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Water Management and Environmental Engineering
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Water Management and Environmental Engineering

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Water Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 June 2023) | Viewed by 10536

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Eirini Aivazidou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, School of Engineering, International Hellenic University (IHU), 57400 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: freshwater resources; water management; sustainable supply chains; industrial engineering; system dynamics; operations research
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Naoum Tsolakis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Supply Chain Management, International Hellenic University (IHU), 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: digital supply chains; production and operations management; system dynamics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water is a vital resource for agricultural and industrial operations, as well as domestic use. Nonetheless, the overexploitation of freshwater resources has been generating alarming water scarcity issues worldwide, especially in arid regions. Given that freshwater preservation emerges as a critical challenge in terms of health, environmental, and socio-economic concerns, the design and implementation of water management interventions based on environmental engineering principles has become more imperative than ever. Notably, the United Nations has already introduced the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to set explicit eco-friendly targets by 2030, indicatively referring to universal and equitable clean water access (SDG#6) and responsible use of natural resources, including freshwater (SDG#12).

In this light, robust policies and state-of-the-art solutions for water monitoring, optimization, and management should be developed to eliminate risks related to water shortages and/or degradation from both society and industry. To this end, this Special Issue is expected to tackle current and future water-related problems, through the lens of environmental engineering, in the following key research areas:

  • Freshwater resources management in agriculture and industry;
  • Urban water management and wastewater treatment;
  • Smart water monitoring and management.

Overall, this Special Issue aims to elucidate contemporary challenges, trends, and opportunities for efficient water management to connect environmental engineering theory with real-world practice. In this context, we call for both qualitative and quantitative research papers, including systematic reviews, methodological approaches, case studies, and analytical or computational modeling efforts, which address (but are not limited to) the abovementioned topics. It should be noted that contributions that emphasize water management in the digitalization era are highly appreciated.

Dr. Eirini Aivazidou
Prof. Dr. Naoum Tsolakis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • surface and groundwater management
  • irrigation and soil management
  • industrial water use
  • urban water supply
  • wastewater treatment
  • water desalination
  • smart water solutions
  • hydrologic engineering
  • flood management
  • aquatic ecology

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research

3 pages, 186 KiB  
Editorial
Water Management and Environmental Engineering: Current Practices and Opportunities
by Eirini Aivazidou and Naoum Tsolakis
Sustainability 2023, 15(15), 11944; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151511944 - 03 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 660
Abstract
Water is a vital resource for both agricultural and industrial operations, which cumulatively account for more than 90% of the worldwide freshwater use [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Management and Environmental Engineering)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

