Alternative Water Supply Systems Research Articles

Ecocriminological analysis of brine in aquatic ecosystems: impacts on Posidonia oceanica and the search for restorative justice solutions.

The consumption of fresh water has generated additional problems in certain territories, along with the consequences of global warming. This has meant that in the most vulnerable areas, such as the Balearic archipelago in the Mediterranean, alternative water supply systems have been established: desalination plants. However, the ecological impact of these infrastructures is great, mainly affecting aquatic ecosystems. In light of the above, this paper addresses the ecological harm caused by desalination and brine discharges on a protected and priority species, P. Oceanica. Taking as ethico-legal foundation the theory of ecological justice, a multilevel analysis was carried out from an ecocriminology perspective on the impacts of this authorized practice on P. Oceanica and other species. Finally, a restorative justice view will allow us to understand and envision possible solutions to this ecological harm.

Temporal Patterns of Utilization of Constructed Water Pans by Different Mammal Species: A Study of Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya

Climate change induced risks like prolonged dry spells are exacerbating water scarcity especially, in the wildlife conservancies calling for alternative water supply systems for wildlife. In Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy, water pans were constructed to provide water to animals during wet and dry seasons. The study aim was to establish patterns of water pans utilization by different mammal species in different seasons and times of the day. Study was conducted on the mammals visiting water pans in the dry season (June 2022) and wet season (October 2022) at two water pans in Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy. Mammal utilization of water pans was studied using observations and camera traps. Pearson correlation and t-test were used to analyze data. Impala had the highest water pan visitations (36.7%) followed by zebra (22.2%) while eland and reedbuck had the lowest (0.7%) visitations. Morning (0900hrs-1000hrs) was a period of peak visitations, followed by midday while dusk recorded the least visitations. Mammals utilized water pans for drinking, wallowing, grazing, socialization, and soil licking. There were significant differences in the number of visitations between the dry and wet seasons (df =7, t = 2.739, p=0.029) where dry season had high visitations (64.6%) while wet season had 35.4%. There was also a strong negative correlation between mammal visitations to the water pans and the time of the day.  The study shows that constructed water pans provide important source of water in protected areas where natural water sources are absent, inaccessible due to fencing, or during the dry season when water is limited. Therefore, water provisioning during the dry season in areas lacking water to increase dispersal ranges in the conservancy reducing mammal concentration around water pans.

Ecocriminological analysis of brine in aquatic ecosystems: impacts on Posidonia oceanica and the search for restorative justice solutions

The consumption of fresh water has generated additional problems in certain territories, along with the consequences of global warming. This has meant that, in the most vulnerable areas, such as the Balearic archipelago in the Mediterranean, alternative water supply systems have been established: desalination plants. However, the ecological impact of these infrastructures is great, mainly affecting aquatic ecosystems. In the light of the above, this paper addresses the ecological harm caused by desalination and brine discharges on a protected and priority species, Posidonia oceanica. For this and taking as ethical-legal foundation the theory of ecological justice, a multilevel analysis was carried out from an ecocriminology perspective on the impacts of this authorized practice on Posidonia and other species. Finally, a restorative justice view will allow us to understand and envision possible solutions to this ecological harm.

Alternative water supply systems to achieve the net zero water use goal in high-density mixed-use buildings

The water crisis in urban areas has manifested concerns for sustainable water supply practices in buildings. Although efforts have been taken to reduce freshwater consumption through demand management techniques and alternative supply strategies to some extent, when it comes to a more sophisticated concept like net zero water (NZW) use, practically implemented cases are rare. Due to building characteristics, geographical location, and uncertainties in the decision-making process, the feasibility of the NZW target needs to be explored. This research used a framework with a case study in Melbourne, Australia, to evaluate alternative water supply scenarios that may have the potential to approach this target in mixed-use buildings. Alongside their technical performance in reducing mains water consumption, wastewater discharge, and stormwater runoff, alternative systems were analyzed against environmental, economic and social aspects of sustainability. For each sustainability criterion, an indicator was selected. Through the proposed scenarios, the goal of NZW use was not fully achieved. However, the three performance indicators exhibited considerable reductions in net water flows. Supposing that the three sustainability aspects are equally valued, a hybrid utilization of rainwater and treated greywater may be the preferred option for mixed-use buildings in a temperate climate.

