The role of business models and transitional pressures in attaining sustainable urban water management

Many scholarly articles have argued that there is a need for a transition towards sustainable urban water management (SUWM). As businesses, water service providers (WSPs) must modify their business models to align with this goal. Explicit consideration of business models is, however, often missing from the literature relating to SUWM. More specifically, the economic level is often not given due consideration. To help address this gap, this paper reviews the potential role business models can play in attaining SUWM. Elements of a sustainability-based business model are presented, along with a case study of transitional pressures in Melbourne, Australia. The case study highlights factors that have a significant impact on the business models of WSPs, and it is concluded that customer willingness to pay and politicization of decisions must be addressed if transitions to sustainability-based business models are to be maintained over the long term.     

Estimating irrigation water demand for green spaces in humid areas: seeking a sustainable water management strategy

Quantifying the irrigation water demand of green spaces (IWDG) is an important part of smart urban water management. However, the IWDG in humid cites is not well characterized. Moreover, the alteration of natural hydrological processes caused by urbanization leading to the dependence of green spaces on irrigation is becoming more common. To better understand the IWDG in humid areas, we developed an estimation model and used the Yangtze River Delta in China as a case study. Results showed that the amount of water required by the green spaces in the Yangtze River Delta was approximately 354 × 10⁶ m³, which was equivalent to 12% of the urban residential water consumption in 2011. This study also investigated the spatial-temporal changes of urban green spaces and estimated their effects on irrigation water demand. These findings provide policymakers an integrated view of the water demand of green spaces associated with sustainable management.     

Aspects of decision support in water management--example Berlin and Potsdam (Germany) II--improvement of management strategies

Methods related to partial order theory such as the Hasse diagram technique (HDT) are increasingly used in the field of multi-criteria decision support. The HDT has the advantage of being a transparent evaluation tool, supported by several data analysis tools such as the concept of antagonistic indicators. However, the evaluation usually does not lead to a clear decision, because more than one possible solution is offered. In the example presented here, three of the nine water management strategies (scenarios) evaluated by HDT were identified as winners. However, these strategies were not comparable with each other because of the conflicting evaluation of at least two different indicators. Such antagonisms describe the advantage and disadvantage of each scenario. Based on this background information, a new innovative approach is demonstrated, enabling the stakeholders to design new, modified management strategies, with reduced negative effects. After improvement of the three potential solutions, one clear winner scenario could be identified.     

Aspects of decision support in water management--example Berlin and Potsdam (Germany) I--spatially differentiated evaluation

Decisions about sustainable development demand spatially differentiated evaluations. As an example, we demonstrate the evaluation of water management strategies in the cities of Berlin and Potsdam (Germany) with respect to their ecological effects in 14 sections of the surface water system. Two decision support systems were compared, namely PROMETHEE, which is designed to obtain a clear decision (linear ranking), and Hasse Diagram Technique (HDT), normally providing more than one favourable solution (partial order). By PROMETHEE, the spatial differentiation had unwanted effects on the result, negating the stakeholders determined weighting of indicators. Therefore, the stakeholder can barely benefit from the convenience of obtaining a clear decision (linear ranking). In contrast, the result obtained by HDT was not influenced by spatial differentiation. Furthermore, HDT provided helpful tools to analyse the evaluation result, such as the concept of antagonistic indicators to discover conflicts in the evaluation process.     

浅析供水管网阀门的运行管理与维护

供水管网作为城市的供水"血脉",能否安全稳定运行至关重要。阀门作为供水管网中的重要控制设备,不仅用于调节管网中的流量和压力,而且在紧急抢险中能迅速控制故障管段,这就要求它能够做到操作灵活,止水迅速,切流可靠。因此,加强供水管网阀门的维护管理,不断提升科技管理水平,可以提高抢修速度,减少管网发生故障大量漏水带来的巨大经济损失和资源浪费,提高供水部门的经济效益,同时可以减少长时间停水给用户带来生活和生产上的影响,对于塑造供水部门良好的社会形象有若极其重要的意义。     

Perspectives on multi-benefit water reuse systems: A confluence of water and wastewater management planning

The multiple benefits of water reuse have yet to be fully realized in our urban water management systems. One pathway to optimal implementation is to plan for their integration with wider assets in water resource or drainage and wastewater management plans. This paper explores the perspectives of water resource and wastewater management planners. Qualitative data was gathered from a workshop organized by the Chartered Institution for Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) with 25 participants from England's Water Service Providers (WSPs), regulators (Ofwat and the Environment Agency) and consultants working within the UK water sector. The participants acknowledged that water reuse is relevant to both water resource and drainage and wastewater management planning, but that current regulatory and funding frameworks are constraining effective engagement between water resource and drainage and wastewater management planners by encouraging the development of separate plans. A general consensus of the participants was that it would be beneficial to include water reuse technology within current and future Water Resource Management Plans (WRMPs) and Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMPs). Participants suggested this could be developed through collaborative working partnerships and support from regulatory and funding frameworks that allow for the growth and development of innovative technologies and nature-based solutions. Participants also highlighted a stronger economic case could be made for water reuse technologies if the approach seeks to capture the wider benefits and not only the ‘best value’ solution. Societal acceptance and the availability of good quality data will be key to the successful adoption of any incentivized water reuse schemes.     

