Protecting water and wastewater utilities from cyber‐physical threats

Recent events have highlighted the need to address cybersecurity threats to systems supporting critical infrastructure and federal information systems which are evolving and growing. These threats have become ubiquitous in the United States, and throughout the world. Many information and communications technology (ICT) devices and other components are interdependent so that disruption of one component may have a negative, cascading effect on others. In the United States, the Federal role in cyber‐security has been debated for more than a decade but creating a policy is complicated because in the United States, State and local governments are the major institutions responsible for providing services to their populations. It is important that critical infrastructure such as Publically Owned Treatment Works (POTWs) and Public Water Systems (PWSs) adopt suitable countermeasures to prevent or minimise the consequences of cyber‐attacks. This paper discusses both technological and procedural techniques that can be used to protect against cyber‐threats.     

The water supply is fine: decision‐maker perceptions of water quantity and supply‐side management

Years of research have called for more science to be integrated into water management decisions and for a shift from supply‐side to demand‐side management; yet, there remains a strong emphasis on supply‐side approaches and in many areas limited attention to hydrological data. A survey and interviews with decision‐makers in western North Carolina reveal that there is only low‐level concern about water quantity, and this drives a continued emphasis on supply‐side management and no perceived need for hydrological data. The historical realities of low demand and abundant water have generated a perception of ‘water supply’ as disconnected from physical, hydrological systems and allowed for ad hoc decision‐making processes to prevail. The lack of well‐established processes may, ironically, provide significant opportunities for employing collaboration among researchers and decision‐makers to develop policies and processes that integrate data into making water management decisions and thus prompt increased attention to water demand.     

Water resources management in the Jordan River Basin

The Jordan River Basin is under great hydric stress. Increases in population and agricultural demand are contributing to the closure of the basin. This paper analyses the results of integrated water resources planning model (WEAP) by studying the vulnerability of water resources in the lower Jordan River under a changing climate pattern and growing water demands. Water balance models show that all aquifers supplying the city of Amman will be depleted within the next few decades. Mitigation measures should include the introduction of additional water into the basin through the Red Sea–Dead Sea canal, in addition to demand management measures such as water conservation and increase in irrigation efficiency. The findings of this study would provide a useful guide to the co‐riparians for policy formulation, decision making and dispute resolution. Cooperation among the five riparian countries may be improved by building a Geographic Information System (GIS) database that provides access to accurate data for hydrological analysis.     

Evidence needed to manage freshwater ecosystems in a changing climate: Turning adaptation principles into practice

It is widely accepted that climate change poses severe threats to freshwater ecosystems. Here we examine the scientific basis for adaptively managing vulnerable habitats and species. Our views are shaped by a literature survey of adaptation in practice, and by expert opinion. We assert that adaptation planning is constrained by uncertainty about evolving climatic and non-climatic pressures, by difficulties in predicting species- and ecosystem-level responses to these forces, and by the plasticity of management goals. This implies that adaptation measures will have greatest acceptance when they deliver multiple benefits, including, but not limited to, the amelioration of climate impacts. We suggest that many principles for biodiversity management under climate change are intuitively correct but hard to apply in practice. This view is tested using two commonly assumed doctrines: “increase shading of vulnerable reaches through tree planting” (to reduce water temperatures); and “set hands off flows” (to halt potentially harmful abstractions during low flow episodes). We show that the value of riparian trees for shading, water cooling and other functions is partially understood, but extension of this knowledge to water temperature management is so far lacking. Likewise, there is a long history of environmental flow assessment for allocating water to competing uses, but more research is needed into the effectiveness of ecological objectives based on target flows. We therefore advocate more multi-disciplinary field and model experimentation to test the cost-effectiveness and efficacy of adaptation measures applied at different scales. In particular, there is a need for a major collaborative programme to: examine natural adaptation to climatic variation in freshwater species; identify where existing environmental practice may be insufficient; review the fitness of monitoring networks to detect change; translate existing knowledge into guidance; and implement best practice within existing regulatory frameworks.     

