The Arrudas biogas project offers a valuable example of a well-functioning energy recovery project that embraces the principals of low-carbon sustainability within municipal wastewater treatment operations. Since the project came on-line in 2011 it has avoided over 6,000 tons of CO2e, emissions that would have otherwise been emitted directly to the atmosphere.
IWA Search Theme: Climate Change
Case Study: Aguas de Cartagena, Colombia – An Example of a Water Utility Transformation to a Low Carbon Low Energy Future
In Colombia, with the new SDG agenda, utilities are starting to understand the importance to become more efficient in their operation, not only because of the costs, but also due to the impact that their systems have in the environment. The example of Aguas de Cartagena showcased the effort of a water utility to increase its efficiency, with the optimization of the pumping system it was possible to reduce the energy consumption (and energy costs) in the water supply system, and consequently a reduce the GHG emissions.
A potential solution to reduce the pharmaceutical contamination of surface water with the ultimate objective of GHGs emission reduction
The removal or degradation of pharmaceutical compounds present in the urine or other real wastewater matrices mixed or contaminated with urine is a foremost necessity due to the frequent notifications of various multi-drug resistance based disease outbreaks in whole biosphere. Thus, these compounds are subsequently required to be removed from the urine matrix before their dissolution into the bulk or sewage wastewater streams. Therefore, urine collection at source followed by in-situ or separate ex-situ treatment has been proposed to effectively treat a limited volume of concentrated pharmaceutical compounds present in a small batch. The additional benefit of this source separated urine treatment is the possibility of efficiently recovering nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium based nutrients.
Sewer sludge cleaning and subsequent sludge sediments recycling reuse: A case study in PR China
The treatment and disposal of sludge sediments come from sewer cleaning process is the key for carbon neutrality of the whole system. This means that the sludge sediments should be recycled and beneficial reused rather than directly incineration, landfill or even laissez-faire. nevertheless, besides the environmental impacts of carbon footprint mitigation, relevant co-conflicting issues may include engineering cost, public perception, socio-economic, rules/regulations, and managerial aspects of cleaning process. They all receive excessive consideration from government authorities and stakeholders.
Estudio de Caso – Perú
Planificación local, impacto global – Como las Empresas de Agua y Saneamiento del Perú enfrentan el Cambio Climático
¿Cómo asegurar la prestación de los servicios de agua y saneamiento en un contexto de cambio climático? Los Planes de Mitigación y Adaptación al Cambio Climático (PMACC) son una herramienta para abordar este desafío. Permiten identificar las principales fuentes de emisiones de carbono y los mayores riesgos asociados al clima a lo largo del ciclo urbano del agua; así como las oportunidades de las empresas prestadoras de servicios de agua y saneamiento (EPS) para impulsar un cambio positivo hacia la neutralidad y adaptación climática. Siguiendo una metodología estandarizada y con la ayuda de herramientas virtuales, el proceso de planificación es más rápido y genera un reporte para informar a los tomadores de decisión. Gracias a esta buena planificación, algunas empresas del Perú han empezado a buscar soluciones prácticas para reducir sus emisiones de carbono, como es el caso de las empresas de agua de Cusco y Ayacucho. La iniciativa PMACC fue desarrollada e implementada en colaboración entre WaCCliM (responsable de la parte de mitigación) y PROAGUA II.
Case Study – Peru
Planning locally, impacting globally – How Water and Wastewater Utilities in Peru are Facing Climate Change
How to ensure water and sanitation services delivery under a climate change context? The climate change mitigation and adaptation plans (PMACC; Planes de Mitigación y Adaptación al Cambio Climático) are tools to address this challenge. PMACC identify main carbon emissions sources and higher climate risks throughout the urban water cycle, along with water utilities’ opportunities to boost a positive change towards climate neutrality and adaptation. Following a standardised methodology and supported by web-based tools, the planning process becomes quicker and generates a report to informing decision-makers. This planning approach enabled some water utilities in Peru to start searching for practical carbon emissions reduction solutions, such as water utilities in Cusco and Ayacucho. The PMACC initiative was developed and implemented collaboratively between WaCCliM (responsible for mitigation) and PROAGUA II.
Hoja de Ruta Hacia una Empresa de Agua y Saneamiento Urbano con Bajas Emisiones de Carbono
La Hoja de Ruta Hacia una Empresa de Agua y Saneamiento Urbano con Bajas Emisiones de Carbono ofrece a los gestores de empresas de agua y saneamiento un enfoque para dar respuesta a las dificultades más apremiantes a las que se enfrentan, al tiempo que reducen las emisiones de carbono con medidas que, o bien generan un rendimiento de la inversión mediante el ahorro de energía o agua, o bien se corresponden con inversiones previstas como parte del plan de gestión de activos destinado a mantener o mejorar sus servicios. Las empresas de agua y saneamiento que adoptan este enfoque contribuyen a un futuro neutro en carbono pues promueven un cambio de mentalidad, no solo en la gestión de los recursos hídricos urbanos, sino también inspirando a las demás empresas de las ciudades al compartir los riesgos y la urgencia de actuar para evitar que se agraven los efectos del cambio climático, de los que las empresas de agua y saneamiento son unas de las primeras víctimas: escasez, inundaciones y deterioro de la calidad del agua. (Roadmap in Spanish)
How Chiang Mai’s Wastewater Utility is building Capacity on sustainable and innovative Solutions to reduce its Carbon Footprint
In the city of Chiang Mai, the WaCCliM project supports the Wastewater Management
Authority (WMA) in assessing opportunities to reduce its carbon footprint. A baseline
study identified the leaks of untreated wastewater, caused by fractured pipes in the
wastewater collection system, as the main source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
in Chiang Mai. A large amount of untreated wastewater is flowing directly into the
public canal. Because of this, the city is producing significant amounts of methane
(CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), both gases with a larger global warming potential than
carbon dioxide (CO2). The emissions from direct discharge of untreated wastewater
account for 579,900 kg CO2 per year in the city.
The cooperation between WaCCliM and the WMA in Thailand has raised the
local awareness for the challenges in the wastewater sector and the need for
improvements in the urban water management in order to achieve resilient water
utilities. Therefore, knowledge transfer and capacity building are necessary for longterm
success and continuous progress.
A model-based approach for reducing energy consumption and GHG emissions of drinking water transmission systems: a WaCCliM Project Case Study
The Water and Wastewater Companies for Climate Mitigation (WaCCliM) project aims to improve the efficiency of water and wastewater companies in Mexico, Peru, Thailand, and Jordan, reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and improve the carbon balance of the water sector, while maintaining and/or improving service levels. As part of the project, hydraulic modelling software was used to simulate the Cusco, Peru drinking water transmission system and evaluate various scenarios (water loss reduction, pump replacement, and system reconfiguration) and their energy impacts. Results showed the transmission system’s pumping energy could be reduced up to 40 percent depending on the scenario. A holistic view on the total urban water cycle has also helped to identify that a combined effort to conserve water at the end user level, reduce water loss, reuse water, and rainwater harvesting will ultimately make the biggest impact on the transmission system’s energy consumption and GHG emissions, and lead to the most sustainable and resilient urban water management for SEDACUSCO and the City. This study has also demonstrated that water distribution system models can play an invaluable role in water utility climate change mitigation and adaptation planning.
East Asia and Pacific Wastewater to Energy Processes: a Technical Note for Utility Managers in EAP countries
The objective of this technical note is to inform utility managers and technical decision makers in East Asian countries about appropriate technologies available for wastewater treatment with energy recovery processes.