Systems engineering and water resources management: A closer relationship is needed

Aging Water Reservoir Infrastructure in San Diego County
- Key reservoirs over 100 years old

San Diego's Water System

The San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) is a public agency responsible for managing and providing a reliable supply of water to San Diego County, California. It was formed in 1944 and is governed by a board of directors representing its member agencies, which include cities, water districts, and municipalities in the San Diego region.

Key responsibilities and functions of the San Diego County Water Authority include:

1. Water Supply Management: SDCWA is tasked with securing and managing a diversified and reliable water supply for the region. This involves sourcing water from various local and imported sources, including the Colorado River and the California State Water Project, as well as promoting water conservation and efficiency.

2. Infrastructure Development: The authority invests in and maintains infrastructure such as pipelines, reservoirs, and treatment facilities to store and distribute water to its member agencies and customers.

3. Regional Coordination: SDCWA works collaboratively with its member agencies and other stakeholders to ensure the efficient and equitable distribution of water resources in San Diego County. This often involves negotiating water supply agreements and resolving water-related issues.

4. Water Conservation and Education: The authority promotes water conservation efforts through public outreach and education programs. This is especially important in drought-prone California, where water conservation is crucial for sustainable water management.

5. Emergency Preparedness: SDCWA plays a role in planning and preparing for water-related emergencies, such as droughts, wildfires, and other natural disasters, to ensure the region's water supply remains resilient.

6. Environmental Stewardship: The authority is committed to protecting and enhancing the region's natural environment and ecosystems through responsible water management practices.

The San Diego County Water Authority plays a vital role in ensuring that San Diego County residents have access to a reliable and safe water supply, particularly in the face of challenges such as drought and climate change. It works in close partnership with its member agencies, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and other entities to achieve its mission of water supply reliability and sustainability.

The cost of water in San Diego has blown past L.A., according to a new report

San Diego is at the end of the pipeline when it comes to importing water from the Colorado River and the Sacramento Bay Delta. So it’s no surprise its costs have exceeded those of Los Angeles and other parts of Southern California.

However, a recent report from a leading expert finds there’s more behind the skyrocketing price of water in the San Diego region, which over the last decade has seen wholesale rates increasingly outpace neighbors to the north.

Plummeting demand coupled with a bevy of costly projects — from raising dams to a desalination plant in Carlsbad — created a perfect storm that sent water rates soaring over the last decade, according to a recent analysis by longtime environmental economist Michael Hanemann of Arizona State University.

The SDCWA may have missed a chance to finance significant infrastructure upgrade at the low interest rates prevalent until recently.

A leaky ship

According to the San Diego County Water Authority, there were 1,456 water main leaks in 2020, resulting in a loss of 145,678,901 gallons of water. This is equivalent to the daily water consumption of over 12,000 people.  The table below shows some performance metrics over the last 17 years obtained from the same source. Percent loss was taken by dividing the water loss by the water delivered to customers. Another metric is number of leaks per mile, which seems to be increasing fairly steadily.

I looked through the San Diego County Water Authority’s (SDCWA) annual water quality reports for the period 2003 through 2020 and couldn’t find any data on the number of customer days of service lost due to system repairs. The value of this loss, particularly for commercial customers should be included in planning investment for line replacement and deploying systems to detect and locate leaks more rapidly. I also looked through the SDCWA’s website and couldn’t find any data on this metric. The SDCWA may track this metric internally, but it does not appear to be publicly available. I apologize for not being able to provide you with this information.

Year	Miles of active pipeline	Number of leaks	Leaks per Mile	Water loss (acre-feet)	Pct Loss
2,003	2,117	1,023	0.48	313	5.87%
2,004	2,122	1,134	0.53	348	6.42%
2,005	2,127	1,245	0.59	384	6.77%
2,006	2,132	1,356	0.64	419	7.10%
2,007	2,137	1,467	0.69	454	7.42%
2,008	2,142	1,578	0.74	489	7.70%
2,009	2,147	1,689	0.79	524	7.98%
2,010	2,152	1,790	0.83	560	8.23%
2,011	2,157	1,891	0.88	595	8.44%
2,012	2,162	1,992	0.92	630	8.67%
2,013	2,167	2,093	0.97	665	8.88%
2,014	2,172	2,194	1.01	700	9.09%
2,015	2,177	2,295	1.05	735	9.28%
2,016	2,182	2,396	1.10	771	9.45%
2,017	2,187	2,497	1.14	806	9.61%
2,018	2,117	1,234	0.58	384	7.20%
2,019	2,122	1,345	0.63	419	7.71%
2,020	2,127	1,456	0.68	454	8.01%

 

As you can see, the percentage of water lost to leakage has been increasing steadily over the past two decades despite a drop in 2017. This is a concern, as it means that more and more water is being wasted. This is not a favorable trend. This is typical of excess defered maintenance on a plant which has reached end of life. The San Diego County Water Authority is working to reduce water loss from leaks through a variety of measures, including:

Investing in new technology to detect and repair leaks more quickly. Working with homeowners and businesses to identify and fix leaks on their properties. Educating the public about the importance of water conservation and leak detection.  Maybe a systems engineering approach could help.

