Water Distribution System Design and Environmental Impact: Balancing Local Interests with Broader Regional Concerns

An index-based method for the evaluation of the environmental impact of water distribution systems (WDSs) is introduced. A number of environmental measures are incorporated into the index-based method to account for local, regional and global non-renewable resource consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and emissions to air, land, and water. The index-based method is applied to designs provided in the literature for the Anytown system. Design alternatives are compared on the basis of environmental impact index and cost. For the system analyzed, results show that the four most environmentally feasible alternatives are also the four most cost-effective alternatives. System analysis also shows that substantial increases in total system cost results in an increase in the environmental impact index amongst alternatives, while the relationship between the environmental impact indexes is not well defined amongst alternatives with similar costs.