Water Supply Resilience Research Articles

Increasing Water Supply Resilience Through the Pure Water Antelope Valley Program

Key TakeawaysThe Pure Water Antelope Valley (AV) program, the first inland potable reuse program in California, aims to augment water supplies to overcome current and projected reductions.Pure Water AV will use groundwater recharge via subsurface injection to increase the reliability and resilience of Antelope Valley's water supply.A collaboration between the Palmdale Water District, City of Palmdale, and Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, the program will improve the groundwater quality over time.Besides overcoming technical challenges, Pure Water AV's success depends on well‐thought‐out strategies for funding and public outreach.

A One Water Approach Meets Regulatory Requirements, Increases Water Supply Resilience

A One Water Approach Meets Regulatory Requirements, Increases Water Supply Resilience

Making waves: Harnessing stormwater for resilient water supply - A blueprint for vulnerable continental coasts and oceanic islands

At the forefront of climate change and natural disasters, small islands like Puerto Rico confront immense challenges in sustaining an adaptive water supply. The challenges are further exacerbated when the islands’ constraints, such as geographic isolation, limited resources, aging infrastructure, constrained capacity, and environmental fragility, are compounded. As these issues increasingly impact low-lying continental coasts, home to approximately 40 % of the global population, similar water supply crises have already emerged or are anticipated in these regions. To surmount these widespread challenges, harnessing stormwater as a non-conventional water source presents a promising solution. A stormwater-enabled water supply system, collectively characterized by water source diversification, decentralization, and modularity, can enhance the resilience of water supply in these vulnerable regions, both in routine situations and during emergencies. This article identifies barriers to the implementation of stormwater-to-drinking water (STDW) practices in Puerto Rico and advocates for engineering solutions to utilize stormwater at both community and household scales in vulnerable continental coasts and small oceanic islands. The primary barriers in Puerto Rico include uncertainty in water quality, insufficient data on local stormwater availability and domestic water demand, economic constraints, and the lack of an adaptive power supply. To overcome these obstacles, we emphasize engineering strategies focused on modular system design, assessments of local stormwater capture and demand dynamics, advancements in treatment technologies, and the enhancement of energy resilience. By analyzing the Puerto Rican context, we propose a conceptual framework that outlines pathways to adaptive STDW strategies for other oceanic islands and larger, more complex continental coasts in the face of similar challenges. These pathways encompass enhancing system modularity, understanding the dynamics of local stormwater supply and water consumption, applying tailored treatment technologies, and strengthening the resilience of supporting infrastructures. The insights gained from Puerto Rico's experience can guide current and future efforts for resilient water supply solutions in increasingly vulnerable coastal, island, and other regions.

A geospatial assessment of the resilience of municipal water supply to flooding in Nowshera District, Pakistan

Post-disaster functionality of the potable water supply infrastructure is crucial for maintaining public health and safety. The failure of the water supply system may harm inhabitants and significant users, which can impact other services and various types of infrastructures. It is vital to assess climate change impacts on water resources to ensure resilience and sustainable management. The study assessed the resilience of 22 municipal water schemes using an indicator-based framework, How Tough is Wash (HTIW), across six domains: environment, infrastructure, community governance, water supply management, supply chains, and institutional support. The sites of municipal water supply were purposively selected based on specific criteria to include those water supply schemes which have been directly affected by flooding or are vulnerable to the impact of the flood. The resilience scores ranged from (6 to 7.5) for schemes with very low resilience, (7.5 to 10.5) for those classified as poor, and (10.6 to 16.5) for schemes considered moderately resilient. It was discovered that protective measures against the risk of flood were negligible. Community engagement governance and water supply management needed to be stronger. Local governments can pinpoint current advantages and disadvantages by utilizing these metrics and their impact on the public water supply's resilience and strategically allocate resources for optimal outcomes. Furthermore, the metrics that have been suggested simplify and unify the multiple dimensions of the elements, enabling decision-makers to optimize the measures.

