This thesis develops and applies a number of methods for systems analysis and assessment within the field of sustainable urban water. These focus on the evaluation of distributed strategies. In line with arguments made within the thesis, the methods developed assess urban water on a whole-system basis, with the system defined in terms of the services provided. Further, the thesis argues for sustainable urban water planning to take a pluralist stance; both in the conception of sustainable urban water and the strategies considered. The challenges of sustainability and sustainable development are fundamentally problems of complex systems. Planning and assessment of sustainable urban water therefore require a systems-approach. Systems-thinking is not, however, a unified body of knowledge and this thesis develops a unique perspective on systems-thinking which is used to critically review the fields of sustainable urban water and its assessment. Within these reviews, the thesis develops a framework for understanding sustainable urban water in terms of a number of varied approaches, and describes a feasible theoretical basis for assessing sustainable urban water. Many, so called, sustainable strategies are small-scale and distributed in nature. Distributed strategies include decentralised systems, embedded technologies, and local measures for conservation. Traditional systems analysis methods have failed to account for distributed strategies. To adequately include distributed strategies, this thesis argues that assessment methods will need to be based on whole-system modelling, utilise end-use models of service provision, and include - in the form of a demand forecast - a time dimension in relation to service provision. This thesis proposes new methods for microbial risk assessment on a whole-system basis and Least cost planning for (urban water) Sustainable Scenarios (LeSS). A novel evaluation framework for least cost planning for water supply, which provides an equivalent comparison of demand- and supply-side options, is also developed. These methods are illustrated through case studies. These case studies illustrate the potential of distributed strategies. When assessed on an equivalent basis, in various examples, distributed strategies are shown to be particularly cost effective. Decentralised wastewater reuse systems are also shown to impose a theoretically lower level of pathogen risk on the community than equivalent centralised reuse schemes. Despite the advances in assessment methodologies made within the thesis, further development of practical tools for assessing and planning sustainable urban water remains an urgent goal.

This thesis develops and applies a number of methods for systems analysis and assessment within the field of sustainable urban water. These focus on the evaluation of distributed strategies. In line with arguments made within the thesis, the methods developed assess urban water on a whole-system basis, with the system defined in terms of the services provided. Further, the thesis argues for sustainable urban water planning to take a pluralist stance; both in the conception of sustainable urban water and the strategies considered. The challenges of sustainability and sustainable development are fundamentally problems of complex systems. Planning and assessment of sustainable urban water therefore require a systems-approach. Systems-thinking is not, however, a unified body of knowledge and this thesis develops a unique perspective on systems-thinking which is used to critically review the fields of sustainable urban water and its assessment. Within these reviews, the thesis develops a framework for understanding sustainable urban water in terms of a number of varied approaches, and describes a feasible theoretical basis for assessing sustainable urban water. Many, so called, sustainable strategies are small-scale and distributed in nature. Distributed strategies include decentralised systems, embedded technologies, and local measures for conservation. Traditional systems analysis methods have failed to account for distributed strategies. To adequately include distributed strategies, this thesis argues that assessment methods will need to be based on whole-system modelling, utilise end-use models of service provision, and include - in the form of a demand forecast - a time dimension in relation to service provision. This thesis proposes new methods for microbial risk assessment on a whole-system basis and Least cost planning for (urban water) Sustainable Scenarios (LeSS). A novel evaluation framework for least cost planning for water supply, which provides an equivalent comparison of demand- and supply-side options, is also developed. These methods are illustrated through case studies. These case studies illustrate the potential of distributed strategies. When assessed on an equivalent basis, in various examples, distributed strategies are shown to be particularly cost effective. Decentralised wastewater reuse systems are also shown to impose a theoretically lower level of pathogen risk on the community than equivalent centralised reuse schemes. Despite the advances in assessment methodologies made within the thesis, further development of practical tools for assessing and planning sustainable urban water remains an urgent goal.

