Multicriteria Decision Support for Selection of Alternatives Directed to Integrated Urban Water Management
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Multicriteria Decision Support for Selection of Alternatives Directed to Integrated Urban Water Management José Matheus Bezerra dos Santos Amorim 1 & Saulo de Tarso Marques Bezerra 2 Maísa Mendonça Silva 3 & Lyanne Cibely Oliveira de Sousa 4
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Received: 15 March 2019 / Accepted: 15 September 2020/ # Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract
The management of water resources in medium and large cities has been changing in recent years, mainly as a result of climate change and the sharp increase of urbanization. In addition to the traditional solution of expansion of water supply, an approach that integrates technological alternatives of demand management in the infrastructure of urban constructions is proposed herein. However, these facilities are often more complex and expensive than conventional ones, being also challenging to achieve a balance between costs and benefits. While the environmental, social, and engineering benefits seem obvious, expressing them in monetary terms is usually a challenge that cost-effectiveness do not respond satisfactorily. Therefore, this research uses the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process multiple criteria method to rank three main alternatives (rainwater harvesting system, gray water recycling system, and water saving devices) that can be applied in low-income residences in Brazil. For this purpose, this paper considers criteria normally used in this type of analysis such as economic, technical, environmental and social criteria but also includes the local population acceptance and the evaluation of experts. The main results suggest that the most appropriate alternative is the use of water saving devices and that there is also a need for public policies that offer financial incentives to the population and prevent socioeconomic conditions from inhibiting the adoption of water conservation practices. Keywords Rainwater harvesting . Gray water recycling . Water saving devices . Multicriteria decision aid . Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process
1 Introduction The progressive deterioration of water resources and the worsening of conflicts among various water users stimulate discussions about the current situation and the future of this resource around the
* Saulo de Tarso Marques Bezerra [email protected] Extended author information available on the last page of the article
dos Santos Amorim J.M.B. et al.
world. Its availability is abundant on a global scale, but in regional contexts, due to its natural and climatic characteristics, it is scarce and not uniformly distributed. In arid and semi-arid regions, efficient water management is essential, mainly due to low precipitation rates and irregularity of surface runoff over time and space. Moreover, in underdeveloped areas, the inability to supply all consumers simultaneously is a problem faced by many water supply systems (Monte and AlmeidaFilho 2016). The new paradigm of water resources management is based on the integrated assessment of water supply and demand management. The transectionary vision of supply expansion is becoming econ
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