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Comparative Assessment of Environmental Sustainability for Different Water Distribution Networks
Rabah, Abdallah
Rabah, Abdallah
Date
2025-12
Author
Advisor
Type
Thesis
Degree
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35.232-2025.55a Abdallah Rabah.pdf
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Description
A Master of Science thesis in Construction Management by Abdallah Rabah entitled, “Comparative Assessment of Environmental Sustainability for Different Water Distribution Networks”, submitted in December 2025. Thesis advisor is Dr. Maruf Mortula and thesis co-advisor is Dr. Tariq Ali. Soft copy is available (Thesis, Completion Certificate, Approval Signatures, and AUS Archives Consent Form).
Abstract
This research develops and enhances the Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) model to evaluate and compare the sustainability of Water Distribution Networks (WDNs) across five District Metered Areas (DMAs) in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates namely, Al Barashi, Al Rahmaniya, Maysaloon, Al Naserya, and Al Qiddisya. The model integrates Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to assess and quantify the environmental impacts through seven parameters: Global Warming Potential (GWP), Ozone Layer Depletion (OLD), Air Pollution, Water Pollution, Cumulative Energy Demand (CED), Acidification Potential (AP), and Eutrophication Potential (EP). Using ArcGIS, spatial data including pipe lengths, diameters, and pipe materials were extracted to calculate the total mass of each DMA network. The LCA was performed in SimaPro using the Ecoinvent database, covering four life-cycle phases, Material Extraction, Manufacturing, Transportation, and Disposal. The total impact of each environmental parameter obtained from SimaPro was then normalized and subsequently multiplied by its respective relative weight derived from literature. Finally, the weighted normalized values of all seven parameters were summed to obtain the Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) value for each DMA. The Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) results were 84.74 for Al Barashi, 85.45 for Al Rahmaniya, 85.18 for Maysaloon, 85.22 for Al Naserya, and 85.19 for Al Qiddisya. The minimal variation among these values indicates that the five District Metered Areas (DMAs) share similar material compositions, predominantly consisting of Asbestos Cement (AC) pipes, which account for nearly 89% of the total network mass in all the five DMAs. To interpret the ESI outcomes within a broader sustainability context, the BREEAM International Rating System was adopted as a contextual benchmark rather than a formal certification. Based on this comparison, four DMAs (Al Barashi, Maysaloon, Al Naserya, and Al Qiddisya) were aligned with the “Excellent” category, while Al Rahmaniya achieved an “Outstanding” level. These results reflect relative performance within the study’s defined scope.