Urban Water Systems & Floods

Book excerpt: Urban Water III is the proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on the Design, Construction, Maintenance, Monitoring and Control of Urban Water Systems. The conference reconvened following its success in 2012 and in 2014, when it was held in the Algarve, Portugal. These proceedings deal with two main subjects: water supply systems and urban drainage. Water distribution networks often suffer substantial losses which indicate energy and treatment waste. Sewer systems are under relentless pressure due to urbanisation and climate change, and the environmental impact caused by urban drainage overflows is related to both water quantity and water quality. Most architects and town planners are aware of the importance of the interaction between urban water cycles and city planning and landscaping. Specialised computer tools are needed to manage all of these aspects and are required to respond to the increased complexity of urban water systems. Topics such as contamination and pollution discharges in urban water bodies, as well as the monitoring of water recycling systems are currently receiving a great deal of attention from researchers and professional engineers working in the water industry. Other related topics include: Leakage and losses; Modelling and experimentation; Safety and security of water systems; Maintenance and repairs; Surface water and groundwater sources; Reservoirs; Network design; Waste water treatment and disposal; Combined sewer networks; Flood control; Storage tanks; Environmental impact; Domestic and industrial waste water issues. In addition to the above, the conference discusses legal and regulatory aspects, along with more technical problems.