Small flexible urban water systems
When Sweden and Europe is changing due to climate change and urbanization our aging systems for urban water infrastructure must be updated. Researchers at Luleå University of Technology investigate small flexible urban sanitation solutions compared to today's centralized sewage systems in the industrialized countries.
System changes may also involve the reuse of treated wastewater and implementation of water-saving devices or source separating systems.
– Source separating systems are used very little, although they have good potential for recycling of nutrients, says Inga Herrmann, researcher and lecturer in Urban Water Engineering at Luleå University of Technology.
The goal of this project is to evaluate small sewerage systems with regard to their sustainability and resilience both from an engineering science, a historical and social perspective.
– We compare various traditional drainage systems with each other and with decentralized and source-separating solutions with so-called multi-criteria analysis. The aim is also to study what could enable the implementation of more sustainable systems. This by analyzing trade journals and water policy and by conducting interviews in municipalities, says Inga Herrmann.
The project is financed by Formas and is a collaboration between the research groups of Sanitary Engineering and History of Technology at Luleå University and Hallvard Ødegaard, professor emeritus at Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
[https://www.ltu.se/research/subjects/VA-teknik/Forskningsprojekt/Sma-flexibla-avloppslosningar-anpassning-till-en-foranderlig-varld-2016-2018-1.146193?l=en]
