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

4 New Conception and Decision Support Model for IUWS
ments, but it clearly points out how we could/should live in and with the nature. Such kinds of
idea are now fully comprehended and represented in the concept of the sustainable
development. Consequently, three separate water systems in the urban area, i.e. water
supply, wastewater disposal and rainwater elimination, should be integrated together to
complete the cycle.
The modelling of the urban water cycle can be traced back for several decades, early
examples such as Graham (1976), Grimmond et al. (1986), and later ones like Wong et al.
(2002). Niemczynowicz (1999) looked into the urban hydrological cycle holistically trying to
reveal the future challenges in urban water management. As the urban water cycle is
involving many elements and factors, more models were developed having different
emphasis points. Icke et al. (1999) developed a mass balance model of water and
phosphorus for evaluating the sustainability rate of the urban water cycle. Hellström et al.
(2000) proposed a framework for analysis and comparison of urban water systems with
respect to sustainability. Mitchell et al. (2001) developed the software called Aquacycle for
modelling the daily hydrological cycle in cities considering water supply, wastewater disposal
and storm water runoff all together. Mitchell and Diaper (2006) further extended and
enhanced Aquacycle for simulating daily cycle of both water and contaminants flows in urban
area by developing a new analysis tool called UVQ. With the tool of life cycle assessment,
Lundin and Morrison (2002) developed an iterative procedure for the selection of environmental
sustainability indicators for urban water systems. Van der Vleuten-Balkema (2003)
developed a methodology for sustainability assessment of domestic water systems, including
water supply, waster use, and wastewater treatment. Chanan and Woods (2006) introduced
the total water cycle management in Sydney, which tried to approach to sustainable urban
water management. Savic et al. (2008) developed the whole-life costing for the capital and
operational management of water and wastewater networks.
So far there are no worldwide recognised and accepted conceptions or models for urban
water systems, which can fulfil the requirements of sustainable development. Besides the
difficulties from conceptual and technical sides, there are also risks and obstacles from many
other aspects to innovate our urban water systems, such as economics, culture, tradition,
religion, etc. All these inspire and encourage me to try out this research work.
1.2 Decision support systems (DSS)
1.2.1 General overview
Decision support systems (DSS) comprise a core subject area of the information systems
(IS) discipline, being one of several major expansions that have occurred in the IS field
(Springer 2008). DSS is defined by Sprague and Carlson (1982) as “a class of information
system that draws on transaction processing systems and interacts with the other parts of
the overall information system to support the decision-making activities of managers and
other knowledge workers in organizations”. Computerised DSS started practicing with the
development of minicomputers, timeshare operating systems, and distributed competing
since mid-1960s (Power 2008).