Aquesta tesi presenta un projecte de gestió integral d'infraestructures hidràuliques de sanejament a la Conca del riu Besòs. S'han considerat dos sistemes de sanejament (La Garriga i Granollers) amb les seves respectives xarxes de clavegueram i Estacions Depuradores d'Aigües Residuals (EDAR), i un tram del riu Congost, afluent del Besòs, com a medi receptor de les seves aigües residuals. Amb aquesta finalitat es construeix i s'utilitza un Sistema de Suport a la Decisió Ambiental (SSDA). Aquesta eina incorpora l'ús de models de simulació de qualitat de l'aigua pels sistemes de clavegueram, EDAR i riu, com a forma d'extracció de coneixement sobre la gestió integrada d'aquests elements. Aquest coneixement es conceptualitza, posteriorment, en forma d'arbres de decisió, que proporcionaran a l'usuari les actuacions a realitzar davant de les diferents situacions reals de gestió diària. / This thesis presents an integrated management project for hydraulic sanitation infrastructures at the basin of the River Besòs. Two sanitation systems were taken into account (La Garriga and Granollers) with their respective sewage systems and Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP), and one stretch of the River Congost, a tributary of the Besòs, as a receptor environment for their waste water. To this end, an Environmental Decision Support System (EDSS) was constructed and used. This tool incorporates the use of water quality simulation models for the sewage systems, WWTP and river as a means of obtaining knowledge about the integrated management of these elements. This knowledge is later conceptualised in the form of decision trees, which provide the user with the interventions to be carried out when faced with the various real situations which arise in day-to-day management.

Biological nutrient removal has been studied and applied for decades in order to remove nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater. However, more anthropogenic uses and the continued demand for water have forced the facilities to operate at their maximum capacity. Therefore, the goal of this thesis is to obtain more compact systems for nutrient removal from domestic wastewater. In this sense, optimization and long-term stabilization of high volume exchange ratios reactors, treating higher volumes of wastewater, have been investigated. With the same target, aerobic granular sludge was proposed as a reliable alternative to reduce space and increase loading rates in treatment plants. However, the low organic loading rate from low-strength influents (less than 1 Kg COD•m-3d-1) results in slower granular formation and a longer time to reach a steady state. Because of that, different methodologies and operational conditions were investigated in order to enhance granulation and nutrient removal from domestic wastewater. / L’estudi de l’eliminació biològica de nutrients s’ha dut a terme durant dècades. Tot i això, la influencia de l’home i l’augment de la demanda d’aigua han forçat a les instal•lacions a treballar a la seva capacitat màxima. Així, l’objectiu de la tesi és obtenir sistemes més compactes per a l’eliminació de nutrients de les aigües residuals. En aquest sentit, s’ha investigat l’optimització i estabilització de reactors amb alts volums d’intercanvi, tractant més aigua. Amb el mateix objectiu, el fang granular aeròbic va ser proposat com una alternativa fiable per tal de reduir l’espai i incrementar les càrregues de les depuradores. Tot i això, la granulació amb influents de baixa càrrega (menors a 1 Kg dQO•m-3d-1) resulta més lenta i més dificultosa alhora d’obtenir l’estat estacionari. Per aquesta raó es van investigar diferents metodologies i condicions d’operació per tal de millorar la granularció i l’eliminació de nutrients de les aigües urbanes.

