Discover the Editor’s Choice: from each issue of leading journal, Water Science & Technology, the Core Team of Editors will select one outstanding paper to make Open Access and share across IWA Publishing platforms.
IWA Publishing is pleased to announce that the 9th Editor's Choice paper, selected by Karsten Arnbjerg-Nielsen, is now Open Access (CC BY NC-ND):
Study of the spatiotemporal correlation between sediment-related blockage events in the sewer system in Bogotá (Colombia)
Eliana Soriano Pulido, Carlos Valencia Arboleda, Juan Pablo Rodríguez Sánchez
Water Science & Technology, May 2019; 79 (9): 1727–1738 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2019.172
Why was this paper selected as the Editor's Choice?
"For the issue 79(9) I have picked a paper from Columbia using statistical methods on data obtained from O&M of sewer systems. There is a surprisingly low amount of research on improved methods for constructing and maintaining conventional sewer systems considering the difficulties in obtaining the needed capital and running costs. Further, the data – if collected – are often treated by simple linear regression models that only rarely are suited to reveal the complex and non-linear behaviour of such systems. The analysis by Pulido et al shows the value of making a more thorough analysis using state-of-the-art statistical methods. The outcome is maps that clearly show which areas of the city have a higher risk of clogging. This information is probably already known by the people responsible for the maintenance. However, the statistical model suggests why these risks differ and also show the complex interaction between annual variations and spatial characteristics, obtaining a predictive power of where cloggings will occur in the near future that helps establish preventive maintenance. Further the statistical model is explained in a very pedagogical way, showing statisticians how the model has been set up, but still by minimizing equations and focussing on the choices and results that are obtained. There are many other problems within urban water management that exhibit similar spatio-temporal characteristics and hence I encourage others to explore such models to better understand the characteristics of such processes."
Karsten Arnbjerg-Nielsen, Editor
