Desarrollo de una herramienta de análisis de riesgo microbiológico en plantas potabilizadoras de agua como soporte a la toma de decisiones de inversión y operación

[EN] Since the past two decades a new special interest in water works sector has become, related to the water quality safety quantification, and the new legislations will change in that direction, recommended by Wolrd Health Organization, with the Water Safety Plans. Microbiology is included in this safety, as logical. Generally, Microbiology present in drinking water is classified as no-resistent or as resistant to chemical disinfectants. The one that presents major risk to the systems is this second group. Since 1993, the main hazard over the water quality in the water supply systems from surface raw water is a protozoan, considered by World Health Organization, as the most dangerous emergent pathogen. Its name is cryptosporidium. It was the direct consequence of a waterborne outbreak that happened in Milwaukee, in April 1993, becoming more than four hundred thousand people ill, and almost one hundred people died, and the city was fully off. On the other hand, during more than fifty years, the "conventional treatment" has been the axis of drinking water production in most of the cities. In last years, more advanced treatments (membranes, electro-dialysis, etc) have been displacing conventional treatments. It is necessary to check if conventional treatments are capable to fight with these new hazards. So, in this scenario, it`s known that there is a new hazard and there're some classical treatments that, nobody knows exactly, its abilities against this hazard. In that point, this work, developing in detail a tool to quantify the risk for the operator making decision process, is interesting for water sector. This is a methodological tool able to quantify risk over the actual most important emergent pathogen, cryptosporidium, and applied in the most known, classical and extended treatment over the world, the conventional treatment In the first part of this Thesis a literature review is done, about emergent pathogens, the presence of cryptosporidium in raw water, the analysis reliability, and the quantification of elimination with different treatments. Then, models to calculate individual and social risk are reviewed. Models about investments in drinking water treatment plants are reviewed, too. In the second part of this Thesis, the model is developed, showing calculation structures and processes, as well as tools used in model making. The decision model making as a function of calculated risk is developed, too. The risk model is based on facility's simple on-line operational parameters. The results are the risk estimation for the served population, with the plant operating in this mode. The calculation process is done using Montecarlo simulation. The third part is an application to a case study, especially interesting and very illustrative. The model is applied into a real facility. With the results, it's possible to conclude interesting guidelines and policies about improving plant's operation mode. In the fourth part if this Thesis the general conclusions from the developed tasks are extracted, and also the future research ideas. The main conclusion of this Thesis is that conventional treatment is able to work as effective barrier against this hazard, but it is necessary to assess the risk of the plant while operating. Taking into account limitations of knowledge, risk estimation can get non tolerable levels. In that situation, the plant must make investments in the treatment o improving the operation, to get tolerable risk levels. It's quite probably that, if treatment parameter's on-line monitoring would have been integrated with a quantifying risk tool, like presented in this job, cryptosporidiosis waterborne outbreak in Milwaukee in 1993 due to water treatment plant's failure, may be, could be avoided or reduced. Finally, literature review references and the annexes.[ES] En las últimas dos décadas se ha desarrollado un interés especial, en el sector de la potabilización del agua, relativo a la cuantificación de la seguridad de la calidad del agua suministrada. En líneas generales, la microbiología presente en el agua se diferencia en dos tipos: la no-resistente a desinfectantes químicos y la que sí lo es. La que presenta más riesgo a los sistemas, es precisamente, la del segundo grupo. Desde el año 1993, una especie del grupo de la microbiología resistente ha pasado a ser considerada la mayor amenaza sobre la calidad del agua de los abastecimientos que se alimentan de agua superficial. Se trata de un protozoo considerado por la Organización Mundial de la Salud como el patógeno emergente de más peligrosidad, llamado genéricamente cryptosporidium. Ello se debe a un brote epidemiológico que sucedió en Milwaukee (Wisconsin, Estados Unidos), en abril de 1993, enfermando a más de cuatrocientas mil personas, con casi un centenar de fallecidos y paralizando completamente la ciudad. Con lo cual, en este escenario, se sabe que existen nuevas amenazas en el agua bruta y que hay gran número de potabilizadoras de tratamiento convencional, de las que se desconocen sus capacidades frente a ellas. Precisamente por ello, este trabajo, consistente en desarrollar en detalle una metodología que permita cuantificar el riesgo para la toma de decisiones del operador, partiendo de parámetros operacionales de la planta potabilizadora, es interesante para el sector. En la primera parte de la tesis se realiza una revisión bibliográfica de la temática, de los patógenos emergentes, de la presencia del cryptosporidium en las aguas superficiales, de la fiabilidad del análisis de los mismos y de la cuantificación de la eliminación que la planta potabilizadora efectúa con diferentes tratamientos. Posteriormente se analizan los modelos que permiten estimar el riesgo individual y social por esta amenaza, y finalmente se revisan los modelos existentes de valoración de