Climate-resilient water resource management for Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh

The Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh face severe water resource challenges, exacerbated by the impacts of climate change. With a rapidly growing population, the demand for water in these camps has surged, leading to over-extraction of groundwater and deteriorating water quality. Seasonal variations, including monsoons and dry spells, further strain the limited water resources, creating periods of acute scarcity and contamination risks. Climate change intensifies these issues by altering precipitation patterns and increasing the frequency of extreme weather events, jeopardizing the sustainability of current water supply systems. This paper explores sustainable water resource planning strategies tailored to the unique context of the Rohingya camps, emphasizing climate resilience and community-based approaches. By integrating innovative technologies and policy interventions, the study aims to propose solutions that ensure long-term water security for the refugee population. Sustainable water resource planning is crucial for addressing the compounded challenges of water scarcity and quality in Rohingya refugee camps, particularly under the escalating pressures of climate change. As climate change alters precipitation patterns and increases the frequency of extreme weather events, the vulnerability of water systems in these densely populated settlements intensifies. Effective planning must integrate climate resilience, ensuring reliable access to safe water despite environmental uncertainties. This involves adopting adaptive management strategies, leveraging innovative technologies, and fostering community participation to enhance system robustness and flexibility. Sustainable planning not only addresses immediate water needs but also builds long-term resilience, reducing dependency on overstressed groundwater resources and mitigating the impacts of climate-induced disruptions. This paper underscores the importance of holistic and forward-thinking approaches in securing water resources for the Rohingya population in the face of a changing climate. The study identifies critical gaps in current water resource management practices within Rohingya refugee camps and emphasizes the necessity for sustainable planning amidst climate change impacts. Key findings reveal that over-reliance on groundwater, coupled with inadequate infrastructure and seasonal variability, significantly undermines water security. The research recommends the implementation of integrated water resource management (IWRM) strategies, incorporating both traditional and innovative solutions such as rainwater harvesting, solar-powered water purification, and community-led water conservation practices. Enhancing policy frameworks to support sustainable water management and fostering collaborations among stakeholders are also crucial. Furthermore, climate resilience measures, including infrastructure fortification against extreme weather events, are imperative for long-term sustainability. These recommendations aim to establish a resilient water supply system that can adapt to future climate conditions while ensuring equitable access to safe water for the Rohingya population.

Assessing Reliability, Resilience and Vulnerability of Water Supply from SuDS

In recent decades, the impacts of urbanization on the hydrological cycle have led to an increase in the frequency and magnitude of urban flooding events, and this is also amplified by the effects of climate change. Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) provide a revolutionary change in this field, improving the sustainability and resilience of cities. This research explores the integration of different SuDS with the aim of significantly reducing both the flow volume and celerity of floods in a residual urban catchment area of the metropolitan city of Querétaro (Mèxico), where extreme rainfall frequently occurs. This catchment is a representative suburb of urban pressure and environmental degradation problems. Currently, managing storm water under climate uncertainty through a multi-disciplinary approach is a major concern in this urban area. A 1D–2D coupling model of shallow water equations, the finite volume method, an unstructured meshing method, and a hybrid parallel computing application defined the optimal configuration of SuDS at catchment scale to reduce the flood vulnerability in Querétaro. Specifically, in this paper, we explore the management issues of the proposed SuDS configuration that acts as a water resource system with multiple purposes. A generic simulation model called MODSIM was applied to simulate the designed urban drainage system under a balanced IPCC future climate scenario in terms of reliability, resilience and vulnerability against water scarcity. The proposed hierarchical Reliability–Resilience–Vulnerability approach appears to be effective in evaluating the system performance, showing that the complete satisfaction of non-essential water uses in Querétaro can be assured at a 65% rate of reliability for a large range of reservoir storage conditions.

Climate resilience of small-town water utilities in Eastern Ethiopia

Climate change threatens the safety of water supplies globally, but small water supplies in rapidly growing and urbanizing towns in low- and middle-income countries are especially at risk. Despite the efforts of the Government of Ethiopia, research shows that that small-town water utilities in Ethiopia are poorly equipped to prioritize developing and maintaining climate-resilient water services. We applied the How tough is WASH framework for climate resilient water supplies to ten town water utilities in Eastern Ethiopia to identify their strengths and weaknesses in preparing for climate change. We found reports of weak institutional support from service authorities and exclusion of climate risk management from trainings, which cascades down to service providers in the form of lack of emergency response, inadequate staffing and financial mismanagement. This is consistent with previous studies on sustainability of town water utilities, and highlights the applicability of this tool into existing monitoring frameworks that have been proposed for town water utilities in Ethiopia. We also modified the How tough is WASH framework to capture these findings and better reflect the complexity of a utility-managed piped water supply.

