Scientific Results

This catalogue is obtained by conducting a systematic literature review of scientific studies and reviews related to monitoring, forecasting, and simulating the inland water cycle. The analysis maps scientific expertise across research groups and classifies findings by the type of inland water studied, application focus, and geographical scope. A gap analysis will identify missing research areas and assess their relevance to policymaking.

ID ▲ Type Year Authors Title Venue/Journal DOI Research type Water System Technical Focus Abstract Link with Projects Link with Tools Related policies ID
publications-3821 article 2007 van Zyl, J. E. and van Zyl, J. E. and Clayton, C. R. I. and Clayton, C.R.I. The effect of pressure on leakage in water distribution systems 10.1680/wama.2007.160.2.109 The results of pressure management field studies have shown that the leakage exponent is often considerably higher than the theoretical orifice value of 0Β·5. The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyse factors that may be responsible for the higher leakage exponents. Four factors are considered: leak hydraulics, pipe material behaviour, soil hydraulics and water demand. It is concluded that a significant proportion of background leakage can consist of transitional flow, and thus have a leakage coefficient value above 0Β·5 (although not above 1). An important factor is pipe material behaviour: laboratory test results are presented to show that pipe material behaviour can explain the range of leakage exponents observed in the field. The complexity of the interaction between a leaking pipe and its surrounding soil is discussed and it is concluded that the relationship between pressure and leakage is unlikely to be linear. Finally, it is noted that if water demands are present in minimum night flows, ...
publications-3822 article 2014 Davies, Kirsten and Davies, Kirsten and Doolan, Corinna and Doolan, Corinna and van den Honert, Robin and van den Honert, Robin and Shi, Rose and Shi, Rose Water‐saving impacts of Smart Meter technology: An empirical 5 year, whole‐of‐community study in Sydney, Australia Water Resources Research 10.1002/2014wr015812 In 2009–2010 Sydney Water, the primary water utility in Sydney, conducted a comprehensive Smart Metering trial in residential homes in the suburb of Westleigh, in Sydney's north. The trial involved 1923 participants residing in 630 households. A whole-of-community method of engagement was applied to capture the views of residents from 12 to 70+ years of age. The trial examined the effects of the technology on the water consumption of an intervention group compared with that of a matched control group. After removing properties that had been sold since the beginning of the trial, properties in the study group were matched with a control group property on the basis of the household size, property size and the presence (or otherwise) of a swimming pool. The effects of the technology on consumption were measured and analyzed for the period July 2009 to June 2010, coupled with qualitative information that was collected throughout the duration of the study. A key finding was that households with the in-home display (IHD) installed, reduced their consumption by an average of over 6.8\% over the study period when compared to the control group. Since completion of the study the community has not had any further interventions. The trial created an opportunity to examine the longer-term effects of the technology (June 2008 to September 2013). Consumption data collected over the 3 year posttrial period revealed that the participant group consumed 6.4\% per month less water when compared to the pretrial period, whilst the matched control group consumed 1.3\% per month more water when compared to the pretrial period. The reduced consumption of the participant group was maintained over time, demonstrating the long-term value of this technology.
publications-3823 article 2016 Rhoads, William J. and Rhoads, William J. and Pruden, Amy and Pruden, Amy and Edwards, Marc and Edwards, Marc Survey of green building water systems reveals elevated water age and water quality concerns 10.1039/c5ew00221d Widespread adoption of innovative water conservation strategies has potential unintended consequences for aesthetics and public health. A cross-section of green buildings were surveyed and compared to typical conventional buildings in terms of water retention time (i.e., water age), water chemistry, and levels of opportunistic pathogen genetic markers. Water age was estimated to be 2–6.7 months in an off-grid office, an average of 8 days in a Leadership in Environmental Engineering Design certified healthcare suite, and was increased to 2.7 days from 1 day due to installation of a solar β€_x009c_pre-heatβ€_x009d_ water tank in a net-zero energy house. Chlorine and chloramine residuals were often completely absent in the green building systems, decaying up to 144 times faster in premise plumbing with high water age when compared to distribution system water. Concentration of 16S rRNA and opportunistic pathogen genus level genetic markers were 1–4 orders of magnitude higher in green versus conventional buildings. This study raises concerns with respect to current green water system practices and the importance of considering potential public health impacts in the design of sustainable water systems.
