Abstract
Water is one of the primary resources provided for maintaining quality of life and social status in urban areas. As potable water is considered to be a primary need, water service has usually been managed without examining the economic and environmental sustainability of supply processes. Currently, due to increases in energy costs and the growth of environment preservation policies, reducing water leakage, energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) production have become primary objectives in reducing the environmental footprint of water service. The present paper suggests the implementation of some performance indicators that show the interdependence of water loss, energy consumption and GHG emission. These indicators are used to compare a few possible mitigation scenarios involving water loss reduction and increasing the system’s energy efficiency. The proposed indicators were applied to a complex urban water supply system serving the city of Palermo (Italy).
Highlights
Energy is one of the main concerns for water utilities; it is necessary from water extraction to its disposal
Some performance indicators were considered in the present study that are relevant to leakage estimation, energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) production
The situation of the Palermo water supply system can be optimized by recovering pressure energy or reducing water leakages that produce energy and economic losses
Summary
Energy is one of the main concerns for water utilities; it is necessary from water extraction to its disposal. There are two main contributions to the operational cost of a water supply system: the cost of pumping energy and the cost of preparing the water for use The former is recognized as having a significant influence and even a small overall increase in efficiency may result in significant cost savings [3,4,5]. The latter is strictly linked to water quality; costs can increase when freshwater resources are not available and desalination is considered as an alternative [6]. As reported by Nogueira Vilanova and Perrella Balestieri [7], the energy intensity, expressed as the energy used for one cubic meter of water, can vary from 0.25 to 4.5 kWh/m3 depending on the source type (i.e., surface or groundwater), not including the desalination process, for which the energy intensity can be up to 15 kWh/m3
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