RENEWABLE ENERGY INTEGRATION FOR WATER SUPPLY: A COMPARATIVE REVIEW OF AFRICAN AND U.S. INITIATIVES

This review paper explores integrating renewable energy into water supply systems as a critical strategy for addressing global challenges such as climate change, energy scarcity, and water security. By comparing initiatives in African countries and the United States, the study highlights the importance of sustainable, efficient, and resilient water supply systems in diverse geographical and socio-economic contexts. The paper examines the technological, financial, policy, and infrastructure challenges and opportunities that influence the adoption of renewable energy in the water sector. It delves into the sustainability and scalability of renewable energy-powered water supply initiatives, assessing their environmental, economic, and social dimensions. The comparative analysis reveals lessons learned, best practices, and potential areas for collaboration between the regions. Future directions are proposed, emphasizing the need for international cooperation, knowledge sharing, and innovation to enhance the integration of renewable energy into water supply systems. The paper concludes by underscoring the pivotal role of renewable energy in achieving sustainable development goals, particularly in ensuring access to clean water and energy for all.
 Keywords: Renewable Energy, Water Supply Systems, Sustainable Development, Comparative Review.

Seismic vulnerability assessment of buried water supply and sanitation pipelines using the analytic hierarchy process: a methodology and application

The evaluation of seismic vulnerability in buried pipelines within water supply and sanitation networks stands as a critical endeavor in safeguarding infrastructure against the impacts of earthquakes. In response, this study introduces a systematic methodology rooted in the Vulnerability Index (VI), leveraging the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to allocate weights to factors influencing pipeline seismic behavior. Through the derivation of an expression for calculating the VI based on these weighted factors, our objective is to furnish a comprehensive pipeline classification system, thereby providing a strategic overview of the networks' seismic resilience. This method's practical utility will be exemplified through the examination of concrete cases involving drinking water pipelines (DWP). Furthermore, the scope will extend to encompass sanitation pipelines, thereby validating the methodology's effectiveness across both domains. By systematically assessing the seismic vulnerability of these crucial infrastructures, we aim to fortify their resilience against seismic events, ensuring the continued provision of essential services even in the face of natural disasters. This study's significance lies not only in its contribution to the field of infrastructure resilience but also in its practical implications for urban planning and disaster management. By elucidating the factors influencing pipeline vulnerability and providing a robust framework for assessment, decision-makers can better prioritize resource allocation and mitigation efforts, ultimately enhancing community safety and well-being. Furthermore, the methodology's adaptability and scalability render it applicable to diverse contexts, facilitating its integration into broader risk management strategies. As such, this study serves as a valuable tool for policymakers, engineers, and stakeholders seeking to enhance the resilience of water supply and sanitation networks in earthquake-prone regions. Through informed decision-making and proactive measures, we can build more resilient communities capable of withstanding the challenges posed by seismic hazards.

Assessing the vulnerability of urban drinking water intakes to water scarcity under global change: A bottom-up approach

Drinking water intakes (DWIs) face significant pressure due to global changes, including urbanization and climate change. The common approach relies mainly on climate projections generated by global climate models to simulate large scale hydroclimatic conditions. However, it is crucial to discern the impact of global changes on water scarcity at the local level, including in regions where available data are limited. This paper proposes an approach that focuses on studying the vulnerability of surface DWIs to low water levels and water demand in current and future climates within a cold-climate region.Low flows at DWIs were simulated using historical water level data obtained from hydrometric stations situated along the studied river. After defining four scenarios for climate change and anthropogenic activities affecting raw water withdrawals at DWIs, the full potential range of level variations was simulated. This study employed a combined water scarcity index derived from two sub-indices based on water level and water demand. The resulting index ranges from 0 to 1, where a higher value indicates a greater vulnerability to water scarcity. The simulation results demonstrate the vulnerability of water scarcity in both current and future climates.The calculated index, selecting the current vulnerability to water scarcity for the five studied DWIs, ranged from 0.61 to 0.76. The results for the vulnerability of these DWIs under future climate conditions exhibited significant variability across the different scenarios representing possible maximum daily withdrawal. These scenarios were defined to encompass a spectrum of options related to the government's policy for drinking water conservation strategy implementation. While exploring the full range of potential risks, the study's results demonstrated that the DWIs were especially vulnerable to anthropogenic changes affecting water demand.The framework developed in this study can provide a decision-support basis for municipalities and water managers to adapt to global change and achieve greater water supply resilience.