infraestructuras de potabilización. En la segunda parte de la Tesis, se desarrolla el modelo, presentando las estructuras y procesos de cálculo seguidos, así como las herramientas utilizadas en su construcción. Del modelo de riesgo desarrollado, partiendo de parámetros operacionales en línea de la planta potabilizadora, se obtiene como resultado la estimación del riesgo al que la planta está sometiendo a la población servida, funcionando en ese modo. Se ha desarrollado un proceso de cálculo en el que se utilizan técnicas de Montecarlo para la simulación. En la tercera parte se aplica un caso de estudio, especialmente interesante e ilustrativo. Se ha aplicado el modelo a una planta potabilizadora en servicio, obteniendo interesantes conclusiones y recomendaciones sobre cómo mejorar su modo de funcionamiento. En la cuarta parte de la tesis se extraen las conclusiones generales del trabajo desarrollado y las futuras líneas de investigación a seguir. Como principal conclusión del trabajo realizado, es que el tratamiento convencional de las potabilizadoras puede actuar de barrera efectiva frente a estas amenazas, pero es necesario evaluar en las plantas el riesgo de su modo de funcionamiento, pues aún con las limitaciones del conocimiento disponible, en la estimación del riesgo, se pueden alcanzar valores del mismo, no tolerables. En ese caso, en la planta deberán realizarse mejoras su instalación o en su operación para alcanzar unos niveles de riesgo tolerables. Muy probablemente, si la monitorización en línea del tratamiento hubiese estado integrada con una herramienta de cuantificación del riesgo como la que se desarrolla en el presente trabajo, el brote de cryptosporidiosis de Milwaukee en 1993, ocasionado por el fallo de una planta potabilizadora de tratamiento convencional, podría haberse evitado o, al menos, reducido en magnitud. Finalmente, se recogen las referencias bibliográficas y los ap[CA] En les últimes dos dècades s'ha desenrotllat un interés especial en el sector la potabilització de l'aigua, relatiu a la quantificació de la seguretat de la qualitat de l'aigua subministrada i en eixe sentit s'espera precisament que canvien les pròximes legislacions nacionals per recomanacions de la Organització Mundial de la Salut, en el que es diu Plans de Seguretat de l'Aigua. Dins d'esta seguretat es considera inclosa la microbiologia present en l'aigua, com és lògic. És des de l'any 1993, quan canvia dràsticament el panorama en el sector. Això es deu a un brot epidemiològic que va succeir en Milwaukee, a l'abril de 1993, emmalaltint a més de quatrecentes mil persones, amb quasi un centenar de difunts i paralitzant completament la ciutat. De tota la potencial microbiología present en l'aigua, aquella que es considerava de major amenaça sobre la qualitat de l'aigua dels abastiments que s'alimenten d'aigua superficial, és un protozou considerat per la Organització Mundial de la Salut, com el patogen emergent de més perillositat, cridat genèricament cryptosporidium, que va ser el que va ocasionar el brot de Milwaukee de 1993. Amb tot això, és necessari veure si respecte a estes noves amenaces potencials com el cryptosporidium, els tractaments convencionals poden continuar sent capaços. És llavors quan este treball, consistent a desenrotllar en detall una metodologia que permeta quantificar el risc per a la presa de decisions de l'operador és interessant per al sector. Una ferramenta metodològica que siga capaç de quantificar el risc que se cern sobre el patogen emergent de més importància en l'actualitat. En la primera part del treball realitza una revisió bibliogràfica de la temàtica, dels patògens emergents, de la presència del cryptosporidium en les aigües superficials, de la fiabilitat de l'anàlisi dels mateixos i de la quantificació de l'eliminació que la planta potabilitzadora efectua amb diferents tractaments. Posteriorment s'analitzen els models que permeten estimar el risc individual i social per esta amenaça. A continuació es revisen els models existents de valoració d'infraestructures de potabilització. En la segona part del treball, es desenrotlla el model, presentant les estructures i processos de càlcul seguits, així com les ferramentes utilitzades en la seua construcció. També es desarolla el model de presa de decisions en funció del risc calculat. El model de risc, té com a començament sencills paràmetres operacionals de la planta potabilitzadora, obtenint com a resultat, l'estimació del risc que la planta està donant a la població, funcionant d'aquesta manera. Es desarrolla un procés de càlcul utilitzant tècniques de Montecarlo per a la simulació. En la tercera part s'aplica un cas d'estudi, especialment interessant i molt pròxim i il¿lustratiu. En la quarta part del treball s'extrauen les conclusions generals del treball desenrotllat i les futures línies d'investigació que s'ha de seguir. Com a principal conclusió del treball fet, és que el tractament convencional de las potabilitzadores hi pot fer-ne de barreta front a aquestes amenaçes, no obstant és necessari evaluar à les plantes el risc de funcionament, encara que amb les limitacions del coneiximent disponible en l'estimació del risc, es poden tindre valors de risc no tolerables. En eixe cas, à la planta es deuràn de fer-ne millores en la seua instal.lació ó en la seua operació fins a tindre uns nivels de risc tolerables. És molt probable que si la monitorització de la línia de tractament hi-haguera estat integrada amb una ferramenta de cuantificació del risc, com la desarrollada en el present treball, el brot de Milwaukee de 1993 ocasionat pel fallo de funcionament de la planta potabilitzadora, es podra haver evitat o reduït. Finalment, s'arrepleguen referències bibliogràfiques i apèndixs.Macián Cervera, VJ. (2015). Desarrollo de una herramienta de análisis de riesgo microbiológico en plantas potabilizadoras de agua como soporte a la toma de decisiones de inversión y operación [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/58770TESI

