Article
Environmental Sciences
Orazio Giustolisi, Francesco G. G. Ciliberti, Luigi Berardi, Daniele Biagio Laucelli
Summary: Leakage management is a crucial task worldwide, which can be achieved through pressure control and District Metering Area (DMA) design. This study investigates the impact of leakage management on water age in two real water distribution networks, using advanced hydraulic modeling and sensitivity analysis.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Segun O. Olatinwo, Trudi H. Joubert
Summary: This study proposes a new resource allocation method to optimize the energy efficiency and data throughput of a water quality monitoring system. The proposed method improves system performance by dynamically allocating hybrid access points and integrating edge computing for real-time monitoring and timely access to water quality data.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Gopinathan R. Abhijith, Avi Ostfeld
Summary: The complexity of modeling water quality variations in water distribution systems is discussed in this article. The existing macroscale models have limitations in representing reaction mechanisms and intermediate formation. To overcome these limitations, a new approach based on metabolic network modeling principles is proposed.
Article
Environmental Studies
Xiaowei Fu, Ruibin Wu, Haiyue Qi, Hailong Yin
Summary: This paper presents a methodology for assessing the surface water quality and long-term trends of China's seven major basins. The study reveals significant improvement in water quality over the past 15 years and weekly water quality changes. It also highlights the spatial heterogeneity of water quality between southern and northern rivers in China.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REVIEW
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Stefan Christopher, Ute Michels, Gunter Gunkel
Summary: The study aimed to develop a new practical method for determining larvae size classes and analyzing the growth of the larvae in order to increase the understanding of macroinvertebrates in drinking water pipe management. The research found that the chironomid Paratanytarsus grimmii reproduces rapidly through parthenogenic reproduction and forms populations within drinking water distribution systems in Northern Germany. Five generations of P. grimmii were observed per year, with a maximum abundance of 6350 ind. m(-3) in 2020 and 2021. Mass accumulation occurred during the late-summer/autumn period.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Joby Boxall, Mirjam Blokker, Peter Schaap, Vanessa Speight, Stewart Husband
Summary: Discoloured drinking water, caused by elevated concentrations of organic and inorganic particles, is unacceptable. It is proposed and shown how the processes behind the cohesive layers and gravitational sedimentation theories both occur and how to integrate them to better explain observed behavior and inform operational interventions to reduce discolouration. Future research addressing deficiencies in understanding material accumulation will enable determination of long term sustainable management strategies to safeguard distribution of high-quality drinking water.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Kegong Diao, Donghwi Jung, Raziyeh Farmani, Guangtao Fu, David Butler, Kevin Lansey
Summary: This study focuses on the interdependency among modules in water distribution systems, measuring and visualizing the impact of changes in one module on another. The research reveals that most modules have low interdependencies, with only a few critical modules significantly affecting others. Highly interconnected topologies do not necessarily result in strong and complex module interdependencies, which simplifies various analyses for practical applications in WDSs.
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Esam Helal, Talaat Taher El-Gamal, Alaa Ezzat Zidane
Summary: In Egypt, the tail end regions of main canals, such as the Mit Yazid canal, heavily rely on agricultural drainage water. This study aims to improve the situation by mixing drainage water with surface water at head reaches while maintaining environmental standards. The proposed solutions were validated using simulations and water quality models (HEC-RAS model).
AIN SHAMS ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Sepide Khaeez, S. Mehdy Hashemy Shahdany
Summary: The study found that implementing non-structural alternatives can improve the effectiveness and equity of agricultural water distribution in different scenarios. Furthermore, these alternatives also have positive effects on reducing energy consumption and groundwater extraction.
COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS IN AGRICULTURE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Gopinathan R. Abhijith, Avi Ostfeld
Summary: Past water distribution systems management studies have focused on residual chlorine as the sole indicator of water quality reliability, neglecting other emerging water quality parameters. This paper proposes a flexible decision-making framework that integrates mechanistic modeling and multi-criteria decision-making to evaluate different operating alternatives based on water quality parameters in water distribution systems. The results indicate that controlling disinfection by-products formation and taste and odor problems are critical for ensuring optimal performance of water distribution systems.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
K. C. Bal Krishna, Arumugam Sathasivan, Maneesha P. Ginige
Summary: This study identified 31 putative pathogenic bacteria in laboratory and full-scale chloraminated water distribution systems, with Mycolicibacterium fortuitum and Pseudomonas aeruginosa being the predominant species. The study highlights the diverse abundance of pathogenic bacteria resilient towards chloramine and suggests that metagenomics surveillance of drinking water can serve as a rapid assessment and an early warning of outbreaks.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mario Maiolo, Daniela Pantusa
Summary: The vulnerability of drinking water supply systems is influenced by factors such as failures, security loss, man-made threats, and changes in supply-water quality. Monitoring and transparency on water availability and quality are increasingly important. An analysis of water quality monitoring data was conducted using multivariate techniques to identify influential parameters and clusters.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Taewook Kim, Donghwi Jung, Do Guen Yoo, Seunghyeok Hong, Sanghoon Jun, Joong Hoon Kim
Summary: This study proposes a framework that combines structured and unstructured data to identify water quality events in water distribution systems. The results show that combining these two types of data improves the detection of water quality events.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
S. L. Weston, R. P. Collins, J. B. Boxall
Summary: This research provides new insights into how hydraulic transients can mobilise material adhered to the pipe wall within drinking water distribution networks, impacting water quality and customer satisfaction. The study shows that mobilisation generally occurs in the first dynamic surge of the transient, with differences observed between the physical processes governing mobilisation in different types of transients.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Gopinathan R. Abhijith, Avi Ostfeld
Summary: The present study aims to develop a new computer-based tool called EPANET-C to simplify water quality modeling of water distribution systems (WDS) and overcome challenges faced by EPANET-MSX. EPANET-C has the potential to become a standard tool in the field.
Article
Energy & Fuels
F. Liu, A. Schellart, J. Boxall, M. Mayfield, S. Tait
Summary: This study explores the opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from UK domestic heating by utilizing existing drinking water and wastewater assets, in conjunction with local renewable energy generation. The results show that this approach can significantly reduce emissions and is robust across different future scenarios.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS-ENERGY
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
F. Liu, A. Schellart, W. Shepherd, J. Boxall, M. Mayfield, S. Tait
Summary: This study investigates spatial and temporal conflicts in meeting domestic heat demand through renewable electrical energy supply and low-grade decentralised heat recovery from the urban drainage network in a UK case study area. The findings suggest that adopting an optimised and integrated water-energy system would lead to a 60% reduction in current carbon emissions.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Lewis O. Makana, Will J. Shepherd, Simon Tait, Christopher D. F. Rogers, Nicole Metje, Joby B. Boxall, Alma N. A. Schellart
Summary: This paper examines the role of pipe deterioration prediction approaches for optimizing maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation of buried water supply, wastewater collection, and drainage networks. It highlights the need for broader and richer data sets to inform the development and application of such approaches.
JOURNAL OF PIPELINE SYSTEMS ENGINEERING AND PRACTICE
(2022)
Correction
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Katherine E. Fish, Nik Reeves-McLaren, Stewart Husband, Joby Boxall
NPJ BIOFILMS AND MICROBIOMES
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Iftekhar Sunny, Stewart Husband, Joby Boxall
Summary: Simulating the long-term discolouration behavior of large trunk mains can help water utilities understand and manage these assets and reduce customer dissatisfaction. The Variable Condition Discolouration Model (VCDM) is validated using field data from three similar trunk mains with different hydraulic maintenance regimes. The model accurately reproduces measured turbidity responses with a general accuracy of +/- 0.25 NTU.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-WATER RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Sarai Diaz, Joby Boxall, Louis Lamarche, Javier Gonzalez
Summary: This research evaluates the impact of temperature on the processes in Drinking Water Distribution Systems (DWDS), and specifically focuses on the finite heat capacity of the ground. The study finds that considering the finite heat capacity of the ground has a significant impact on water-ground heat transfer in DWDS for distances up to tens of kilometers. Although the temperature differences found were small, a few degrees Celsius, they have implications for reaction rates, such as chlorine decay, and will affect the entire downstream network of the DWDS.
JOURNAL OF WATER RESOURCES PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Killian Gleeson, Stewart Husband, John Gaffney, Joby Boxall
Summary: The derivation of information from monitoring drinking water quality at high spatiotemporal resolution is limited by variable data quality. A framework is developed to overcome this by applying rule-based data quality assessment, cross-correlation, and spatiotemporal information. The framework provides quality-assured data and actionable insight.
