Performance Assessment System for Energy Efficiency in Wastewater Systems

Performance assessment is essential to effectively evaluate and monitor the activity of water utilities, support decision making, and encourage continuous improvement. Performance assessment systems (PAS), covering several service objectives and criteria, have been successfully applied in water supp...

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Main Authors: Catarina Jorge, Maria do Céu Almeida, Dídia Covas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-06-01
Series:Water
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/13/1807
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author Catarina Jorge
Maria do Céu Almeida
Dídia Covas
author_facet Catarina Jorge
Maria do Céu Almeida
Dídia Covas
author_sort Catarina Jorge
collection DOAJ
description Performance assessment is essential to effectively evaluate and monitor the activity of water utilities, support decision making, and encourage continuous improvement. Performance assessment systems (PAS), covering several service objectives and criteria, have been successfully applied in water supply and wastewater systems. Tailored approaches focusing on the assessment of the energy use and efficiency in wastewater systems are still limited. This paper aims at the development and demonstration of a comprehensive PAS for energy efficiency, tailored for wastewater systems, incorporating criteria related to energy consumption, operation and maintenance (O&M) costs, and environmental impacts, such as untreated discharges and greenhouse gases emissions, among others. Management and control of excessive or undue inflows to these systems is specifically addressed by several novel criteria and metrics. The proposed PAS should be adapted by each utility to be aligned with the objectives of the organisation and with the implemented asset management strategy. The proposed approach and the resulting consolidated PAS are thoroughly described. Results from the application of the PAS to several Portuguese utilities are discussed. This PAS aims at contributing to a reliable and replicable process to assess energy efficiency in wastewater systems and to encourage a more rational energy management.
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spelling doaj.art-b8109213ba404e6c8a96925213e0c23d2023-11-22T02:18:04ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412021-06-011313180710.3390/w13131807Performance Assessment System for Energy Efficiency in Wastewater SystemsCatarina Jorge0Maria do Céu Almeida1Dídia Covas2Urban Water Unit, National Laboratory for Civil Engineering, LNEC, Av. Brasil 101, 1700-066 Lisbon, PortugalUrban Water Unit, National Laboratory for Civil Engineering, LNEC, Av. Brasil 101, 1700-066 Lisbon, PortugalCERIS, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisbon, PortugalPerformance assessment is essential to effectively evaluate and monitor the activity of water utilities, support decision making, and encourage continuous improvement. Performance assessment systems (PAS), covering several service objectives and criteria, have been successfully applied in water supply and wastewater systems. Tailored approaches focusing on the assessment of the energy use and efficiency in wastewater systems are still limited. This paper aims at the development and demonstration of a comprehensive PAS for energy efficiency, tailored for wastewater systems, incorporating criteria related to energy consumption, operation and maintenance (O&M) costs, and environmental impacts, such as untreated discharges and greenhouse gases emissions, among others. Management and control of excessive or undue inflows to these systems is specifically addressed by several novel criteria and metrics. The proposed PAS should be adapted by each utility to be aligned with the objectives of the organisation and with the implemented asset management strategy. The proposed approach and the resulting consolidated PAS are thoroughly described. Results from the application of the PAS to several Portuguese utilities are discussed. This PAS aims at contributing to a reliable and replicable process to assess energy efficiency in wastewater systems and to encourage a more rational energy management.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/13/1807energy efficiencyperformance assessment systems (PAS)performance metricsundue inflowswastewater systems
spellingShingle Catarina Jorge
Maria do Céu Almeida
Dídia Covas
Performance Assessment System for Energy Efficiency in Wastewater Systems
Water
energy efficiency
performance assessment systems (PAS)
performance metrics
undue inflows
wastewater systems
title Performance Assessment System for Energy Efficiency in Wastewater Systems
title_full Performance Assessment System for Energy Efficiency in Wastewater Systems
title_fullStr Performance Assessment System for Energy Efficiency in Wastewater Systems
title_full_unstemmed Performance Assessment System for Energy Efficiency in Wastewater Systems
title_short Performance Assessment System for Energy Efficiency in Wastewater Systems
title_sort performance assessment system for energy efficiency in wastewater systems
topic energy efficiency
performance assessment systems (PAS)
performance metrics
undue inflows
wastewater systems
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/13/1807
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AT mariadoceualmeida performanceassessmentsystemforenergyefficiencyinwastewatersystems
AT didiacovas performanceassessmentsystemforenergyefficiencyinwastewatersystems