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Laboratory Testing of Resilience Effects of Water Microgrids for Sustainable Water Supply

Author

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  • Binod Ale Magar

    (School of Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering, Southern Illinois University, 1230 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA)

  • Arif Hasnat

    (School of Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering, Southern Illinois University, 1230 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA)

  • Amirmahdi Ghanaatikashani

    (School of Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering, Southern Illinois University, 1230 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA)

  • Kriti Acharya

    (School of Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering, Southern Illinois University, 1230 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA)

  • Sangmin Shin

    (School of Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering, Southern Illinois University, 1230 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale, IL 62901, USA)

Abstract

Traditional centralized water systems are facing sustainability challenges due to climate and socioeconomic changes, extreme weather events, and aging infrastructure and their uncertainties. The energy sector has addressed similar challenges using the microgrid approach, which involves decentralized energy sources and their supply, improving system resilience and sustainable energy supply. This study investigated the resilience effects of water microgrids, which feature operational interactions between centralized and local systems for sustainable water supply. A lab-scale water distribution model was tested to demonstrate centralized, decentralized, and microgrid water systems under the disruption scenarios of pump shutdown, pump rate manipulation, and pipe leaks/bursts. The water microgrids integrate centralized and local systems’ operations, while the decentralized system operates independently. Then, functionality-based resilience and its attributes were evaluated for each disruption scenario. The results reveal that, overall, the microgrid configuration, with increased water supply redundancy and flexible operational adjustment based on system conditions, showed higher resilience, robustness, and recovery rate and a lower loss rate across disruption scenarios. The resilience effect of water microgrids was more evident with longer and more severe disruptions. Considering global challenges in water security under climate and socioeconomic changes, the findings suggest insights into a hybrid water system as a strategy to enhance resilience and water use efficiency and provide adaptive operations for sustainable water supply.

Suggested Citation

  • Binod Ale Magar & Arif Hasnat & Amirmahdi Ghanaatikashani & Kriti Acharya & Sangmin Shin, 2025. "Laboratory Testing of Resilience Effects of Water Microgrids for Sustainable Water Supply," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-19, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:8:p:3339-:d:1630917
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nancey Green Leigh & Heonyeong Lee, 2019. "Sustainable and Resilient Urban Water Systems: The Role of Decentralization and Planning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-17, February.
    2. Elizabeth Lawson & Raziyeh Farmani & Ewan Woodley & David Butler, 2020. "A Resilient and Sustainable Water Sector: Barriers to the Operationalisation of Resilience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-21, February.
    3. Sulman Shahzad & Muhammad Abbas Abbasi & Hassan Ali & Muhammad Iqbal & Rania Munir & Heybet Kilic, 2023. "Possibilities, Challenges, and Future Opportunities of Microgrids: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-28, April.
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    1. Arif Hasnat & Binod Ale Magar & Amirmahdi Ghanaatikashani & Kriti Acharya & Sangmin Shin, 2025. "Water Microgrids as a Hybrid Water Supply System: Review of Definitions, Research, and Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-37, September.

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