Digitalisation for Water Sustainability: Barriers to Implementing Circular Economy in Smart Water Management

“Clean water and sanitation” is listed as one of the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and implementing circular economy principles in the water sector has been widely regarded as an important approach in achieving this goal. In the era of Industry 4.0, research and practice in the digitalisation of the water sector to create a smart water system have attracted increasing attention. Despite the growing interest, limited research has been devoted to how digital technologies might enhance circularity. In practice, smart water systems often fail to promote circularity in such aspects as water reuse and resources recovery. This paper aims to identify the main barriers to implementing circularity in the smart water management system in Zhejiang, China. The research adopts a mixed research method that includes a literature review to identify the potential barriers from the existing studies, a case study to determine the most critical barriers in practice, and a fuzzy Delphi method to reach a consensus on the crucial barriers. The research identified 22 main barriers to implementing circular economy in smart water management. The barriers are divided into three categories: infrastructure and economic, technology, and institution and governance. The results show that the barriers related to recycling technologies, digital technology know-how, and the lack of CE awareness raise the most concern. Our findings also indicate that experts are interested in the decentralized wastewater treatment system. This research provides significant insights that practitioners, researchers, and policymakers can use in developing and implementing digital-based CE strategies to reduce water scarcity and pollution.

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A state-of-the-art-review on grey water management: a survey from 2000 to 2020s

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2020.549 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 82 (12) ◽

pp. 2786-2797

Author(s):

Hosam Elhegazy ◽

Mohamed M. M. Eid

Keyword(s):

Water Management ◽

Water Resources ◽

Water Reuse ◽

Building Design ◽

Summary Table ◽

Grey Water ◽

Sustainable Building ◽

Significant Research ◽

Important Approach ◽

Quality Water

Abstract Water reuse can contribute to reducing pressures on water resources, as an important approach and practice, reducing the demand for potable water for purposes not requiring high quality water. With water resources being depleted and the demand for water increased, grey water reuse becomes more popular in order to preserve water worldwide. This paper presents a comprehensive review of all significant research and reviews existing case studies to review the present knowledge with respect to the characteristics of grey water. The main summary table covers 63 works that focus on the application of these methods to different fields of sustainable building design. Key fields are reviewed in detail: grey water, including water reuse; grey water recycling; water sustainability; building design optimization; and wastewater of several areas simultaneously, with particular focus on buildings. This research aims to introduce the review of the research that covered the grey water management. Various engineering databases, international journals, and conference proceedings were searched. International journals were searched for relevant research papers. This paper provides perspectives on grey water context in order to frame the breadth and multiple dimensions it encompasses, to summarize recent activities on selected relevant topics, and to highlight possible future directions in research and implementations.

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A Systemic View on Circular Economy in the Water Industry: Learnings from a Belgian and Dutch Case

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13063313 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 3313

Author(s):

Tanaka Mandy Mbavarira ◽

Christine Grimm

Keyword(s):

Water Resources ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Water Reuse ◽

Water System ◽

Legal Framework ◽

Water Industry ◽

Natural Systems ◽

Urban Water System ◽

Mapping Tool ◽

True Value

Water is fundamental to our existence and has increasingly been put under pressure by soaring population growth, urbanization, agricultural farming and climate change; all, of which impact the quantity and quality of our water resources. Water utilities (WUs) are challenged to provide clean, safe drinking water when faced with aging, costly infrastructure, a price of water that is not reflective of its true value and the need for infrastructure to remain resilient in a time when threats of floods and droughts are pervasive. In the linear take-use-discharge approach, wastewater is treated only to be returned to waterways and extracted again for treatment before drinking. This can no longer sustain our water resources as it is costly, energy-intensive and environmentally unsound. Circular economy (CE) has been gaining attention in the water industry to tackle this. It follows the 6Rs strategy of reduce, reuse, recycle, reclaim, recover and restore to keep water in circulation for longer and reduce the burden on natural systems. The aim of this study is to determine what the economic and operational system effects of CE are on WUs, informing them of CE’s potential to change their business operations and business model while highlighting its associated challenges. Based on a review of literature, input from expert interviews (Q4 2019) and case studies, an economic view of the urban water system is qualitatively modeled, on top, of which a circular water economy system is designed using a causal loop-diagramming system mapping tool. Digitalization, water reuse and resource recovery were determined to underpin circularity in water, providing operational benefits through efficiencies and diversification of revenue streams. However, issues of investment and a missing enabling legal framework are slowing the rate of uptake. On this basis, CE represents both a challenge and an opportunity for the water industry.

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The circular economy in the water sector: Elements, processes, recommendations

Economic Analysis Theory and Practice ◽

10.24891/ea.20.6.990 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (6) ◽

pp. 990-1013

Author(s):

Bagrat A. ERZNKYAN ◽

Karine A. FONTANA

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Water Reuse ◽

Sustainable Development Goals ◽

Closed Loop ◽

Successful Implementation ◽

Water Sector ◽

Research Issues ◽

Economy Model ◽

Development Goals

Subject. We study the main processes, characterizing the circular economy in the water sector. Objectives. The purpose is to research issues related to circular economy, including the water reuse, to develop proposals for the formation of a roadmap for the transition to a circular economy model. Methods. The study employs analytical and logical methods, theoretical insights into the analysis of processes related to the circular economy, and practical works of countries on the formation of a roadmap for transition to a circular economy model. Results. The paper concludes on strengths and weaknesses, the potential and possible threats of water reuse in the implementation of the circular economy concept. It identifies obstacles hindering the dissemination of principles of the circular economy in Russia, in particular, the practices for reuse of water resources. We present proposals to develop a roadmap for successful implementation of the circular economy concept. Conclusions. The proposals can provide a basis for forming an idea of a closed-loop economy in a country or region. They can be used at the stage of transition to a circular economy at the national and regional levels, to achieve sustainable development goals.

