Water Distribution Company Research Articles

Assessment of the financial performance and sustainability of water management companies in Spain from a quantitative and technological perspective (2018-2022)

Introduction: Water collection, treatment and distribution companies in Spain face challenges due to climate variability, obsolete infrastructures and the need for efficient water resource management. This study provides a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the financial and operational performance of the sector, addressing climate change adaptations and innovative technologies, areas little explored in previous studies. Methodology: A quantitative analysis of financial and operational data from official sources was carried out, complemented by a literature review on water resources management and technological trends. Includes financial data collection and analysis, profitability assessment, and analysis of climate change adaptation technologies and strategies. Results and discussions: An improvement in the profitability of the sector was observed, due to efficient management and modernisation of infrastructures. Public-private collaboration and the adoption of innovative technologies, such as desalination and reuse of recycled water, are crucial to address climate challenges and ensure sustainability. It also highlights the need for a global approach to water management due to the externalisation of water stress. Conclusions: In conclusion, it emphasises innovation and collaboration to improve water management in Spain, ensuring its sustainability and future resilience.

A Multicriteria Evaluation Based on the Grey-TOPSIS Method for Water Distribution Companies in Brazil

A Multicriteria Evaluation Based on the Grey-TOPSIS Method for Water Distribution Companies in Brazil

Solving the Vehicle Routing Problem with Multiple Trips and Simultaneous Delivery-Pickup for Drinking Water Distribution Company

Transportation is a crucial factor in distribution, as it can save up to 50% of the overall costs. The Vehicle Routing Problem with Multiple Trips and Simultaneous Delivery-Pickup (VRPMTSDP) has become one of the most important areas of logistic management. This problem is an extension of the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP), including the following characteristics: multiple trips and simultaneous delivery-pickup. A set of homogenous vehicles is available at the depot to deliver and pick up customer’s goods. The route of each vehicle in serving customers can cover more than one trip. This research helps to solve the problems faced by the Drinking Water Distribution Company in Bandung. Currently, they face high delivery costs and frequent driver overtime when returning to the depot, resulting in high overtime expenses. This problem can be classified as VRPMTSDP, with the aim of minimizing delivery costs. We propose a Tabu Search with the initial solution obtained using Saving Matrix and Nearest Neighbor. The results show that the proposed route by the Tabu Search algorithm saves delivery costs of 11.22% rather than the company’s current route. Sensitivity analyses are presented to understand the impact of various Tabu Search operators on the delivery cost of VRPMTSDP.

Assess the Performance of Congolese Organizations Converted to Commercial Businesses using the Economic Value Added Approach

This study aims to demonstrate the significance of assessing corporate success in terms of economic value added (EVA). Economic value added is widely recognized as a reliable metric for assessing the performance of private firms. Four organizations were chosen, and their performance was assessed using the EVA approach from 2016 through 2022. The following outcomes were found as a consequence of the analysis: National Electric Company (NEC), Congo National Railway Company (NRCC), and Port Transportation Company (CCPT). A positive EVA, on the other hand, represents value creation for a Water Distribution Company (WDC). Endogenous variables such as the steady fall in factor returns to labor, poor operating performance, and low capital profitability cause value destruction. Yet, ethics and openness are essential for attaining success. Corporate success in terms of economic value added (EVA). Economic value added is widely recognized as a reliable metric for assessing the performance of private firms. Four organizations were chosen, and their performance was assessed using the EVA approach from 2016 through 2021. The following outcomes were found as a consequence of the analysis: National Electric Company (NEC), Congo National Railway Company (NRCC), and Port Transportation Company (CCPT). A positive EVA, on the other hand, represents value creation for a Water Distribution Company (WDC). Endogenous variables such as the steady fall in factor returns to labor, poor operating performance, and low capital profitability cause value destruction. Yet, ethics and openness are essential for attaining success.