Drinking water quality surveillance status for Amazonas state's 62 counties

Abstract Introduction The state of Amazonas is the largest state in Brazil and it has 62 counties, including Manaus, its capital, all of which have plenty of water resources. The control and surveillance of water quality, as well as the sewage treatment must be carried out satisfactorily in order to avoid a favorable environment for the development of pathogens that cause water related diseases. Objectives Assess the quality of the water supplied to the population of the 62 counties in the period of 2015-2019. Methods Quantitative and qualitative descriptive study, based on secondary data taken from Water Quality Surveillance Information System for Human Consumption. and analyzed from the available database at the Health Surveillance Foundation. Information was gathered on the type of collection, treatment, control, surveillance and microbiological (total coliforms and Escherichia coli). Results it was observed that 73% of the counties use underground water (well), 19% superficial (rivers) and 8% mixed combination (underground and superficial); 35% undergo chlorine treatment; less than 50%, averaging 26 counties, carry out control, surveillance and/or combined control and surveillance activities; on average: 29% have control data; 23% of surveillance and of these, 19% embody it effectively (≥ 7 months/year) and 19% of control and surveillance simultaneously. During the study, 46,670 microbiological analysis were carried out and of these 10,603 (23%) presented total coliforms and 2.265, approximately 4.9%, unsatisfactory result for human consumption due to the presence of Escherichia coli. The data demonstrate that the control and surveillance of water quality is carried out in an unsatisfactory manner, highlighting the need to strengthen the performance of the health sector and those responsible for an alternative water supply system or alternative solution in the state Amazonas. Key messages Measuring the effectiveness of surveillance actions are necessary for water quality control. Vigilance actions are important to reduce morbidity and mortality due to water transmission problems.

Modeling water consumption in multifamily buildings: a case study in Southern Brazil

ABSTRACT Urban water consumption can be analyzed by means of applied research to help promote the development of environmentally sustainable cities. In this study, water consumption models are established for multifamily residential buildings in Southern Brazil using multiple linear regression analysis and cross-validation techniques. Sociodemographic and building characteristics were analyzed in a sample of 78 buildings for a period of 25 months. Six forecast models were obtained which met the assumptions of constant error variance, multicollinearity, autocorrelation, residual diagnosis, and generalization ability, explaining the variations in up to 90.61% of the building monthly water consumption and 68.72% of the per capita daily water consumption. The most significant variables were building age, number of stories, total area per floor and per person, dwellers per room and per apartment, number of bedrooms, type of metering system, presence of swimming pools and presence of alternative water-supply systems.

Economic and environmental performance of instantaneous water heating system for craft beer production

While microbrewery has become very popular, energy efficiency is a great challenge to microbrewers which causes low profitability margins and poor environmental performance. With a high heating rate, instantaneous water heating system (IWHS) is a potential alternative to steam boiler for beer brewing. This study developed an integrated techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) to, for the first time, evaluate the economic and environmental consequences of IWHS implementation in a microbrewery. Results showed that labor, packaging and raw materials were the major variable costs of craft beer. The net present value and internal rate of return calculated indicated that the investment in IWHS was not profitable to the microbrewery with its current productivity. Raw material production and beer processing were the environmental hotspots of craft beer. Due to reduced gas use for mashing and cleaning, IWHS decreased the global warming potential of craft beer by approximately 22.4%. Besides justifying the IWHS investment, enlarging the production scale of the microbrewery can reduce the environmental footprint of its beer. This study provided microbrewers with a holistic tool with clear indicators to evaluate the economic and environmental feasibility of alternative hot water supply systems for a more sustainable craft beer production.

