Accounting for Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Multiobjective Genetic Algorithm Optimization of Water Distribution Systems
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 136, Issue 2
Abstract
Considerable research has been carried out on the optimization of water distribution systems (WDSs) over the last three decades. In previous research, attention has mainly focused on the minimization of cost, due to the high expenditure associated with the construction and maintenance of such systems. However, the impacts of WDSs on the environment usually have not been considered adequately. The recent increasing awareness of sustainability and climate change, especially global warming, has led to research where greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are considered. In the study described in this paper a multiobjective genetic algorithm for WDS optimization has been used as an explorative tool to investigate the trade-offs between the traditional economic objective of minimizing costs and an additional environmental objective of minimizing GHG emissions. The impacts of minimizing GHG emissions on the results of WDS optimization have been explored for a case study in this paper. The results indicate that the inclusion of GHG emission minimization as one of the objectives results in significant trade-offs between the economic and environmental objectives. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis has been conducted by using different discount rates in a present value analysis for computing both ongoing costs and GHG emissions. The results obtained show that the Pareto-optimal front is very sensitive to the discount rates used. As a result, the selection of discount rates has a significant impact on final decision making.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by resources supplied by eResearch SA. The writers also thank the reviewers, including Dr. Tom Walski and the other two anonymous reviewers, for their detailed comments. The paper has been improved as a result.
References
Ambrose, M. D., Salomonsson, G. D., and Burn, S. (2002). “Piping systems embodied energy analysis.” Rep. No. CMIT Doc. 02/302, CSIRO Manufacturing and Infrastructure Technology, Highett, Australia.
Australian Greenhouse Office. (2006). AGO factors and methods workbook, Australian Greenhouse Office, Department of the Environment and Heritage, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, Australia.
Azar, C., and Sterner, T. (1996). “Discounting and distributional considerations in the context of global warming.” Ecologic. Econ., 19(2), 169–184.
Dandy, G. C., and Hewitson, C. (2000). “Optimising hydraulics and water quality in water distribution networks using genetic algorithms.” Proc., Joint Conf. on Water Resources Engineering and Water Resources Planning and Management, ASCE, Reston, Va.
Dandy, G. C., Roberts, A., Hewitson, C., and Chrystie, P. (2006). “Sustainability objectives for the optimization of water distribution networks.” Proc., 8th Annual Water Distribution Systems Analysis Symp., ASCE, Reston, Va.
Dasgupta, P., Mäler, K. -G., and Barrett, S. (1999). “Intergenerational equity, social discount rates and global warming.” Discounting and intergenerational equity, P. R. Portney and J. P. Weyant, eds., Resources for the Future, Washington, D.C., 51–77.
Deb, K. (2000). “An efficient constraint handling method for genetic algorithms.” Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng., 186, 311–338.
Deb, K. (2002). Multi-objective optimization using evolutionary algorithms, Wiley, New York.
Deb, K., Pratap, A., Agarwal, S., and Meyarivan, T. (2002). A fast and elitist multi-objective genetic algorithm: NSGA-II, KanGAL, India Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India.
Farmani, R., Savic, D. A., and Walters, G. A. (2005). “Evolutionary multi-objective optimization in water distribution network design.” Eng. Optimiz., 37(2), 167–183.
Fearnside, P. M. (2002). “Time preference in global warming calculations: A proposal for a unified index.” Ecologic. Econ., 41(1), 21–31.
Fearnside, P. M., Lashof, D. A., and Moura-Costa, P. (2000). “Accounting for time in mitigating global warming through land-use change and forestry.” Mitigation and Adapt. Strategies Global Change, 5(3), 239–270.
Filion, Y. R. (2008). “Impact of urban form on energy use in water distribution systems.” J. Infrastruct. Syst., 14(4), 337–346.
Henderson, N., and Langford, I. (1998). “Cross-disciplinary evidence for hyperbolic social discount rates.” Manage. Sci., 44(11), 1493–1500.
Her Majesty’s Treasury. (2003). The green book: Appraisal and evaluation in central government, Stationery Office, London.
Hiessl, H., Walz, R., and Toussaint, D. (2001). “Design and sustainability assessment of scenarios of urban water infrastructure system.” Proc., Delft Int. Conf. on Technology Policy and Innovation, Univ. of Delft, Netherlands.
Ilich, N., and Simonovic, S. P. (1998). “Evolutionary algorithm for minimization of pumping cost.” J. Comput. Civ. Eng., 12(4), 232–240.
Jayaram, N., and Srinivasan, K. (2008). “Performance-based optimal design and rehabilitation of water distribution networks using life cycle costing.” Water Resour. Res., 44, W01417.
Kaen, F. R. (1995). Corporate finance: Concepts and policies, Blackwell Publishers, Cambridge, Mass.
Keedwell, E., and Khu, S. -T. (2006). “A novel evolutionary meta-heuristic for the multi-objective optimization of real-world water distribution networks.” Eng. Optimiz., 38(3), 319–333.
Rambaud, S. C., and Torrecillas, M. J. M. (2005). “Some considerations on the social discount rate.” Environ. Sci. Policy, 8(4), 343–355.
Sahely, H. R., and Kennedy, C. A. (2007). “Water use model for quantifying environmental and economic sustainability indicators.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 133(6), 550–559.
Sahely, H. R., Kennedy, C. A., and Adams, B. J. (2005). “Developing sustainability criteria for urban infrastructure systems.” Can. J. Civ. Eng., 32(1), 72–85.
Savic, D. (2002). “Single-objective vs. multiobjective optimisation for integrated decision support.” Proc., First Biennial Meeting of the Int. Environmental Modelling and Software Society, Int. Environmental Modelling and Software Society (IEMSs), Lugano, Switzerland, 7–12.
Schaake, J., and Lai, D. (1969). “Linear programming and dynamic programming applications to water distribution network design.” Rep. No. 116, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
Simpson, A. R., Dandy, G. C., and Murphy, L. J. (1994). “Genetic algorithms compared to other techniques for pipe optimization.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 120(4), 423–443.
Tietenberg, T. (1997). “The economics of global warming.” The international library of critical writings in economics, M. Blaug, ed., Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, U.K.
Treloar, G. J. (1994). “Energy analysis of the construction of office buildings.” MS thesis, Deakin Univ., Geelong, Australia.
Water Services Association of Australia. (2002). Water supply code of Australia: WSA 03-2002, Water Services Association of Australia, Melbourne.
Weitzman, M. L. (2001). “Gamma discounting.” Am. Econ. Rev., 91(1), 260–271.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Jun 30, 2008
Accepted: Feb 20, 2009
Published online: Mar 27, 2009
Published in print: Mar 2010
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.