ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Adaptation of Artificial Neural Network
for Predicting Institutional Wastewater Volume
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1
Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Covenant University, P.M.B. Ota 112233, Nigeria
2
School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg,
Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS 2050, South Africa
3
Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, College of Engineering, Covenant University,
P.M.B. Ota 112233, Nigeria
Submission date: 2024-12-15
Final revision date: 2025-03-10
Acceptance date: 2025-04-27
Online publication date: 2025-07-14
Corresponding author
David Omole
School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg,
Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS 2050, South Africa
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ABSTRACT
This study aimed to determine the volume of institutional wastewater generated on a university
campus for better wastewater management and reuse purposes. The study also involved the development
of a predictive model to forecast the volumes of wastewater to be generated at future dates using
the Artificial Neural Network (ANN). Data on the volume of wastewater was collected over 81 days
by measuring the institution’s wastewater at the final exit point. Levenberg Marquardt and Bayesian
Regularization algorithms were used to train the dataset, using a 9-15-1 structure for both algorithms.
The dataset from 50 days was used to train the algorithms, while the dataset from 20 days was used
for model validation. The remaining dataset from the last 11 days was used to perform an external
test. The Bayesian Regularization algorithm performed better at predicting wastewater volumes
with an accuracy of 95%, outperforming Levenberg Marquardt’s algorithm with 91% accuracy.
Additionally, the study proposed a three-phase systematic approach for planning a wastewater reuse
project. The phases comprise the preliminary, planning, and execution phases. Planners can use
the findings from this research to manage wastewater treatment plants that receive more wastewater
volumes than their design capacity.