structural:scholar_edition
Sustainable urban water supply

A sustainable urban water supply network covers all the activities related to provision of potable water. Sustainable development is of increasing importance for the water supply to urban areas. Incorporating innovative water technologies into water supply systems improves water supply from sustainable perspectives. The development of innovative water technologies provides flexibility to the water supply system, generating a fundamental and effective means of sustainability based on an integrated real options approach.

Water is an essential natural resource for human existence. It is needed in every industrial and natural process, for example, it is used for oil refining, for liquid-liquid extraction in hydro-metallurgical processes, for cooling, for scrubbing in the iron and the steel industry, and for several operations in food processing facilities.

It is necessary to adopt a new approach to design urban water supply networks; water shortages are expected in the forthcoming decades and environmental regulations for water utilization and waste-water disposal are increasingly stringent.

To achieve a sustainable water supply network, new sources of water are needed to be developed, and to reduce environmental pollution.

The price of water is increasing, so less water must be wasted and actions must be taken to prevent pipeline leakage. Shutting down the supply service to fix leaks is less and less tolerated by consumers. A sustainable water supply network must monitor the freshwater consumption rate and the waste-water generation rate.

Many of the urban water supply networks in developing countries face problems related to population increase, water scarcity, and environmental pollution.