A Review of Roof and Pond Rainwater Harvesting Systems for Water Security: The Design, Performance and Way Forward

Rapid urbanization, population explosion and climate change have threatened water security globally, regionally and locally. While there are many ways of addressing these problems, one of the innovative techniques is the recent employment of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) which include rainwater harvesting systems (RWHS). Therefore, this paper reviews the design and component of two types of RWHS, the namely roof harvesting system (RHS) and the pond harvesting system (PHS). The performance in terms of quantity and quality of collected rainwater and energy consumption for RWHS with different capacities were evaluated, as well as the benefits and challenges particularly in environmental, economic and social aspects. Presently, the RHS is more commonly applied but its effectiveness is limited by its small scale. The PHS is of larger scale and has greater potentials and effectiveness as an alternative water supply system. Results also indicate the many advantages of the PHS especially in terms of economics, environmental aspects and volume of water harvested. While the RHS may be suited to individual or existing buildings, the PHS has greater potentials and should be applied in newly developed urban areas with wet equatorial climate.

Water supply regulation in Nigeria: problems, challenges, solutions and benefits

Even though Nigeria is recognized for her rich vegetation and tropical weather and blessed with surplus water resources, the country still faces challenges on getting clean water supply around the country and mostly depend on alternative water supply like well, borehole and river. These alternative water supply systems are not efficient and viable enough for water supply systems especially in a country with large population. The country is characterized by irregular water supply and water management laws are also weak and mostly not in conformity with today's standard and needs. Proper management and conservation of the water supply services and resource has not given adequate attention by the government. It is, therefore, important to identify such factor that inhibits the implementation of water regulations and proffer a solution to these. In a bid to provide an understanding of the effect of implementing and enforcing stringent water regulation and providing adequate water supply, we compare forecasted population with investment capital expenditure (CAPEX) for water supply by Millennium Development Goal (MDG+) targets. The result shows that in year to come, the country will significantly benefit from investing and providing regular water supply through employment availability and revenue generated through utility water bills, spending less on epidemic of water-borne diseases thereby improving the lives and health of its citizen.

Uso do aplicativo PhotoMetrix no monitoramento da concentração de flúor em sistemas alternativos de abastecimento de água

A ingestão frequente de água contendo concentração de flúor acima do limite estabelecido pela legislação brasileira causa uma doença chamada fluorose dentária. Atualmente, o monitoramento do nível de flúor na água para consumo humano é realizado utilizando métodos potenciométricos, cromatográficos ou colorimétricos, que são relativamente caros e utilizam equipamentos de difícil deslocamento para análises de campo. Portanto, surge a necessidade de desenvolver métodos alternativos, visando rapidez, praticidade, mobilidade e redução do custo das análises. O aplicativo para smartphone PhotoMetrix® é um software livre de análise de imagens digitais utilizando modelos matemáticos univariados e multivariados. A captura de imagens pode ser feita através do próprio smartphone ou com uma câmera USB externa. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o uso do PhotoMetrix® no monitoramento da concentração de flúor em águas de abastecimento. Dois métodos de referência foram utilizados para comparação dos resultados: o método espectrofotométrico e o eletrodo de íon seletivos. Os resultados indicaram concordância entre os métodos, mostrando um coeficiente de determinação (R2) de 0,995 e erro de predição RMSEP (Root Mean Square Error of Prediction) de aproximadamente 0,05 mg L-1. Então, o PhotoMetrix® é um método satisfatório para a determinação de flúor, podendo se tornar uma alternativa viável para o monitoramento da qualidade da água, especialmente para sistemas alternativos de abastecimento.