Risk management for improving water quality: Application of the HACCP method

Risk management is key to improving water quality and ensuring the safety of the drinking water supply. Identifying sources of risk introduces the first phase of risk management is to identify potential sources of water contamination. That can include industrial pollution, accidental spills, agricultural discharges, failing treatment infrastructure, contaminant seepage into water sources, etc. A thorough analysis of the different sources of risk provides a better understanding of the threats to water quality. Once the sources of risk have been identified, it is essential to carry out a risk assessment. That involves analyzing the probability of occurrence of adverse events and the impact they could have on water quality. Tools such as Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) can be used to assess risk in a systematic way. Based on the risk assessment, preventive measures should be put in place to reduce the likelihood of occurrence of adverse events. That may include implementing good agricultural practices, regulating industrial discharges, regularly inspecting water treatment facilities, continuously monitoring water sources, etc. The objective is to prevent potential sources of contamination and minimize the associated risks. Regular monitoring of water quality is a key component of risk management. That involves collecting water samples at different stages of the water supply process, as well as testing for the presence of contaminants. Having effective monitoring systems in place allows potential problems to be identified quickly and appropriate corrective action to be taken. Despite the preventive measures, it is important to be prepared for possible emergency situations. Emergency response planning should include clear protocols and actions to be taken in the event of water contamination, to minimize public health impacts. That may include alert plans, communication procedures, alternative means of treatment, and coordination with competent authorities. The objective of This article is to conduct a risk analysis related to the drinking water distribution process. Using the HACCP method applied within the Laboratory attached to the water distribution company in northern Morocco, we will focus on the main causes of the risks tainting This process, based on the results the processing of samples in order to guarantee the safety and quality of drinking water in the Larache region and contribute to the efforts to protect water against the deterioration of the quality and quantity due to pollution and waste.

Resilience and Social Change in the Context of a Drinking Water Crisis in Bouake

The populations of the commune of Bouaké, located in the north-central part of Côte d'Ivoire, experienced in 2018 a drinking water crisis following the drying up of the 'loka' dam operated by the Water Distribution Company of Côte d'Ivoire. This crisis lasted for about 6 months in most of the said locality. To curb it and avoid its corollary of health risks, collective, individual and institutional responses have been made. Using a retrospective and highly ethnographic approach, this research analyzes the resilience and social changes brought about by this crisis in the commune of Bouaké. The data used in this study comes from direct observation, image capture, field diaries and semi-structured interviews with institutional, health and community actors, local authorities and the population.

An Implicit Formulation for Calculating Final Conditions in Drainage Maneuvers in Pressurized Water Installations

Emptying processes are typical maneuvers that should be performed by water distribution companies for operation purposes. These processes involve a complex numerical analysis, since a set of algebraic and ordinary differential equations needs to be solved for the intricacy of hydraulic and thermodynamic formulations for two analyzed phases (liquid and gas). This research provides an implicit equation to compute exactly the final conditions in water emptying operations in single pipelines without an air valve (or admitted air). The implicit expression was developed by considering that for all final conditions, the water velocity is null, and thus, the water column length and air pocket pressure can be computed. The friction factor, internal pipe diameter, and opening maneuvers of drain valves do not disturb the final conditions in draining processes. The developed implicit formulation was validated using experimental measurements in a pipeline with a total length of 4.36 m. The equation is of utmost importance, since it can be utilized for engineers to easily plan for future conditions in water distribution networks.

Test of Evaluation of the Performance of Congolese Companies Transformed into Commercial Companies by the Method Economic Value Added (EVA)

This study tries to show the importance of measuring the performance of companies by the method of Economic Value Added (EVA: Economic Value Added). Economic value added is currently considered an effective measure for evaluating the performance of unlisted companies. Four companies were selected and their performance was measured using the EVA method for a period from 2016 to 2021. At the end of the analysis carried out, the results were as follows: net destruction of value, i.e. a negative EVA for the following companies: The National Electricity Company (NEC), The National Railway Company of Congo (NRCC) and the Commercial Company of Port and Transports (CCPT). On the other hand, a positive EVA is a creation of value for Water Distribution Company (WDC). The destruction of value is attributable to endogenous factors such as a constant deterioration in the return on the labor factor, negative operating results and low profitability of this capital employed. But also by exogenous factors including in particular the lack of good governance practices: ethics and transparency which are also essential for the achievement of performance. Transformation requires not only a new allocation of financial resources but also the search for consistency between effectiveness, efficiency and effectiveness.

