B-WaterSmart Decision Support Tool for Alternative Water Sources -

B-WaterSmart Decision Support Tool for Alternative Water Sources

Tool description

The Decision Support Tool for Alternative Water Sources was developed under the H2020 B-WaterSmart project (Accelerating Water Smartness in Coastal Europe and beyond) and includes two separate apps: a matchmaking tool and a planning tool. Designed as proprietary software, the Decision Support Tool for Alternative Water Sources implements a novel matchmaking framework for formulating and assessing candidate combinations of two or more supplies, including reclaimed water, in satisfying non potable water demands in urban or regional contexts, to enable prioritizing strategic and tactical planning options. Its mission is to support urban management authorities and water utilities in making smart decisions for an efficient water-energy-nutrient balance in the city to leverage circular economy (water reuse) and water resiliency (climate change impacts).

Objectives

User-friendly tool designed to jointly provide a complete ability to quantitively and qualitatively match water supply to demand, while managing water volume, cost, energy, nutrients and risk.
Novel matchmaking framework for formulating and assessing candidate combinations of two or more water supplies, including reclaimed water, in satisfying non potable water demands in urban or regional contexts, to enable prioritizing strategic and tactical planning options.
Intuitive numerical and visual decisional environment that enables assessment and ranking of planning alternatives through objective-guided metrics (performance, cost and risk) to support decision making on water allocation in a city or region.

Expected Impact

Overcome barriers: assist city authorities in overcoming barriers related to the incipient experience on water reuse projects, namely, design, licensing, and long-term planning needed to support the required investments in municipal infrastructures
Cross-sectoral collaboration: Strengthens collaboration across departments and stakeholders.
Energy neutrality and climate action: Contribution of water supply-demand management to these goals.

How the tool supports cities' pathways towards climate action?

In Lisbon, the Decision Support Tool for Alternative Water Sources is being implemented to facilitate smart water allocation in non-potable uses, namely the irrigation of sport fields. Key contributions include assisting city authorities in overcoming barriers related to the incipient experience on water reuse projects, namely, design, licensing, and long-term planning needed to support the required investments in municipal infrastructures; informing how pilot actions contribute to citywide scaling efforts; and strengthening stakeholder communication.

Partners involved

Contact details

Dr. Rita Ribeiro
rribeiro@lnec.pt

More information at

https://mp.uwmh.eu/d/Product/55 , https://mp.uwmh.eu/d/Product/66/ , https://b-watersmart.eu/training-material-for-three-tools/

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. This project has received funding from the Horizon Innovation Actions under the grant agreement n° 101096405.