ECAM empowers water and wastewater utility operators to assess their greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption.
- Perfect for climate reporting needs
- Overview of system-wide greenhouse gas emissions
- IPCC-2019 compliant and open source
IWA Search Theme: Climate Mitigation
ECAM Methodology Guide
This document provides a detailed explanation on the theoretical background of the third version of the web-based “Energy performance and Carbon Emissions Assessment and Monitoring” (ECAM v3.0) tool. The main assumptions and the key considerations that form the basis of the tool are explained. An overview of variables, performance indicators and related equations, as well as benchmark values and references are given. Additionally, the manual helps users with evaluating different scenarios for specific system configurations.
ECAM User Manual
The User Manual was developed as an instrument to support the use of the ECAM tool (Energy Performance and Carbon Emissions Assessment and Monitoring). It can help users to estimate greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions from the Urban Water Sector activities. This document is intended to be practical, accessible and “straight to the point”. To understand the conceptual framework of the ECAM tool, the user can consult the additional document “Methodology Guide”.
White paper: Net Zero. The race we all win (Xylem)
The race to net-zero emissions is on. Since the Paris Agreement of 2016, more than 70 countries, accounting for 76 percent of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, have pledged to meet ambitious net-zero goals. Most have committed to a 45 percent cut in GHG emissions by 2030, and net zero by 2050. That’s a challenge for water utilities. Water and wastewater infrastructure is a major GHG contributor – making up approximately 2% of global GHG emissions, on par with the global shipping industry. Utilities are not just required to deliver on financial metrics. They must also meet their communities’ need for safe, affordable water and sanitation, and comply with regulatory requirements. Those imperatives don’t pause for emissions reduction. And they don’t have to. Utilities can reduce emissions quickly and affordably. With the right approaches and proven technologies, net zero is possible
Reducing the Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Water and Sanitation Services:
This report approaches the question from the angle of energy use in the water sector rather than the better-known water requirements for the energy sector. The report also aims to provide an overview of possible levers to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of water and sanitation services and provides an analysis of how adaptation measures can embrace this low-carbon approach.
RESEARCH REPORT Beyond zero carbon: the bigger picture for transformation and adaptation ahead of utilities
Anglian Water 2030 strategy
For many years we have been at the forefront of carbon reduction in the water industry. With a committed leadership and a determined supply chain, by 2020 we had reduced capital carbon by 61 per cent in our capital programmes from our original 2010 baseline and reduced operational emissions by 34 per cent from a new baseline set in 2014/2015. We are also supporting system-wide decarbonisation in the region, for example by exporting waste heat to warm tomato greenhouses in our region year-round – something we are looking to repeat at other sites
Water in a changing climate: Reducing risks, leveraging opportunities and enhancing resilience
Resilience is a journey, not a destination. As the climate has changed, so too have the approaches needed to understand and proactively address associated risks and opportunities. Utilities, governments and corporations across all sectors are realizing that looking to the past is no longer sufficient to plan for our future in a changing climate.
Full-Scale Evaluation of Conventional Activated Sludge and MABR N2O emissions
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 265 times stronger than carbon dioxide on a 100-year time horizon (Eickemeier et al., 2014) and therefore, even emitted in small amounts, it can contribute significantly to global warming. In addition, nitrous
oxide is acknowledged as an important threat to the ozone layer (Ravishankara et al., 2009). N2O is an undesired bioproduct emitted during the biological nitrogen removal process in wastewater treatment systems and despite the recent efforts in understanding nitrous oxide
emissions from wastewater treatment, data from full-scale plants is still scarce.
Greenhouse Nitrogen Emissions from Wastewater Treatment Operation: Phase I: MOLECULAR LEVEL THROUGH WHOLE REACTOR LEVEL CHARACTERIZATION
Engineered biological nutrient removal (BNR) processes have been identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as potential contributors to atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. This is a significant concern to wastewater utilities because the greenhouse impact of nitrous oxide emissions on a mass equivalent basis is 300 times that of carbon dioxide. This study differs from other studies in that it characterizes the microbial pathways for N2O formation in addition to measurement of emission rates from several BNR and non-BNR plants across the U.S. As the production and emission pathways are understood, operational strategies to minimize N2O emissions appear highly likely.