The NAIADES project envisions the use of digital innovations for improved water management in three pilots in Europe, Alicante (Spain), Braila (Romania) and Carouge (Switzerland). An important step in the project is the identification of needs and the subsequent definition of use cases. This task, carried out by IHE in collaboration with all the partners in the project, promoted discussions among partners and stakeholders during the first half of the project, which complemented the findings of earlier visits made to the pilots of Alicante and Braila.
The methodology for deriving the requirements concentrated on the identification of the so-called use cases for each pilot, defined as the thematic issues that the water utility or authority recognises from their experience and perspective as important and strategic, and that could be addressed with priority in the framework of the NAIADES project.
To this end, a four-step methodology was adopted:
- each pilot is approached by means of a generic, structured questionnaire;
- a face-to-face verification and validation is made with visits to each of the pilots, identifying key personnel;
- use cases are defined, breaking down the needs of each pilot, and
- general descriptions of the functioning of the use cases are drafted. Points 3 and 4 heavily relied on group meetings as well as in bilateral meetings among service providers and pilot owners, which were carried out online due to the Covid19 situation.
Resulting use cases
Alicante:
- Use Case Alicante 1 (UCA1) – water demand prediction, aimed to further reduce water demand. To this end, water demand forecast with its associated accuracy, and active awareness campaigns are needed.
- Use Case Alicante 2 (UCA2) – saline intrusion, aimed to reduce the saline water intrusion into the sewer system, by properly accounting for it. This will reduce the current estimated total economic cost of saline intrusion of around 1M Euro per year.
- Use Case Alicante 3 (UCA3) – consumption and awareness campaign, aimed to increase awareness of water consumption among the population.
Carouge:
- Use Case Carouge 1 UCC1 – Watering, to reduce the amount of water and the time of the employees in charge of the garden. The idea is to optimise the watering of garden boxes from the point of view of water consumption and of effort of city council staff.
- Use Case Carouge 2 UCC2 – Fountains, to improve water quality monitoring at the fountains and provide water quality warnings, related to pH, bacteria and chlorine and after iteratively applying the need-service mapping step
Braila:
- Use Case Braila UCB1 – Water demand forecast, for better network operation, using data form sensors and hydraulic models for the district of Radu Negru.
- Use Case Braila 2 UCB2 – Leakage detection, which aims to provide solutions to reduce leaks in the network. To this end, hydraulic models in combination with in-situ measurements and AI will be used.
A special, generic use case based on the pilot of Braila is the treatment prediction using AI.
Potential output of NAIADES services for UCC1.
Potential output of NAIADES services for UCA1.