Evaluating the application of a decision support system in identifying adequate wastewater treatment for small communities. A case study: the Fluvia River Basin

2005 ◽  
Vol 51 (10) ◽  
pp. 179-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Alemany ◽  
J. Comas ◽  
C. Turon ◽  
M.D. Balaguer ◽  
M. Poch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Decision Support ◽  
Decision Support System ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Support System ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Complex Problem ◽  
Adequate Treatment ◽  
Small Communities ◽  
Different Characteristics

The identification of adequate wastewater treatment for small communities is a complex problem since it demands a combination of data from different sources, such as aspects of the community and landscape, the receiving environment and the available wastewater treatment technologies. The Catalan Water Agency (Agència Catalana de l'Aigua) considered using an EDSS (Environmental Decision Support System) as a tool to help water managers select the most adequate treatment for the urban wastewater of nearly 3,500 small communities in Catalonia (Spain). From that moment, EDSS was applied to all the river basins in Catalonia. In this paper the authors present the results obtained for the 76 small communities located in one of these river basins: the Fluvia River Basin. The characteristics of the community used in the reasoning process of the EDSS, the list of selected wastewater treatment alternatives, the technical environmental justification for the selected treatments and the reasons for discarding, favouring or disadvantaging them are presented. Finally, some results for the Fluvia River Basin are compared with those obtained in other Catalan river basins with different characteristics in order to evaluate which are the significant features in identifying adequate wastewater treatments.

Development of a knowledge-based decision support system for identifying adequate wastewater treatment for small communities

2004 ◽  
Vol 48 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 393-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Comas ◽  
J. Alemany ◽  
M. Poch ◽  
A. Torrens ◽  
M. Salgot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Decision Support ◽  
Decision Support System ◽  
Support System ◽  
Treatment Plan ◽  
Complex Problem ◽  
Treatment Level ◽  
Adequate Treatment ◽  
Small Communities ◽  
Knowledge Based

The identification of adequate treatment for small communities is a complex problem since it makes it necessary to combine aspects of the community and landscape, the receiving environment, and the available wastewater treatment technologies. This paper presents the development and implementation of a Knowledge-Based Decision Support System (KB-DSS) to tackle this problem. Different knowledge sources have been consulted in order to make up a comprehensive and accurate knowledge base. The core of the KB-DSS embraces two objectives. The first one is to assist in the selection of the treatment level adequate to fulfil the target quality standards for the receiving environment. The second one is to select the specific type of treatment. The KB-DSS is being applied to each one of the 3,482 different small communities comprised in the Small Communities Wastewater Treatment Plan of Catalonia, grouped according to river catchments. This paper also summarizes the different steps involved in the operation of the knowledge-based DSS when solving a real case study.

scholarly journals Validation of a Model Appropriateness Framework Using the Elbe Decision Support System

2011 ◽  
pp. 193-218
Author(s):  
Yue-Ping Xu ◽  
Martijn J. Booij
Keyword(s):  
Decision Support ◽  
Decision Support System ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Support System ◽  
River Basin Management ◽  
Development Stage ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Basin Management ◽  
Use Of Models

This paper describes validation of an appropriateness framework, which has been developed in a former study, to determine appropriate models under uncertainty in a decision support system for river basin management. Models are regarded as ‘appropriate’ if they produce final outputs within adequate uncertainty bands that enable decision-makers to distinguish or rank different river engineering measures. The appropriateness framework has been designed as a tool to stimulate the use of models in decision-making under uncertainty and to strengthen the communication between modelers and decision-makers. Through the application to a different river with different objectives in this validation study from the river used in the development stage, this paper investigates whether the appropriateness framework works in a different situation than it was designed for. Recommendations from the development stage are taken into account in this validation case study as well. The final results from the study showed a successful validation of the appropriateness framework and suggested further possibilities for the application in decision support systems for river basin management.

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