Cross-sectoral optimization and visualization of transformation processes in urban water infrastructures in rural areas

Abstract

Predicted demographic, climatic and socio-economic changes will require adaptations of existing water supply and wastewater disposal systems. Especially in rural areas, these new challenges will affect the functionality of the present systems. This paper presents a joint interdisciplinary research project with the objective of developing an innovative software-based optimization and decision support system for the implementation of long-term transformations of existing infrastructures of water supply, wastewater and energy. The concept of the decision support and optimization tool is described and visualization methods for the presentation of results are illustrated. The model is tested in a rural case study region in the Southwest of Germany. A transformation strategy for a decentralized wastewater treatment concept and its visualization are presented for a model village.

Application of Internet of Things (IoT) Technologies in Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI): A Bibliometric Review

“…These advancements can augment the operation, performance, and capacity of existing or new infrastructure through enhanced data capture, analysis, and control of infrastructure systems. These methods have been tested in the realm of water management for monitoring, controlling, and managing water volume and quality, and for supporting decision-making practices in water distribution networks [20][21][22][23][24][25]. Despite these strides, the integration of emergent smart technologies in GSI faces multiple challenges.…”

Screening European market potentials for small modular wastewater treatment systems – an inroad to sustainability transitions in urban water management?

“…Given the high degree of regional variety of current market shares of decentralised systems, a benchmark needs to be defined across different countries. Conceptually, this is derived by specifying the optimal degree of centralisation in a given region (Downing, 1969;Converse, 1972;Abd El Gawad and Butter, 1995;Starkl et al, 2012;Zeferino, Cunha and Antunes, 2012;Lee et al, 2013;Poustie et al, 2014;Arora et al, 2015;Van Afferden et al, 2015;Baron et al, 2015;Sapkota et al, 2016;Wilderer et al, 2016;). The degree of centralisation can be operationalised as the percentage of the population in a given region that is connected to a central wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), assuming that all other households are served by a decentralised option, i.e.…”