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

Abstract

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.

The Failure Risk Analysis of the Water Supply Network

“…Sustainability approaches in the planning of network utilities' transmission and maintenance, which aim to enhance reliability and fairness in the allocation of maintenance teams, present decision-making challenges, and the utilization of the maximum-flow model is recommended for these utilities to consider reliability and stocks, emphasizing the importance of cooperation among zone owners to optimize transmission reliability and maintenance income [40]. An adequate and efficient data collection system for failures should encompass essential details such as the failure date, type of failure, and precise information identifying the water supply network [14,41,42]. A comprehensive and effective system for collecting failure data should encompass several crucial elements [43].…”