14 pages, 1855 KiB  
Article
A Comparative Analysis between Heuristic and Data-Driven Water Management Control for Precision Agriculture Irrigation
by Leonardo D. Garcia, Camilo Lozoya, Antonio Favela-Contreras and Emanuele Giorgi
Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 11337; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151411337 - 20 Jul 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1061
Abstract
Modeling and control theory applied to precision agriculture irrigation systems have been essential to reduce water consumption while growing healthy crops. Specifically, implementing closed-loop control irrigation based on soil moisture measurements is an effective approach for obtaining water savings in this resource-intensive activity. [...] Read more.
Modeling and control theory applied to precision agriculture irrigation systems have been essential to reduce water consumption while growing healthy crops. Specifically, implementing closed-loop control irrigation based on soil moisture measurements is an effective approach for obtaining water savings in this resource-intensive activity. To enhance this strategy, the work presented in this paper proposed a new set of water management strategies for the case in which multiple irrigation areas share a single water supply source and compared them with heuristic approaches commonly used by farmers in practice. The proposed water allocation algorithms are based on techniques used in real-time computing, such as dynamic priority and feedback scheduling. Therefore, the multi-area irrigation system is presented as a resource allocation problem with availability constraints, where water consumption represents the main optimization parameter. The obtained results show that the data-driven water allocation strategies preserve the water savings for closed-loop control systems and avoid crop water stress due to the limited access to irrigation water. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Management and Environmental Engineering)
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19 pages, 9044 KiB  
Article
Enhancing Water Management in Shale Gas Extraction through Rectangular Pulse Hydraulic Fracturing
by Mohammed Ali Badjadi, Hanhua Zhu, Cunquan Zhang and Muhammad Hamza Naseem
Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 10795; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151410795 - 10 Jul 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1336
Abstract
Although conventional hydraulic fracturing techniques have revolutionized shale gas development, they have raised concerns regarding water management and environmental impacts. This research introduces an innovative step-rectangular pulse hydraulic fracturing method to optimize water usage and reduce environmental hazards in shale gas extraction. The [...] Read more.
Although conventional hydraulic fracturing techniques have revolutionized shale gas development, they have raised concerns regarding water management and environmental impacts. This research introduces an innovative step-rectangular pulse hydraulic fracturing method to optimize water usage and reduce environmental hazards in shale gas extraction. The method involves the application of lower-energy fluid in a step-rectangular pulse pattern, which results in higher pressures, more intricate fractures, and improved water management. A comprehensive analysis of the propagation and attenuation characteristics of this technique is conducted using a combination of a two-dimensional pulse transient flow equation with damping, software numerical simulations, and theoretical analysis. The study reveals that the step rectangular pulse hydraulic fracturing method offers superior pressurization and more complex fracture networks in shale reservoirs while lowering water consumption by 20% less than conventional methods and increasing shale gas production by 12%. Through identifying optimal pulse parameters, this research provides valuable guidance for field implementation, promoting efficient water management and environmental sustainability in hydraulic fracturing operations. This novel approach to hydraulic fracturing has the potential to significantly advance the industry’s efforts to address water management challenges and mitigate environmental risks associated with shale gas extraction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Management and Environmental Engineering)
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18 pages, 4439 KiB  
Article
Optimal Scheduling of Rainwater Collection Vehicles: Mixed Integer Programming and Genetic Algorithms
by Mohammed Alnahhal, Nikola Gjeldum and Bashir Salah
Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9252; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129252 - 08 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 761
Abstract
Due to climate change, some areas in the world witnessed higher levels of heavy rain than the capacity of the wastewater system of the streets. Therefore, water tankers are used for the dewatering process to take the extra rainwater from the streets to [...] Read more.
Due to climate change, some areas in the world witnessed higher levels of heavy rain than the capacity of the wastewater system of the streets. Therefore, water tankers are used for the dewatering process to take the extra rainwater from the streets to keep a smooth flow of vehicles and to use the water in agriculture and industry. Water is taken to a water treatment plant. Performing the dewatering process as fast as possible, especially in crowded streets, was ignored by researchers. In this study, at first, the problem was solved using two mixed integer programming (MIP) models. A new variant of identical parallel machine scheduling with job splitting is proposed for the first time, where one or at most two tankers can work at the same flood location at the same time. This is performed in the second model. However, the first model considers dividing the dewatering processes into two phases, where the first one, which is more urgent, is to reduce the amount of floodwater. The second one is for dewatering the rest of the water. Then two genetic algorithms (GAs) were used to solve faster the two MIP models, which are NP-hard problems. At first, the MIP and GA models were applied to small-sized problems. Then GA was used for large practical data sets. Results showed that for small problems, MIP and GA gave optimal solutions in a reasonable number of iterations, while for larger problems, good solutions were obtained in a reasonable number of iterations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Management and Environmental Engineering)
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13 pages, 1431 KiB  
Article