Core aspects of international water supply and wastewater disposal with a focus on developing countries in the Asia and Africa region

Abstract Water crises are already stressing societies, economies, and the environment worldwide and especially developing countries. The expected growth in population, urbanization and economic activity, as well as the impact of climate change, will exacerbate the situation in the coming decade. In developed countries, conventional water supply and wastewater disposal systems ensure safe access to drinking water, sanitation and wastewater services. The worldwide application of conventional systems is, however, only possible to a limited extent. The reason for this is that these systems are designed for certain climatic conditions and also do not consider the varying requirements regarding water supply and wastewater disposal typical for developing countries. Although there are alternative water supply and wastewater disposal systems that have proved to be successful throughout the developing world, there are still several barriers to their worldwide adoption. To increase the establishment of these approaches this paper focuses on aspects of particular relevance for developing countries, namely: water reuse (untreated wastewater), alternative sewerage (settled and simplified sewerage), alternative wastewater treatment (waste stabilization ponds, constructed wetlands and up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors) and management of water losses (real and apparent losses).

Community viewpoints about water crisis, conservation and recycling: a case study in Tehran

Water resources management to maintain a balance between demand and supply requires new technologies such as alternative water supply systems, specifically in arid and semiarid regions. This case study aimed to examine the community views about water issues as well as management strategies such as conservation and recycling that was conducted on 380 residents in two municipal regions of Tehran. Data were collected from February 2016 to November 2016 by constructed questionnaire with 314 suitable participants responding. Results showed an association between attitudes toward water management, age, gender and education. Improving public knowledge and clarification would help to enhance social trust and positive attitudes, as well as encourage the adoption of more responsible behaviors toward water resources. The government, local association and water resources managers are key agents for the handling of sociocultural barriers for water resources sustainability in the world.

Assessment of the potential contribution of alternative water supply systems in two contrasting locations: Lilongwe, Malawi and Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt

Abstract Growing water demand poses a challenge for supply. Poor understanding of alternative sources can hamper plans for addressing water scarcity and supply resilience. The potential of three alternative supply systems in Lilongwe, Malawi and Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt are compared using a fast, data-light assessment approach. Lilongwe water supply is based on unsustainable use of source water, while Sharm depends primarily on desalination. Both locations experience shortages due to poor system performance and service inequity. Alternative supply systems are shown to potentially contribute to supply augmentation/diversification, improving service and system resilience. There are considerable seasonal variations to consider, especially regarding storage of water. Social preferences could limit the uptake/demand for alternative water. One important conclusion is the value in addressing public perceptions of alternative systems, and assessing water end use in order to site systems appropriately. Other issues surround financing, encouraging uptake and addressing institutional/governance aspects surrounding equitable distribution. A further consideration is whether demand reductions might yield shorter-term improvements in performance without the need to institute potentially expensive alternative water strategies. Reducing non-revenue water is a priority. Such measures should be undertaken with alternative supply enhancement to reduce inequity of supply, improve system performance and increase resilience to future changes.

Factors influencing water consumption in buildings in southern Brazil

Abstract This study aims to identify the factors influencing water consumption in residential buildings in the city of Joinville, in southern Brazil, through an analysis of socioeconomic variables of users and constructive variables of the building. Data were collected on water consumption, socioeconomic characteristics of the users and constructive characteristics of the buildings, from a sample dataset of 89 buildings including 3171 housing units. Two models describing consumption were identified from a multiple linear regression analysis by means of the stepwise method. The analysis showed there were several variables related to constructive aspects, including the alternative water supply system that were statistically significant in explaining both water consumption in buildings (in m³/month) and per capita water consumption (in liters per person per day). The model explains 87.41% of the water consumption in buildings in Joinville and 79.68% of the per capita consumption. After obtaining the models, water consumption was estimated on eight buildings that were not included in the sample dataset using two equations for water consumption in buildings and per capita water consumption. Leave-one-out cross validation complements the analysis. The two models feature reasonable explanatory and predictive capacity, displaying adjusted and predicted R2 higher than 70%. The obtained results contribute to enhanced understanding of variables related to water consumption in residential buildings in southern Brazil, and may be useful to the authorities in developing sustainable policies.

