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Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) has planned to harness water from outside the valley from Melamchi as an inter-basin project to supply water inside the ring road (core valley area) of the Kathmandu Valley (KV). The project, called the “Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP)”, is expected to have its first phase completed by the end of September 2018 and its second phase completed by the end of 2023 to supply 170 MLD (million liters a day) through the first phase and an additional 340 MLD through the second phase. The area has recently faced a severe water deficit and KUKL’s existing infrastructure has had a limited capability, supplying only 19% of the water that is demanded in its service areas during the dry season and 31% during the wet season. In this context, this study aims to assess the temporal trends and spatial distribution of household water security index (WSI), defined as a ratio of supply to demand for domestic water use for basic human water requirements (50 L per capita per day (lpcd)) and economic growth (135 lpcd) as demand in pre- and post-MWSP scenarios. For this purpose, data on water demand and supply with infrastructure were used to map the spatial distribution of WSI and per capita water supply using ArcMap. Results show a severe water insecurity condition in the year 2017 in all KUKL service areas (SAs), which is likely to improve after completion of the MWSP. It is likely that recent distribution network and strategies may lead to inequality in water distribution within the SAs. This can possibly be addressed by expanding existing distribution networks and redistributing potable water, which can serve an additional 1.21 million people in the area. Service providers may have to develop strategies to strengthen a set of measures including improving water supply infrastructures, optimizing water loss, harnessing additional water from hills, and managing water within and outside the KUKL SAs in the long run to cover the entire KV.

Water is a basic necessity of life, so in order for human beings to be free and safe from various diseases, it is necessary to take necessary measures to provide clean water to them. Lack of access to clean water in Afghanistan is a matter of serious concern. Two decades ago, when Afghanistan was facing a major crisis, 80% of the population used drains, canals and other stagnant water, which led to various diseases. Then, after the American presence in Afghanistan, a new government was formed. In 2001, the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) launched a program called RU-WatSip to improve access to clean water in rural areas. Implement clean water supply programs and projects, which have hit every village in Afghanistan, a decade later, according to a UNICEF survey, 67% of the population in Afghanistan had access to clean water. Which were pollution-free, whereas in the early stages only 20% of Afghanistan’s population had access to clean water. [1] The Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) has implemented various clean water supply projects in different rural areas, although the basic needs of the people have been met with the implementation of these projects. The projects that should have been considered were not implemented as they should have been, and these projects had different hurdles and risks from the design stage to the implementation and handover process, which divided us into three categories: High, medium, and low, for example, briefly mentioned, and our purpose in writing this article is to explore the barriers and difficulties in drinking water supply projects. [2]

Critical infrastructure projects are essential for societal well-being and economic prosperity. These projects are characterized by significant complexities and uncertainties, including weather conditions, design challenges, and regulatory constraints, which can hinder their ability to meet time, cost, and quality goals. To address the risks that can disrupt such projects, comprehensive risk assessment frameworks are necessary to support decision-makers in managing them. This paper introduces a novel methodological framework for risk assessment in municipal water supply projects. The framework decomposes overall project risk into specific risk criteria to evaluate the impact of each activity on the project’s global risk. It integrates the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process with a fuzzy multi-objective resource-constrained scheduling problem to enhance risk assessment. The practical applicability of the framework is demonstrated through a case study conducted with the Municipal Department of Water Systems in a metropolitan area in southern Tamaulipas, Mexico. The results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed methodology as a robust tool for assessing risks in municipal water supply projects.

Water supply projects (WSP) requires high plan information, specialized capabilities, capable human resources, and high administrative capacity. However, in the developing countries, particularly in Iraq, these projects experience a lack of a large number of these necessities, which shows the need to identify the critical success factors (CSFs). Accordingly, the objectives of this research are to investigate the CSFs for WSP and their significance among the construction (public and private) and education sectors. To achieve this, first we have carried out a comprehensive literature review of the CSFs for WSP. Second, we administrated a questionnaire survey to 260 construction experts working in the construction and education sectors. It was found that the top five important success factors for water supply projects in Iraq were a stable political environment; sustainable construction legislation and regulation; effective risk management practices; well-organized and committed project teams; and government decisions through the project life cycle. The survey results did not indicate major differences in the perception of the experts. The findings are focused to assist construction practitioners’ gain better understanding on the important areas to achieve project set objectives.

Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) currently uses 35 surface and 57 groundwater sources to supply water for Nepal's capital, Kathmandu. It is necessary to understand if the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP) can assist lean period water supply by indirectly increasing groundwater storage, through diverting excess water supply to groundwater recharge zones. The current study analyzed long-term groundwater depletion to assess available groundwater storage, followed by assessment of groundwater balance for the Kathmandu Valley. Results show that total groundwater extraction for Kathmandu was 69.44 million cubic meters (MCM) and drawdown of the groundwater surface was 15–20 m since the construction of wells in 1984/85, indicating substantial overexploitation. Results indicate that the ongoing unmet demand of 170 MCM/year can be easily satisfied if groundwater storage is recharged effectively, as underground water storage potential is 246 MCM/year due to a groundwater depletion rate of 2–10 m. From results, it is evident that that the timely implementation of the MWSP can help ease ongoing water stress and aid in reversing the damage caused to groundwater storage. In the long run, MWSP can supply water and recharge groundwater during monsoon periods, thus improving the quality of life and socio-economic status in Kathmandu.

