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Estimating the carbon footprint of the municipal water cycle
Author(s) -
Bakhshi Ali A.,
Demonsabert Sharon M.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.5942/jawwa.2012.104.0064
Subject(s) - greenhouse gas , carbon footprint , embodied energy , environmental science , water use , sustainability , wastewater , environmental engineering , water energy nexus , footprint , environmental economics , efficient energy use , energy consumption , water resource management , engineering , geography , ecology , physics , electrical engineering , nexus (standard) , economics , biology , embedded system , thermodynamics , archaeology
This research investigated the embodied energy associated with municipal water use. The feasibility of using a geographic information system model as a framework for sustainability planning was evaluated using data from Loudoun County, Va. The model spatially displays the embodied energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with municipal water and wastewater service. The embodied energy associated with water service depends on the topographic characteristics of the municipality, the efficiency of the water and wastewater treatment systems, and the efficiency of the pumping stations. GHG emissions varied with the embodied‐energy and energy‐generation characteristics of the power company. Within the study area, the embodied energy associated with customer water use ranged from 4.4 to 7.2 MW·h/mil gal. Customer carbon footprints ranged from 0.01 to 17.93 tons of carbon dioxide per year. The results of this study contribute to the development of a standardized approach for estimating the GHG impact of the municipal water cycle.