| dc.description.abstract | A water distribution system (WDS) design deals with achieving the desired network performance. WDS design can involve new and / or existing network redesigns in order to keep up with the required service performance. Very often, WDS design is expensive, which encourages cost effectiveness in the required investments. Moreover, WDS design is associated with adverse environmental implications such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to energy consumption. GHGs are associated with global warming and climate change. Climate change is generally understood to cause reduction in water available at the sources and increase water demand. Urbanization that takes into account factors such as demographics (population ageing, household occupancy rates, etc.) and other activities are associated with water demand changes. In addition to the aforementioned issues, the challenge of meeting the required hydraulic performance of WDSs is worsened by the uncertainties that are associated with WDS parameters (e.g., future water demand). With all the factors mentioned here, mitigation and adaptive measures are considered essential to improve WDS performance in the long-term planning horizon.
In this thesis, different formulations of a WDS design methodologies aimed at mitigating or adapting the systems to the effects of future changes such as those of climate change and urbanization are explored. Cost effective WDS designs that mitigate climate change by reducing GHG emissions have been investigated. Also, water demand management (DM) intervention measures, i.e., domestic rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems and water saving appliance schemes (WSASs) have been incorporated in the design of WDSs in an attempt to mitigate, adapt to or counteract the likely effects of future climate change and urbanization. Furthermore, flexibility has been introduced in the long-term WDS design under future uncertainty. The flexible methodology is adaptable to uncertain WDS parameters (i.e., future water demand in this thesis) thereby improving the WDS economic cost and hydraulic performance (resilience). The methodology is also complimented by strategically incorporating DM measures to further enhance the WDS performance under water demand uncertainty. The new methodologies presented in this thesis were successfully tested on case studies. Finally, conclusions and recommendations for possible further research work are made. There are potential benefits (e.g., cost savings, additional resilience, and lower GHG emissions) of incorporating an environmental objective and DM interventions in WDS design. Flexibility and DM interventions add value in the design of WDSs under uncertainty. | en_GB |
