The Battle of the Water Sensor Networks (BWSN): A Design Challenge for Engineers and Algorithms

TLDR

After 9/11, awareness of terrorist threats to water supplies grew, highlighting the challenge of detecting deliberate chemical or biological contaminant injections and the potential of online monitoring systems, yet little is known about how algorithmic sensor placement compares to human design. The study summarizes the results of the BWSN competition and proposes future research directions for water sensor networks. The authors organized the BWSN competition during the 2006 Water Distribution Systems Analysis Symposium to compare sensor network design approaches. The BWSN competition revealed insights into sensor network design, informing future research and implementation strategies.

Abstract

Following the events of September 11, 2001, in the United States, world public awareness for possible terrorist attacks on water supply systems has increased dramatically. Among the different threats for a water distribution system, the most difficult to address is a deliberate chemical or biological contaminant injection, due to both the uncertainty of the type of injected contaminant and its consequences, and the uncertainty of the time and location of the injection. An online contaminant monitoring system is considered as a major opportunity to protect against the impacts of a deliberate contaminant intrusion. However, although optimization models and solution algorithms have been developed for locating sensors, little is known about how these design algorithms compare to the efforts of human designers, and thus, the advantages they propose for practical design of sensor networks. To explore these issues, the Battle of the Water Sensor Networks (BWSN) was undertaken as part of the 8th Annual Water Distribution Systems Analysis Symposium, Cincinnati, Ohio, August 27–29, 2006. This paper summarizes the outcome of the BWSN effort and suggests future directions for water sensor networks research and implementation.