Effect of Non-Revenue Water Reduction in the Life Cycle of Water–Energy Nexus: A Case Study in India

Abstract

In developing countries due to improper management of water supply systems, a bulk of treated water is lost during transmission or is unmetered. This unaccounted water is termed as non-revenue water due to which, an additional amount of water is supplied by the authorities adding to more energy and environmental burdens. The municipal corporations are attempting to reduce non-revenue water to make water supply systems sustainable. This study quantifies the water and energy nexus in the municipalities of the Pune Metropolitan Region and evaluates the change in environmental impacts when the non-revenue water is reduced. Environmental impacts of two scenarios vis-a-vis, business as usual (BAU) and government established targets (GET) were evaluated through life cycle assessment approach using GaBi software. The environmental impact categories for scenarios were global warming, acidification, photochemical ozone creation and eutrophication. Results showed the average energy intensity for the treatment and supply of water in Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation was 0.29 kWh/m3. The global warming potential ranged between 90 million kg-CO2e in year 2017 to 160 million kg-CO2e in year 2047 for BAU scenario and dominated the environmental impacts. After controlling non-revenue water to 15%, it was possible to reduce 24% of environmental burdens from water supply systems. This study represents the case of a metropolitan region in India and depicts the advantages of non-revenue water reduction in terms of environmental benefits in water supply systems.