Abstract

When water utilities establish water loss control programs, they traditionally focus on apparent loss rather than real loss when considering economic feasibility in the water sector. There is an urgent need for new management approaches that can address complex relationships and ensure the sustainability of natural resources among different sectors. This study suggests a novel approach for water utilities to manage water losses from the water-energy (WE) Nexus perspective. The Nexus model uses system dynamics to simulate twelve scenarios with the differing status of water loss and energy intensities. This analysis identifies real loss as one of the main causes of resource waste and an essential factor from the Nexus perspective. It also demonstrates that the energy intensity of each process in the urban water system has a significant impact on resource use and transfer. The consumption and movement of resources can be quantified in each process involved in the urban water system to distinguish central and vulnerable processes. This study suggests that the Nexus approach can strongly contribute to quantifying the use and movement of resources between water and energy sectors and the strategic formulation of sustainable and systematic water loss management strategies from the Nexus perspective.

Highlights

  • Mounting water-related global challenges, such as climate change, water scarcity, escalating water demand due to population growth and urbanization, water deterioration, and aging infrastructure, are placing more pressure on water utilities than ever before

  • In cities with the same energy intensity in urban water system (UWS), water footprint, total energy use, and carbon footprint resulted in order of High non-revenue water (NRW) & Low apparent loss (AL), High NRW & Medium AL, High NRW & High AL, and Good Condition

  • This indicates that the lower the AL in the same NRW ratio, the lower the loss WE Nexus perspective

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Summary

Introduction

Mounting water-related global challenges, such as climate change, water scarcity, escalating water demand due to population growth and urbanization, water deterioration, and aging infrastructure, are placing more pressure on water utilities than ever before. Water utilities establish water loss control strategies and design programs by weighing economic, technical, social, and environmental aspects [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12]. The strategy should be holistic because reducing NRW cannot be solved through a single project [4]. Multiple activities, such as water audits, the establishment and management of district metered areas (DMAs), leakage detection and repair, and pressure management can be categorized into modules depending on local circumstances. Water loss control programs must be flexible and customized to water supply systems’ specific needs and characteristics [13]. Tailored counter-activities should be selected based on the types and volumes of leakage and the costs of the techniques implemented to reduce specific leakage components

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