Advancing Sustainable Development Goal 6 through Innovative Water System Modeling

A new numerical modeling tool has been developed to improve the design and operation of intermittent water distribution systems, which serve over one billion people globally. This innovation represents a significant contribution towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), which aims to ensure the availability and sustainable management of clean water and sanitation for all. By providing a more accurate method for analyzing these non-continuous systems, the tool helps address critical infrastructure challenges that hinder progress towards universal water access.

Report on the SWMMIN Modeling Tool

Background: A Critical Gap in Water Infrastructure Management

The effective management of water distribution networks is fundamental to public health and sustainable urban development, directly aligning with SDG 6 and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). However, a significant portion of the world’s population, approximately 20%, receives water through intermittent supply systems. Standard industry modeling software fails to account for the unique dynamics of these systems, creating a major obstacle for their improvement.

• Existing commercial models are designed for continuous, 24/7 water supply, making them unsuitable for the more than one billion people on intermittent schedules.
• These models do not account for critical processes such as pipes draining and refilling or the common practice of household water storage in tanks.
• This discrepancy leads to inefficient system design and operational strategies, undermining efforts to achieve SDG 6.1: universal and equitable access to safe drinking water.

The SWMMIN Solution: An Innovation for Resilient Infrastructure

To address this modeling gap, researchers have developed an open-source tool named SWMMIN (SWMM for Intermittent Networks). This tool is built upon the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) and is specifically adapted for the complexities of intermittent water systems. The development of SWMMIN is a direct contribution to SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) by enhancing technological capabilities for managing critical infrastructure.

Key features of the SWMMIN model include:

1. Open-Source Accessibility: The model is freely available on GitHub with a Python package for automated implementation, promoting global collaboration and knowledge-sharing in line with SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
2. Synthesis of Best Practices: It consolidates and refines methodologies from previous, often conflicting and non-reproducible, modeling attempts.
3. Reproducibility and Guidance: The accompanying research provides detailed instructions on model setup and parameterization for various intermittent systems.
4. Optimized Performance: The model identifies an ideal ratio of spatial and temporal resolutions to minimize calculation errors and improve predictive accuracy.

Implications for Global Sustainable Development

The SWMMIN tool is designed to empower researchers and water system operators to test and implement improvements to intermittent water networks worldwide. By modeling these systems as they actually exist, rather than as idealized continuous-flow networks, the tool provides a practical pathway for enhancing service delivery and advancing several Sustainable Development Goals.

• SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation): The primary impact is the potential to improve the reliability, efficiency, and equity of water distribution for over a billion people, moving communities closer to the target of universal access.
• SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure): The tool is a key innovation for developing more resilient and sustainable water infrastructure, a core target of this goal.
• SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities): By improving a basic service essential for daily life, SWMMIN supports the creation of more inclusive, safe, and sustainable human settlements.

Ultimately, the adoption of this model can lead to better-informed design principles and operational strategies, directly improving the quality of life for populations dependent on intermittent water systems.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

  The article’s primary focus is on improving water distribution systems. It directly addresses the challenge of intermittent water supply, which affects “over a billion people around the world,” linking it to issues of “water scarcity.” This aligns with the core mission of SDG 6 to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

  The article discusses “water distribution networks” as “critical infrastructure.” The central topic is the development of a “new numerical modelling tool” (SWMMIN), which represents a significant technological innovation designed to improve this infrastructure. This directly relates to SDG 9’s goal of building resilient infrastructure and fostering innovation.

• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

  The problem of intermittent water supply is a critical issue for urban and rural communities. The article notes that customers in these areas must “store water in large tanks in their homes” to cope with unreliable supply. By aiming to “improve service for all the people who depend on these intermittent systems,” the innovation contributes to making human settlements more inclusive, safe, and resilient, which is the essence of SDG 11.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Target 6.1: Achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.

   The article highlights a major barrier to this target by describing systems where “water is supplied for only a few hours per day” to “over a billion people.” The development of the modeling tool is a direct attempt to improve these systems and move closer to providing a more reliable and equitable water supply.

2. Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure… to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all.

   The article explicitly refers to water networks as “critical infrastructure” that is often not designed for the way it is actually used (intermittently). The new model is intended to “improve the design and operation” of these systems, thereby enhancing their reliability and resilience, which is the core of Target 9.1.

3. Target 11.1: By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums.

   Reliable water supply is a fundamental “basic service.” The article’s focus on improving conditions for the “20% of customers worldwide” who lack continuous water supply directly addresses the need to enhance basic services for a significant portion of the global population, as outlined in Target 11.1.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Indicator for Target 6.1 (Implied): Proportion of the population with intermittent water supply.

  The article establishes a baseline by stating that “over a billion people” and “about 20% of customers worldwide” are affected by intermittent water systems. Progress towards Target 6.1 could be measured by a reduction in this number, indicating that more people are gaining access to a continuous and safely managed water supply.

• Indicator for Target 9.1 (Implied): Adoption and application of improved infrastructure management tools.

  The article presents the SWMMIN model as a tool for “researchers and water system operators alike to test out potential improvements.” An indicator of progress would be the rate of adoption and use of this open-source model to “find new design principles” and implement changes in real-world water systems, thus improving infrastructure quality.

• Indicator for Target 11.1 (Implied): Reliability of basic services (hours of water supply per day).

  The article describes the problem as water being “supplied for only a few hours per day.” An improvement in this situation, which the new model aims to facilitate, could be directly measured by tracking the increase in the average number of hours of water supply for communities dependent on intermittent systems. This would serve as a direct indicator of enhanced basic services.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: news.engineering.utoronto.ca