Graphs as Tools for Wastewater Network Representation: Benefits and Insights

Wastewater networks are inherently interconnected systems, yet the Shapefile model commonly used in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) fails to adequately represent their connectivity. This limitation arises from the non-topological nature of Shapefiles model, which store different components—such as manholes, pipes and pumps—in separate databases without preserving their real-world interconnections. Positional imprecision and the lack of explicit topological relationships further aggravate this issue, resulting in a representation that fails to reflect the interconnected nature of the objects. To address this problem, we propose a graph-based representation where network components are modeled as nodes and their connections as edges. This approach captures the true structure of wastewater networks while resolving disconnections and accounting for missing elements through the introduction of dummy nodes. Validation on real-world datasets demonstrates the efficacy of this method in delivering a cohesive and precise representation.