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Enhancing Planning in the Management Urban Water Systems to Increase Resilience

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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Water Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 July 2024) | Viewed by 15862

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Dália Cruz Loureiro

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Guest Editor

National Laboratory for Civil Engineering, 1700-111 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: water and energy efficiency; resilience; urban water systems, hydraulic modeling; performance assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Maria Adriana Cardoso

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Guest Editor

National Laboratory for Civil Engineering, 1700-111 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: water smart management; resilience; urban water systems; infrastructure asset management; performance assessment; strategic planning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Urban water infrastructures are vital to cities. They are complex and vulnerable to climate events (e.g., extreme precipitation events, tidal effects, droughts, and heat waves) and other disruptive events (e.g., earthquakes, tsunamis, urban floods, and cyclones). Enhancing the resilience of urban water infrastructures through new approaches for planning management of drinking water systems, wastewater, and stormwater systems is crucial for the future sustainability of these essential urban services.

With aging infrastructures and the need to improve water resources and energy efficiency while reducing the vulnerability to several uncertain events, urban water systems planning needs to be improved. The impact of a paradigm shift on resilience (e.g., decentralized solutions, the coexistence of multiple sources and networks of water for potable and non-potable uses, use of nature-based solutions) needs to be appropriately assessed in the planning process, as well as incorporation of uncertainty. This process involves proposing and demonstrating comprehensive approaches for the diagnosis, identification, and decision making for improvement measures, implementation, monitoring and revision relative to traditional techniques. Therefore, for this Special Issue, robust and well-tested methods that support the different stages of the planning process to improve resilience are of particular interest. Moreover, new approaches for scenario building and uncertainty modeling are fundamental to the planning process for resilience improvement, and straightforward methods will be appreciated.

Dr. Dália Cruz Loureiro
Dr. Maria Adriana Cardoso
Guest Editors

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Keywords

assessment and diagnosis
planning
resilience measures
resilience
uncertainty modelling
urban water systems

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 4310 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Water–Energy Nexus-Based Optimization of the Water Supply Infrastructure in a Dryland Urban Setting

by Charles Odira Maxwell, Zablon Isaboke Oonge, Patts M. A. Odira, Gilbert Ong’isa Ouma, Marco Lompi, Tommaso Pacetti, Mario Di Bacco and Enrica Caporali

Water 2024, 16(21), 3073; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16213073 - 27 Oct 2024

Viewed by 635

Abstract

Managing water supply systems is essential for developing countries to face climate variability in dryland settings. This is exacerbated by high energy costs for pumping, water losses due to aging infrastructures, and increasing demand driven by population growth. Therefore, optimizing the available resources using a water–energy nexus approach can increase the reliability of the water distribution network by saving energy for distributing the same water. This study proposes a methodology that optimizes the Water Distribution Network (WDN) and its management that can be replicated elsewhere, as it is developed in a data-scarce area. Indeed, this approach shows the gathering of WDN information and a model to save energy by optimizing pump schedules, which guarantee water distribution at minimal operational costs. The approach integrates a genetic algorithm to create pumping patterns and the EPANET hydraulic simulator to test their reliability. The methodology is applied for a water utility in the dryland urban setting of Lodwar, Turkana County, Kenya. The results indicate a potential reduction in energy costs by 50% to 57% without compromising the supply reliability. The findings highlight the potential of WEN-based solutions in enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of data-scarce water utilities in dryland ecosystems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Planning in the Management Urban Water Systems to Increase Resilience)

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20 pages, 3156 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Role of Scenario-Building in Risk Assessment and Decision-Making on Urban Water Reuse

by Rita Ribeiro and Maria João Rosa

Water 2024, 16(18), 2674; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16182674 - 19 Sep 2024

