Redesigning the Water Distribution System in Low-Income Areas: A Socially Oriented Supply Chain Model for Pamplona Alta

Abstract

While in some districts having drinking water is a given reality, there are others where there is a lack of access to this resource. Unfortunately, even today, 10.2% of the world population lives this situation and it could be worse in the coming years, according to UNICEF. Inhabitants in Pamplona Alta at southern Lima, Peru, daily suffer this harsh reality. This social challenge study attempts to define a methodology for an effective logistic planning of water distribution in Torres Minas. Currently, they obtain it from unsanitary and informal vendors. This chapter provides the basis of a new layout of the water distribution network based on clusters to efficiently satisfy water demand. Specifically, we propose the use of orderly delivery points called “bus-stops of water” in a two-echelon distribution system, whose optimization relies on a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) technique. The objective of these guidelines is minimizing the transactional and transportation cost, while increasing the bargaining power of the community. Results showed a reduction of 52.67% and 26% in transactional and transportation costs, respectively, and a reduction of the associated risks of shortage and contamination of a tight delivery of water. Moreover, we foster the application of this methodology in other similar situations to produce sustainable growth for human settlements; regardless, there is a lack of access to water or a steep geography.

Citation

Mauricio, R.-O., María-de-León, J. and María, F.F. (2018), "Redesigning the Water Distribution System in Low-Income Areas: A Socially Oriented Supply Chain Model for Pamplona Alta", Yoshizaki, H.T.Y., Velázquez Martínez, J.C. and Argueta, C.M. (Ed.) Supply Chain Management and Logistics in Latin America, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 111-129. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78756-803-720181008