Tesis por compendio / [ES] The pursuit of sustainable development in urban areas is crucial due to their significance as the primary human habitat and resource consumer. Rapid urbanization poses significant challenges for city management, necessitating actions to ensure sustainability and mitigate resource depletion. The conservation of water resources turns out to be an important focus, particularly in society's development due to the number of factors that depend on this resource. Water resources are essential for, serving critical roles in human health, agriculture, and industry, while also facilitating economic activities, cultural values, and climate regulation. In this context, the sustainability of water systems encompasses social, environmental, economic, and asset dimensions. Nevertheless, the accelerated social growth, exacerbates the strain on water supplies, necessitating measures to ensure sustainability. Key considerations include ensuring equitable access to water services, minimizing environmental impact, implementing cost-effective policies, and enhancing infrastructure resilience. Adopting sustainable practices encounters obstacles, particularly in data measurement and analysis, hindered by the complexities of emerging technologies. Addressing these challenges requires leveraging indicators to assess progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) quantitatively. Despite significant strides, evaluating progress toward SDGs remains a complex task, particularly in urban water systems. Consequently, ongoing efforts are essential to advance sustainable development initiatives and ensure the long-term viability of urban water resources. Even though the SDGs have motivated several projects to advance sustainable development. However, it is complex to determine the progress made in fulfilling these goals, especially in particular cases like urban water systems. The development of a framework to measure sustainability in urban water systems contributes to the decision- making process to optimize system performance across the entire water cycle. These decision-making processes are crucial for various stakeholders, including governmental entities, the general population, and, of course, water resource managers. Considering the above, the main objective of this doctoral thesis consists of the development of a methodology to measure and categorize hydraulic systems according to their contribution to sustainability from their three dimensions. The methodology is based on the implementation of a series of indicators linked to each of the goals of the Sustainable Development Goals established by the UN. In this way and as a result of this work, it will be possible to categorize any type of urban water system with labels that indicate the level of contribution to achieving the SDGs and highlight the importance of water resources in meeting the SDGs. Also, another objective of the methodology's implementation is to validate by assessing the progress of the indicators if it is sufficient, or if acceleration and additional measures are required. This will serve as a benchmarking tool, as a support point for decision-making by the different actors involved in hydraulic management, thus achieving more sustainable water management. To achieve this objective, the doctoral thesis has been developed in three phases, the results of which have been published in 3 articles in indexed journals (JCR). The phases of work development are as follows: (i) Contextualization and development of the methodology (Publication I): an investigation was carried out on the concept of sustainability and what it encompassed, as well as the definition of the goals, their progress, and indicators currently used by both the UN and other entities for the evaluation of these. To complement this, case studies of urban hydraulic systems in which sustainability was evaluated were reviewed. Based on the information collected and as a result of the research, the evaluation methodolo / [CA] La cerca del desenvolupament sostenible en les zones urbanes és crucial a causa de la seua importància com a principal hàbitat humà i consumidor de recursos. La ràpida urbanització planteja desafiaments importants per a la gestió de la ciutat, la qual cosa requerix accions per a garantir la sostenibilitat i mitigar l'esgotament dels recursos. La conservació del recurs hídric resulta ser un focus important, particularment en el desenvolupament de la societat a causa de la quantitat de factors que depenen d'este recurs. Els recursos hídrics són essencials per a exercir funcions crítiques en la salut humana, l'agricultura i la indústria, al mateix temps que faciliten les activitats econòmiques, els valors culturals i la regulació del clima. En este context, la sostenibilitat dels sistemes hídrics abasta dimensions socials, ambientals, econòmiques i d'actius. No obstant això, el creixement social accelerat exacerba la pressió sobre el subministrament d'aigua, la qual cosa requerix mesures per a garantir la sostenibilitat. Les consideracions clau en este assumpte inclouen garantir l'accés equitatiu als servicis d'aigua, minimitzar l'impacte ambiental, implementar polítiques rendibles i millorar la resiliència de la infraestructura. L'adopció de pràctiques sostenibles troba obstacles, particularment en el mesurament i anàlisi de dades, obstaculitzats per les complexitats de les tecnologies emergents. Per a abordar estos desafiaments és necessari aprofitar els indicadors per a avaluar quantitativament el progrés cap als Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible (*ODS). Malgrat els importants avanços, avaluar el progrés cap als *ODS continua sent una tasca complexa, particularment en els sistemes d'aigua urbans. En conseqüència, els esforços continus són essencials per a promoure iniciatives de desenvolupament sostenible i garantir la viabilitat a llarg termini dels recursos hídrics urbans. Encara que els *ODS han motivat diversos projectes per a avançar en el desenvolupament sostenible. No obstant això, és complex determinar els avanços en el compliment d'estes metes, especialment en casos