Structuring Climate Service Co-Creation Using a Business Model Approach

[EN] Climate services are tools or products that aim to support climate-informed decision making for the adaptation to climate change. The market for climate services is dominated by public institutions, despite the efforts made by the European Commission to increase private enterprise in the market. The business model perspective has been proposed as a framework for enabling market growth through the development of appropriate business models for the provision of climate services. However, there is a lack of structured knowledge on how to approach climate service design and development from a business model standpoint. In this contribution, we first analyze the role of stakeholders in the design and development of climate services and identify opportunities for engaging users in the creation process. Afterwards, we explain our approach to climate service design and development using a business model perspective. To illustrate the proposed approach, we describe the co-creation of a climate service to support the adaptation to climate change of the urban water supply system in Valencia, Spain, and discuss the main findings and lessons learned from applying this approach.We acknowledge the European Research Area for Climate Services consortium (ER4CS) and the Agencia Estatal de Investigacion for their financial support to this research under the INNOVA project (Grant Agreement: 690462; PCIN-2017-066). This study has also been partially funded by the ADAPTAMED project (RTI2018-101483-B-I00) from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades (MICIU) of Spain.Rubio-Martín, A.; Máñez-Costa, M.; Pulido-Velazquez, M.; Garcia-Prats, A.; Celliers, L.; Llario, F.; Macián Cervera, VJ. (2021). Structuring Climate Service Co-Creation Using a Business Model Approach. Earth's Future. 9(10):1-18. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EF002181S11891

Effects of Climate Change on Water Quality in the Jucar River Basin (Spain)