城市化影响下的城市水安全规划概念解析

为控制快速城市化引发的城市雨洪灾害,减少城市内涝,城市水安全成为现代城市规划必须重视的一环。目前国内对城市水安全的研究多集中在生态学、水文学、环境学和规划学等学科,尚无明确的概念定义。因此,通过对生态安全和水安全的深入分析,综合研究城市化与城市水安全的相会影响机制,运用多学科综合研究手段,对城市水安全的影响因子进行整理分类,明确合理的城市规划设计对城市水安全的积极作用。     

Water balance and the behaviour of different paving surfaces

The concept of water balance is frequently used to describe the main hydrological processes occurring in natural catchments. It can also be applied to urban catchments and in this paper the water balance principle is applied to small‐scale samples of various paving materials. In particular, the relative importance of runoff, evaporation and infiltration is studied. This paper discusses these processes and describes some experimental measurements of water balance on various paving materials and the moisture content distribution within the materials.     

供水系统预警监测站的优化布置

城市供水系统易受到意外的污染或蓄意的破坏,建立预警系统是保障供水安全的重要途径。对给定数量的监测站,以检测到各污染源节点所需总体时间最短为目标,采用0-1整数规划法来对其进行优化布置。算例结果表明,当采用该方法优化布置监测站后能够及时检测到节点和管段上发生的外部污染事件,并确定污染源的位置。随着监测站数量的增加,则检测到单个污染源节点所需的时间及其总体时间都呈下降趋势。     

Impacts of Climatic Change on River Flow Regimes in the UK

Much has been written in recent years about the potential threats posed by increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. This paper summarizes the implications of global warming for hydrological processes in general and river flow characteristics in the UK in particular, emphasizing the present high degree of uncertainty. Current climate change scenarios for the UK imply that rainfall between autumn and spring will increase, and this may have beneficial implications for UK water resources. However, the effect of this increase may be outweighed by higher evapotranspiration. Average annual runoff in a catchment in southern UK may be reduced by around 5% by the middle of the next century, but this estimate is very uncertain: runoff may reduce by 30% or increase by 30%. Runoff in northern and western UK is likely to show a slight increase (but with similarly large confidence intervals). It is probable that river flows in the UK will be much more concentrated in winter than at present. The effect of a given climate change scenario on monthly flow regimes depends on the current summer water balance and on catchment geological conditions.     

Industry views on water resources planning methods – prospects for change in England and Wales

This paper describes a qualitative study of practitioner perspectives on regulated water resources planning practice in England and Wales. The study focuses on strengths and weaknesses of existing practice and the case for change towards a risk‐based approach informed by stochastic modelling assessments. In‐depth, structured interviews were conducted to capture the views of planners, regulators and consultants closely involved in the planning process. We found broad agreement that the existing water availability assessment methods are fallible; they lack transparency, are often highly subjective and may fail to adequately expose problems of resilience. While most practitioners believe these issues warrant a more detailed examination of risk in the planning process, few believe there is a strong case for a fundamental shift towards risk‐based planning informed by stochastic modelling assessments. The study identifies perceived business risks associated with change and exposes widespread scepticism of stochastic methods.     

Rainwater harvesting for human consumption and livelihood improvement in rural Nepal: benefits and risks

Use of rooftop rainwater as a source of drinking water in developing countries is increasing. However, scepticism about the potential of this source and the associated health risks is still prevalent among water planners. A free listing and a household survey among 120 households was conducted in the hills of Nepal to examine the performance of rainwater harvesting systems. Users perceive few health risks and in contrast, reported a wide range of benefits, including health benefits associated with the consumption of rainwater. Water quality testing results generally demonstrate good water quality but confirm that appropriate operation and maintenance practices are critical to ensure the collection of good quality water. Deficiencies in technical design and construction, lack of awareness, no market for spare parts and the inability of vulnerable households to maintain the system pose a risk to the collection and storage of safe water and to the long‐lasting performance of the systems.     

浅谈城市供水系统安全性

供水系统作为城市赖以生存的生命线工程,其安全性越来越受到各国的重视,也越来越成 为恐怖主义组织的攻击、威胁和破坏目标,特别是供水系统的关键设施.笔者介绍了当代恐怖主义 对供水系统的种种危害及其手段特点,并简略分析了“供水系统的战略防御系统”,以此提高供水 系统的安全性、健壮性,并作为实现有效预防、及时预警、智能化决策和有效处置的途径.     

Investigation of water quality in combined recycled water and stormwater systems

Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) approach is an important strategy for urban water utilities to improve water security and system resilience. This study proposes a novel approach to combine recycled water and stormwater. This novel mixing method of capturing and treating stormwater at various locations along the recycled water pipeline and injecting treated stormwater in to the recycled water pipe line is unknown to have been practiced anywhere in the world. Water quality control of combined water is a vital factor for the safe use, as mixing percentage of stormwater is decided based on availability. A method to determine the water quality before mixing is required. Therefore, this paper investigates the appropriateness of the mass balance method to compute combined water quality and proposes a guideline for water quality of combined water.     

