Abstract
As freshwater is a vital yet often scarce resource, the life cycle assessment community has put great efforts in method development to properly address water use. The International Organization for Standardization has recently even launched a project aiming at creating an international standard for ‘water footprinting’. This paper provides an overview of a broad range of methods developed to enable accounting and impact assessment of water use. The critical review revealed that methodological scopes differ regarding types of water use accounted for, inclusion of local water scarcity, as well as differentiation between watercourses and quality aspects. As the application of the most advanced methods requires high resolution inventory data, the trade-off between ‘precision’ and ‘applicability’ needs to be addressed in future studies and in the new international standard.
Highlights
With the exception of the methods virtual water [10] and water footprint according to Hoekstra [11], most methods have been developed to support life cycle inventory (LCI) and life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) modeling within Life cycle assessment (LCA)
It is surprising that life cycle assessment—a tool to promote sustainable decision making—accounts for lots of environmental interventions, but so far often neglects water use
The International Organization for Standardization has recently even launched a project aiming at creating an international standard for water assessment in life cycle assessment
Summary
Freshwater is a precious resource on our planet. It is crucial to sustain life and cannot be replaced by any other substance. Freshwater is scarce in some regions, countries, or even continents, Sustainability 2010, 2 leading to manifold problems. With regard to human health, this can include for instance malnutrition due to lack of agricultural irrigation water. Such problems are relevant for about a third of the world‘s population who are threatened by a lack of water to meet daily needs [1]. Water scarcity can affect biodiversity, as sensitive species might not be able to cope with reduced freshwater availability. Freshwater needs to be managed properly in order to achieve the United
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