[EN] The Mediterranean region is a climate change hotspot, especially concerning issues of hydrological planning and urban water supply systems. In this context, the Jucar River Basin (Spain) presents an increase of frequency, intensity and duration of extreme meteorological phenomena, such as torrential rains, droughts or heat waves, which directly affect the quantity and quality of raw water available for drinking. This paper aims to analyze the effects of climate change on the raw water quality of the Jucar River Basin District, which mainly supplies the city of Valencia and its metropolitan area, in order to adapt drinking water treatments to new conditions and opportunities. For this purpose, we used observed data of water quality parameters from four stations and climate drivers from seven Earth system models of the latest Coupled Model Intercomparison Project-Phase 6. To model water quality (turbidity and conductivity) in the past and future scenarios, this study employs a backward stepwise regression taking into account daily values of mean temperature, maximum temperature, total rainfall and minimum and maximum relative humidity. Results showed that the model performance of the water quality simulation is more adequate for short moving-average windows (about 2-7 days) for turbidity and longer windows (about 30-60 days) for conductivity. Concerning the future scenarios, the most significant change was found in the projected increase of conductivity for the station of the Jucar river, between 4 and 11% by 2100, respectively, under the medium (SSP2-4.5) and pessimistic (SSP5-8.5) emission scenarios. The joint use of these types of management and monitoring tools may help the managers in charge of carrying out the different water treatments needed to apply a better plan to raw water and may help them identify future threats and investment needs to adapt the urban water supply systems to the changing conditions of raw water, such as turbidity or conductivity, as a consequence of climate change.This research was co-funded by the Agencia Valenciana de la Innovacio, through the study "Aplicacion de los servicios climaticos para el desarrollo de una estrategia de adaptacion al cambio climatico de los sistemas urbanos de abastecimiento" (INNTA3/2020/14), as well as by EIT Climate-KIC, financing the CRISI-ADAP-II project (EIT-CKIC-TC_2.13.7_190799), and supported by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) of the Spanish Government under the "IMpacts of climate change on wetlands Affected by GroUndwAter (IMAGUA)" project.Gómez-Martínez, G.; Galiano, L.; Rubio, T.; Prado-López, C.; Redolat, D.; Paradinas Blázquez, C.; Gaitán, E.... (2021). Effects of Climate Change on Water Quality in the Jucar River Basin (Spain). Water. 13(17):1-17. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13172424S117131

Gestión activa de sistemas de abastecimiento mediante el empleo de sistemas multiagente (MAS) para la sostenibilidad

Uno de los retos más importantes a los que se enfrenta la gestión del agua urbana es el mantenimiento de las infraestructuras implicadas y a la minimización de los consumos tanto energéticos como de reactivos. Los sistemas de control inteligentes pueden ayudar a ser más eficientes y efectivos en los sistemas de abastecimiento de agua potable, sin dejar de cumplir el mínimo de servicio. En este trabajo se propone el desarrollo de un sistema de control, basado en sistemas multi agente (MAS), capaz de generar un control inteligente sobre una infraestructura hídrica potable, en función de los intereses individuales, que son materializados como objetivos en cada agente, y que exhibe un comportamiento emergente coherente con las necesidades. Para validar la propuesta se ha desarrollado un simulador basado en las infraestructuras de una ciudad mediana española, de 5.000 habitantes, y se ha generado el control mediante MAS. Los resultados muestran cómo el sistema es capaz de mantener los objetivos marcados e incluso manejar situaciones desconocidas, sirviendo de germen para el desarrollo de futuros sistemas físicos basados en un paradigma de just-in-time, que garanticen la sostenibilidad y permitan estudiar las mejores opciones para el manejo y configuración de las infraestructuras

Estudio de las poblaciones bacterianas en biofilms de sistemas de distribución de agua potable mediante metagenómica

