Farouk, A M; Rahman, R A and Romali, N S (2023) Economic analysis of rehabilitation approaches for water distribution networks: Comparative study between Egypt and Malaysia. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, 21(1), pp. 130-149. ISSN 1726-0531
Abstract
Purpose: Sustainable water management has been a trending goal in the past decade. Non-revenue water (NRW) is one form of water loss that should be addressed to reach water sustainability. While rehabilitating water distribution networks (WDNs) is one way to decrease NRW, the process is often delayed owing to cost. Therefore, it is essential to provide decision-makers with cost-effective approaches to optimize WDN rehabilitation. This study aims to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of approaches for rehabilitating WDN from developing countries' perspectives. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review was first conducted to identify different WDN rehabilitation methods and techniques to develop the questionnaire survey. This is followed by collecting questionnaire survey data in Malaysia and Egypt on the cost and effectiveness of the WDN rehabilitation methods and techniques. A total of 176 respondents were collected, 109 from Malaysia and 67 from Egypt. Then, the data were analyzed using mean score ranking with normalization technique and agreement analysis. Findings: The results from the data analysis show that the cost-effective approaches are “programming,” “simulation,” “digital twin” and “supervisory control and data acquisition.” Additionally, the data from Malaysia suggest two additional cost-effective approaches: “zoning network” and “genetic algorithm.” Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper presents one of the first studies that laterally compares the cost-effectiveness of existing and potential WDN rehabilitation approaches between different countries. There is yet a study that compared these WDN rehabilitation approaches. This comparison which is developed depending on the systematic review could be a reference for future studies or surveys which could be done on different countries in the future. The main findings of this paper can be a useful reference for decision-makers, especially those from middle-income countries, when looking into approaches for WDN rehabilitation. A better WDN rehabilitation supports NRW reduction, moving towards sustainable water management.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | developing countries; non-revenue water; rehabilitation of wdn; sustainable development; water distribution network; water sustainability |
| Index terms: | zoning, Egypt, genetic algorithm, economic analysis, sustainable water management, data analysis, survey, data acquisition, digital twin, comparative study, revenue, methodology, Malaysia, systematic literature review, cost-effectivenes, future study, water distribution network, income, developing country, questionnaire, programming, effectiveness, sustainable development |
| Subjects: | research evaluation and metrics, performance management, design analysis, Geography, infrastructure and transport systems, urban planning, algorithms, economics, development economics, economic analysis, water management, programming, data collection methods, research design and methodology, data analysis and analytics, research methods, digital engineering, health safety and environment |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Health and Safety, Research Practice, Cost Management, Digital Applications, Quality Management, Business Strategy, Geographical Context, Governance, Engineering Principles, Design Practice, International Construction |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here