Assessment of Radioactivity in Borehole Waters of the North Riviera Sodeci Catchment Field in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

The radioactive isotopes of the decay series of uranium-238 (238U), thorium-232 (232Th) and potassium-40 (40K) occur naturally in varying amounts in groundwater. They are the subject of many measures, mainly because of the risk they represent from a public health point of view. The purpose of this study is to measure the radioisotope content of borehole waters from the north riviera (NR) catchment field of the Ivorian drinking water distribution company (SODECI). These measurements will make it possible to assess the absolute levels of radioisotopes in the water from SODECI’s boreholes used directly for drinking or swimming, and possibly the associated risk from a public health point of view. To achieve this, a sampling campaign from the seven functional boreholes and the control or treatment tower took place in July 2018 at the NR well field. The analysis of radionuclides by gamma spectrometry was carried out in the laboratory of the Radiation Protection Institute (RPI) of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC). The naturally occurring radionuclides identified during the borehole water samples analysis are 238U, 232Th, and 40K. The results reveal that the specific activities of uranium vary from 0.45 ± 0.18 Bq/L to 0.55 ± 0.17 Bq/L with an average of 0.49 ± 0.15 Bq/L. Those of thorium vary from 0.66 ± 0.14 Bq/L to 0.78 ± 0.18 Bq/L with an average of 0.72 ± 0.16 Bq/L and potassium of 4.14 ± 0.53 Bq/L at 5.87 ± 0.60 Bq/L with an average of 5.32 ± 0.58 Bq/L.

Process development for textile wastewater treatment towards zero liquid discharge: Integrating membrane separation process and advanced oxidation techniques

A treatment process based on microfiltration followed by nanofiltration (MF-NF) is proposed for textile wastewater treatment. The NF concentrate is further treated by UV/H2O2, Fenton, and photo-Fenton processes. Results showed that the dye was efficiently retained by the MF membrane (>99.1%), which allowed its reuse. The MF-NF was able to reject 92% of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and>98.5% of color. When the NF concentrate was treated by UV/H2O2, it was achieved a maximum COD removal of 63% in the condition C:H2O2 1:3 (molar ratio of COD and hydrogen peroxide) and pH 3. The Fenton process, optimized through response surface methodology, achieved 84.7% of COD removal, which increased when combined with UV irradiation (92.2%). An analysis of the NF permeate physicochemical quality and its treated concentrate suggested that it can be reused in the textile industry for different purposes as yarn washing-off and equipment’s washdown. The operating cost for MF-NF corresponded to 0.240 US$/m3 and, including the cost of NF concentrate treatment by photo-Fenton, 0.517 US$/m3, lower than currently practiced by the water distribution company. The system proposed for water reuse and NF concentrate treatment was able to increase the water recovery and decrease the environmental impacts that could be caused by the NF concentrate disposal.

Evaluating the Efficiency of Water Distribution Network Sectors Using the DEA-Weight Russell Directional Distance Model: The Case of the City of Valencia (Spain)

In many cities, sectorization projects of the drinking water distribution network have been implemented. This study provides a methodology to evaluate the efficiency of the sectors of a water distribution network by applying a data envelopment analysis weighted Russell directional distance (DEA-WRDD) model. This non-radial DEA model gives the overall efficiency of each unit of analysis, as well as each input, output, and undesirable output considered in the evaluation. The variables used in the analysis provide a multidisciplinary view: economic factors (covering costs), water quality parameters, and technical aspects. The empirical analysis was performed for the sectors of the water distribution network of the city of Valencia (Spain) for the year 2016. In this particular case, the results showed that approximately half of the sectors were efficient. The efficiency values of each variable indicate that the main challenges (faced by the water distribution company) were the optimization of maintenance costs and the reduction of leaks, both of which have an impact on the quality of the distributed water. So, the purpose of this article is to highlight the usefulness of efficiency analysis to help the decision making of managers of sectorized water distribution networks so that they can optimize the management.

Water leak detection using self-supervised time series classification

Leaks in water distribution networks cause a loss of water that needs to be compensated to ensure a continuous supply for all customers. This compensation is achieved by increasing the flow of the network, which entails an undesirable economical expense as well as negative consequences for the environment. For these reasons, detecting and fixing leaks is a relevant task for water distribution companies. This paper proposes a water leak detection method based on a self-supervised classification of flow time series. The aim is to detect the leaks in the network, providing a low false positive rate. The proposed method is applied to two water distribution networks and compared to two other methods in the literature, obtaining the best balance between the number of false positives and detected leaks.