PurposeThis work aims to understand how social value is created and delivered using community-based water supply projects. It examines social value creation given the enabling concepts – value co-creation and service ecosystems as business models for infrastructure.Design/methodology/approachInductive reasoning, including qualitative research design, was applied to two water supply projects. The qualitative stage created social value co-creation features using the purposive sampling of 72 semi-structured interviews.FindingsThe qualitative analysis features social value co-creation, which includes a sense of social unity, end-user empowerment, Behavioural transformation, and knowledge transfer. Although value destruction also emerged while examining social value co-creation, the research identifies the “red flags” and value contradictions that must be avoided.Research limitations/implicationsThe enablers of sustainable infrastructure projects should include social value, service ecosystems and value co-creation.Practical implicationsThere is a need for the government and non-governmental organisations to create enabling platforms that involve a planned dialogical communication process supporting the development and enhancement of relationships of stakeholders to maximise social value from infrastructure projects.Originality/valueThe work offers a widened perspective of social value creation and a new framework called “Social value co-creation/destruction” (SVCC/SVCD) as the business model for sustainable infrastructure projects. It is the first attempt to illustrate social value creation in construction from service ecosystems and value co-creation perspectives.

After the construction of rural water supply projects, how to make them sustainably operated and managed has become the focus and difficulty of the current and future work of rural water supply. In order to evaluate the operation and management of rural water supply projects, a comprehensive indicator system of rural water supply projects sustainable operation and management was established, and a combinational evaluation model based on a cyclic correction framework was used in 13 pilot districts of Chongqing, China. The APH method was used to calculate the weight of each index. The two indexes with the highest weights are ‘establishment of management agency (0.1436)’ and ‘assurance level of operating funds (0.1382)’. Compared with the traditional individual evaluation model, the cyclic correction framework can effectively reduce the systematic deviation and random error in the evaluation process and make the research conclusion more reliable. The ranks of the districts in the main urban metropolitan part are higher, while the districts in the southeast and northeast of Chongqing are ranked relatively low. The top five districts were Rongchang, Yubei, Banan, Liangping, and Tongliang. In the future, the sustainable operation and management of rural water supply projects should be improved by enhancing the ability of the management agencies of rural water supply projects and increasing funding for project operation management.

In long distance water supply projects, the air vessel is an effective and reliable protection measure to control water hammer. Although it can effectively eliminate water hammer during the process of hydraulic transient, the volume of the traditional air vessel is large due to the long distance pipeline, resulting in high investment. In this paper, based on the analysis of the transient in long distance water supply pipelines, a protection method, combining the air vessel with the downstream valve, is proposed to reduce the volume of the air vessel, keeping the system pressure within the limit. Furthermore, an innovative arrangement of the air vessel is presented to overcome the risk of the combined protection method. Besides the upstream air vessel, a downstream air vessel is additionally installed to mitigate positive water hammer due to rapid closure of the downstream valve. To verify the effect of the new method, the numerical model was established according to the parameters of a practical water supply project, and hydraulic transient due to pump trip was simulated. Compared with the traditional method, the combined protection method provides effective water hammer protection and greatly reduces the volume of the air vessel.

In competitive organizations and projects, assessing risks related to human capital is essential for improving workplace conditions and ensuring project success. This study evaluates primary, secondary, and residual human capital risks in urban water transfer projects using an innovative hybrid DEMATEL–MARCOS approach. The DEMATEL method was employed to analyze causal relationships and interdependencies among risks, while the MARCOS method ranked their significance. The key findings reveal that “accidents during material transportation” (primary risk), “corrosion” (secondary risk), and “pipeline pressure” (residual risk) are the most critical factors influencing human capital in such projects. The study provides a structured framework for prioritizing risk mitigation strategies, offering actionable insights for policymakers and project managers to enhance safety, efficiency, and workforce well-being. By integrating multi-criteria decision-making techniques, this research bridges a gap in the water industry’s risk management practices and contributes to safer, more sustainable infrastructure development.

More than 1 billion people around the world live without access to safe, potable water, in part because of poor governance and corruption. Illegal connections and substantial losses caused by deferred maintenance have eroded the revenues of water utilities, leading to a downward spiral in performance. Embezzlement of funds, bribes for access to illegal water connections, manipulation of meter counters, and collusion in public contracts add to the litany of corrupt practices. 'Improving Transparency, Integrity, and Accountability in Water Supply and Sanitation' is a useful tool for diagnosing, analyzing, and remedying systemic corruption in the water supply and sanitation sectors. It will serve as a practical guide for governments; utility regulators, managers, and staff; civil society organizations; contractors; and citizens in their quest for a model of service provision that responds to the pressing needs of people in the developing world. The book aims to increase the involvement of civil society by engaging all stakeholders in setting priorities and monitoring performance; help water and sanitation delivery contribute to poverty reduction by increasing the service quality and coverage provided by service delivery organizations to poorer communities on an equitable basis; provide a tool that promotes the financial sustainability of service delivery organizations, thus building stakeholders' confidence in those institutions' ability to expand and improve service; and raise ethical standards among all stakeholders, especially service delivery organizations, thereby instilling a sense of public service in these organizations.