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Safeguarding the Provision of Good Quality and Adequate Quantity of Water Today: Answering to Challenges, Threats and Dilemmas

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Use and Scarcity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 23574

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Vasilis Kanakoudis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Civil Engineering Department, University of Thessaly, GR38334 Volos, Greece
Interests: water pipe networks and hydrosystems management; water distribution networks management; water balance assessment (water audit); hydraulic simulation and optimization;non-revenue water management (pressure-PMAs/DMAs/Assets management); water pricing; integrated water resources management; drinking water quality modelling; water conservation; WFD 2000/60/EC implementation process progress auditing and evaluation (ex-ante, on-going, ex-post); full water cost analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Stavroula Tsitsifli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Civil Engineering Department, University of Thessaly, GR38334 Volos, Greece
Interests: drinking water networks management; water networks performance evaluation; water quality; non-revenue water management; water pricing; environmental impact assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As water operators around the Globe fearfully witness the undoubtable climate change severe impacts on both the quality and the quantity of the water resource reserves available, they have to act now before it is too late, not only to slow down (or even to reverse) these impacts but also to restore the harmed water balance.

They must adequately and persuasively answer to several dilemmas, cope with contradicting challenges, and face emerging threats towards their ultimate goal that is to safeguard the provision of water of good quality and adequate quantity today. The scientific community has to offer new ideas that will go far beyond the theoretical approach and prove to be applicable in practice. The drawbacks resulting from the fact that the global economic environment is too fragile and wounded due to the pandemic should also be considered. Any proposed action needs to now more than ever be self-sustained and self-financed if possible.

Prof. Dr. Vasilis Kanakoudis
Dr. Stavroula Tsitsifli
Guest Editors

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fresh Water Supply quantitative and quality assessment and audit
  • water Demand Management
  • fresh Water Pipe Networks Simulation and Optimization Techniques
  • water Pricing
  • public private partnerships for water projects