[ES] En este trabajo se ha llevado a cabo un estudio del microbioma bacteriano de los biofilms presentes en las tuberías del sistema de distribución de agua potable de Valencia mediante la aplicación de metagenómica de secuenciación dirigida. Para ello, se tomaron 25 muestras de biofilms. Tras su secuenciación y posterior análisis bioinformático se determinó que los filos bacterianos más abundantes fueron Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria y Bacteroidetes. A nivel de género se observó que las muestras eran muy heterogéneas entre sí. Pese a esto, los géneros más abundantes en el promedio total de las muestras fueron Bacillus, Ralstonia, Desulfovibrio y Methylocystis. Además, se determinó la presencia de géneros bacterianos potencialmente patógenos, tales como Helicobacter, Pseudomonas o Legionella, y de bacterias con una posible implicación en los procesos de corrosión como Sulfuricella, Hyphomicrobium o Methylobacterium. En este estudio no se ha establecido una relación directa entre la microbiota y el material de las tuberías donde se encontraban estos biofilms, siendo necesario analizar un mayor número de muestras para establecer dicha relación.[EN] In this work, a study of the bacterial microbiome of biofilms present in the drinking water distribution system pipes of Valencia has been carried out using amplicon-based metagenomics. To do this, 25 biofilm samples were processed. Once the sequencing process and the subsequent bioinformatics analysis were carried out, it was determined that the most abundant bacterial Phyla were Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes. At the gender level, samples were found to be very heterogeneous. Despite this, the most abundant genera in the average of the samples were Bacillus, Ralstonia, Desulfovibrio and Methylocystis. Moreover, the presence of potentially pathogenic bacteria genera, such as Helicobacter, Pseudomonas or Legionella, and bacteria with possible involvement in corrosion processes such as Sulfuricella, Hyphomicrobium or Methylobacterium was found out. This study has not established a direct relationship between the microbiota and pipes¿ materials where these biofilms were found, making it necessary to analyze a greater number of samples to establish such a relationshipGracias al Ajuntament de València por su colaboración y apoyo en todas las iniciativas tecnológicas de la empresa gestora del abastecimiento. Gracias a todas las compañeras y compañeros del equipo de Operaciones de Emivasa por su colaboración en este proyecto. Sin ellos no habría sido posible la extracción del biofilm.Moreno Trigos, MY.; Moreno-Mesonero, L.; Soriano Ponce, A.; Macián Cervera, VJ. (2019). Estudio de las poblaciones bacterianas en biofilms de sistemas de distribución de agua potable mediante metagenómica. Tecnoaqua. (37):46-53. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/160824S46533

Risk assessment of Cryptosporidium intake in drinking water treatment plant by a combination of predictive models and event-tree and fault-tree techniques

[EN] Risk-informed decision making permits a more effective water safety management. In this framework, this article introduces the rationale and proposes a new approach to carry out a quantitative risk assessment along the water chain, from river source to tap water, by integrating predictivemodelling combined with event-tree and fault-tree techniques. The model developed by this approach could not only account for normal but also for abnormal process conditions in the water treatment plant, as well as assess the real impact of the applied safety controls, such as turbidity control. A sensitivity study was conducted to determine the effect of considering a typical drinking water treatment plant (DWTP), i.e. coagulation, sedimentation and filtration with two turbidity controls (on intake and after filtration) on the risk of infection due to exposure to Cryptosporidium in tap water. The results showed that, with the current effectiveness of turbidity reduction in the DWTP, the first control did not minimise the annual risk of Cryptosporidium infection (3.6E-04) and only limiting turbidity after filtration to below0.01NTU provided a clear reduction in risk (7.7E-05) at the cost of rejecting 60% of the water after the control. The lowest risk was found when turbidity reduction was set at 4 logs (8.48E-06), although this means that the effectiveness of turbidity reduction should be greatly improved. It was therefore concluded that supplementing the current treatment with alternative barriers such as UV or ozone disinfection and/or implementing direct control of Cryptosporidium concentration should be consideredDoménech Antich, EM.; Martorell Alsina, SS.; Kombo-Mpindou, G.; Macián Cervera, VJ.; Escuder Bueno, I. (2022). Risk assessment of Cryptosporidium intake in drinking water treatment plant by a combination of predictive models and event-tree and fault-tree techniques. Science of The Total Environment. 838(3):1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.15650019838

Climate services for water utilities: Lessons learnt from the case of the urban water supply to Valencia, Spain