Viewed by 1109

Abstract

Urban resilience and water resilience are both increasingly relying on urban non-potable water reuse under the context of the Climate Emergency, but sound risk assessment is lacking. Compared to the state of art, the proposed framework for health risk assessment and management of urban non-potable water reuse includes (i) an additional step for establishing the context and (ii) the risk identification step being extended to introduce a description of the activities from which the hazard exposure scenarios may be built. This novel scenario-building process allows for a clear and comprehensive risk description, assessment, and treatment. The model of risk management is structured around three primary components: the decision-makers, i.e., the municipal services and the population at risk (users and workers); data elements relevant for the risk management process (reclaimed water quality, hazards, hazardous events, sites where exposure can happen, exposure routes, and activities developed by the population at risk and their vulnerabilities); and the links between the decision-makers and these elements and between the elements themselves. Its application in a representative case study shows that the framework comprehensively guides decision-making and communication to relevant stakeholders. From this practical exercise, the main recommendations were derived for risk mitigation by the municipal risk manager and the park users. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Planning in the Management Urban Water Systems to Increase Resilience)

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20 pages, 2971 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Water Supply Security—Risk Management Instruments in Water Supply Companies

by Felix Heumer, Thomas Grischek and Jens Tränckner

Water 2024, 16(13), 1814; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16131814 - 26 Jun 2024

Viewed by 1580

Abstract

Piped drinking water supplies are exposed to a range of threats. Changing hazard situations arise from climate change, digitisation, and changing conditions in the power supply, among other things. Risk and crisis management adapted to the hazard situation can increase the resilience of the piped drinking water supply. Analogous to the risk management system, this article describes a methodology that ranges from hazard analysis with the prioritisation of 57 individual hazards to vulnerability assessment with the help of balance sheet structure models (BSM) and the planning and implementation of measures to increase the resilience of the piped drinking water supply in a targeted manner. The work steps mentioned build on each other and were tested using the case study of a water supply company in Saxony (Germany). As a result, priority hazards are identified, the remaining supply periods and replacement and emergency water requirements are determined as part of the vulnerability assessment, and finally, planning principles for increasing resilience are documented. The methodology focuses primarily on practicable application by water supply companies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Planning in the Management Urban Water Systems to Increase Resilience)

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20 pages, 3347 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing Pipe Condition in Water Distribution Networks

by Marta Cabral, Duarte Gray, Bruno Brentan and Dídia Covas

Water 2024, 16(10), 1318; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16101318 - 7 May 2024

Viewed by 1485

Abstract

The condition assessment of water distribution pipes is of utmost importance for the prioritization of rehabilitation interventions. However, the application of available methodologies for condition assessment by water utilities with limited human, technological and financial resources is becoming increasingly complex. The current paper aims at the development and application of a methodology for the prediction of the physical condition of water distribution pipes without the need for visual inspection. The methodology includes the development and application of three different algorithms (heuristic, linear regression and support vector regression). The methodology is applied to a water distribution network located in the Algarve region, Portugal. The results obtained from each algorithm are compared with a well-known performance indicator, the ratio of useful life, and present significant differences in its overall pipe condition classification. Results have demonstrated the following: the ratio of useful life tends to distribute pipe classification more equally in the three classes (i.e., good, average and unsatisfactory); the heuristic algorithm classifies most pipes as average condition; and the linear regression algorithm classifies with unsatisfactory conditions. The support vector regression algorithm stands out as the main classifier for identifying pipes in good condition when compared to other algorithms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Planning in the Management Urban Water Systems to Increase Resilience)

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18 pages, 6174 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Integrating Uncertainty in Performance Assessment of Water Distribution Networks by Scenario Building

by Joana Carneiro, Dália Loureiro, Marta Cabral and Dídia Covas

Water 2024, 16(7), 977; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16070977 - 28 Mar 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1215