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 3332 KiB  
Article
Identification of Suitable Locations in a Small Water Supply Network for the Placement of Water Quality Sensors Based on Different Criteria under Demand-Driven Conditions
by Stavroula Tsitsifli and Vasilis Kanakoudis
Water 2022, 14(16), 2504; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14162504 - 14 Aug 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2149
Abstract
Drinking water quality monitoring in real time is of utmost importance to ensure public health. Although water utilities, following the related legislative framework, monitor drinking water quality through samplings, the likelihood of detecting contaminants in consumers’ taps is low, depending on the scale [...] Read more.
Drinking water quality monitoring in real time is of utmost importance to ensure public health. Although water utilities, following the related legislative framework, monitor drinking water quality through samplings, the likelihood of detecting contaminants in consumers’ taps is low, depending on the scale of the monitoring programme. Additionally, even if the monitoring frequency is high, there is a time delay since sampling and analysis processes take some time. The selection of suitable locations for the installation of online water quality sensors is a hard task for a water utility due to the complexity of the water distribution system, the limitations of certain network junctions which are not easily accessible, and the computational burden involved. This topic has been extensively studied in recent years and sophisticated methods have been developed using optimization techniques. However, small water utilities do not have the means to implement such tools. This paper applies a methodology to identify the suitable junctions for the installation of online water quality sensors based on different objectives and under demand-driven conditions. This paper utilizes the hydraulic simulation model of a standard network to set up the water quality simulation model. A thorough analysis of various contamination scenarios takes place with different injection nodes and at different starting injection times for 24 h. The latter relates to the contaminant’s spread due to varying water demand. After a thorough analysis of 816 scenarios, a prioritized list of the most suitable nodes for the installation of the sensors is available for each optimization objective. Comparing the prioritized list of nodes achieved from each single or multi-objective function, the detection probability is almost the same. The analysis revealed that, due to varying water demand conditions, the ranking of the proposed nodes suitable for the installation of water quality monitoring sensors differs. Thus, varying hourly water demand should be part of analyses seeking to get reliable results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safeguarding the Provision of Good Quality and Adequate Quantity of Water Today: Answering to Challenges, Threats and Dilemmas)
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15 pages, 5148 KiB  
Article
Sewer Mining as a Distributed Intervention for Water-Energy-Materials in the Circular Economy Suitable for Dense Urban Environments: A Real World Demonstration in the City of Athens
by Argyro Plevri, Klio Monokrousou, Christos Makropoulos, Christos Lioumis, Nikolaos Tazes, Efthymios Lytras, Stylianos Samios, Georgios Katsouras and Nikolaos Tsalas
Water 2021, 13(19), 2764; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13192764 - 6 Oct 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2721
Abstract
Water reuse and recycling is gaining momentum as a way to improve the circularity of cities, while recognizing the central role of water within a circular economy (CE) context. However, such interventions often depend on the location of wastewater treatment plants and the [...] Read more.
Water reuse and recycling is gaining momentum as a way to improve the circularity of cities, while recognizing the central role of water within a circular economy (CE) context. However, such interventions often depend on the location of wastewater treatment plants and the treatment technologies installed in their premises, while relying on an expensive piped network to ensure that treated wastewater gets transported from the treatment plant to the point of demand. Thus, the penetration level of treated wastewater as a source of non-potable supply in dense urban environments is limited. This paper focuses on the demonstration of a sewer mining (SM) unit as a source of treated wastewater, as part of a larger and more holistic configuration that examines all three ‘streams’ associated with water in CE: water, energy and materials. The application area is the Athens Plant Nursery, in the (water stressed) city of Athens, Greece. SM technology is in fact a mobile wastewater treatment unit in containers able to extract wastewater from local sewers, treat it directly and reuse at the point of demand even in urban environments with limited space. The unit consists of a membrane bioreactor unit (MBR) and a UV disinfection unit and produces high quality reclaimed water for irrigation and also for aquifer recharge during the winter. Furthermore, a short overview of the integrated nutrient and energy recovery subsystem is presented in order to conceptualise the holistic approach and circularity of the whole configuration. The SM technology demonstrates flexibility, scalability and replicability, which are important characteristics for innovation uptake within the emerging CE context and market. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safeguarding the Provision of Good Quality and Adequate Quantity of Water Today: Answering to Challenges, Threats and Dilemmas)
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12 pages, 3934 KiB  
Article
CT Scans of Asbestos Cement Pipes as a Reference for Condition Assessment of Water Mains
by Karel van Laarhoven, Jip van Steen, Frank van der Hulst and Hector Hernandez Delgadillo
Water 2021, 13(17), 2391; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13172391 - 30 Aug 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3018
Abstract
The water distribution network of The Netherlands contains around 30,000 km of asbestos cement (AC) pipes, which constitutes around 25% of the total network. As a pipe material, AC has a relatively poor performance, and therefore is a high priority for renewal. To [...] Read more.
The water distribution network of The Netherlands contains around 30,000 km of asbestos cement (AC) pipes, which constitutes around 25% of the total network. As a pipe material, AC has a relatively poor performance, and therefore is a high priority for renewal. To help decide an effective order of replacement, the water utilities need condition assessment techniques that help them determine which pipes have the highest risk of failure. In the presented work, X-ray computed tomography (CT) was used to measure the degradation of AC pipes taken out of the field. These scans provide a description of the pipe degradation with unmatched detail. The results are compared with strength tests performed on the same pipes, revealing that detailed knowledge of the complete pipe degradation is more important than previously assumed. Moreover, comparison of the CT results to those of a commercial, non-destructive inspection technique was used as a new avenue for validation of this technique, demonstrating its future usefulness for attaining the detailed measurement of pipe degradation required by water utilities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safeguarding the Provision of Good Quality and Adequate Quantity of Water Today: Answering to Challenges, Threats and Dilemmas)
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12 pages, 4360 KiB  
Article
Trend Analysis of Rainfall Using Gridded Data over a Region of Southern Italy
by Tommaso Caloiero, Roberto Coscarelli and Gaetano Pellicone
Water 2021, 13(16), 2271; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13162271 - 19 Aug 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3062
Abstract
Climate change is affecting all regions worldwide. Globally, polar ice shields are melting and the sea is rising. Moreover, some regions are facing more common extreme weather events and rainfall, while others are experiencing more extreme heat waves and droughts, causing changes in [...] Read more.
