Urban-Water Harmony model to evaluate the urban water management

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (11) ◽  
pp. 1774-1781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yifan Ding ◽  
Deshan Tang ◽  
Yuhang Wei ◽  
Sun Yin
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Water Environment ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management

Water resources in many urban areas are under enormous stress due to large-scale urban expansion and population explosion. The decision-makers are often faced with the dilemma of either maintaining high economic growth or protecting water resources and the environment. Simple criteria of water supply and drainage do not reflect the requirement of integrated urban water management. The Urban-Water Harmony (UWH) model is based on the concept of harmony and offers a more integrated approach to urban water management. This model calculates four dimensions, namely urban development, urban water services, water–society coordination, and water environment coordination. And the Analytic Hierarchy Process has been used to determine the indices weights. We applied the UWH model to Beijing, China for an 11-year assessment. Our findings show that, despite the severe stress inherent in rapid development and water shortage, the urban water relationship of Beijing is generally evolving in a positive way. The social–economic factors such as the water recycling technologies contribute a lot to this change. The UWH evaluation can provide a reasonable analysis approach to combine various urban and water indices to produce an integrated and comparable evaluation index. This, in turn, enables more effective water management in decision-making processes.

scholarly journals How Does Digitization Succeed in the Municipal Water Sector? The WaterExe4.0 Meta-Study Identifies Barriers as well as Success Factors, and Reveals Expectations for the Future

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (22) ◽  
pp. 7709
Author(s):  
Günter Müller-Czygan ◽  
Viktoriya Tarasyuk ◽  
Christian Wagner ◽  
Manuela Wimmer
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Digital Systems ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Water Industry ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
The Future ◽  
German Speaking

Water is increasingly taking center stage when it comes to coping with climate change. Especially in urban areas, negative consequences from heavy rainfall events and prolonged dry periods are rising worldwide. In the past, the various tasks of urban water management were performed by different departments that often did not cooperate with each other (water supply, wastewater disposal, green space irrigation, etc.), as the required water supply was not a question of available water volumes. This is already changing with climate change, in some cases even dramatically. More and more, it is necessary to consider how to distribute available water resources in urban areas, especially during dry periods, since wastewater treatment is also becoming more complex and costly. In the future, urban water management will examine water use in terms of its various objectives, and will need to provide alternative water resources for these different purposes (groundwater, river water, storm water, treated wastewater, etc.). The necessary technological interconnection requires intelligent digital systems. Furthermore, the water industry must also play its role in global CO2 reduction and make its procedural treatment processes more efficient; this will also only succeed with adequate digital systems. Although digitization has experienced an enormous surge in development over the last five years and numerous solutions are available to address the challenges described previously, there is still a large gap between the scope of offerings and their implementation. Researchers at Hof University of Applied Sciences have investigated the reasons for this imbalance as part of WaterExe4.0, the first meta-study on digitization in the German-speaking water industry, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Only 11% of roughly 700 identified products, projects and studies relate to real applications. For example, the surveyed experts of the water sector stated that everyday problems are considered too little or hardly at all in new solutions, which greatly overburdens users. Furthermore, they see no adequate possibility for a systematic analysis of new ideas to identify significant obstacles and to find the best way to start and implement a digitization project. The results from four methodologically different sub-surveys (literature and market research, survey, expert interviews and workshops) provide a reliable overview of the current situation in the German-speaking water industry and its expectations for the future. The results are also transferable to other countries.

scholarly journals Efficiency Analysis of Water Conservation Measures in Sanitary Infrastructure Systems by Means of a Systemic Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 3055
Author(s):  
Karoline Richter ◽  
Daniel Costa dos Santos ◽  
Aloísio Leoni Schmid
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Urban Impacts ◽  
Urban Water Use ◽  
Effective Drainage

The challenges of urban water management and sanitary infrastructure (water supply (WSS), sewage (SS), urban drainage (UDS) systems) are increasingly frequent in Brazilian cities whether as a combined result of overcrowding and/or a lack governmental interest and hence investments, in the sector. Such an increase in environmental pressure reflects directly on population welfare and well-being related to the availability of drinking water, wastewater treatment, and access to effective drainage systems in order to minimize, or at least reduce, the occurrence of urban flooding and associated public health risks. Thus, alternatives with an integrated approach to urban water management are interesting to the reality of countries such as Brazil. The urban water use (UWU) model is a strategic planning tool with integrated way of thinking, which selects measures to mitigate the urban impacts in sanitary infrastructure and buildings. In this sense, the objective of this research is to apply the UWU model in a case study in Curitiba/Brazil to demonstrate the effect of the systematic approach and its intrinsic synergies in the systems in question, promoting water conservation in urban areas. The results are favorable to integrated systems with synergy use, evidencing quantitatively a greater efficiency in them.