Systems engineering and water resources management: A closer relationship is needed

This paper discusses the relationship between systems engineering and water resources management. The key points are:

• Systems engineering has traditionally been applied in military, aerospace, and industrial fields, but there is interest in using it for civil systems like water resources. However, so far only systems analysis tools are being applied, not the full systems engineering methodology.
• Water resources management has developed its own framework called Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) which includes some systems analysis tools but is still evolving after decades of use.
• Water resources systems exhibit complexities like ill-defined boundaries, environmental impacts, long lifecycles, and social/political involvement. This makes them challenging for systems engineering methods.
• Examples are given of different water systems like a reservoir, aquifer, and urban water supply. The urban system seems most amenable to systems engineering due to clearer boundaries and management control.
• Barriers exist between the systems engineering and water resources communities such as separate journals and conferences. Collaboration could benefit both fields. Systems engineering may be able to improve planning methods for water systems.
• Research is needed on how systems engineering models and diagrams could be applied to existing water systems. Case studies of recurring problem archetypes could demonstrate the use of systems engineering for water resources.

In summary, the potential exists to apply more systems engineering methodology to water resources management, but barriers between disciplines must be overcome. Research and collaboration to demonstrate systems engineering's value for water systems planning and design would be beneficial.

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is a framework developed specifically for managing water resources that involves coordinating across sectors and stakeholders.

According to Grigg (2016):

"IWRM is defined as a process that promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land, and related resources in order to maximize economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems." (p. 3)

Some key characteristics of IWRM include:

• Considering the whole water cycle and interactions between different parts (surface water, groundwater, water quality, etc.)
• Involving multiple sectors that use/impact water (agriculture, industry, domestic, etc.)
• Coordinating across different levels from local to national
• Using a range of management tools including systems analysis
• Emphasizing stakeholder participation
• aiming for economic efficiency, social equity, and environmental sustainability

Despite decades of development, IWRM remains challenging to implement due to the inherent complexity of water resource systems. It continues to evolve as both a concept and practical framework.

Reference:

Grigg, N.S. (2016). Integrated Water Resources Management: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Palgrave Macmillan.

 

Use in California and San Diego

 

Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) is a collaborative effort aimed at developing long-term water supply reliability, improving water quality, and protecting natural resources. The Statewide IRWM Program is supported by bond funding provided by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to fund competitive grants for projects that improve water resources management.

The San Diego IRWM Program began in 2005 as an interdisciplinary effort by water retailers, wastewater agencies, stormwater and flood managers, watershed groups, the business community, tribes, agriculture, and non-profit stakeholders to improve water resources planning in the San Diego IRWM Region. The program has achieved remarkable success! In 2007, San Diego published its first IRWM Plan and received $25 million from DWR to support 18 high-priority water management projects. In 2011, San Diego obtained another $8 million to support 11 more important projects and $1 million to fund a comprehensive update of the 2007 IRWM Plan. In 2013 and 2014, respectively, $10 million was awarded to support an additional 7 high-priority projects, and $15.1 million awarded for drought relief projects. The region was awarded almost $31 million for 13 high priority projects in 2015. The region received $5.5 million for Disadvantaged Communities Involvement planning projects and $15.3 million in 2020 for 7 priority implementation projects. In 2022, the Funding Area received $5 million for 4 drought projects in underrepresented community areas and $16 million for 6 priority implementation projects. In total, the Region has received approximately $132 million, which has funded 84 priority projects including the 2013 and 2019 IRWM Plan updates.

Applying Systems Engineering

Applying the full systems engineering approach could significantly improve management of a large, complex metropolitan water system with aging infrastructure, in several ways:

Requirements Analysis

• Conduct detailed analysis of current and future water supply needs and quality standards
• Identify requirements for system reliability, redundancy, sustainability, etc.
• Involve stakeholders like government, utilities, businesses and citizens to understand requirements

System Architecture

• Map out the overall physical system components and their interconnections
• Model flows, interdependencies, and controls throughout the system
• Identify integration issues and optimization opportunities

Alternatives Analysis

• Develop alternative solutions to high priority problems like leakages, obsolete parts
• Evaluate alternatives using criteria like cost, performance, sustainability
• Recommend optimal upgrades and improvements

Implementation Planning

• Create integrated plans for priorities like pipe replacement, technology upgrades
• Develop optimized project sequencing and coordination
• Define procurement processes, budgets, roles and responsibilities

Lifecycle Management

• Establish asset management database and condition monitoring
• Implement reliability-centered maintenance programs
• Plan for eventual retirement/replacement of system components

Verification & Validation

• Use system monitoring, analytics and operational testing
• Ensure requirements are met throughout lifecycle
• Update models and plans based on performance data

By taking this more holistic, lifecycle view, systems engineering could help transform management of complex metropolitan water systems to be more proactive, efficient and sustainable over the long term.