A Process-Based Four-Stage Framework for Seismic Resilience Assessment of Urban Water Distribution Networks through Multi-Attribute Metrics

Abstract. Urban water distribution networks are critical lifelines whose seismic resilience is essential for maintaining daily functions and post-disaster service continuity. However, most existing studies focus on seismic-induced functional failures and short-term recovery, while neglecting pre-disaster preparedness and long-term adaptation – two stages that fundamentally shape the overall resilience trajectory. Conventional assessments typically rely on single-dimensional hydraulic or network indicators, which tend to be one-sided and error-prone. These limitations hinder a comprehensive understanding of WDN behavior across different seismic disturbance stages, yielding only coarse performance judgments that offer limited guidance for diagnosing vulnerabilities or planning effective resilience enhancement and retrofit strategies. To address these limitations, this study proposes a process-based four-stage seismic resilience framework that explicitly incorporates preparedness, robustness, recoverability, and long-term adaptation, capturing the full evolution of WDN performance during seismic events. A multi-attribute indicator system integrating topological homogeneity, energy redundancy, pipeline fragility, hydraulic service performance, and recovery efficiency is developed to enable refined stage-specific assessment. An adaptation index (ACI) is further introduced to quantify the integrated improvement achieved by different retrofit strategies. Applications to the Jilin and Mianzhu WDNs demonstrate clear stage-dependent resilience disparities and provide actionable guidance for optimizing seismic resilience enhancement. Application to the Jilin and Mianzhu WDNs demonstrates the framework's applicability and reveals clear stage-dependent resilience disparities, which provide scientifically grounded guidance for optimizing seismic resilience enhancement in urban WDNs.