Reuse potential of municipal wastewater treatment facility effluents for sustainable water resource management in Ulsan,Korea

Effluent qualities of five municipal wastewater treatment facilities (MWWTFs) in Ulsan were evaluated to examine their reuse potential. Effluent from Yongyeon (Y) MWWTF, Onsan (O) MWWTF and Bangeojin (B) MWWTFs can be used as cooling water without further treatment. As evident from Langelier saturation index and Ryzner index values, reuse of treated effluent from OMWWTF and BMWWTFs is recommended by controlling the pH to reduce the scale-forming potential of effluent. However, effluents from these MWWTFs need additional treatment to remove residual dissolved constituents before reuse as boiler water. Besides, effluent from Hoiya (H) MWWTF and Unyang (U) MWWTFs can be reused for agricultural irrigation without any additional treatment. Based on the scientific results obtained from this investigation, proper application of technology and promotion of public awareness to change the traditional mindset for treated effluent reuse could immensely contribute towards conserving local water resources and addressing global environmental problems on a regional basis.     

Household water consumption and demand management in Finland

The aim of the paper is to describe and analyse the trends and levels of water consumption, especially of households, in Finland. The study concentrates on the specific household water consumption (SHWC) of various types of housing, housing ownership, metering and billing arrangements. Real estate managers acted as enumerators and collected data from 185 sub-cases in various parts of the country. The study shows that SHWC levels of about 120 l/capita/day, or even less, can be achieved, while maintaining a high standard of service levels. In addition to individual metering, proper management includes introduction of modern water fixtures and in-house piping, raising consumer awareness, and active follow-up. Explanations for declined consumption are quite site- and case specific. Simultaneously, decreasing consumption and the resulting fall in water sales are a challenge to water utilities.     

The evolution of urban water systems: societal needs,institutional complexities,and resource costs

ABSTRACT

Urban water systems provide critical services to meet the supply, sanitation, and drainage needs of urban societies. Evolving needs have resulted in increasingly expansive infrastructure, raising questions about the sustainability of such large infrastructure investments. In this study, we demonstrate the historical interplay between growing urban water needs, the services developed to meet them, and their total resource cost. We hypothesize that needs evolve hierarchically, with predictable outcomes in the form of service progression. To test this hypothesis, we use a suite of metrics at the US national scale indicative of our proposed hierarchy levels. At the city scale, we assess the cost implications of this progression of services. We use the emergy framework to quantitatively reconstruct the historical resource requirements of supply, sanitation, and drainage services and show how evolving needs lead to mounting resource costs. Lastly, we discuss implications of continually increasing complexity for meeting future water needs.     

A sustainable framework for water resources management in an urban watershed: the case of Volos,Greece

The implementation of sustainable development principles in water resources management refers to an integrated management and coordination of the entirety of the actions and interventions that concern the water ecosystem, or parts of it, within a watershed. This procedure is accomplished through the development and application of an overall management plan at a hydrological basin level. This concept was followed by the water resources management plan of the city of Volos' watershed, which is presented in this paper. The main objective is the choice of the best set, among others, of hydraulic projects, which will be able to re-establish the balance in the basin's deficient water budget, satisfying at the same time future urban water demand. Decision making was carried out using a GIS tool and involved traditional water capture hydraulic projects on the one hand and sustainable water saving measures on the other. The whole procedure is being developed in an area with serious environmental problems, concerning mainly the groundwater resources. The particularity here is that the alternative solutions strongly depend on administrative agreement and consensus between relevant authorities.     

北方缺水地区水资源可持续利用管理途径研究

对北方地区的水资源现状与配置状况进行了分析,指出了目前北方地区水资源利用存在的问题,提出水资源的合理开发利用需要一套行之有效的管理途径,并从政府政策管理方面研究了该管理途径,以合理有效地利用水资源。     

水资源管理学发展趋势研究

通过对国内外水资源管理研究、实施情况和水资源可持续管理的分析,指出我国水资源管理存在的问题,提出了我国水资源管理学在新的历史时期的研究方向,对保障我国用水健康循环和国家可持续发展具有重要意义。     

A review of catchment management in the new context of drinking water safety plans

By managing a catchment effectively, the range and amount of contaminants entering waters used for public water supply can be reduced, with resultant benefits for both water companies and consumers. Consequently, catchment management is increasingly being recognised as being at the heart of the water environment. An overview of current and previous catchment management initiatives is given, along with the European Landscape Convention, which could be used as a vehicle for the implementation of a national catchment management strategy. The adoption of the drinking water safety plan approach is strongly advocated by the World Health Organisation, and effective catchment management underpins this approach. Effective management of our catchments will also make a significant contribution to meeting our obligations under the Water Framework Directive, by helping to address the serious issue of diffuse pollution from agriculture.     

