), Efficiency (0.993), Equity (0.0484), and Pressure Reliability (0.82). Meanwhile, the assessment results at different outlet nodes of the WDPS indicate that there may be insufficient pressure and excessive water supply at some outlet nodes of the WDPS. Further interpretation of the results indicates that the proposed method has the potential to be beneficial for irrigation water management, as it enables strategic assessment of the future operational performance of water distribution pipe systems (WDPSs) and provides effective management guidance for irrigation district managers.