Application of innovative technologies for active control and energy efficiency in water supply systems

The larger anthropic pressure on the Water Supply Systems (WSS) and the increasing concern for the sustainability of the large energy use for water supply, transportation, distribution, drainage and treatment are determining a new perspective in the management of water systems. Operations on drinking, storm, waste and irrigation waters are now considered; likewise, so are any other industrial processes. Hence, an industrial approach is required and is starting to be implemented. The control of these systems is increasing through better connectivity, larger data acquisition, more process analysis and higher system control (Figure 1 [1]). An effort is also in action to move from the linear economy model to the circular economy model. In this perspective, the potentiality for the recycling of renewable and non-renewable sources is limited to few aspects of the process, as in the use of unconventional energy and water sources in presence of water scarcity, or in the reuse of the wastewater and the sludge coming from treatment plants. Much more emphasis should be given in the management of the water systems and product innovation. The use of new devices in the network affects the system sustainability in two ways: (i) it allows savings in the primary natural sources used by the system and in the framework of the water-energy-food nexus; (ii) it automatically incorporates in the water system all the environmental benefits expected at a political level by the product change. As an example, we can consider the recent change in the pump market determined by the European Community standards on Ecodesign. The pumps on the market are classified by a new performance index, the Minimum Efficiency Index (MEI) and a minimum value MEI = 0.4 is required by Regulation (EU) No. 547/2012. This value was fixed by the European Commission on the basis of an expectation of the reduction in energy use of the pumps on the market. Then, the substitution of the existing pumps by a water utility with a new product will reduce the energy use of the system and will contribute to reach the EC environmental target.