Beyond Old Pipes and Ailing Budgets: Systems Thinking on Twenty-First Century Water Infrastructure in Chicago

Area of Science:

• Urban planning and environmental science
• Systems analysis and public utilities management
• Socio-environmental systems (SES) research

Background:

• Cities grapple with aging water infrastructure, facing challenges from contaminants, climate change, and demographic shifts.
• Deferred maintenance and evolving demands necessitate innovative approaches to urban water systems.
• Chicago's extensive water infrastructure, serving millions, exemplifies these complex, interconnected issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate complementary techniques for analyzing complex urban water socio-environmental systems (SES).
• To apply systems thinking and visual grammar (DSRP) to map and understand Chicago's water infrastructure.
• To evaluate water and financial flows over time and their relationship with broader urban conditions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a systems thinking method and distinctions, systems, relationships, and perspectives (DSRP) visual grammar.
• Mapped water and financial flows within Chicago's public utilities for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater management.
• Analyzed open data from 1995-2017 to track trends in water use, wastewater production, and service costs.

Main Results:

• Observed overall declines in water use and wastewater production.
• Documented an increase in the costs of water services, supporting infrastructure and other municipal functions.
• Interpreted trends through iterative refinement of DSRP maps, incorporating diverse socio-environmental factors.

Conclusions:

• Systems thinking is crucial for designing urban water system upgrades that address diverse socio-environmental concerns.
• Transparent and reproducible methods are needed to track outcomes and analyze differential user impacts.
• The applied methods can enhance understanding of urban water infrastructure issues in Chicago and other cities.