Cost-Effective River Water Quality Management using Integrated Real-Time Control Technology

Abstract

Integrated real-time control (RTC) of urban wastewater systems is increasingly presented as a promising and emerging strategy to deliver improved surface water quality by responsive operation according to real-time data collected from the sewer system, treatment plant, and the receiving water. However, the detailed benefits and costs associated with integrated RTC have yet to be comprehensively evaluated. Built on state-of-the-art modeling and analytical tools, a three-step framework is proposed to develop integrated RTC strategies which cost-effectively maximize environmental outcomes. Results from a case study show integrated RTC can improve river quality by over 20% to meet the "good status" requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive with a 15% reduced cost, due to responsive aeration with changing environmental assimilation capacity. The cost-effectiveness of integrated RTC strategies is further demonstrated against tightening environmental standards (to the strictest levels) and against two commonly used compliance strategies. Compared to current practices (seasonal/monthly based operation), integrated RTC strategies can reduce costs while improving resilience of the system to disturbances and reducing environmental risk.

Recent Advances in Adaptive Catchment Management and Reservoir Operation

“…With a better understanding of the interdependency and complexity of various processes and systems in a catchment, the utilization of water resources must be considered from an integrated perspective, including the integration of physical, chemical and ecological processes; integration of information and communications technology (ICT) and infrastructure [44]; and cooperation between institutions and stakeholders. Meanwhile, growing populations and economic activities increase the demands on food, energy and water, and their nexus needs to be addressed in the context of deep uncertainty arising from climate change [7,45].…”

A Methodology for the Design of RTC Strategies for Combined Sewer Networks

“…The default parameters should thus always be evaluated for their sensitivity, e.g., by using Morris screening [52], as done here, or by applying other methods [40,54,63]. Influential parameters can be further modified by the modeler until a desirable outcome is reached, either by manually adjusting them in a trial-and-error manner, or based on expert knowledge or through the use of optimization routines [64]. The final parameterization is then to be modified by means of a long-term simulation, ideally using spatially-variable rainfall where available.…”

“…Though the procedure in its current form has been shown to be useful for cases using CSO volume and flooding as evaluated criteria (also used by the majority of RTC related literature [25]), its applicability might be limited to cases where water-quantitative evaluation criteria are used. Though water quality or impact-based control, as recently demonstrated for several case studies [64,65], might be a desirable application, this may require the implementation of a different approach for control location selection.…”

Water-energy-food nexus: Concepts, questions and methodologies

“…Kondolf et al (2014) investigated the impacts of rapid development of hydropower dams and found that an unprecedented boom of hydropower dams might result in a greater sediment starvation, leading to a profound effect on downstream productivity of the Mekong River (Winemiller, 2017). (Stillwell et al, 2010), integrated real time control (Meng et al, 2017), and operational permitting (Meng et al, 2016). In contrast, Although above one-way impact studies facilitate preliminary assessments of nexus impacts and trade-offs, they merely draw a partial picture of nexus systems and manifest limited capacity in nexus analysis owing to their inability to reflect feedback and second-round effects (Ferroukhi et al, 2015).…”