Author(s): Camila Garcia; Pilar Conejos Fuertes; Jaime Castillo Soria; P. Amparo Lopez-Jimenez; Modesto Perez-Sanchez
Linked Author(s): Modesto Pérez Sánchez
Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: Due to the current social development, higher quantities and better water quality are demanded, putting water resources under greater stress. However, if the resources are managed in a sustainable way, it will be possible to satisfy the present needs without compromising its long-term capacity. Nowadays, urban water systems are trying to focus on a sustainable management that improves the performance of the economic, social, technical, and environmental fields of the systems. In this sense, water systems can contribute to the achievement of the SDGs, even though it can be a challenge due to the actual social conditions to operate this way. Therefore, key performance indicators (KPIs) can be a useful tool to audit and evaluate sustainability in hydraulic systems over time. This contribution presents an analysis of the implementation of a set of sustainability indicators that will allow to assess the compliance of all the SDGs that intervenes in different water systems. Based on the results, the study also proposes a classification by levels of sustainability considering a memory of the evolution of the system. The proposed methodology can be applied to all types of hydraulic systems (supply, sanitation, treatment). A set of indicators were established to measured or monitor the sustainability in different processes such as operation, maintenance, management, and infrastructure of hydraulic systems. For the implementation of the KPIs, first a characterization of the system must be carried out considering aspects such as the location, elements of the network and operation mode. A detailed analysis was carried out to establish the relationship between the water systems and each SDGs. Based on that, a set of indicators was defined that could measure the contribution of water systems to the compliance of all SDGs. The analysis was made in the supply network of the Valencian Community, Spain. The result of the analysis allows to establish a benchmarking on the sustainable aspects of the water distribution system that will help to improve sustainability in the systems. In that sense, it can become a design, diagnosis, and management tool. The results shows that water systems are related to some of the targets of each SDGs. Improving the performance and sustainability of urban water systems will not only help to achieve goal 6 but also all the others SDGs will benefit, since the close relationship between water systems and each SDGS, which highlights the relevance of sustainability indicators in hydraulic systems.
Year: 2022