Abstract

This paper presents and demonstrates a novel scenario-building methodology that integrates contextual and future time uncertainty into the performance assessment of water distribution networks (WDNs). A three-step approach is proposed: (i) System context analysis, identifying the main key factors that impact the WDN performance; (ii) Scenario definition, identifying the implicated WDN variables, describing its possible evolution, and conjugating them to further establish the reference scenario and the two most relevant and opposite ones; and (iii) Scenario modelling, simulating the WDN behaviour for those scenarios. The obtained spatial and temporal hydraulic results are further used to calculate performance metrics. The methodology is applied to a real WDN to assess resilience performance considering infrastructure asset robustness (real water loss performance indicator), service reliability (minimum pressure index), and service flexibility (network resilience index). A new formulation to assess the metric evolution over time is proposed, deducting the further-away performance results by using an uncertainty weight. The results demonstrate that the increase in metric amplitude for the opposite scenarios over time highlights future uncertainty, reflecting context uncertainty, and the comparison of metric spatial distribution (i.e., at the pipe/node levels) highlights critical areas with higher associated uncertainty. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Planning in the Management Urban Water Systems to Increase Resilience)

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13 pages, 3135 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Water–Energy–Nutrients Nexus of Urban Environments

by Armando Silva-Afonso and Carla Pimentel-Rodrigues

Water 2024, 16(6), 904; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16060904 - 21 Mar 2024

Viewed by 1495

Abstract

The objective of this article is to deepen knowledge about the existing connections, at the level of urban environments, between energy, water, and nutrients (or food). Energy and basic resources—water and food—are closely interconnected, which is why the water–energy–food nexus constitutes the essential integrated approach to ensuring the sustainable development of humanity. This nexus is also valid in urban environments and can be adapted for buildings, interconnecting, in this case, water, energy, and nutrients. This article is a literature review in this area, intending to highlight the strong connections between water, energy, and nutrients at the level of buildings, integrating the results obtained in different studies and showing the global importance of this nexus. The water–energy relationship in buildings is already well known in terms of the production of domestic hot water or building pumping, for example, but it turns out that it goes far beyond this interrelationship, also having implications for public networks. Regarding the water–nutrients nexus in urban environments, it can play an important role in terms of food security for humanity, especially regarding the possibility of recovering phosphorus in buildings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Planning in the Management Urban Water Systems to Increase Resilience)

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32 pages, 15519 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Framework for Operational Management of Urban Water Systems to Improve Resilience

by Jorge Cardoso-Gonçalves and José Tentúgal-Valente

Water 2024, 16(1), 154; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16010154 - 30 Dec 2023

Viewed by 1627

Abstract

Optimizing the management of hydraulic infrastructures that support water supply, wastewater, and stormwater drainage can increase the efficiency of these systems. A framework for operational management of urban water systems allows for robust management, which contributes to the system’s overall resilience. A methodology has been structured to support the decision-making process of managing entities. The methodology for the operational management of hydraulic infrastructures incorporates concepts of asset management, risk management, and technical management. It is organized into three operational areas (assessment, operation, and intervention) and aims to increase the efficiency of managing entities. Two cases were used to implement the aforementioned methodology—the Arouca Water Supply System (SAA-Arouca) and the Trofa Wastewater Drainage System (SAR-Trofa), both under the responsibility of Águas do Norte, S.A. In SAA-Arouca. There was a particularly significant reduction in the system input volume (purchased the first level) and the number of pipe busts observed in the subsequent period after the implementation of the methodology. Regarding the SAR-Trofa, the application of the methodology focused particularly on improper inflows (rainwater and others). The proposals for this system mainly aim at reducing the volumes collected by the drainage networks (in low-level infrastructures) and delivering them to different high-level infrastructures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Planning in the Management Urban Water Systems to Increase Resilience)

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14 pages, 1784 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Water Resources Carrying Capacity Based on the DPSIRM Framework: Empirical Evidence from Shiyan City, China

by Wenming Cheng, Jing Zhu, Xiaochun Zeng, Yuan You, Xuetao Li and Jun Wu

Water 2023, 15(17), 3060; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15173060 - 27 Aug 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1403