<b>Estimation of water consumption in multifamily residential buildings

This article shows an estimation of water expenditure in multifamily residential buildings in the city of Joinville, located in south Brazil. The proposed method includes an investigation of the water expenditure and an evaluation of the particularities of each building. The investigation was accomplished in thirty buildings and the collected data allowed a classification of the buildings and a measurement of the water consumption rate. The water consumption in buildings with individualized and collective water measurement systems was analyzed. Furthermore, a comparative study was done between the water consumption in buildings that have at least one pool and buildings without any pools. Some buildings in the sample have an alternative water supply system; however there is no measurement of the water consumption in none of the cases analyzed in this study. The per capita consumption was 224 liters per person per day. The buildings with individualized water measurement had smaller consumption per capita than the buildings with collective measurement, showing a reduction of about 34%. The buildings with pools had consumption per capita nearly 48% more than the per capita consumption in buildings without pools.

Alleviating health risks associated with rainwater harvesting

Perceived and real public health risks associated with the quality of water from alternative water sources and supply systems, such as rainwater harvesting (RWH) and grey water reuse, continue to restrict their uptake in many countries. One option to alleviate these health risks is to treat alternative water to potable standard at the point of use (POU) as opposed to the point of supply, as undertaken in centralised systems. This paper presents the results of three international empirical field trials of a novel POU RWH treatment device. The results indicate that where the harvested rainwater did not contain elevated levels of pesticides or physico-chemical determinands, the POU device was able to reduce levels in outlet water to meet UK, EU and World Health Organization potable standards. Regarding microbiological determinands, such as total viable counts and coliforms, and microbial pathogens, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Legionella spp., the device achieved reduction to potable standard and full pathogen removal, respectively. Thus, while it is possible to treat harvested rainwater to potable standard with a POU device, whether it is desirable to do so to alleviate risks for all end uses remains a question for further debate.

Potentials of Rainwater Harvesting as an Alternative Water Supply System in Dhaka City

Potentials of Rainwater Harvesting as an Alternative Water Supply System in Dhaka City

Solute-Transport Predictive Uncertainty in Alternative Water Supply, Storage, and Treatment Systems.

Alternative water supply, storage, and treatment (AWSST) systems, which utilize aquifers to supply, store, and naturally treat water, are increasingly being implemented globally to address water scarcity and safety. The failure of some AWSST systems to meet water quality expectations was caused by conceptual model error, in which local hydrogeological conditions were less favorable than recognized or considered during project feasibility assessments, economic analyses, and design. More successful implementation of AWSST projects requires that conceptual model error be explicitly and rigorously addressed. Recommended approaches to addressing conceptual model uncertainty include more detailed aquifer characterization, recognition of a wide suite of possible alternative conceptual models, and then screening the models as to whether or not they are plausible and relevant in terms of materially impacting predictive results. Subjective professional judgement remains the basis for assigning probabilities to relevant conceptual models (contingencies).

Alternative Water Supply Systems

Owing to climate change related uncertainties and anticipated population growth, different parts of the developing and the developed world (particularly urban areas) are experiencing water shortages or flooding and security of fit-for-purpose supplies is becoming a major issue. The emphasis on decentralized alternative water supply systems has increased considerably. Most of the information on such systems is either scattered or focuses on large scale reuse with little consideration given to decentralized small to medium scale systems. Alternative Water Supply Systems brings together recent research into the available and innovative options and additionally shares experiences from a wide range of contexts from both developed and developing countries.

Groundwater levels estimation and forecasting by integrating precipitation-based period-dividing algorithm and response surface methodology

AbstractGroundwater is one of the major sources of water supply for domestic, industrial, and agricultural purposes. Intensive water resources constructions in past decades have had huge impacts on hydrological systems. Recently, groundwater dams have received consistent attention as alternative water supply systems with minimal environmental destructions. Groundwater dams are usually of smaller capacity and costs much less compared with river dams. Therefore, it can be a very attractive solution especially for those small provincial cities suffering severe months-long drought every year. As an application of computer science technologies develops, a number of information systems are utilized for the sustainable development for water resources. Recently, groundwater dams have received consistent attention as alternative water supply systems with minimal environmental destruction. Since groundwater dams are constructed at the height close to sea level, optimal water-pumping strategy based on accurate forec...