Advancing groundwater vulnerability assessment in Bangladesh: a comprehensive machine learning approach

In response to Bangladesh's severe water shortages, this research delves into the intricate dynamics of groundwater vulnerability. Integrating often-overlooked factors such as topography, meteorology, socio-economic conditions, and land use & geology, the study employs advanced Random Forest (RF) modeling. Rigorously analyzing 200 strategically chosen sample points, the research uncovers critical areas like Rajshahi, Nawabganj, Naogaon, and Dhaka, constituting 21% of the land, as highly vulnerable. In contrast, regions like Rangpur, Mymensingh, and Barisal, encompassing 31% of the area, exhibit lower vulnerability. Topographic factors, accounting for 45% of the vulnerability, including aspect, drainage density, and slope, significantly influence susceptibility. Socio-economic elements contribute 22%, particularly population density and industrial activities. The RF model achieves exceptional accuracy (over 90%), emphasizing the complexity of groundwater dynamics. By integrating geological, social, and economic aspects, the study provides actionable insights for nuanced and sustainable management strategies. This research not only unveils a highly accurate groundwater vulnerability map, enriching scientific understanding, but also offers a unique approach by incorporating often-overlooked variables and leveraging machine learning. These insights empower policymakers and urban planners to craft targeted and sustainable groundwater management strategies, ensuring a resilient water supply system for Bangladesh's growing population. Through this work, the aim is to significantly contribute to the scientific community while providing data-driven solutions for the nation's pressing water challenges.

Natural hazard risk analysis in the framework of water safety plans.

The available literature on natural hazard risk analysis focused on the implementation of water safety plans (WSPs) is surprisingly quite poor, despite the significant increase in the number and severity of disasters and adverse effects on drinking water supply systems generated by natural hazards. At the same time, WSPs that conveniently account for natural hazards with a comprehensive approach 'from source to tap' are still scarce as they typically occur at larger spatial scales and adequate prevention, mitigation and adaptation require efficient inter-institutional collaborations. The aim of this paper is to highlight the main bottlenecks for water utilities to include natural hazards in the development of their WSPs. The research adopted a stakeholders-oriented approach, involving a considerable number of water utilities (168), water sectoral agencies (15) and institutions (68) across the Adriatic-Ionian Region through a stepwise process that generated joint SWOT analysis, the development of a decision support system (DSS) focused on WSPs procedures and tabletop exercises. The final outcomes generated strategic documents (REWAS - Adrion Road map for resilient water supply) that highlighted the necessity for efficient cross-sectoral and inter-institutional cooperation in the development of well-founded and robust WSPs to address natural hazard risk analysis for water supply systems (DWSS).

Assessing and Improving Water Supply Resiliency in New Braunfels, Texas

Key TakeawaysA holistic resiliency study provides a long‐term perspective on the strengths and vulnerabilities of water supplies and encourages proactive planning.A workshop‐driven approach can tap into the institutional knowledge of staff at all levels.With this approach, utilities can assess their resiliency, understand present and future water supplies, estimate likelihood and consequences of failure, and anticipate demand changes.Decision makers can use a cost–benefit analysis to prioritize solutions and develop implementation timelines based on supply and demand projections.