Abstract

In this article, we construct an evaluation index system based on the DPSIRM framework to determine the water resources carrying capacity of Shiyan City. Then, we use an obstacle model to calculate and analyze the factors that constrain the improvement in the water resources carrying capacity in the city. The research results are as follows: (1) The water resources carrying capacity of Shiyan City was on the rise during 2011–2021, and the water resources carrying capacity of Shiyan City was continuously improved. (2) The management system is the primary obstacle subsystem, followed by the driving force system, the response system, the pressure system, the state system, and the influence system. (3) Among the specific factors, the top three obstacles are sewage treatment investment, the proportion of guaranteed harvest area in drought and flood, and the average annual fertilizer applied per unit of cultivated land. These primary factors restrict Shiyan City from improving its water resources carrying capacity. This study has important practical significance for understanding the resilience of the water system in Shiyan City; exploring the changes in the water resources carrying capacity and its obstacle factors; and guiding the development, utilization, and management of water resources in Shiyan City. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Planning in the Management Urban Water Systems to Increase Resilience)

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19 pages, 3474 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Stormwater Harvesting Potential for Local Reuse in an Urban Growth Area: A Case Study of Melton Growth Area in the West of Melbourne

by Ashok K. Sharma, Peter Sanciolo, Amir Behroozi, Dimuth Navaratna and Shobha Muthukumaran

Water 2023, 15(11), 2093; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15112093 - 31 May 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2423

Abstract

Integrated urban water management approaches (IUWM) are implemented to address challenges from increases in water demand as a result of population growth and the impact of climate change. IUWM aims to utilize all water resources (stormwater, wastewater, and rainwater) based on fit-for-purpose concepts. Here, a local water utility in Melbourne’s Melton growth area explored the availability of stormwater as an alternative water resource for water service planning for a proposed residential development in an existing greenfield area of 13,890 hectares for 160,000 new houses by 2040. A methodology was developed for assessing the stormwater quantity and quality under land use change and different climatic conditions considering the availability of stormwater from the proposed urban development. The modelling results indicated that the amount of annual stormwater generated in the region increased by nearly four times to 32 GL/year under the 2040 full urban land use with high climate change. The provision of constructed wetlands in proposed development blocks was found to be efficient at removing TSS, TP, and TN, and able to retain over 90% of TSS, 77% of TP, and 52% of TN in all scenarios. Harvested stormwater, if treated to potable standards, can meet nearly 40% of water requirements for residential area needs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Planning in the Management Urban Water Systems to Increase Resilience)

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29 pages, 2946 KiB

Open AccessReview

How Scale Influences the Resilience of Urban Water Systems: A Literature Review of Trade-Offs and Recommendations

by Nicole Arnaud, Manel Poch, Lucia Alexandra Popartan, Lluis Corominas and Marta Verdaguer

Water 2024, 16(11), 1571; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16111571 - 30 May 2024

Viewed by 1842

Abstract

Climate change severely affects urban water systems (UWSs). Infrastructure historically designed for milder conditions cannot manage growing water demands and extreme events. To obtain a resilient water sector, adaptation and mitigation strategies must address rising water challenges while striving for net-zero emissions. Researchers have noted that extreme decentralization is positively associated with closing cycles while reducing transport costs. However, part of the scientific community defends centralized schemes due to economies of scale. The objective of this systematic review is to understand the trade-offs associated with the adoption of different scales at UWSs design and how this impacts system resilience. This process includes identifying different scale trade-offs and unique environmental aspects that influence the optimal scale suitability. A clear distinction was made in terms of scale concept and classification, considering different design levels. That is, considering the UWS at the city level and water management units (WMUs) at the local level. Similarly, a classification of different scales for each level, covering all water streams—supply, wastewater, and stormwater—was introduced. We defined the key environmental aspects that influence the optimal scale and location suitability: ten at the city-catchment level and eleven at the site-neighbourhood level. Scale impacts three major UWSs functionalities that have repercussions on urban resilience: net energy, net water, and ecosystem services (ES). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Planning in the Management Urban Water Systems to Increase Resilience)

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