Water Distribution Systems: Security, Resilience, Water Loss Management and Sustainability
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Water Management".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 July 2026 | Viewed by 708
Special Issue Editors
Interests: conception, formulation and development of pioneering; efficient, robust and practical computational solution methods for sustainable management of water infrastructure and environmental systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: development and application of robust and efficient simulation and optimisation methods to solve complex and challenging water and environmental systems problems
Interests: development and application of heuristic and meta-heuristic techniques to the problems of water networks related to analysis, design, scheduling; location of different facilities like boosters, sensor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The preeminent tenet of sustainable development is intergenerational equity, and it follows logically that the goal of sustainably managing water distribution systems unavoidably calls for the scrupulous and rigorous balancing of costs and other conflicting aims, considering the beneficiaries and other stakeholders. Alongside affordability and cost efficiency, water conservation, supply continuity and reliability, water quality safety, proactive asset management, etc., are all crucial criteria for success. Whilst fulfilling these criteria is extremely taxing, the complexity is compounded further by current pressing global challenges such as climate change, population growth, migration and urbanization. According to the UN, an estimated 68% of the world's population will live in urban areas by 2050, rising to 86% in more developed regions. Therefore, some of the urgent issues that need to be addressed include water supply shortages, increasing and competing water demands, excessive water loss, ageing infrastructure and minimal infrastructure investment funding.
Water distribution systems (WDSs) are integral to the viability and sustainability of the populations they serve, and this Special Issue seeks to address WDSs from multiple perspectives as they relate to long-term sustainability. Examples include hydraulic capacity reliability; infrastructure resilience; cyber-physical security; contaminant intrusion and water quality security; water loss management; asset condition monitoring and management; digitalization plus operational and infrastructure data quality; and intermittent water supply system planning, design and operation. Contributions can encompass new methods, critical discussions, thought pieces or reviews of the latest developments and trends. Importantly, contributions from various disciplines and methodological approaches are encouraged.
Dr. Tiku Tanyimboh
Dr. Alemtsehay Seyoum
Prof. Dr. Rajesh Gupta
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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
- physical and cyber security
- infrastructure resilience
- water loss management
- water quality risks
- hydraulic capacity reliability
- asset management and planning
- whole-life costing
- performance monitoring and regulatory compliance
- operational modelling support
- mains replacement design and optimization
- intermittent supply concerns
- data management
- real-time monitoring and control
- demand uncertainty and forecasting
- demand management
- water charges and tariffs
- UN SDG6
- stakeholder engagement
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