publications-3824 article 2006 Ruxton, Graeme D. and Ruxton, Graeme D. The unequal variance t-test is an underused alternative to Student's t-test and the Mann–Whitney U test Behavioral Ecology 10.1093/beheco/ark016 Often in the study of behavioral ecology, and more widely in science, we require to statistically test whether the central tendencies (mean or median) of 2 groups are different from each other on the basis of samples of the 2 groups. In surveying recent issues of Behavioral Ecology (Volume 16, issues 1–5), I found that, of the 130 papers, 33 (25\%) used at least one statistical comparison of this sort. Three different tests were used to make this comparison: Student’s t-test (67 occasions; 26 papers), Mann–Whitney U test (43 occasions; 21 papers), and the t-test for unequal variances (9 occasions; 4 papers). My aim in this forum article is to argue for the greater use of the last of these tests. The numbers just related suggest that this test is not commonly used. In my survey, I was able to identify tests described simply as ‘‘t-tests’’ with confidence as either a Student’s t-test or an unequal variance t-test because the calculation of degrees of freedom from the 2 sample sizes is different for the 2 tests (see below). Hence, the neglect of the unequal variance t-test illustrated above is a real phenomenon and can be explained in several (nonexclusive ways) ways: 1. Authors are unaware that Student’s t-test is unreliable
publications-3825 article 2008 Turnhout, Esther and Turnhout, Esther and Hisschemöller, M. and Hisschemöller, Matthijs and Eijsackers, H.J.P. and Eijsackers, H.J.P. Science in Wadden Sea policy: from accommodation to advocacy Environmental Science & Policy 10.1016/j.envsci.2007.07.004
publications-3826 article 2000 Haddad, Brent M. and Haddad, Brent M. REPLY TO DISCUSSION by Donald E. Agthe and R. Bruce Billings1 Journal of The American Water Resources Association 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2000.tb04319.x JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources AssociationVolume 36, Issue 4 p. 933-934 REPLY TO DISCUSSION by Donald E. Agthe and R. Bruce Billings1 β€_x009c_Economic Incentives for Water Conservation on the Monterey Peninsula: The Market Proposalβ€_x009d_2 Brent M. Haddad, Brent M. Haddad Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, 493 Natural Sciences 2, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (E-Mail: bhaddad@cats.ucsc.edu).Search for more papers by this author Brent M. Haddad, Brent M. Haddad Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, 493 Natural Sciences 2, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (E-Mail: bhaddad@cats.ucsc.edu).Search for more papers by this author First published: 08 June 2007 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.2000.tb04319.xCitations: 2 1 Discussion No. 98131D of the Journal of the American Water Resources Association 36(4):931–932. 2 Paper No. 98131 of the Journal of the American Water Resources Association 36(1):1–15. AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article.Citing Literature Volume36, Issue4August 2000Pages 933-934 RelatedInformation
publications-3827 article 2014 Hutton, Christopher and Kapelan, Zoran and Vamvakeridou-Lyroudia, Lydia S. and Savic, Dragan Dealing with Uncertainty in Water Distribution System Models: A Framework for Real-Time Modeling and Data Assimilation Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management 10.1061/(asce)wr.1943-5452.0000325 AbstractWater distribution system (WDS) models may improve system control when applied using real-time data, and in doing so, help meet consumer and regulatory demands. Such real-time modeling often overlooks the multiple sources of system uncertainty that cascade into model forecasts and affect the identification of robust operational solutions. This paper considers key uncertainties in WDS modeling and reviews promising approaches for uncertainty quantification and reduction in the modeling cascade from calibration, through data assimilation, to model forecasting. An uncertainty framework exemplifying how such methods may be applied to propagate uncertainty through the real-time control process is outlined. Innovative methods to constrain uncertainty when the time-horizon and data availability limit such thorough analysis are also discussed, alongside challenges that need to be addressed to incorporate uncertain information into the control decision. Further work evaluating the value of these methods in...