particulars com els sistemes d'aigua urbans. El desenvolupament d'un marc per a mesurar la sostenibilitat en els sistemes d'aigua urbans contribuïx al procés de presa de decisions per a optimitzar el rendiment del sistema al llarg de tot el cicle de l'aigua. Estos processos de presa de decisions són crucials per a diverses parts interessades, incloses entitats governamentals, la població en general i, per descomptat, els administradors de recursos hídrics. Considerant l'anterior, l'objectiu principal d'esta tesi doctoral consistix en el desenvolupament d'una metodologia per a mesurar i categoritzar els sistemes hidràulics segons la seua contribució a la sostenibilitat des de les seues tres dimensions. La metodologia es basa en la implementació d'una sèrie d'indicadors vinculats a cadascuna de les metes dels Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible establits per l'ONU. D'esta manera i com a resultat d'este treball, serà possible categoritzar qualsevol tipus de sistema d'aigua urbà amb etiquetes que indiquen el nivell de contribució a l'assoliment dels *ODS i ressalten la importància dels recursos hídrics en el compliment dels *ODS. Així mateix, un altre objectiu de la implementació de la metodologia és validar avaluant l'avanç dels indicadors si és suficient, o si es requerix acceleració i mesures addicionals. Això servirà com a ferramenta de benchmarking, com a punt de suport per a la presa de decisions dels diferents actors implicats en la gestió hidràulica, aconseguint així una gestió més sostenible de l'aigua. Per a aconseguir este objectiu, la tesi doctoral s'ha desenvolupat en tres fases, els resultats de les quals s'han publicat en 3 articles en revistes indexades (*JCR). Les fases del desenvolupament del treball són les següents: (i) Contextualització i desenvolupament de la metodologia (Publicació I): es va realitzar una investigació sobre e / [EN] The pursuit of sustainable development in urban areas is crucial due to their significance as the primary human habitat and resource consumer. Rapid urbanization poses significant challenges for city management, necessitating actions to ensure sustainability and mitigate resource depletion. The conservation of water resources turns out to be an important focus, particularly in society's development due to the number of factors that depend on this resource. Water resources are essential for, serving critical roles in human health, agriculture, and industry, while also facilitating economic activities, cultural values, and climate regulation. In this context, the sustainability of water systems encompasses social, environmental, economic, and asset dimensions. Nevertheless, the accelerated social growth, exacerbates the strain on water supplies, necessitating measures to ensure sustainability. Key considerations include ensuring equitable access to water services, minimizing environmental impact, implementing cost-effective policies, and enhancing infrastructure resilience. Adopting sustainable practices encounters obstacles, particularly in data measurement and analysis, hindered by the complexities of emerging technologies. Addressing these challenges requires leveraging indicators to assess progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) quantitatively. Despite significant strides, evaluating progress toward SDGs remains a complex task, particularly in urban water systems. Consequently, ongoing efforts are essential to advance sustainable development initiatives and ensure the long-term viability of urban water resources. Even though the SDGs have motivated several projects to advance sustainable development. However, it is complex to determine the progress made in fulfilling these goals, especially in particular cases like urban water systems. The development of a framework to measure sustainability in urban water systems contributes to the decision- making process to optimize system performance across the entire water cycle. These decision-making processes are crucial for various stakeholders, including governmental entities, the general population, and, of course, water resource managers. Considering the above, the main objective of this doctoral thesis consists of the development of a methodology to measure and categorize hydraulic systems according to their contribution to sustainability from their three dimensions. The methodology is based on the implementation of a series of indicators linked to each of the goals of the Sustainable Development Goals established by the UN. In this way and as a result of this work, it will be possible to categorize any type of urban water system with labels that indicate the level of contribution to achieving the SDGs and highlight the importance of water resources in meeting the SDGs. Also, another objective of the methodology's implementation is to validate by assessing the progress of the indicators if it is sufficient, or if acceleration and additional measures are required. This will serve as a benchmarking tool, as a support point for decision-making by the different actors involved in hydraulic management, thus achieving more sustainable water management. To achieve this objective, the doctoral thesis has been developed in three phases, the results of which have been published in 3 articles in indexed journals (JCR). The phases of work development are as follows: (i) Contextualization and development of the methodology (Publication I): an investigation was carried out on the concept of sustainability and what it encompassed, as well as the definition of the goals, their progress, and indicators currently used by both the UN and other entities for the evaluation of these. To complement this, case studies of urban hydraulic systems in which sustainability was evaluated were reviewed. Based on the information collected and as a result of the research, the evaluation methodolo / Garcia Rodriguez, CA. (2024). Development of a Methodology to Characterize Sustainability in Hidraulic Systems by Applying Indicators that Evaluate Goals Contained in the Sustainable Development Goals [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/213236 / Compendio