Water and Carbon Footprints of Biomass Production Assets: Drip and Center Pivot Irrigation Systems
by Graciele Angnes, Adriano Valentim Diotto, Efthymios Rodias and Thiago Libório Romanelli
Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 8199; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108199 - 18 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1075
Abstract
Studies on the environmental footprints of agricultural production have strong links with 4 out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) established by the United Nations. Irrigation systems are essential tools for increasing agricultural yields, particularly in arid regions. However, the production and [...] Read more.
Studies on the environmental footprints of agricultural production have strong links with 4 out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) established by the United Nations. Irrigation systems are essential tools for increasing agricultural yields, particularly in arid regions. However, the production and assembly of these systems can have significant environmental impacts, including excessive water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Although studies have approached biomass production, few of them have provided data about asset depreciation, such as irrigation systems, machinery, etc. Trying to fill this gap, this study aimed at determining the water and carbon footprints of two commonly used irrigation systems: center pivot and drip. Several variables, including the irrigated area, pump power, filter type, system flow, and pipe length, were analyzed to determine the carbon and water footprints of each component of the irrigation systems. The results reveal that the materials used for pipes and filters had the most significant impact on the water and carbon footprints, with galvanized steel pipes and sand filters having the highest footprints. Additionally, the irrigated area affected the center pivot and drip systems differently, with the depreciation of the irrigation systems being a significant variable for both water and carbon footprints. These results can support the development of sustainable irrigation practices that reduce environmental impacts while enhancing agricultural yields. Decision-makers can use this information to establish a life-cycle database and evaluate the impact of irrigation systems on water and carbon footprints. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Management and Environmental Engineering)
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20 pages, 4032 KiB  
Article
An Intelligent Modular Water Monitoring IoT System for Real-Time Quantitative and Qualitative Measurements
by Evangelos Syrmos, Vasileios Sidiropoulos, Dimitrios Bechtsis, Fotis Stergiopoulos, Eirini Aivazidou, Dimitris Vrakas, Prodromos Vezinias and Ioannis Vlahavas
Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2127; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032127 - 23 Jan 2023
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3058
Abstract
This study proposes a modular water monitoring IoT system that enables quantitative and qualitative measuring of water in terms of an upgraded version of the water infrastructure to sustain operational reliability. The proposed method could be used in urban and rural areas for [...] Read more.
This study proposes a modular water monitoring IoT system that enables quantitative and qualitative measuring of water in terms of an upgraded version of the water infrastructure to sustain operational reliability. The proposed method could be used in urban and rural areas for consumption and quality monitoring, or eventually scaled up to a contemporary water infrastructure enabling water providers and/or decision makers (i.e., governmental authorities, global water organization, etc.) to supervise and drive optimal decisions in challenging times. The inherent resilience and agility that the proposed system presents, along with the maturity of IoT communications and infrastructure, can lay the foundation for a robust smart water metering solution. Introducing a modular system can also allow for optimal consumer profiling while alleviating the upfront adoption cost by providers, environmental stewardship and an optimal response to emergencies. The provided system addresses the urbanization and technological gap in the smart water metering domain by presenting a modular IoT architecture with consumption and quality meters, along with machine learning capabilities to facilitate smart billing and user profiling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Management and Environmental Engineering)
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16 pages, 3674 KiB  
Article
Wine Supply Chain Network Configuration under a Water Footprint Cap
by Eirini Aivazidou, Dimitrios Aidonis, Naoum Tsolakis, Charisios Achillas and Dimitrios Vlachos
Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9494; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159494 - 02 Aug 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1675
Abstract
As agriculture and industry exploit more than 90% of the global freshwater resources, water overuse and degradation have emerged as critical socio-environmental challenges for both nations and corporations. In this context, the water footprint concept was introduced in order to quantify the freshwater [...] Read more.
As agriculture and industry exploit more than 90% of the global freshwater resources, water overuse and degradation have emerged as critical socio-environmental challenges for both nations and corporations. In this context, the water footprint concept was introduced in order to quantify the freshwater consumption and pollution of a territory or across a product’s life cycle. As research on water management in supply chains is growing, this work aims to integrate the perspective of freshwater resources into supply network configuration. Focusing on the agrifood sector, we have developed a mixed-integer linear programming model that can be used to minimize the operational costs under a water footprint cap in a wine supply chain network by selecting the optimal suppliers (vine growers), manufacturing sites (winemakers), and transportation modes (fuel-powered trucks). The optimization outcomes unveil that the wine network’s configurations (structure and fuel type) vary significantly depending on the values of the water footprint cap so as to balance the trade-off between economic and water-related environmental efficiency. Beyond the viticulture sector, the proposed model is anticipated to act as a paradigm for setting joint sustainable targets or caps to limit water use across supply chains. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Management and Environmental Engineering)
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