scholarly journals Water demand management – shifting urban water management towards sustainability

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 49-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Kayaga ◽  
I. Smout ◽  
H. Al-Maskati
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Demand ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Demand Management ◽  
High Rate ◽  
World Population ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Water Demand Management

Whereas the world population is increasing at a high rate, especially in urban areas, water resources have not only remained constant, but are being polluted at a high rate, which inevitably results in fresh water scarcity. Current urban water management concepts and practices cannot adequately respond to these changes. There is need for water professionals to change the way they manage water resources in urban areas if we are to ensure economic and environmental sustainability. In addition to consideration of supply-side options, we need to apply water demand management (WDM) tools both on the utility and end-user sides. This paper describes the basic concepts of WDM, provides a case study of their application in Bahrain, and briefly introduces the five-year EU-funded SWTCH Project that aims at creating a paradigm shift in urban water management practices.

Urban Water Resources Toolbox - Integrating Groundwater into Urban Water Management

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (0) ◽  
pp. 9781780402437-9781780402437 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Wolf ◽  
B. Morris ◽  
S. Burn
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management

Working towards sustainable urban water management: the vulnerability blind spot

2011 ◽  
Vol 64 (12) ◽  
pp. 2362-2369 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Werbeloff ◽  
R. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Blind Spot ◽  
Response Strategy ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Sustainable Urban Water Management ◽  
Diversity Strategy

The unprecedented water scarcity in Australia coincides with the adoption of a new urban water rhetoric. The ‘Security through Diversity’ strategy has been adopted in a number of Australian cities as a new and innovative approach to urban water management. Although this strategy offers a more holistic approach to urban water management, in practice, the Security through Diversity strategy is largely being interpreted and implemented in a way that maintains the historical dependence on large scale, centralised water infrastructure and therefore perpetuates existing urban water vulnerabilities. This research explores the implementation of Security through Diversity as the new water scarcity response strategy in the cities of Perth and Melbourne. Through a qualitative study with over sixty-five urban water practitioners, the results reveal that the practitioners have absorbed the new Security through Diversity language whilst maintaining the existing problem and solution framework for urban water management. This can be explained in terms of an entrenched technological path dependency and cognitive lock-in that is preventing practitioners from more comprehensively engaging with the complexities of the Security through Diversity strategy, which is ultimately perpetuating the existing vulnerability of our cities. This paper suggests that greater engagement with the underlying purpose of the security though diversity strategy is a necessary first step to overcome the constraints of the traditional technological paradigm and more effectively reduce the continued vulnerability of Australian cities.

A water efficiency rating system for land developments implementing integrated urban water management

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Hunt ◽  
M. Anda ◽  
K. Mathew ◽  
G. Ho
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Capital Investment ◽  
Land Development ◽  
Rating System ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Water Efficiency ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Financial Reward ◽  
Integrated Urban Water Management

Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) in land developments is becoming increasingly necessary in order to more efficiently utilise and manage water resources. Techniques including the control of stormwater runoff, increasing infiltration and providing opportunities for retention, treatment and reuse of both stormwater and wastewater, are well suited to being designed into the development rather than considered post-construction or not at all. There can be extensive capital investment by developers to implement IUWM which is often not returned in the land sales. This produces a disincentive for the developer unless the contribution is recognised and rewarded either financially or with appropriate marketing advantage. A system to rate land developments based upon IUWM has been developed that would quantifiably assess how effectively water resources would be utilised in a proposed land development. This assessment would provide a point of comparison between developments allowing property purchasers, developers, utilities and legislators to quickly compare how well the development performs in terms of IUWM, providing a mechanism for financial reward or recognition. This paper discusses the development of a model to quantifiably assess land developments for water efficient use and introduces a rating system with which land developments can be compared in terms of IUWM.

