A Supply Point node represents a location in the river where water can be extracted to meet demands. You can specify whether water is to be taken from regulated water, unregulated water, or groundwater sources. The User Interfaces of the Supply Point node for Rules Based Ordering (Figure 1) and the NetLP ordering algorithm (Figure 2) are slightly different. The difference is in the Setup section.

Figure 1. Supply Point node for Rules Based Ordering

Figure 2. Supply Point node for NetLP ordering algorithm

Note: Only one of the effluents from a supply point node must connect to a water user node.

Supply point configuration

Extract Water

Enabling the Extract water checkbox will ensure that the supply point extracts water. If disabled, water will not be given to the water user, and it will be passed downstream. This is the only difference between enabling and disabling the checkbox. Disable the Extract Water checkbox for demand models which require a flow at the supply point, but require the flow to remain in-stream, ie., the order will not actually be extracted. This could be used for shepherding environmental releases, for example.

Note: The supply point will only have an affect on the minimum constraint if extract water is enabled.

Groundwater

The Groundwater checkbox signifies the supply point as a groundwater pump. It will be used only when there is demand and there is no available regulated, supplementary water, or water from on farm storage to satisfy demand. You must set the maximum extraction rate (ML/day) for groundwater sources. When Groundwater is enabled, the supply point node icon changes to indicate groundwater extraction (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Supply point node, groundwater extraction

Allow Orders

Enabling the Allow Orders checkbox essentially means that the supply of water to the water user is regulated. This will affect water distribution if account sharing has been set up in the Water user node. Refer to Account sharing (full Source version only);

Add Orders to Downstream Orders (for Rules Based Ordering only)

This option only applies to non-extractive supply points and is available when Extract Water is unchecked and Allow Orders is checked. (The supply point behaviour becomes similar to a minimum flow node). When the supply point extracts water, this checkbox is forced on as the water ordered does not make it downstream. In some circumstances, such as when tracking water entitlements, you may wish only to have the order required to make up the total on top of downstream orders to be attributed to the supply point, not the entire amount flowing past, as the downstream water users will already have those orders attributed to them. If the water user requires water, the water user requirement is added to the downstream orders. For example, Downstream of the supply point there is currently a 21ML order; the water user requires 33ML; the supply point will order 33ML, and the total ordered volume upstream will be 54ML. When this option is unchecked, it will only order the difference between the downstream order and water user requirement, and the order from the supply point will be 12ML (e.g., 33-21), and the total ordered volume upstream will be 33ML.

Use Min Constraint Flow To Satisfy Orders (for Rules Based Ordering only)

This option is only available when Extract Water is unchecked, Allow Orders is checked and Add Order to Downstream Orders is checked. It allows to use the difference between Min Constraint Flow and Downstream Orders to satisfy the orders for this supply point.

When this option is checked the minimum constraint flow is considered to be available and the supply point will only order the difference, which is the surplus water of the minimum constraint flow over the downstream order. e.g., Downstream of the supply point there is currently a 21ML order; the water user requires 33ML. The current minimum flow constraint at the supply point is 10ML. The surplus water is 0. The supply point will order 33ML, and the total ordered volume will be 54ML. When this option is unchecked the minimum constraint flow is considered unavailable and will order the full amount. E.g., Downstream of the supply point there is a 21ML order; the water user requires 33ML; the minimum constraint flow is 37ML; the supply point will order 49ML ( 33 ML with a difference of 16 ML: 37-21); and the total ordered volume will be 70ML ( 21+49).

NetLP 2 phase solution: Add orders in 2nd phase (for NelLP only)

See the NetLP section for details.

Note: Order recorders show the date the water is expected to arrive, while the Min Constraint recorder shows what the Constraint is at Min Travel Time. Thus the two values are offset by Min Travel time.

Over Order Factor

Specifying an Over Order Factor will allow you to choose a percentage factor representing additional water released to meet a particular order, eg a factor of 1.2 or 120% means that the demand is scaled up by 20% in the ordering phase. The additional water is sourced from the upstream storage

Units: Percentage or proportion

Allowable range: Positive integer (%) greater than or equal to 100. Values of less than 100 (%) or 1 (proportion) are changed back to 100% or 1.

Default value: 100%

Full version only

Note: Accounts are not debited for the additional water ordered as a result of the over order factor.

During the flow phase, the extraction actually available to the water user is the minimum of i) the original order (not including the over order factor), or ii) the physical extraction capacity, or iii) any river flow constraints.

