Simulation and statistical quality control for water pollution abatement

Abstract

Increasing water pollution problems and increasing public demands for high quality water make it imperative that regional water quality systems be properly managed. To manage the stochastic nature of a regional water quality system, the reliability associated with the system goals had been modeled. A series of simulation programs describing the system management strategies was developed. The sensitivity analysis was performed to provide the decision makers with alternative' solutions subjected to changes in water quality requirements. The developed model was tested by evaluating the existing conditions in the San Antonio River Basin. Operating characteristics (0-C) curves were also developed for major wastewater treatment plants in the San Antonio area. The relationships between the quality of treated waste effluent quality and regional water system reliability was thus illustrated. Based on these O-C curves, the impact of each wastewater treatment plant on regional water quality was implicated.