Urban Rain Flood Disaster Mechanism and Prevention Research

2015 ◽  
Vol 730 ◽  
pp. 21-24
Author(s):  
Lin Juan Xu ◽  
Jun Yu Deng ◽  
Chen Chen ◽  
Shan Shan Han
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Flood Disaster ◽  
Basic Method ◽  
Prevention Research ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Basic Definition ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Management Work

The urban rain flood is a disaster, but it is also a kind of important water resources, so it is important for the urban water management work to use rain flood resource safely and effectively and turn the harm into a benefit. In this paper, the basic definition of urban rain flood was summarized, the characteristics were revealed, the mechanism was analyzed and the utilization and optimization measures of the urban rain flood were put forward, all of these provide the basic method to use the urban rain flood resources rationally.

Green infrastructure for flood-risk management in Dar es Salaam and Copenhagen: exploring the potential for transitions towards sustainable urban water management

Water Policy ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Mguni ◽  
L. Herslund ◽  
M. B. Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Dar Es Salaam ◽  
Flood Risk Management ◽  
Urban Drainage ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Sewer Systems ◽  
Sustainable Urban Water Management

The risk of flooding in urban areas could be better approached by complementing conventional sewer systems with sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) for storm-water management. This may be the case for developing world cities like Dar es Salaam with incomplete sewer services, as well as cities like Copenhagen with fully developed sewer systems. This paper explores some theories relevant to understanding how the implementation of SUDS may be one option for supporting a transition towards sustainable urban water management (SUWM). Using interviews, document analysis and observation, a comparison of the opportunities and barriers to the implementation of SUDS in Dar es Salaam and Copenhagen is presented. The results indicate that a bottom-up approach in Dar es Salaam is important, with the community level taking the lead, while in Copenhagen the top-down approach currently employed is promising. The ability of the institutional frameworks of both cities to support the implementation of SUDS is also discussed.

scholarly journals The application of a Web-geographic information system for improving urban water cycle modelling

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (11) ◽  
pp. 1838-1846 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Mair ◽  
C. Mikovits ◽  
M. Sengthaler ◽  
M. Schöpf ◽  
H. Kinzel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Desktop Computers ◽  
High Knowledge ◽  
The Impact

Research in urban water management has experienced a transition from traditional model applications to modelling water cycles as an integrated part of urban areas. This includes the interlinking of models of many research areas (e.g. urban development, socio-economy, urban water management). The integration and simulation is realized in newly developed frameworks (e.g. DynaMind and OpenMI) and often assumes a high knowledge in programming. This work presents a Web based urban water management modelling platform which simplifies the setup and usage of complex integrated models. The platform is demonstrated with a small application example on a case study within the Alpine region. The used model is a DynaMind model benchmarking the impact of newly connected catchments on the flooding behaviour of an existing combined sewer system. As a result the workflow of the user within a Web browser is demonstrated and benchmark results are shown. The presented platform hides implementation specific aspects behind Web services based technologies such that the user can focus on his main aim, which is urban water management modelling and benchmarking. Moreover, this platform offers a centralized data management, automatic software updates and access to high performance computers accessible with desktop computers and mobile devices.

A conceptual framework for addressing complexity and unfolding transition dynamics when developing sustainable adaption strategies in urban water management

2012 ◽  
Vol 66 (11) ◽  
pp. 2393-2401 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. F. Fratini ◽  
M. Elle ◽  
M. B. Jensen ◽  
P. S. Mikkelsen
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Management ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
System Optimization ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Urban Water Management ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Transition

To achieve a successful and sustainable adaptation to climate change we need to transform the way we think about change. Much water management research has focused on technical innovation with a range of new solutions developed to achieve a ‘more sustainable and integrated urban water management cycle’. But Danish municipalities and utility companies are struggling to bring such solutions into practice. ‘Green infrastructure’, for example, requires the consideration of a larger range of aspects related to the urban context than the traditional urban water system optimization. There is the need for standardized methods and guidelines to organize transdisciplinary processes where different types of knowledge and perspectives are taken into account. On the basis of the macro–meso–micro pattern inspired by complexity science and transition theory, we developed a conceptual framework to organize processes addressing the complexity characterizing urban water management in the context of climate change. In this paper the framework is used to organize a research process aiming at understanding and unfolding urban dynamics for sustainable transition. The final goal is to enable local authorities and utilities to create the basis for managing and catalysing the technical and organizational innovation necessary for a sustainable transition towards climate change adaptation in urban areas.

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