AQUA-WATER INFRASTRUCTURE ECOSYSTEMS AND SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Grigorios Kyritsakas, Joseph B. Boxall, Vanessa L. Speight
Summary: Water utilities collect large amounts of data, but they are not effectively utilized. Machine learning techniques can provide deeper insights from such data. We propose a Big Data framework that enables a systematic approach to progress through data storage, integration, analysis, and visualization, with applications in drinking water quality. The framework includes a novel process for selecting the appropriate ML method based on required insights and available data. Case studies of a water utility serving 5.5 million people validate the framework and demonstrate its use in deriving actionable information for ensuring safe drinking water delivery.
AQUA-WATER INFRASTRUCTURE ECOSYSTEMS AND SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Shaun Boatwright, Stephen Mounce, Michele Romano, Joby Boxall
Summary: A novel framework integrating pressure sensors and geospatial techniques was developed to locate leaks/bursts in drinking water distribution systems. A data-driven leak/burst localization technique using spatially constrained interpolation was employed to quantify pressure changes due to new events. The framework achieved accurate predictions of the system's performance, even with a small number of sensors. Validation using engineered events showed successful localization and demonstrated the effectiveness of the framework.
JOURNAL OF WATER RESOURCES PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Will Shepherd, Stephen Mounce, Gavin Sailor, John Gaffney, Neeraj Shah, Nigel Smith, Adam Cartwright, Joby Boxall
Summary: This paper presents an evaluation of an online artificial-intelligence-based analytics system that gives early warning of combined sewer overflow (CSO) due to system degradation. The system integrates a cloud-based data-driven system using artificial neural networks and fuzzy logic with real-time monitoring of water depths in CSO chambers. Results show that the system achieved a high true positive rate and low false positive rate, demonstrating its effectiveness in reducing CSO discharges and improving performance.
JOURNAL OF WATER RESOURCES PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Joby Boxall, Mirjam Blokker, Peter Schaap, Vanessa Speight, Stewart Husband
Summary: Discoloured drinking water, caused by elevated concentrations of organic and inorganic particles, is unacceptable. It is proposed and shown how the processes behind the cohesive layers and gravitational sedimentation theories both occur and how to integrate them to better explain observed behavior and inform operational interventions to reduce discolouration. Future research addressing deficiencies in understanding material accumulation will enable determination of long term sustainable management strategies to safeguard distribution of high-quality drinking water.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Iftekhar Sunny, Stewart Husband, Joby Boxall
Summary: Material accumulation in drinking water distribution systems necessitates episodic maintenance to prevent uncontrolled mobilization and water quality failures. Discolouration, as observed by consumers, is particularly significant in trunk mains supplying large populations downstream. This study investigates long-term costs by considering operational and capital interventions to sustain hydraulic capability for limiting discolouration response. Trade-off curves between discolouration resilience and maintenance intervention frequency and magnitude are developed using the Variable Condition Discolouration Model (VCDM). The study also explores the potential operational savings from reduced maintenance following capital investment, such as water treatment upgrades.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Ji Won Park, Joby Boxall, Sung Kyu Maeng
Summary: Culture-independent data can be used to identify HPC exceedances in drinking water. The study developed an ANN model using ICC, ATP, and chlorine data, achieving high accuracy in classifying HPC exceedances. The model overcomes culture dependence and provides near real-time data for ensuring the safety of drinking water.
Article
Water Resources
Grigorios Kyritsakas, Joby Boxall, Vanessa Speight
Summary: A data-driven model for predicting bacteriological presence in treated water from drinking water treatment plants is presented, using various machine learning methods and variable selection approaches. The model accurately predicts total cell counts 12 hours ahead, enabling proactive interventions to ensure safe drinking water.
FRONTIERS IN WATER
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Killian Gleeson, Stewart Husband, John Gaffney, Joby Boxall
Summary: This research used crowd-sourcing exercises to identify features of interest within turbidity time series data from operational systems. The resulting labels provided insight and a benchmark for evaluating algorithmic approaches to mimic human interpretation. Automation was designed for event detection and categorisation.
JOURNAL OF HYDROINFORMATICS
(2023)
