Technical note: Problem-specific variators in a genetic algorithm for the optimization of drinking water networks

Abstract. Genetic algorithms can be a powerful tool for the automated design of optimal drinking water distribution networks. Fast convergence of such algorithms is a crucial factor for successful practical implementation at the drinking water utility level. In this technical note, we therefore investigate the performance of a suite of genetic variators that was tailored to the optimization of a least-cost network design. Different combinations of the variators are tested in terms of convergence rate and the robustness of the results during optimization of the real-world drinking water distribution network of Sittard, the Netherlands. The variator configurations that reproducibly reach the furthest convergence after 105 function evaluations are reported. In the future these may aid in dealing with the computational challenges of optimizing real-world networks.