Chapter 3 Decision Support Model (IUWS-DSM) - Tubdok

Chapter 4 Discussion and Conclusion
Chapter 4 · Discussion and Conclusion 89
Through this new conception, the urban water systems are rethought as one integrated
system, where desired water, used water and rainwater systems are considered and planned
at the same time. The decision support model, namely IUWS-DSM, was developed,
wherewith engineers can carry out different system options for the IUWS, make the proper
comparison, and then reach the appropriate decisions. As the precursory research, the
conception and model provide introductory compendium and remarks with primary functions.
Based on it, the further research work can be implemented whereby, the potential
developments of IUWS are suggested.
4.1 New conception
In general, the conventional urban water systems are simpler and readily systems in the
sense of design and management. However, the conventional systems exert huge burdens
directly to the environment by withdrawing too much high quality water from nature and
damping too many pollutants into water bodies afterwards, whereby the nature cannot
sustain it further with today’s industrialisation and urbanisation.
Demand management should always be considered in the first. Opposite to the general
thinking, in reality demand is more difficult to be constrained than supplies, because many
factors influences it, such as human needs and behaviour, and the variations over time and
space (Brooks et al. 1997). In this new conception, since the urban water systems are
constructed as many independent water entities, the demand management of each water
entity becomes simpler with less indeterminacy. Meantime, the hierarchical system provides
the chances to reuse water and utilised rainwater in a very flexible way. Thus, instead of
enlarging the water supply system to fulfil the increase of water demand, the management of
water usage inside the system should be executed first of all based on the new conception.
The end-user’s water usage profile of, i.e. EUWUP, is another very important conception.
First of all, it is the water usage profile of the grouped users, which are locally standardised.
Meanwhile, the water demand and used water amount are depicted simultaneously with the
labels of their qualities in the usage profile. Putting desired water and used water profiles
together does not only conceptually connect water and used water systems, but also
substantially plan the urban water system as one integrated system from the beginning.
Meanwhile, the normalisation of EUWUP reduces the planning work, and potentially it can be
further developed to the benchmark to estimate and optimise the water usage.