**1. Introduction**

A well-designed, efficiently-performing WDS is a prerequisite for both urban and rural civilizations. Various software packages are available for modelling a WDS. The public domain software that is available free of charge include EPANET, Pipes and Loops, Branch, etc., and the paid ones available includes WaterCAD, Watergems, Synergy Water, etc. [1]. The paid versions are found to be more efficient in reference to functionality and compatibility with different computational systems, a graphical user interface, and searching and optimizing algorithms [2]. However, EPANET is freely available software that offers a fair degree of accuracy and ease of use when cost is a constraint [3]. EPANET 2.0 was used by various researchers to design the WDS for different areas [4,5]. The design includes the layout of the WDS, modelling the pressure head at nodes, and the velocity of flow in the links. However, no consideration was given to maximisation of the efficiency of performance or minimisation of the capital cost of the network.

The design of a WDS by EPANET must be such that it serves as an "optimal" solution, which can be obtained by setting out objective functions of maximum efficiency of performance and minimum capital cost of the network [6,7]. The decision variables and the

**Citation:** Ajaz, M.; Ahmad, D. Application of EPANET 2.2 Software and Jal-Tantra Web System for Optimal Hydraulic Design of Water Distribution System for University of Kashmir. *Environ. Sci. Proc.* **2023**, *25*, 83. https://doi.org/10.3390/ ECWS-7-14234

Academic Editor: Lampros Vasiliades

Published: 16 March 2023

**Copyright:** © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

constraints for the optimality of the network design have to be decided after conducting a study of the factors affecting the optimality of the design and consulting various codes and manuals laying down the standard range of values for those parameters [8,9]. The decision variables for optimal hydraulic design include the pressure head at nodes, the velocity of flow in the links, and the staging height of the storage tank. The check for cost optimality of the network formulated by EPANET can be conducted using the Jal-Tantra web system [10,11]. The optimality of the network can be further checked by carrying out a performance analysis using various indices [12–14].

The objective of this current study is to provide an optimally designed WDS for the University of Kashmir using EPANET 2.0 software and the Jal-Tantra web system. The existing distribution system has already served for more than 60 years and is unable to meet the requirements of the growing population of the campus. Moreover, the worn-out links and other components of the network lead to increased pipe and joint losses, reducing the efficiency of the existing distribution system. Therefore, there is an immediate need to redesign the water distribution network such that the design is an optimal solution meeting the objective functions of maximum efficiency of performance and minimum capital cost of the network, rather than just a simulation of the pressure head and velocity of flow.