The over order factor does not necessarily need to incorporate all estimated delivery losses in the system. If there are upstream nodes or links which simulate losses in the system between the storage and the supply point, Source automatically increases the order to account for estimates of those losses. Refer to the individual node descriptions in the Source Scientific Reference Guide for methods used to estimate losses.

The over order factor is used to add further contingency to a storage release. It should therefore only be calibrated after the physical characteristics of the system have been completely configured. It is up to you to select (or calibrate) an over order factor which is realistic for the system (to ensure that unnecessary water is not released from the storage).

Maximum Extraction Rate

The maximum extraction rate is the highest possible pumping rate for in bank flows. It can be specified using a value, data source, function or rate table. Optionally you can add an additional pump capacity for overbank flows by specifying an Overbank Threshold and Overbank Pump Capacity.

If you are extracting surface water, specifying a maximum extraction rate is optional, as the extraction will be limited by other factors such as orders and flow in the river. If groundwater extraction is selected, a maximum extraction rate must be provided otherwise unlimited amounts of water will be available.

The absence of a limit on supply point pumping capacity can lead to a situation where the Maximum Extraction Rate result cannot be displayed because it will contain infinite values resulting in an empty graph

Note that for regulated supply points (Allow Orders enabled) the value is applied in the order phase. For unregulated supply points ((Allow Orders disabled) it is applied in the flow phase.

Overbank Threshold

The overbank threshold should be configured if you want to simulate floodplain harvesting by the water user. Overbank flow occurs if the flow rate in the river rises above the specified overbank threshold. Any overbank water can be used to meet the demand model or water user storage requirements without incurring a debit on the water user’s accounts.

Overbank Pump Capacity

The overbank pump capacity is the additional pump capacity that can be used to pump flows in excess of the overbank threshold. It can be specified using a value or function.

Overbank in combination with off-allocation

Note: The overbank threshold is defined according to the flow upstream of the supply point and the volume available for extraction of overbank is only constrained by the overbank pump capacity and the calculated overbank volume. Overbank may be taken in addition to off-allocation, in which case the downstream flows may drop below the overbank threshold. Overbank water is not included in off-allocation water, and although the off-allocation volume available is calculated according to off-allocation thresholds etc. (see Off-Allocation), during some events additional water may be accessed via overbank. Functions for the off-allocation threshold or in a minimum flow requirement node may be configured to control the amount of water of each type is available.

Diversion Threshold

The supply point will not be able to pump any water below the diversion threshold. It tries to mimic the fact that the pump may not be at the very bottom of the river. Therefore, you need a certain volume of water in the river before you can pump any at all. It affects the system during the flow phase of the supply point only. It can be specified using a value or function.

Specify maximum account deduction (full Source version only)

If Extract water is not enabled, you can specify maximum account deduction which will limit water debited to an accounting system; if this deduction cap is more than total order water, the total order water is debited. This parameter can be specified as a value or a function. When using a function you need to consider travel time, see: Ordering.

Distribution Loss

The user can specify the loss at the supply point in two modelling types: Simple Distribution Loss (Figure 3) and Complex Distribution Loss (Figure 4). By selecting the Order additional volume option, the user can select whether the additional volume is always ordered or only ordered when there is a demand from the Water User node. Orders by the supply point are increased to accommodate the distribution loss, and will then be increased again by the over order factor (if configured).

Simple Distribution Loss (Figure 3) calculates the loss as a percentage or proportion of water supplied to water user (Not water extracted at supply point). This water is lost from the system, and constrains the amount of water available to water users. For example, if the maximum extraction rate is 125 ML/d, and there is also a 25% distribution loss, the water users have access to 100 ML/d.

Complex Distribution Loss (Figure 4) calculates the loss including the following component losses: Outfalls, Unauthorised Use, Seepage, Bank Leakage, Evaporation, Meter Error, Leakage through Supply Point (SP) and around service points (delivery point to farm), Unmetered Use, Rainfall Rejection, and Initial filling.

The total complex distribution loss is the sum of absolute loss component (fixed additional volume), proportion loss (as proportion of supplied demand) and Initial filling. A fixed additional volume and Initial filling are independent of flow/order, whereas a proportion loss is dependent on the volume of water demand deliveries. While loss categories of Unauthorised Use, Seepage, Evaporation, Leakage through SP and Unmetered Use are only defined by the fixed additional volume, other loss categories are defined variedly and described below.

The loss categories of Outfalls and Bank Leakage are then further separated into fixed additional volume and proportion loss as proportion of supplied demand; Meter Error is only defined by the proportion of supplied demand.