浅议城镇供水水质安全

针对城镇供水水质安全愈来愈受到重视的情况,分析了我国城镇供水水质安全的现状、城镇供水水质安全存在的主要问题,提出了确保城镇供水水质安全的具体措施,从而保证广大城镇居民的身体健康、生命安全和社会稳定。     

Reconstruction of water balance components using tree‐ring proxy records

Long‐term hydrological data are important elements in water resource planning and management. The hydrometric data record period in Iran varies from a few years to about 60 years; generally inadequate for long‐term planning. Reconstruction of meteorological data using tree‐ring proxy records is a viable technique in extending meteorological data in the past (i.e. backcasting). This study reconstructed the precipitation and temperature data based on the tree‐ring proxy records over the 1710–2000 period in Kermanshah Province, Iran. Furthermore, using WASMOD water balance model, streamflow and other hydrological water balance components were reconstructed. In the study basin, the average monthly streamflows were determined as 6.25, 5.56 and 5.50 mm for the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries, respectively. While the eighteenth century was the wettest, in nineteenth and twentieth centuries the streamflow reduced by an average of 14% compared to that of the eighteenth century.     

旅游生态安全格局下的城市水系规划研究——以运河古城台儿庄为例

水是生命之源、生存之本、生态之道,城市与人都离不开水。而城市水系规划是处理水危机、保障城市安全、恢复生态平衡、改善居民生活环境的系统性规划。本文从旅游生态安全格局的视角研究城市水系规划,介绍了水系及其类型,阐述了城市水系规划的原则、目标、内容及方法,并以运河古城台儿庄为例,探讨城市水资源的合理开发利用和保护,实现水系规划与城市旅游的共同发展。     

Application of MIKE SHE modelling system to set up a detailed water balance computation

Estimation of total water balance is a substantial issue for watershed modelling in order to simulate the major components of the hydrological cycle to determine the stress of different anthropogenic activities on the available water resources within a catchment. In this context, the fully distributed physically based MIKE SHE modelling system was used to simulate the individual hydrological components of the total water balance for the Paya Indah Wetlands (PIW) watershed in the west of Peninsular Malaysia. Results reveal that the overall water balance is predominantly controlled by climate variables. Application of the model to the PIW watershed provides detailed estimation of the total water balance for a first‐order catchment in which actual evapotranspiration (ET) represents approximately 65 and 58%, while overland flow (OL) to the PIW lake system represents 12.38 and 12.3% of the total rainfall during the calibration and validation periods, respectively. The difference of the inflow and outflow was taken as storage in depth. Overall, the model gives a reasonable output of total error of less than 1% of the total rainfall, which in turn indicates that the interaction among components is satisfactorily sustained.     

北川新县城可持续水系统构建及其安全保障研究

从可持续的健康城市水系统的构建入手,分析北川新县城水系统安全保障的相关问题,通过综合考虑新县城水系的水质、水量及滨水环境情况,以构建完整的水循环体系为目标,通过暴雨径流管理模型(SWMM)划分河流流域单位,进行水资源分析与优化配置,提出生态型水质改善的方法措施,为水系统的安全运行提供保障。     

提高建筑热水使用率的技术探讨

针对建筑热水系统中无效热水的产生,给出新建工程需要注意的设计技术措施（合理分区、循环方式、同程布置）;对无循环热水系统的工程改造进行了技术与经济效益的分析;提出合理选择与安装热水系统的设备、器材方案,并给出了施工中最容易出现的问题及其解决方法。     

A spatially explicit framework for climate adaptation

Cities increasingly confront climate change-related problems of flooding, urban heat island effects, and the impact of drought on vegetation. There is a need for urban water and infrastructure planners to be able to identify vulnerable areas and to design, compare and evaluate interventions to address these problems. In response to this need, we developed the Integrated Climate Adaptation Model (ICAM), which is a Web-GIS tool based on a spatially explicit framework. ICAM has a user-friendly interface for use by a wide range of urban planning and design professionals. The tool is built on high-resolution spatial datasets, allowing users to identify critical areas that may be impacted by sea-level rise, drought, flooding, temperature increases and threats to tree heath and to consider the benefits of various grey and green infrastructure interventions. The tool is suitable for planning and evaluating interventions and to identify pathways for further desktop modelling.