[EN] Climate change projections in many regions of the world show a critical reduction in precipitation and a significant rise in temperatures in the following decades. This change may affect the operation of water utilities in arid and semi-arid parts of the globe. The Mediterranean region is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change on water resources. In this paper, we reflect on the challenges that the water utility sector may experience during the upcoming decades to continue providing its essential service under the new climate scenario. Our reasoning is based on the lessons learned during the co-creation of a climate service with the water utility company of Valencia (Spain) within the framework of the EU ERA4CS project INNOVA. The joint vision of climate, water management researchers and water utility operators resulted in a multi-scale framework for evaluating the vulnerability of the water utility to climate change. The modelling framework couples water quantity and quality and their interaction in a chain of models. The proposed framework forced all parties to consider the issue of the temporal and spatial scales, and the importance of choosing and defining the boundaries of the problem. The analytical framework has three distinct elements: (1) a combination of climate projections; (2) hydrological and water resource management model of the river basin system; (3) reservoir management and water quality model. Two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 were considered in two timeframes for the analysis: the short term (2020¿2040) and the medium term (2041¿2069). The results show a significant reduction in water availability combined with an increased frequency and intensity of phytoplankton blooms and anoxia episodes. These changes result in the deterioration of the reservoir trophic state, shifting from ultraoligotrophic-oligotrophic (control period) to oligotrophic-mesotrophic (RCP 8.5). The example shows how the combination of models on different scales and the involvement of experts in the co-creation process can result in a customized climate service that provides valuable information to water utility operators that can be used to reduce the system¿s vulnerability to climate change.This research was supported by the INNOVA, ADAPTAMED, SAPIDES, and WATER4CAST projects. The Innovation of Climate Services (INNOVA) project is funded by the European Research Area for Climate Services Consortium (ER4CS) and the Agencia Estatal de Investigacion of the Spanish government (GA: 690462; PCIN-2017-066). The ADAP-TAMED project is funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion of Spain (RTI2018-101483-B-I00), including EU FEDER funds. SAPIDES (INNEST/2021/276) is funded by the Agencia Valenciana de la Innovacio (AVI). Lastly, WATER4CAST (PROMETEO/2021/074) is funded by the Generalitat Valenciana through the Conselleria de Innovacion, Universidades, Ciencia y Sociedad Digital.Rubio-Martín, A.; Llario, F.; Macian-Sorribes, H.; Pulido-Velazquez, M.; Garcia-Prats, A.; Macián Cervera, VJ. (2023). Climate services for water utilities: Lessons learnt from the case of the urban water supply to Valencia, Spain. Climate Services. 29:1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cliser.2022.1003381132

Characterization of eukaryotic microbiome and associated bacteria communities in a drinking water treatment plant

[EN] The effectiveness of drinking water treatment is critical to achieve an optimal and safe drinking water. Disinfection is one of the most important steps to eliminate the health concern caused by the microbial population in this type of water. However, no study has evaluated the changes in its microbiome, specially the eukaryotic microbiome, and the fates of opportunistic pathogens generated by UV disinfection with medium-pressure mercury lamps in drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs). In this work, the eukaryotic community composition of a DWTP with UV disinfection was evaluated before and after a UV disinfection treatment by means of Illumina 18S rRNA amplicon-based sequencing. Among the physicochemical parameters analysed, flow and nitrate appeared to be related with the changes in the eukaryotic microbiome shape. Public health concern eukaryotic organisms such as Blastocystis, Entamoeba, Acanthamoeba, Hartmannella, Naegleria, Microsporidium or Caenorhabditis were identified. Additionally, the relation between the occurrence of some human bacterial pathogens and the presence of some eukaryotic organisms has been studied. The presence of some human bacterial pathogens such as Arcobacter, Mycobacterium, Pseudomonas and Parachlamydia were statistically correlated with the presence of some eukaryotic carriers showing the public health risk due to the bacterial pathogens they could shelter.Soler-Serena, P.; Moreno-Mesonero, L.; Zornoza-Zornoza, AM.; Macián Cervera, VJ.; Moreno Trigos, MY. (2021). Characterization of eukaryotic microbiome and associated bacteria communities in a drinking water treatment plant. Science of The Total Environment. 797:1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149070S11479