The Rainfall Rejection loss can only occur when there is more ordered water arriving today than now required for today (and so therefore requires travel time). For example, if 10ML was ordered and 7 days occur to arrive today, but more water than expected has arrived, then the required water for today is now less than the 10ML previously ordered. This difference is what the Rainfall Rejection proportion is applied to, and the result is then converted to a fixed distribution loss in the model.

Initial filling is decided by Channel Filling Start time, Total Fill amount shared equally in Filling Period Days.

Figure 3. Supply point node, Simple Distribution Loss model

Figure 4. Supply point node, Complex Distribution Loss model

Resource Assessment (full Source version only)

In a resource assessment system, distribution loss is not deducted from any account unless From Account Host & Distribution Losses is selected as the Usage to Date calculation method on the Configurationtab for the annual accounting system (see Annual Accounting - Configuration).

Supply Point Demand Constraints

Demand Constraints can be placed on the supply point to restrict the volume of water that a Water User node can use during either a Water Year, Moving Water Year or Moving Time Window (Figure 5). The Usage Limit Volume and Initial Debit can be set with either a fixed volume, Data Source or by a Function.

Figure 5. Supply point node, Demand Constraint

Water Balance of The Network Ended at a Supply Point

When a network branch ends at a supply point with a linked water user, the water flow, which exceeds the water demand for the linked water user, now will be assigned to the attribute of the downstream flow at the supply point even though there is no downstream outlet. There is not any value for the attribute of the upstream flow at the linked water user. Previously, the exceeded flow was assumed to be the upstream flow of the linked water user in this special case.

Supply Point Recorders

Planned Extraction: requirement of the supply point. This is the extraction required by the water user plus any over order factor, or requirement of non-extractive water user plus any over order factor. For non-extractive situations unreg contributions are also included in planned extraction.

Distribution Loss is a node on the recorder tree for all parameters of Distribution Loss.

Under Distribution Loss, for Simple Distribution Loss:

Simple Distribution Loss Proportion (%): It is the input value from Proportion of supplied demand in Figure 3. It will be used only when the method of Simple Distribution Loss is selected.
Simple Fixed Distribution Loss Volume (ML): It is the input value from Additional volume in Figure 3. It will be used only when the method of Simple Distribution Loss is selected.
Simple Proportion Distribution Loss Volume (ML): It is the volume from the loss percentage of total exact supplied demand. The loss percentage is Simple Distribution Loss Proportion (%).
Total Simple Distribution Loss Volume (ML): The estimated maximum loss volume in Simple Distribution Loss. The value is the sum of entered Simple Fixed Distribution Loss Volume (ML) and Simple Proportion Distribution Loss Volume (ML), no matter how much Simple Fixed Distribution Loss Volume (ML) are supplied.

Under Distribution Loss, for Complex Distribution Loss:

(1) Fixed Loss Volume, which was defined through “Additional Volume” if appliable at the Supply Point P node

Bank Leakage Fixed Loss
Channel Fill Loss
Evaporation Fixed Loss
Outfalls Fixed Loss
Seepage Fixed Loss
Leakage through SP Fixed Loss (i.e., Leakage through and around Service Points)
Unauthorised Fixed Loss
Unmetered Use Fixed Loss.

(2) Variable Loss Proportion in %, which was defined through “Proportion of supplied demand” if appliable at the Supply Point node and Volume in ML, which is the volume from Variable Loss Proportion of total exact supplied demand at Supply Point node.

Bank Leakage Variable Loss Proportion
Bank Leakage Variable Loss Volume
Meter Error Variable Loss Proportion
Meter Error Variable Loss Volume
Outfalls Variable Loss Proportion
Outfalls Variable Loss Volume
Rainfall Rejection Loss Proportion
Rainfall Rejection Loss Volume.

(3) Total component Losses

Total Outfalls, which is equal to the sum of Outfall Fixed, Outfall Variable Loss Volume and Rainfall Rejection Loss Volume.
Total Bank Leakage, which is the sum of Bank Leakage Fixed and Bank Leakage Variable Loss Volume.

(4) Total Complex Distribution Loss Volume, which is the sum of all above fixed and variable loss volumes in (1) and (2).

The two parameters in simple distribution loss and all component parameters in the complex distribution loss model can be also accessed from Scenario Input Sets and model variables. The two parameters in simple distribution loss are called Distribution Loss Proportion and Distribution Loss Volume in Scenario Input Sets.

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