Greenhouse gas emission estimations for Depok’s (West Java, Indonesia) middle-class household water end-uses

Abstract

The rising concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) is highly associated with climate change. Previous studies showed that end-use household water consumption contributes 58% of the total GHG emissions from the water sector. We attempted to calculate the GHG emissions associated with household water end-uses from an area that uses groundwater as the main water source. Data were collected from 100 households in the Cinere subdistrict of Depok, West Java. Questionnaire surveys and interviews were conducted to obtain data related to each type of water end-use consumption and energy consumption from water appliance usage. Existing GHG emissions were calculated based on the water and energy consumption data. The results showed that the average end-use household water consumption for the study area was 214.3 liters per capita per day. The GHG emission associated with household water end-uses was found to be 0.379 kg CO2 per capita per day and mainly resulted from water heating. Two intervention scenarios to minimize GHG emissions were evaluated. The first scenario—retrofitting water-related appliances and exhibiting water-conscious behavior—could reduce GHG emissions by 1%, whereas the second scenario—replacing electric and gas water heaters to solar water heaters—could reduce emissions by 66%.