Domain-informed variational neural networks and support vector machines based leakage detection framework to augment self-healing in water distribution networks

The reduction of water leakage is essential for ensuring sustainable and resilient water supply systems. Despite recent investments in sensing technologies, pipe leakage remains a significant challenge for the water sector, particularly in developed nations like the UK, which suffer from aging water infrastructure. Conventional models and analytical methods for detecting pipe leakage often face reliability issues and are generally limited to detecting leaks during nighttime hours. Moreover, leakages are frequently detected by the customers rather than the water companies. To achieve substantial reductions in leakage and enhance public confidence in water supply and management, adopting an intelligent detection method is crucial. Such a method should effectively leverage existing sensor data for reliable leakage identification across the network. This not only helps in minimizing water loss and the associated energy costs of water treatment but also aids in steering the water sector towards a more sustainable and resilient future. As a step towards ‘self-healing’ water infrastructure systems, this study presents a novel framework for rapidly identifying potential leakages at the district meter area (DMA) level. The framework involves training a domain-informed variational autoencoder (VAE) for real-time dimensionality reduction of water flow time series data and developing a two-dimensional surrogate latent variable (LV) mapping which sufficiently and efficiently captures the distinct characteristics of leakage and regular (non-leakage) flow. The domain-informed training employs a novel loss function that ensures a distinct but regulated LV space for the two classes of flow groupings (i.e., leakage and non-leakage). Subsquently, a binary SVM classifier is used to provide a hyperplane for separating the two classes of LVs corresponding to the flow groupings. Hence, the proposed framework can be efficiently utilised to classify the incoming flow as leakage or non-leakage based on the encoded surrogates LVs of the flow time series using the trained VAE encoder. The framework is trained and tested on a dataset of over 2000 DMAs in North Yorkshire, UK, containing water flow time series recorded at 15-minute intervals over one year. The framework performs exceptionally well for both regular and leakage water flow groupings with a classification accuracy of over 98 % on the unobserved test dataset

Systems analysis of metropolitan-scale reuse with effects on water supply resilience and water quality

ABSTRACT Water reuse with Advanced Water Treatment (AWT) is increasingly appealing for urban areas seeking water supply reliability. In cities facing water scarcity, how can large-scale reuse support reliability and how do reuse operations affect water quality, energy use, and water conservation? This paper presents a systems analysis of metropolitan-scale water reuse and its effects on water supply and quality. For the case study of Los Angeles County, California, USA, hydroeconomic modeling is used to evaluate reuse as a contributor to water supply given urban water conservation, drought-induced water scarcity, and costs and benefits for supply and demand. Results indicate that AWT can be a viable source of supply especially when coupled with conservation. Across modeled scenarios, reuse provides as much as 30% of regional supplies. New water reuse with AWT becomes viable when imported water availability is 50% or less of historic values. Existing indirect potable reuse operations in the county remain important. Systemwide energy intensity of operations increases with greater reuse in the absence of water conservation. Modeled influent flow rates to wastewater treatment plants resemble historical values, but extreme flow events could pose risks. The paper offers a holistic framework to evaluate water reuse as a component of urban water management.

Water Governance Analysis in the Development of Embung for Water Supply Security for Agriculture (Study in Sabu Raijua District, NTT Province)

82.3% of the population of Sabu Raijua Regency work as farmers with a high level of need for water but the geographical conditions of Sabu Island are not able to support this activity because the majority consists of dry land with a percentage of 97.51% and the number of rainy days is only approximately 100 days per year so that The Sabu Raijua Regency Government has built hundreds of reservoirs to meet agricultural activities, but the weak sustainability of the reservoir construction projects in Sabu Raijua Regency is a problem in itself. The method used in this research is a descriptive method with a qualitative approach with a total number of 76 people who were determined purposively then the primary and secondary data collected were analyzed using data analysis techniques from Creswell (2016). Water governance in the construction of reservoirs for water supply resilience for agriculture in Sabu Raijua Regency, NTT Province uses theory from Van der Kerk, et al (2013: 8) with research results in aspects (1) content layer which is hampered by the uneven flow of information, the absence of training to improve the knowledge and skills of reservoir water users as well as poor strategies/policies, whereas in aspect (2) the institutional layer from the organizational side there was no clear division of roles and responsibilities between institutions, the private sector and the community relating to the use of reservoir water and instruments that were not adequate and in aspect (3) the relational layer on the cooperation side was found not to involve existing policy stakeholders in making decisions about the water management process. The inhibiting factors for water governance in the construction of reservoirs for the resilience of water supply for agriculture in Sabu Raijua Regency, NTT Province consist of a minimal budget, lack of effective institutional governance and climate and geographical conditions.