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Robust Control for Urban Living Water System with Seasonal Volatility

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.295-298.1927 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 295-298 ◽

pp. 1927-1930

Author(s):

Ke Bai Li

Keyword(s):

Water Management ◽

Robust Control ◽

Control Method ◽

Supply And Demand ◽

Water System ◽

Management Model ◽

State Variables ◽

Urban Living ◽

Target Value ◽

Seasonal Volatility

Established urban living water management model. With capital and labor as state variables, using the pole assignment robust control method, realize the urban living water system supply and demand balance tending to target value.

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Global Water Crisis: Concept of a New Interactive Shower Panel Based on IoT and Cloud Computing for Rational Water Consumption

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11094081 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 4081

Author(s):

Adrian Czajkowski ◽

Leszek Remiorz ◽

Sebastian Pawlak ◽

Eryk Remiorz ◽

Jakub Szyguła ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Management ◽

Water Resources ◽

Water Consumption ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Potable Water ◽

Raw Material ◽

Energy Industry ◽

Energy Transformation ◽

Flow Measurements ◽

Essential Resource

The present paper describes the problem and effects of water scarcity and the possibility of rational use of this resource in the idea of a Circular Economy (CE) and sustainable development. Rational water management requires innovation, due to the growing demand for this raw material. It seems that water is widely available, e.g., in Poland, there is no problem with drought. Unfortunately, Polish water resources are shrinking and modern solutions, as well as the construction of new and modernisation of old infrastructure, are some of the few solutions that can protect against a shortage of potable water. Water is also an essential resource for economic development. It is used in every sector of the economy. Limited water resources lead to an inevitable energy transformation because, in its present state, the Polish energy industry consumes huge amounts of water. Due to the above statements, the authors propose a solution in the form of an interactive shower panel that contributes to more rational water management (e.g., in households or hotels) based on the latest technological achievements. This device enables the creation of water consumption statistics based on accurate liquid flow measurements and the transfer of data to the user’s mobile device. This innovation aims to make the user aware of the amount of water used, which in turn can contribute to lower water consumption.

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Efficient Smart Water Management System Using IoT Technology

10.1109/acmi53878.2021.9528202 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Md. Nazmul Alam ◽

Abu Shufian ◽

Md. Abdullah Al Masum ◽

Abdullah Al Noman

Keyword(s):

Water Management ◽

Management System ◽

Water Management System ◽

Smart Water

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Analysis of Stormwater Management Systems: Sustainable Approaches for Wuhan, China

Journal of Sustainable Development ◽

10.5539/jsd.v9n1p89 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 89 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Rong Sheng ◽

Nawari O. Nawari

Keyword(s):

Water Management ◽

Water Reuse ◽

System Analysis ◽

Central City ◽

Geographical Information ◽

Storm Water ◽

Wetland Protection ◽

Land Form ◽

Storm Water Management ◽

Inland Inundation

<p>With the rapid pace of urbanization and drastic transformation of economic form, Wuhan, a central city of China is facing serious inland inundation problems in recent decades. This study intends to alleviate Wuhan’s storm water management problems in a sustainable way and give suggestions as to the improvement of residential area storm water management and lakeside wetland protection. Based on the data provided by Geographical Information System, analysis is done to the land form of the whole city and the change of its lake areas, which evidently demonstrates the influences of economic development on the natural environment of the city and reveals the causes of the inundation problems. Taking the population growth, land use and climate change into consideration, this research argues that strategies such as green roof fostering, neighbor-hood water reuse and wetland conservation can make a difference in stormwater drainage and prevention of inland inundation in Wuhan.</p>

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Water institutional reforms in Chile

Water Policy ◽

10.2166/wp.2005.0004 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 53-69 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Robert R. Hearnea ◽

Guillermo Donosob

Keyword(s):

Water Management ◽

Institutional Change ◽

Institutional Economics ◽

Group Behavior ◽

Path Dependency ◽

Reform Process ◽

Institutional Changes ◽

Legislative Process ◽

Water Sector ◽

Management Institutions

This paper provides a review of the recent institutional changes observed in the water sector in Chile. This review is then used to reflect the Chilean experience in the light of the results concerning institutional change found in existing literature on both institutional economics in general and water institutional economics in particular. These results relate to factors explaining institutional change and the role of endogenous institutional features, such as path dependency and institutional linkages during the reform process. Against a brief description of the main features of the water sector in Chile, the paper provides an overview of Chilean water management institutions and the reforms process ongoing since the 1980s. The factors that motivated institutional changes in Chile's water management include ideology, transactions costs, interest-group behavior and path dependency. While the already observed institutional changes, such as the transferable water rights, water markets and urban water reforms, are all significant, further reforms are delayed by the deliberate legislative process required for changes as a result of the 1980 Constitution. Future water reforms in Chile, therefore, depend on a very difficult process of political reforms needed to change the 1980 Constitution and the 1981 Water Code.

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