Climate change is affecting all regions worldwide. Globally, polar ice shields are melting and the sea is rising. Moreover, some regions are facing more common extreme weather events and rainfall, while others are experiencing more extreme heat waves and droughts, causing changes in mean renewable water supplies e.g., precipitation and runoff. In this work, in order to detect possible rainfall trends in the Calabria region (southern Italy), a gridded database has been obtained from a rainfall data set of 129 monthly series collected for the period 1951–2016. In particular, the Inverse Distance Weighed was applied to build 603 rainfall grid series with a spatial resolution of 5 km × 5 km and, for each grid point, the monthly, seasonal and annual rainfall series were analyzed with the Mann–Kendall non-parametric test and the Theil–Sen estimator. Results showed a decreasing trend for the annual and winter–autumn rainfall and an increasing trend for the summer one. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safeguarding the Provision of Good Quality and Adequate Quantity of Water Today: Answering to Challenges, Threats and Dilemmas)
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17 pages, 20161 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Impact of DMAs and the Use of Boosters on Chlorination in a Water Distribution Network in Greece
by Stavroula Tsitsifli and Vasilis Kanakoudis
Water 2021, 13(16), 2141; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13162141 - 4 Aug 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2480
Abstract
Disinfection is one of the most important water treatment processes as it inactivates pathogens providing safe drinking water to the consumers. A fresh-water distribution network is a complex system where constant monitoring of several parameters and related managerial decisions take place in order [...] Read more.
Disinfection is one of the most important water treatment processes as it inactivates pathogens providing safe drinking water to the consumers. A fresh-water distribution network is a complex system where constant monitoring of several parameters and related managerial decisions take place in order for the network to operate in the most efficient way. However, there are cases where some of the decisions made to improve the network’s performance level, such as reduction of water losses, may have negative impacts on other significant operational processes such as the disinfection. In particular, the division of a water distribution network into district metered areas (DMAs) and the application of various pressure management measures may impact the effectiveness of the water chlorination process. Two operational measures are assessed in this paper: (a) the use of inline chlorination boosters to achieve more efficient chlorination; and (b) how the DMAs formation impacts the chlorination process. To achieve this, the water distribution network of a Greek town is chosen as a case study where several scenarios are being thoroughly analyzed. The assessment process utilizes the network’s hydraulic simulation model, which is set up in Watergems V8i software, forming the baseline to develop the network’s water quality model. The results proved that inline chlorination boosters ensure a more efficient disinfection, especially at the most remote parts/nodes of the network, compared to conventional chlorination processes (e.g., at the water tanks), achieving 100% safe water volume and consuming almost 50% less chlorine mass. DMAs’ formation results in increased water age values up to 8.27%, especially at the remote parts/nodes of the network and require more time to achieve the necessary minimum effective chlorine concentration of 0.2 mg/L. However, DMAs formation and pressure management measures do not threaten the chlorination’s efficiency. It is important to include water age and residual chlorine as criteria when optimizing water pressure and the division of DMAs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safeguarding the Provision of Good Quality and Adequate Quantity of Water Today: Answering to Challenges, Threats and Dilemmas)
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22 pages, 8129 KiB  
Article
A Numerical Validation of 3D Experimental Dam-Break Wave Interaction with a Sharp Obstacle Using DualSPHysics
by Salvatore Capasso, Bonaventura Tagliafierro, Hasan Güzel, Ada Yilmaz, Kaan Dal, Selahattin Kocaman, Giacomo Viccione and Stefania Evangelista
Water 2021, 13(15), 2133; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13152133 - 3 Aug 2021
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4545
Abstract
The presence downstream of a dam of either rigid or erodible obstacles may strongly affect the flood wave propagation, and this complex interaction may lead to further dramatic consequences on people and structures. The open-source Lagrangian-based DualSPHysics solver was used to simulate a [...] Read more.
The presence downstream of a dam of either rigid or erodible obstacles may strongly affect the flood wave propagation, and this complex interaction may lead to further dramatic consequences on people and structures. The open-source Lagrangian-based DualSPHysics solver was used to simulate a three-dimensional dam-break in a closed domain including an oriented obstacle that deflects the flow, thus increasing the complexity of fluid dynamics. By comparing numerical results with experimental data, the effectiveness of the model was evaluated and demonstrated with an extensive sensitivity analysis based on several parameters crucial to the smoothed particle hydrodynamics method, such as the resolution, the boundary conditions, and the properties of the interaction weight function. Charts and summary tables highlight the most suitable conditions for simulating such occurrences in the DualSPHysics framework. The presence of the obstacle, being also an opportunity for observation and study of complex fluid dynamics, opens the way to investigate the fluid interaction with solid objects involved in dam-break events and, possibly, to predict their effect with respect to the relative position between them and the flood and other relevant parameters. Finally, the numerical model presents a good overall agreement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safeguarding the Provision of Good Quality and Adequate Quantity of Water Today: Answering to Challenges, Threats and Dilemmas)
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15 pages, 5074 KiB  
Article
Analysis of MNF and FAVAD Model for Leakage Characterization by Exploiting Smart-Metered Data: The Case of the Gorino Ferrarese (FE-Italy) District
by Irene Marzola, Stefano Alvisi and Marco Franchini
Water 2021, 13(5), 643; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13050643 - 27 Feb 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4329
Abstract
Leakages in water distribution systems have great economic and environmental impacts and are a major issue for water utilities. In this work, the water balance and the Minimum Night Flow (MNF) method for evaluating the amount of water loss, as well as the [...] Read more.
Leakages in water distribution systems have great economic and environmental impacts and are a major issue for water utilities. In this work, the water balance and the Minimum Night Flow (MNF) method for evaluating the amount of water loss, as well as the power and Fixed and Variable Area Discharge (FAVAD) equations for analyzing the relationship between leakage and pressure, were applied to a fully monitored District Metered Area (DMA) located in Gorino Ferrarese (FE, Italy). Time series of (a) the water consumption of each user, (b) the DMA inflow, and (c) the pressure at the DMA inlet point were monitored with a 5 min time step. The results of an analysis carried out by exploiting the collected time series highlighted that: (a) The application of the MNF method based on literature values can lead to significant inaccuracies in the presence of users with irregular consumption, and (b) the estimation of the parameters of the power and FAVAD equations is highly affected by the amounts and types of observed data used. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safeguarding the Provision of Good Quality and Adequate Quantity of Water Today: Answering to Challenges, Threats and Dilemmas)
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