Environmental and economic performance of a water distribution system through a lens of life cycle thinking: A case study of the City of Kelowna

Abstract

ABSTRACT Water distribution systems (WDSs) are designed to supply water to consumers. Previously, the performance of WDSs was assessed based on the hydraulics, i.e., delivering water with sufficent quantity and good quality under the desired pressure. However, the recent sustainability paradigm has been widely recognized in engineering projects, leading water stakeholders to evaluate WDSs’ performance not only in terms of hydraulics but also considering the environmental and economic impacts. This research proposes an approach to evaluating the sustainability of WDSs at the design stage by applying a life cycle thinking approach. The proposed approach was demonstrated by selecting a small WDS located in the City of Kelowna, Canada as a case study. Twelve alternative designs were created by varying WDS design variables such as pipe diameters, pipe materials, etc. The selected design scenario has 2.5% less CO2 emissions and 12.6% lower cost compared to the baseline design. The developed approach can be applied to WDS having different characteristics to identify conditions, design parameters, and infrastructure components having less environmental and economic impacts.