An integrated, smart approach for multi-scale management of urban wastewater systems

Abstract

Efficient management of complex combined sewer systems requires real-time command and control over the complete water cycle, from the upstream catchment to the receiving waters, including the urban dimension. However, the ability to jointly manage all relevant domains in an entire urban wastewater and stormwater system is often limited by 1) the lack of reliable information across the several relevant compartments, measured or predicted at the adequate time scales, and 2) the lack of comprehensive yet agile decision support tools that cover and predict all relevant controlling processes, from the water dynamics to the water quality descriptor fields. An integrated, smart approach for multi-scale management of urban stormwater and wastewater systems is described here to address this challenge, combining competences in urban hydraulic and water quality engineering, estuarine and coastal regions hydrodynamic and water quality engineering and computer science. This conceptual approach relies on a decision support system (DSS) that combines on-line monitoring with real-time forecasts, allowing for the continuous surveillance from the drainage system to the receiving water bodies and the anticipation of flooding and contamination events. A smart DSS was developed, based on SIEMENS’ XHQ platform, targeting an efficient management of complex urban systems through real-time command and control, tailor-made for the detailed requirements of the utilities. Its application to Lisbon’s largest catchment has already provided valuable, real-time information for sustainable and energy-efficient wastewater management.