publications-3828 article 2014 Baillargeon, Brian and Baillargeon, Brian P. and Rebelo, Nuno and Rebelo, Nuno and Fox, David and Fox, David and Taylor, Robert L. and Taylor, Robert L. and Taylor, Robert L. and Kuhl, Ellen and Kuhl, Ellen The Living Heart Project: A robust and integrative simulator for human heart function. European Journal of Mechanics A-solids 10.1016/j.euromechsol.2014.04.001 Abstract The heart is not only our most vital, but also our most complex organ: Precisely controlled by the interplay of electrical and mechanical fields, it consists of four chambers and four valves, which act in concert to regulate its filling, ejection, and overall pump function. While numerous computational models exist to study either the electrical or the mechanical response of its individual chambers, the integrative electro-mechanical response of the whole heart remains poorly understood. Here we present a proof-of-concept simulator for a four-chamber human heart model created from computer topography and magnetic resonance images. We illustrate the governing equations of excitation–contraction coupling and discretize them using a single, unified finite element environment. To illustrate the basic features of our model, we visualize the electrical potential and the mechanical deformation across the human heart throughout its cardiac cycle. To compare our simulation against common metrics of cardiac function, we extract the pressure–volume relationship and show that it agrees well with clinical observations. Our prototype model allows us to explore and understand the key features, physics, and technologies to create an integrative, predictive model of the living human heart. Ultimately, our simulator will open opportunities to probe landscapes of clinical parameters, and guide device design and treatment planning in cardiac diseases such as stenosis, regurgitation, or prolapse of the aortic, pulmonary, tricuspid, or mitral valve.
publications-3829 article 1998 Boccelli, Dominic L. and Tryby, Michael E. and Uber, James G. and Rossman, Lewis A. and Zierolf, Michael L. and Polycarpou, Marios M. Optimal Scheduling of Booster Disinfection in Water Distribution Systems Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management 10.1061/(asce)0733-9496(1998)124:2(99) Booster disinfection is the addition of disinfectant at locations distributed throughout a water distribution system. Such a strategy can reduce the mass of disinfectant required to maintain a detectable residual at points of consumption in the distribution system, which may lead to reduced formation of disinfectant by-products, in particular trihalomethanes. Here an optimization model is formulated for the dynamic schedule of disinfectant injections; this schedule minimizes the total dose required to satisfy residual constraints over an infinite-time horizon. This infinite-time problem is reduced to a solvable finite-time optimal scheduling model by assuming periodicity of mass injections and network hydraulics. Furthermore, this model is linear since the principle of linear superposition is shown to apply to disinfectant concentrations resulting from multiple disinfectant injections over time. A matrix generator code was developed to interface with the EPANET network water quality model. This code automatically generates the linear programming formulation of the optimal scheduling model, which is then solved using the simplex algorithm. Results from application of the model suggest that booster disinfection can reduce the amount of disinfectant required to satisfy concentration constraints, when compared to conventional disinfection only at the source. The optimal booster schedule reduced the average disinfectant concentration within the distribution system and, in some cases, the variability of these concentrations. The number of booster stations, booster location, and distribution system hydraulics were shown to affect the optimal schedule.
publications-3830 article 2006 Pahl‐Wostl, Claudia and Pahl-Wostl, Claudia Transitions towards adaptive management of water facing climate and global change Water Resources Management 10.1007/s11269-006-9040-4 Water management is facing major challenges due to increasing uncertainties caused by climate and global change and by fast changing socio-economic boundary conditions. More attention has to be devoted to understanding and managing the transition from current management regimes to more adaptive regimes that take into account environmental, technological, economic, institutional and cultural characteristics of river basins. This implies a paradigm shift in water management from a prediction and control to a management as learning approach. The change towards adaptive management could be defined as β€_x009c_learning to manage by managing to learnβ€_x009d_. Such change aims at increasing the adaptive capacity of river basins at different scales. The paper identifies major challenges for research and practice how to understand a transition in water management regimes. A conceptual framework is introduced how to characterize water management regimes and the dynamics of transition processes. The European project NeWater project is presented as one approach where new scientific methods and practical tools are developed for the participatory assessment and implementation of adaptive water management.