The Drinking Water, Sewerage, and Treatment Manual (MAPAS) As a New Support Tool for the Design of Urban Hydraulic Structures

Water industry companies need infrastructure capable of satisfying the hydraulic requirements for which they were designed. Moreover, in order to fulfill that objective, they should meet the structural requirements that assure an adequate lifespan and the capacity to withstand daily mechanical actions as well as the occurrence of earthquakes and/or gusts of wind. In Mexico there are local construction regulations that dictate the considerations that should be taken into account for a structural design, as well as diverse manuals that aid in this purpose, nonetheless, they commonly focus on the construction of conventional urban infrastructure. In the case of urban hydraulic works such as elevated tanks and treatment plants, which must be considered as priority structures of public interest, there isn't enough public information for their design and construction. For that reason, as part of the recent update of the Drinking Water, Sewerage, and Treatment Manual (MAPAS) the "Structural Design" book aids with the structural design of urban hydraulic works so as to standardize criteria for the design of buried, elevated and surface deposits, as well as support structures. Design and construction recommendations for these structures were also included based on the experience of the operators in charge of the distribution networks for drinking water, sewerage and water treatment. In the present article, the content and objectives of the book are broken down in a simplified form as well as their potential applications and usage. Interdisciplinary work in the design and construction of urban hydraulic infrastructure is also encouraged here

CCWI2017: F17 'Assessment of alternatives for energy efficiency improvement using a hydraulic simulation model'

Many water utilities that provide water, drainage and sanitation services in Mexico encounter several problems performing these duties. They face insufficient funds, frequent changes of administrative and qualified technical personnel, as well as distribution-network aging. This situation, along with high water losses in transmission pipelines and distribution networks, illegal service connections, and intermittent water supply have led to a large portion of the water utilities having to deal with a low willingness from the users to pay for the service provided. Pumping and water treatment make up most of the high electricity costs generated from the provision of water supply services. This paper presents the results of an energy efficiency study, using a hydraulic simulation model as a starting point in which various energy-consumption optimization scenarios were considered. Priority was placed on existing infrastructure use, the assessment of alternatives for pumping equipment operation, the addition of complimentary equipment with its corresponding capital and running costs as well as its repercussions on the service provided to end-users and finally their impact on the total running costs for the water utility. To carry out an adequate interpretation of the hydraulic model, it was necessary to perform a detailed analysis of existing pumping equipment, primarily its electromechanical parameters in such a way that upon integrating them into the model, the proposed alternatives carry the certainty of success. In general form, the analyzed sources of supply produce an average of 437 L/s, with an energy consumption of 920 kW/h. Based on the hydraulic simulation, it is possible to take 5 pumping sites out of operation from the Pump Stations G.O. 1 and 2 which implies a reduction of 121.7 kW/h and as such, considering the rate at the moment of this study which is $1.025 kW/h, yields an annual savings of$55,000.00 USD, representing a 24% decrease in the total energy consumed by the distribution network