Inflow and infiltration (I/I) water in the sewer network originates from groundwater, precipitation, seawater as well as over-leakage from drinking water pipes. It is the proportion of water in the sewer system that is not wastewater and causes problems both at the treatment plant as well as in the sewer network. Through overflows, floods and bypassing at the treatment plant I/I causes discharges of wastewater to recipients and nature and thus have negative environmental effects. I/I also stand for an overload in the system which, in addition to environmental consequences, also has social, economic and technical consequences. Despite efforts to reduce and mitigate the effects of I/I water for a long time, the problem remains and a large proportion of all the wastewater in the network and the treatment plan still is I/I.  Historically, and for many cases at present, there is little to no methodology for how the work with I/I water takes place and is prioritized in the municipalities and responsible water and sewerage organizations. Measures have instead been implemented with a reaction based approach, in other words when something has broken down or there is a failure in the system. A new discussion about I/I water has arisen in recent years due to new requirements from supervisory authorities. As there is not much follow-up or methodology around the work with I/I water, the process of developing a strategy to meet these new requirements for municipalities has shown to be difficult. In cases where analysis of measures against I/I water has been carried out, cost and effects in the treatment plant (i.e. the proportion of I/I water) have most often been used and dimensions other than economic have been left out of the analysis. As I/I water affects social and environmental factors to a great extent, this should be taken into greater account.  In this work, a multi-criterion analysis has been performed in a case study where similar measures to reduce I/I water and its effects in two different areas have been analysed. The included measures were separation, lining, pipe bursting and installation of a stormwater cassette. The results of the case study show that measure A2 has the greatest positive effect. However, there are major uncertainties in the case study conducted and the results are not considered to be robust enough to be used. However, what has been important to include from the work is that by defining and using criteria from all sustainability dimensions, a comprehensive action choice analysis is created and that it is a structured approach to apply. Here, the importance of opening up for discussion within the municipality/organization is emphasized to achieve a coherent view of the prioritization of I/I water and to achieve efficient management. Problems and amounts of I/I water are complex issues and vary from place to place, and are strongly linked to local geohydrological and climate conditions and design of local sewage systems. Therefore, it is important to coordinate the planning of I/I water to use a workflow that is general and can be used, regardless of conditions, in a simple way where adjustments in accordance with local conditions are possible. This work has shown that multi-criteria analysis is a clear and adaptable tool for meeting the difficulties that exist. / Tillskottsvatten härstammar från grundvatten, nederbörd samt havsvatten genom felaktiga anslutningar eller läckage i ledningsnätet samt från överläckage från dricksvattenledningar. Det är andelen av vatten i avloppsnätet som inte är spillvatten och orsakar, genom bräddning, översvämningar och förbiledning i reningsverket, utsläpp av avloppsvatten till recipienter och natur samt står för en överbelastning i systemet. Trots att man arbetat med att minska och lindra effekterna av tillskottsvatten under lång tid så kvarstår problemet och en stor andel av allt samlat vatten i ledningsnätet och som kommer till reningsverket är just tillskottsvatten.  Historiskt, samt för många fall i nuläget, så existerar det lite till ingen metodik kring hur arbetet med tillskottsvatten sker i kommunerna och ansvariga VA-organisationer utan åtgärder har implementerats på måfå eller när något har gått sönder. En ny diskussion kring tillskottsvatten har uppstått de senaste åren på grund av uppkomna nya kravställningar från tillsynsmyndigheter. I och med att det inte finns mycket uppföljning eller metodik kring arbetet med tillskottsvatten så har processen med att ta fram en strategi för att möta dessa nya krav för kommuner ofta varit svår. I de fall som analys av åtgärder mot tillskottsvatten har utförts så har kostnad och effekter i reningsverket (det vill säga andel mängd tillskottsvatten) oftast används och andra dimensioner än ekonomiska har lämnats utanför analysen. Då tillskottsvatten påverkar sociala samt miljömässiga faktorer i hög grad bör detta tas större hänsyn till.  I det här arbetet så har en multikriterieanalys utförts i en fallstudie där liknande åtgärder för att minska tillskottsvatten och dess effekter i olika områden har analyserats. De ingående åtgärderna var separering, infodring, rörspräckning samt anläggning av en dagvattenkassett. Resultatet av fallstudien visar att åtgärdsalternativ 2 har störst positiv effekt. Det finns dock stora osäkerheter i den fallstudie som utförts och resultatet anses inte vara tillräckligt robust för att användas. Det som dock har varit viktigt att ta med från arbetet är att genom att definiera och använda kriterier från alla hållbarhetsdimensioner skapas en heltäckande åtgärdsvalsanalys och att det är ett strukturerat arbetssätt att applicera. Här understryks vikten av att öppna upp för diskussion inom kommunen/organisationen för att nå en sammanhållen syn på prioriteringen av tillskottsvatten samt för att nå en effektiv hantering. Problem och mängder tillskottsvatten i olika ställen är komplext och starkt kopplat till lokala klimat och geohydrologiska förhållanden samt lokala avloppssystem. Därför är det viktigt för att samordna planeringen av tillskottsvatten att använda en arbetsgång som är generell och kan användas, oavsett förutsättningar, på ett enkelt sätt där justeringar i enlighet med lokala förutsättningar är möjligt. Det här arbetet har visat att multikriterieanalys är ett tydligt och anpassningsbart verktyg för att möta de svårigheter som finns.