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Water distribution systems (WDSs) are designed to supply water to consumers. Previously, the performance of WDSs was assessed based on the hydraulics, i.e., delivering water with sufficent quantity and good quality under the desired pressure. However, the recent sustainability paradigm has been widely recognized in engineering projects, leading water stakeholders to evaluate WDSs' performance not only in terms of hydraulics but also considering the environmental and economic impacts. This research proposes an approach to evaluating the sustainability of WDSs at the design stage by applying a life cycle thinking approach. The proposed approach was demonstrated by selecting a small WDS located in the City of Kelowna, Canada as a case study. Twelve alternative designs were created by varying WDS design variables such as pipe diameters, pipe materials, etc. The selected design scenario has 2.5% less CO2 emissions and 12.6% lower cost compared to the baseline design. The developed approach can be applied to WDS having different characteristics to identify conditions, design parameters, and infrastructure components having less environmental and economic impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flooded streets and homes, polluted surface waters, degraded aquatic habitats, stressed aquifers, and expensive drainage infrastructures are evidence that Canada's current approach to stormwater management requires rethinking. To address these challenges, the authors developed an integrated community-level urban stormwater decision support framework. The framework assesses low impact development infrastructure, traditional stormwater infrastructure, and community-level stormwater reuse schemes to better understand the interactions between various water resources in the context of various stormwater management strategies. The framework also incorporates stochastic variation in natural processes to predict a community's water footprint using the One Water Approach. A climate change sensitivity analysis is also incorporated to test proposed stormwater systems for resiliency to climate change. Fuzzy clustering analysis was then performed to identify the most appropriate stormwater management strategy. A case study demonstration of the framework was performed for a hypothetical 80-hectare mixed-use urban community in Kelowna, British Columbia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing have raised environmental and human health (EHH) concerns regarding water resources contamination, leading to the transition towards the use of chemicals with minimum EHH hazards. Chemical hazard screening and indexing approaches have been used to measure the chemical hazard of hydraulic fracturing, and each approach is associated with inherent advantages and limitations. In this study, the two chemical hazard assessment approaches were discussed, and an integrated chemical hazard screening and indexing system was developed to combine the strengths of the two approaches. The integrated system was applied to assess the EHH hazards of representative hydraulic fracturing chemicals used in British Columbia, Canada. The hazard screening results showed that more than half of the ingredients and additives were classified into high hazard groups. Moreover, the integrated system generated more critical hazard assessment results than two hazard indexing systems, revealing that using the individual hazard indexing approach could result in underestimated EHH hazards for chemicals. The integrated system can significantly improve the data confidence levels of hazard assessment results compared to a previously developed indexing system. The integrated system can also help formulate fracturing fluids with low EHH hazards by identifying ingredients of high hazard concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]