The Application of Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) to Determine the Employee Additional Salary

The increasing of employee salary is one of the mechanisms to maintain the good employee performance. The decision of periodic additional salary for a certain employee is the difficult task even in some cases this is a sensitive issue. To minimize such as those problems, the fair additional salary computation performed by system can be chosen as the way out. The study presents the application of fuzzy inference system (FIS) to determine the additional salary computation. This study uses the real dataset collected from a local drinking water distribution company. The experiment results confirm that the method is feasible to be applied for this purpose. This feasibility conclusion is supported by the little deviation between manual computation results compared to FIS. For almost all cases, the FIS provides more detail results.

The Application of Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) to Determine the Employee Additional Salary

The increasing of employee salary is one of the mechanisms to maintain the good employee performance. The decision of periodic additional salary for a certain employee is the difficult task even in some cases this is a sensitive issue. To minimize such as those problems, the fair additional salary computation performed by system can be chosen as the way out. The study presents the application of fuzzy inference system (FIS) to determine the additional salary computation. This study uses the real dataset collected from a local drinking water distribution company. The experiment results confirm that the method is feasible to be applied for this purpose. This feasibility conclusion is supported by the little deviation between manual computation results compared to FIS. For almost all cases, the FIS provides more detail results.

Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm to Solve Vehicle Routing Problem with Fuel Consumption Minimization

The Conventional Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) has the objective function of minimizing the total vehicles’ traveling distance. Since the fuel cost is a relatively high component of transportation costs, in this study, the objective function of VRP has been extended by considering fuel consumption minimization in the situation wherein the loading weight and traveling time are restricted. Based on these assumptions, we proposed to extend the route division procedure proposed by Kuo and Wang [4] such that when one of the restrictions can not be met the routing division continues to create a new sub-route to find an acceptable solution. To solve the formulated problem, the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is proposed to optimize the vehicle routing plan. The proposed methodology is validated by solving the problem by taking a particular day data from a bottled drinking water distribution company. It was revealed that the saving of at best 13% can be obtained from the actual routes applied by the company.

Water Leak Localization Using High-Resolution Pressure Sensors

A new method for identifying a leaking pipe within a pressurized water distribution system is presented. This novel approach utilizes transient modeling to analyze water networks. Urban water supply networks are important infrastructure that ensures the daily water consumption of urban residents and industrial sites. The aging and deterioration of drinking water mains is the cause of frequent burst pipes, thus making the detection and localization of these bursts a top priority for water distribution companies. Here we describe a novel method based on transient modeling of the water network and produces high-resolution pressure response under various scenarios. Analyzing this data allows the prediction of the leaking pipe. The transient pressure data is classified as leaking pipes or no leak clusters using the K-nearest neighbors (K-NN) algorithm. The transient model requires a massive computation effort to simulate the network’s performance. The classification model presented good performance with an overall accuracy of 0.9 for the basic scenarios. The lowest accuracy was obtained for interpolated scenarios the model had not been trained on; in this case, the accuracy was 0.52.

Spatial Analysis of the Mode of Management and Conflicts of Use of Water Resources in the Watershed of the Lobo River in Nibehibe (Central-Western Côte d'Ivoire)

Water is an indispensable resource for all activities developed by man. Water resources are indispensable for the survival of the populations of the Lobo watershed in Nibéhibé. They offer many multidimensional services. Around these important resources, social actors have different ways of perceiving them. This is why their management comes up against a difference in logic and action on the part of the different stakeholders. Thus, it must be noted that there is a crystallization of social relations between the different groups of actors involved and this is based on conflicts of use and the intensity of water scarcity. The objective of this study is to show the relationship between management mode and conflicts of use of water resources in the Lobo watershed in Nibéhibé. To achieve this objective, the methodology was based on the triptych documentary research, interview and questionnaire survey. The documentary research consisted in defining the contours of the subject in order to better understand it. Then, the interviews carried out with the actors of the water sector in the Lobo basin made it possible to collect information on the perception and the mode of management of the water resources in the basin. Finally, using the simple random selection method without discount and the use of a statistical equation, a sample of 384 households spread over the entire catchment area served as the basis for our surveys. Population surveys, combined with spatially referenced data under a GIS, have made it possible to map the spatial distribution of water supply sites on the one hand, and the spatial distribution of water-related conflict types on the other. The results show that the population has a wide variety of water supply sources. Moreover, the current management mode is either liberal (or private) or participatory (or community-based) depending on the type of water resource (surface or groundwater) and on the perception of the actors with regard to water. Thus, the different uses generate conflicts that are perceived between cultural actors (indigenous) and economic actors such as SODECI (Water Distribution Company in Côte d'Ivoire) and fishermen (non-indigenous). There are also conflicts between women, which can be summarized as disputes over water points and distrust between different communities. An integrated management of water resources in this watershed would therefore be beneficial to all stakeholders.