Demand management aspects of urban water policy in the industrial sector: the case of the city of Thessaloniki,Greece

The present paper presents the main results of a research project. It deals with consumers' perception of water issues in the industrial sector, and examines and analyses water use patterns, water conservation methods and water pricing issues. Issues presented are the contribution of water to production processes, water consumption levels, water conservation options, the possibility of construction of a dual water supply system, the evaluation of different pricing policies, the willingness to pay (WTP) and the potential impact of a price increase. The study has shown that there is limited use of recycling methods, few pollution control practices and small effect of industrial water price on water consumption levels. As far as industrial consumers are concerned, they present inaccurate perception of water consumption levels and low willingness to pay for the improvement of water services.     

A decision support model to aid the management of crises in urban water supply systems (the UWC-MODEL)

The objective of this study was to develop a model for crisis management in urban water supply systems, able to assist the decision-making process to deal with the urban water crisis (UWC) by those responsible for these systems. The research methodology used for model development consisted of the following steps: (1) development of a decision support model for cases of crises in urban water supply systems (UWC-MODEL); (2) performing the sensitivity analysis of the UWC-MODEL; (3) verifying the UWC-MODEL; and (4) application of the UWC-MODEL. Different levels (socio-economic, management, urban, environmental and cultural) of the UWC problem were considered in the UWC-MODEL. It was based on the similarity between a weak UWC situation (or absence), strong UWC situation (or severe) and the actual case. Results of the application of the UWC-MODEL to the Administrative Region of Brasilia, in the Federal District of Brazil, indicated that actions related to cultural and environmental levels demonstrated a greater contribution for combating UWC. Actions such as environmental education programs, water conservation programs, and use of water saving equipment, were indicated by the UWC-MODEL to solve the UWC problem in this application to the real case.     

Multi-criteria performance analysis for decision making in project management

This study is focused on decision support in the context of product and service development projects. Decision support requires the capacity to characterize the current state of the project (performance evaluation) and the decision-maker's point of view. However, the different projects’ stakeholders do not have the same needs in terms of performance evaluation to support their decision-making processes. Furthermore, in some cases controlling project performance using the elementary components of the Iron Triangle (Cost, Time and Quality) alone seems inefficient. This paper proposes a new multi-dimensional Project Performance Measurement System that would enable managers to deal with the volume of data. The proposition integrates the only character of each project (tasks, objectives, decision-makers personality and competences), several good practices in terms of universal project management dimensions on the one hand, and in terms of performance analysis on the other hand. Then, we show how an aggregation tool called MACBETH is used to analyze the performance measures according to project managers’ own performance interests. A case study illustrates the proposed system.     

Effective efficiency in water resources management using efficiency elasticity index

Effective efficiency (EE) is a water use performance indicator of a system, integrating net evapotranspiration, volumes of water in and out of the system (including reused water) and their qualities. In order to analyse the nature of management and its options in promoting efficiencies, an efficiency elasticity index (EEI) is developed using EE. The maximum value of EEI for a given net evapotranspiration sets a threshold value for EE under which the management of the system should be improved. This makes it possible to evaluate how good the management of a system is and allows the decision makers to analyse efficiency targets using a graphical approach (assuming that interventions have the same costs). Hypothetical examples and real irrigation cases from United States and Egypt show the practical utility of EE and the methodology developed through the use of EEI. It is also shown that classical efficiency should be used with caution.     

造价管理在安装工程施工招投标过程中的应用

简要介绍了造价管理对于安装工程的重要意义,从招标阶段,投标阶段,施工阶段三方面阐述了造价管理在安装工程施工招投标过程中的应用及各个阶段造价管理的重点,以期指导安装工程施工中合理地确定和有效地控制工程造价。     

Water governance and the quality of water services in the city of Melbourne

Integrated water resources management (IWRM) was reviewed in the city of Melbourne. Melbourne performs well and shows a good level of commitment to sustainable solutions. The city scores highly in areas such as water efficiency, wastewater efficiency, i.e., energy recovery, and climate change commitments related to heat and water scarcity. Nearly 30% of houses in Melbourne have installed rainwater tanks and plans to increase the use of stormwater have recently been published. Energy efficiency of buildings, nutrient recovery (especially phosphate) from wastewater, as well as sewage sludge recycling are topics for improvement. A transparent governance structure has been set up in a reaction to the ‘Millennium Drought’ and success has come from many organizations working together to a common goal. This is the secret of Melbourne’s success and can be used as an example for other cities in the world.     

Valuing flexibilities in the design of urban water management systems

Climate change and rapid urbanization requires decision-makers to develop a long-term forward assessment on sustainable urban water management projects. This is further complicated by the difficulties of assessing sustainable designs and various design scenarios from an economic standpoint. A conventional valuation approach for urban water management projects, like Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis, fails to incorporate uncertainties, such as amount of rainfall, unit cost of water, and other uncertainties associated with future changes in technological domains. Such approach also fails to include the value of flexibility, which enables managers to adapt and reconfigure systems over time as uncertainty unfolds.