← System Models Environment
What are these models?
Models that simulate how pollutants move through water systems and affect quality — predicting whether water meets safety standards for drinking, bathing, or ecosystem health.
What are they used for?
- Assessing compliance with drinking water and bathing water standards
- Predicting pollution events from sewage overflows or spills
- Evaluating treatment plant performance
- Tracking long-term environmental trends
Typical inputs
- Pollutant concentrations (nutrients, metals, bacteria)
- Flow rates and dilution
- Temperature and dissolved oxygen
- Treatment process parameters
Typical outputs
- Water quality status and classification
- Compliance with regulatory standards
- Pollution risk forecasts
- Treatment optimisation recommendations
Tools & sources
Where these models are used
| Case Study | Tool / Model | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Flint Water Crisis | Lead and Copper Rule compliance models | Assesses lead contamination risk in distribution systems |
| Thames Tideway Tunnel | Thames water quality models | Tracks dissolved oxygen recovery from reduced CSO discharges |
| Barcelona Water Reuse Programme | Integrated urban water cycle models | Models reuse flows and water quality compliance |
| Murray–Darling Basin Plan | River system water quality models | Tracks salinity, nutrients, and ecological health |
Water • USA
Flint Water Crisis
Catastrophic governance failure when a city switched its drinking water source without proper corrosion control, causing lead contamination.
Water • UK
Thames Tideway Tunnel
A 25 km super sewer beneath London intercepting combined sewer overflows to dramatically reduce sewage pollution in the River Thames.
Water • Spain
Barcelona Water Reuse Programme
Integrated wastewater reuse programme providing drought resilience for a Mediterranean city facing increasing water scarcity.
Water • Australia
Murray–Darling Basin Plan
Landmark water reform balancing agricultural extraction with environmental flows across Australia’s largest river system.
Related use cases
Decisions these models support:
- Detect pollution events in waterways — Identify contamination of rivers, lakes, or coastal waters from sewage, industrial discharge, agr...
- Detect and report sewage overflows — Identify when combined sewer overflows (CSOs) discharge untreated sewage into rivers or coastal w...
- Treat wastewater for safe reuse — Take treated sewage effluent through additional advanced treatment to produce water safe for irri...
- Allocate water between competing users — Distribute available water fairly between agriculture, cities, industry, and the environment when...