Water Supply Optimization: An IPA Approach

In this paper we address the problem of deciding whether a water source should be used by a water utility such that the production cost as well as the penalty cost due to water shortages is minimized while certain constraints are satisfied. The problem is modeled using composition of multiple open hybrid automata while the decision logic depends on certain parameters that need to be optimized. Subsequently, infinitesimal perturbation analysis (IPA) is used to optimize these parameters. The proposed approach is non-parametric in the sense that it does not depend on any assumptions on the stochastic processes that drive the system dynamics and it can be used online to continuously adjust the control parameters even when the input processes are not stationary.