Sustainable Water-Energy Nexus towards Developing Countries’ Water Sector Efficiency

Water management and energy recovery can improve a system’s sustainability and efficiency in a cost-effective solution. This research assesses the renewable energy sources used in the water sector, as well as the related water sector performance indicators within Portuguese water management systems. A deep analysis of 432 water entities in Portugal, based on ERSAR data base, was conducted in order to identify factors to be improved regarding the system efficiency. On the other hand, the potential energy recovery developed in the REDAWN project was also used as a reference for the application of micro hydropower (MHP) solutions in the water sector. A water and energy nexus model was then developed to improve the systems efficiency and sustainability. A real case study in Africa, the Nampula water supply system, located in Mozambique, was selected as a promising potential for energy recovery. The application of a pump-as-turbine (PAT) allows the reduction in system costs and environmental impacts while increasing its efficiency. The proposed MHP has a capacity to generate ~23 MWh/year, providing significant savings. The developed economic analysis indicates the project is profitable, with an IRR ~40% depending on the energy selling price. This project can avoid the emission of more than 12 tCO2 to the atmosphere, and it can help to reduce the system’s real losses by more than 10,000 m3/year. Consequently, it creates a total economic benefit of 7604 EUR/year.

Study of the Potential of Water Treatment Sludges in the Removal of Emerging Pollutants

Presently, water quantity and quality problems persist both in developed and developing countries, and concerns have been raised about the presence of emerging pollutants (EPs) in water. The circular economy provides ways of achieving sustainable resource management that can be implemented in the water sector, such as the reuse of drinking water treatment sludges (WTSs). This study evaluated the potential of WTS containing a high concentration of activated carbon for the removal of two EPs: the steroid hormones 17β-estradiol (E2) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2). To this end, WTSs from two Portuguese water treatment plants (WTPs) were characterised and tested for their hormone adsorbance potential. Both WTSs showed a promising adsorption potential for the two hormones studied due to their textural and chemical properties. For WTS1, the final concentration for both hormones was lower than the limit of quantification (LOQ). As for WTS2, the results for E2 removal were similar to WTS1, although for EE2, the removal efficiency was lower (around 50%). The overall results indicate that this method may lead to new ways of using this erstwhile residue as a possible adsorbent material for the removal of several EPs present in wastewaters or other matrixes, and as such contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets.

CCDC66 frameshift variant associated with a new form of early-onset progressive retinal atrophy in Portuguese Water Dogs

Aberrant photoreceptor function or morphogenesis leads to blinding retinal degenerative diseases, the majority of which have a genetic aetiology. A variant in PRCD previously identified in Portuguese Water Dogs (PWDs) underlies prcd (progressive rod-cone degeneration), an autosomal recessive progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) with a late onset at 3–6 years of age or older. Herein, we have identified a new form of early-onset PRA (EOPRA) in the same breed. Pedigree analysis suggested an autosomal recessive inheritance. Four PWD full-siblings affected with EOPRA diagnosed at 2–3 years of age were genotyped (173,661 SNPs) along with 2 unaffected siblings, 2 unaffected parents, and 15 unrelated control PWDs. GWAS, linkage analysis and homozygosity mapping defined a 26-Mb candidate region in canine chromosome 20. Whole-genome sequencing in one affected dog and its obligatory carrier parents identified a 1 bp insertion (CFA20:g.33,717,704_33,717,705insT (CanFam3.1); c.2262_c.2263insA) in CCDC66 predicted to cause a frameshift and truncation (p.Val747SerfsTer8). Screening of an extended PWD population confirmed perfect co-segregation of this genetic variant with the disease. Western blot analysis of COS-1 cells transfected with recombinant mutant CCDC66 expression constructs showed the mutant transcript translated into a truncated protein. Furthermore, in vitro studies suggest that the mutant CCDC66 is mislocalized to the nucleus relative to wild type CCDC66. CCDC66 variants have been associated with inherited retinal degenerations (RDs) including canine and murine ciliopathies. As genetic variants affecting the primary cilium can cause ciliopathies in which RD may be either the sole clinical manifestation or part of a syndrome, our findings further support a role for CCDC66 in retinal function and viability, potentially through its ciliary function.

Data integration for infrastructure asset management in small to medium-sized water utilities

Water utilities collect, store and manage vast data sets using many information systems (IS). For infrastructure asset management (IAM) planning those data need to be processed and transformed into information. However, information management efficiency often falls short of desired results. This happens particularly in municipalities where management is structured according to local government models. Along with the existing IS at the utilities' disposal, engineers and managers take their decisions based on information that is often incomplete, inaccurate or out-of-date. One of the main challenges faced by asset managers is integrating the several, often conflicting, sources of information available on the infrastructure, its condition and performance, and the various predictive analyses that can assist in prioritizing projects or interventions. This paper presents an overview of the IS used by Portuguese water utilities and discusses how data from different IS can be integrated in order to support IAM.

The Development of a Framework for Assessing the Energy Efficiency in Urban Water Systems and Its Demonstration in the Portuguese Water Sector

Urban water systems (UWSs) are energy-intensive worldwide, particularly for drinking-water pumping and aeration in wastewater treatment. Usual approaches to improve energy efficiency focus only on equipment and disregard the UWS as a continuum of stages from source-to-tap-to-source (abstraction/transport—treatment—drinking water transport/distribution—wastewater and stormwater collection/transport—treatment—discharge/reuse). We propose a framework for a comprehensive assessment of UWS energy efficiency and a four-level approach to enforce it: overall UWS (level 1), stage (level 2), infrastructure component (level 3) and processes/equipment (level 4). The framework is structured by efficiency and effectiveness criteria (an efficient but ineffective infrastructure is useless), earlier and newly developed performance indicators and reference values. The framework and the approach are the basis for a sound diagnosis and intervention prioritising, and are being tested in a peer-to-peer innovation project involving 13 water utilities (representing 17% of the energy consumption by the Portuguese water sector in 2017). Results of levels 1–3 of analysis herein illustrated for a water utility demonstrate the framework and approach potential to assess UWS effectiveness and energy efficiency, and to select the stages and infrastructures for improvement and deeper diagnosis.