Alternative water resources for industry: Designing environmentally compatible regional supply networks

In this thesis a modelling approach for the design of water supply networks using alternative regional water resources is developed. The thesis departs from the notion that water use should be compatible with the local environment, meaning that the renewable rates at which local water resources are replenished should not be exceeded. New modelling approaches are developed and tested on an industrial case study in the region of Zeeuws-Vlaandering in the south of the Netherlands.

The novel modelling approach, WaterROUTE, incorporates the effects of land use on pipeline infrastructure costs with the optimization of water supply network planning. Methods from geographic information science and mathematical programming are connected with hydrological models. The proposed method connects modelling of the natural water system with decision making.

WaterROUTE shows how the optimal configuration of a water supply network changes depending on the amount of water required, the maximum allowed salinity of water reaching the demand location, and the inclusion of harvested rainwater from urban areas. Groundwater availability and salinity is estimated up to 2110 with hydrological models and the rainwater harvesting potential from urban areas is estimated based on daily precipitation data for a wet and a dry year.

WaterROUTE is suited to identify when the optimal water supply network layout changes significantly due to small changes in demand quantity or quality. This functionality makes the proposed methodology a valuable tool to evaluate multiple water supply scenarios/alternatives and for long term regional planning.