Comparison study between nearest neighbor and farthest insert algorithms for solving VRP model using heuristic method approach

In Indonesia, transportation costs from physical distribution still tend to be high because not all business people can optimize their distribution routes. This paper discusses a comparative study between Nearest Neighbor and Farthest Insert algorithms in solving a Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) model. Aim of this study is to determine the most optimum distribution route so that the distance or time or transportation costs can be minimized. This research was conducted at a bottled water distribution company. In the end, the comparative study was considered effective as a basis for decision making on the distribution route, where there were indications of distance savings or reduced costs, and increased utilization of the higher vehicle fleet.

Groundwater suitability for drinking and agriculture purposes using irrigation water quality index and multivariate analysis: case of Sidi Bouzid aquifer, central Tunisia

The Sidi Bouzid region is one of the main centers of agricultural production in Tunisia, especially for vegetable crops (18% of national production), arboriculture (13% of almond production and 10% of olive oil), and milk production (125 million liters in 2012 around 12% of national production) [PREDD (Plan Regional d’Environnement et de Developpement Durable du gouvernorat de Sidi Bouzid), 2014]. Therefore, the groundwater quality of Sidi Bouzid aquifer was studied to evaluate the quality of the hydrochemical parameters to determine its suitability for both agricultural and drinking purposes. Thirty groundwater samples were collected and analyzed. The obtained results showed that the groundwater contains high values of dissolved ions dominated by SO4, Mg and Ca. Gypsum, anhydrite and halite dissolution, as well as direct and reverse ion exchange are the main processes of chemical evolution in the Sidi Bouzid aquifer. Multivariate statistical techniques, such as PCA and HCA, helped to focus on the hidden yet important variables and understand their roles in affecting the groundwater quality. Compared to the World Health Organization (Guidelines for drinking water quality, 3rd edn, vol 1. Recommendations. WHO, Geneva, 2008) and National Water Exploitation and Distribution Company SO.N.E.D.E (NT.09.14) guidelines for drinking water, results showed that the concentrations of major and trace elements were within the admissible concentration rate. Chemical indices such as the percentage of sodium (Na%), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), Kelly’s ratio, and permeability index (PI) showed that more than 70% of the analyzed samples can be used for irrigation. The irrigation water quality index (IWQI) classes vary from severe (SR) to moderate restriction (MR). The visualization of the IWQI distributions, using GIS software, shows that the moderate restriction class (MR) is the dominant class.

Project Evaluation for Business and IT Alignment with Enterprise Architecture for Water Distribution Company

Actually, there are gaps exist in the development of many large companies, which related to the automation and integration between the business and technology information systems within the company. Enterprise Architecture (EA) helps in aligning the business functions of a company with existing applications tooptimizethe existing business processes for the purpose of growth, revenue and satisfaction. For the creation of a well-integrated system, EAprovide logical design to build the sequence of connecting each function either in the structure, task and technology to achieve company goals. A well-designed information system (IS) architecture can be one of the best solutions to enhance the ability and capability of the company in serving its customers especially with the sustainability, maintainability, extendibility and maintainability. Furthermore, good information system can accommodate the company’s needs to improve the company’s performance process where the useful information system have been generated through careful planning and preparation. EA is a solution that can be used in designing systems within the company by integrating 4 (four) domains namely Business, Data, Applications, and Technology. This study provide the evaluation within the company that is expected to give preliminary result of process to be dealt with in order to increase the performance and support the business processes in the company.