Improving urban water management and building water supply resilience in the city of Harare, Zimbabwe – a systems view

ABSTRACT Starting from a resilience assessment of Harare's water supply, the system interactions of the city’s water management arrangements are explored through a series of causal loop diagrams. These are based on economic, physical, commercial, environmental, and social subsystems and the reinforcing and balancing loops that influence key variables of interest in each are identified. The analysis identifies a series of shortcomings including a weak provider-customer relationship, limited governance capacity, inadequate coordination and integration between key players, shortfalls in physical supply and critical infrastructure, environmental degradation, and a lack of disaster response and recovery measures. A series of strategies are proposed as intervention actions that target the areas of potential leverage identified in the causal loop analysis, including improving customer-provider relationships; increasing coordination, collaboration, and integration; developing physical and informational infrastructure and enhancing environmental protection and rehabilitation. The impacts of these strategies are highlighted as strengthening key elements of the causal loop diagrams and addressing the resilience gaps identified. The systems mapping approach reveals that key issues are large-scale, cross-sectoral, and compounding. Remediation strategies must therefore also be multi-faceted and holistic in scope.

A sociotechnical framework to characterize tipping points in water supply systems

Population growth and a drying climate can push urban water supply across a tipping point into a new regime of water deficits. This research develops an analytical approach to characterize tipping points in water supply systems based on a loss of ecological resilience. A comprehensive sociotechnical modeling framework is developed to apply increasing stress gradients, representing climate change and population growth scenarios, to a water supply system and generate time series of deficits, which are analyzed to characterize tipping points. An agent-based modeling framework of water use, supply, and management simulates feedbacks and adaptations between human behavior and water infrastructure systems. Projections of climate change are generated using a stochastic reconstruction framework. A change point detection algorithm is applied to detect change points, and a tipping point rule selects a tipping point from a set of change points. The sociotechnical framework is applied for a case study to demonstrate tipping point analysis. A range of stress gradients are applied for a projected period, and tipping points are characterized for climate change scenarios and management strategies. The sociotechnical framework characterizes the resilience of water supply and can be applied to simulate, predict, and avert tipping points in water supply systems.

Performance of regional water purification plants during extreme weather events: three case studies from New South Wales, Australia.

Climate change is altering weather patterns, which affects water supply systems globally. More frequent extreme weather events like floods, droughts, and heatwaves are impacting the availability of raw water sources that supply cities. These events can lead to less water, higher demand, and potential infrastructure damage. Water agencies and utilities must develop resilient and adaptable systems to withstand shocks and stresses. Case studies demonstrating the impact of extreme weather on water quality are important for developing resilient water supply systems. This paper documents the challenges faced by regional New South Wales (NSW) in managing water quality and supply during extreme weather events. Effective treatment processes, such as ozone treatment and adsorption, are used to maintain drinking water standards during extreme weather. Water-efficient alternatives are provided, and critical water networks are inspected to identify leaks and reduce system demand. Local government areas must collaborate and share resources to ensure that towns can cope with future extreme weather events. Systematic investigation is needed to understand system capacity and identify surplus resources to be shared when demand cannot be met. Pooling resources could benefit regional towns experiencing both floods and droughts. With expected population growth in the area, regional NSW councils will require a significant increase in water filtration infrastructure to handle increased system loading. Continuous research, regular strategy reviews, and innovative approaches are essential to ensure a secure and reliable water supply during future extreme weather events.

Water infrastructure resilience and water supply and sanitation development challenges in developing countries

Abstract Water supply and sanitation development in developing countries, specifically in Ethiopia, appear to be making substantial progress. Governments, international organizations, and other organizations are contributing to the development of water supply and sanitation systems. Water supply and sanitation challenges are linked to climate change effects and the quest for climate-resilient development. This paper evaluates the current challenges in water supply and sanitation development in developing countries and infrastructure resilience. The research is based on the data collected throughout the practical development task. Some of the findings were the climate change effect and temporary adaptation mechanisms, such as intermittent supply causing further pressure variation and water loss in the system. Resilient water supply and sanitation development require an integrated approach based on practical experiences, the latest technological development in water supply and sanitation system operation and management tools, and climate change adaptation. A seamless understanding of engineering, management, and technology is required for the development and management of water supply and sanitation systems. Dispersed skills may be available that were not effective at this time, which calls for a different approach to training provision and skill development as a package on design, management, and recent technological support.