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WATER TRANSFORMED: SUSTAINABLE WATER SOLUTIONS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION MODULE B: ADAPTING TO CHANGES IN WATER AVAILABILITY - INDUSTRIAL & COMMERCIAL SECTORS This online textbook provides free access to a comprehensive education and training package that brings together the knowledge of how countries, specifically Australia, can adapt to climate change. This resource has been developed formally as part of the Federal Government’s Department of Climate Change’s Climate Change Adaptation Professional Skills program. CHAPTER 2: THE FUNDAMENTALS OF MEASURING WATER USAGE, IDENTIFYING WATER SAVINGS, AND RECYCLING & WATER COLLECTION/STORAGE OPPORTUNITIES LECTURE 2.1: THE ECONOMIC CASE FOR SUSTAINABLE WATER SOLUTIONS © The Natural Edge Project (‘TNEP’), 2009 Copyright of this material (Work) is owned by the members of the research team from The Natural Edge Project, based at Griffith University and the Australian National University. The material contained in this document is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. According to the License, this document may be copied, distributed, transmitted and adapted by others, providing the work is properly attributed as: ‘Smith, M., Hargroves, K., Desha, C. and Stasinopoulos, P. (2009) Water Transformed - Australia: Sustainable Water Solutions for Climate Change Adaptation, The Natural Edge Project (TNEP), Australia.’ Document is available electronically at http://www.naturaledgeproject.net/Sustainable_Water_Solutions_Portfolio.aspx. Disclaimer: While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this publication are factually correct, the parties involved in the development of this document do not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents. Information, recommendations and opinions expressed herein are not intended to address the specific circumstances of any particular individual or entity and should not be relied upon for personal, legal, financial or other decisions. The user must make its own assessment of the suitability of the information or material contained herein for its use. To the extent permitted by law, the parties involved in the development of this document exclude all liability to any other party for expenses, losses, damages and costs (whether losses were foreseen, foreseeable, known or otherwise) arising directly or indirectly from using this document. This document is produced for general information only and does not represent a statement of the policy of the Commonwealth of Australia. The Commonwealth of Australia and all persons acting for the Commonwealth preparing this report accept no liability for the accuracy of or inferences from the material contained in this publication, or for any action as a result of any person’s or group’s interpretations, deductions, conclusions or actions in relying on this material. Acknowledgements The Work was produced by The Natural Edge Project supported by funding from the Australian Government Department of Climate Change under its ‘Climate Change Adaptation Skills for Professionals Program’. The development of this publication has been supported by the contribution of non-salary on-costs and administrative support by the Griffith University Urban Research Program, under the supervision of Professor Brendan Gleeson, and the Australian National University Fenner School of Environment and Society and Engineering Department, under the supervision of Professor Stephen Dovers. Chief Investigator and Project Manager: Karlson ‘Charlie’ Hargroves, Research Fellow, Griffith University. Principle Researchers: Dr Michael Smith, Research Fellow, ANU; Cheryl Desha, Research Intensive Lecturer, Griffith University, and Peter Stasinopoulos, Research Officer Griffith University. Research Support: Angie Reeves, Research Officer Griffith University, and Stacey Hargroves, Professional Editor, Griffith University. Peer Review This chapter was peer reviewed by Alison Scotland; ILEP Project Officer, Every Drop Counts Business Program, Sydney Water Corporation, Anntonette Joseph, Director, Urban Water Efficiency Initiatives, Commonwealth Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and The Arts; Nick Edgerton, AMP Capital Sustainable Share Fund (formerly the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney, Australia);. Cheryl Davis, International Water Association and San Francisco Water Utilities Commission, Adj. Prof Paul Perkins, Australian National University, Chair, Environment Industry Action Agenda and Barton Group; Dr Barry Newell: ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society and Facilitator of ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society’s Climate and Water Integration Group. Review for this program was also received from: Alex Fearnside, Leader of the Sustainability Team, Melbourne City Council; Anna MacKenzie, ACT representative, Australian Association of Environmental Education and Deputy Principal Campbell Primary School; Anntonette Joseph, Director – Urban Water Efficiency Initiatives, Commonwealth Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and The Arts; Barry Coker and Jeffrey Briggs, St Andrews Hospital, Brisbane; Caleb Furner, Sydney Water Corporation; Carl Binns, Sydney Water Corporation; Cheryl Davis, International Water Association; Claire Hammond, Sydney Water Corporation; David Dumaresq, ANU Fenner School for Environment and Society, Senior Lecturer Human Ecology, Agro-ecology, and Sustainable Systems; Dennis Lee, Sydney Water Corporation; Glenn MacMillan, Genesis Now Pty Ltd; Jill Grant, Director Sustainable Development, Commonwealth Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism; Karen Jacobson, Commonwealth Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism; Kevin Moon, Institute of Hospital Engineering Australia; Kieran Coupe, Manager, MeterMate, Water and Energy Managers; Para K Parameshwaran, Sydney Water Corporation; Marguerite Renouf, Director - UNEP Working Group for Cleaner Production, University of Queensland; Phil Smith, President of the Australian Association of Environmental Education; Rob McKenna, Energy Saving Specialist, Water & Energy Programs, NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change; Sally Armstrong, Sydney Water Corporation; Stan Scahill, The Institution of Engineers Australia (Biomedical Engineering College); Stephen Fahey, Environment Officer (Energy & Water), ANU Green; Victoria Hart, Facilitator and Program Director, Sustainability Victoria; and Vivian Filling, Australia Industry Group. Enquires should be directed to: Karlson ‘Charlie’ Hargroves (www.naturaledgeproject.net/contact.aspx) Prepared by The Natural Edge Project 2009 Page 2 of 14 Water Transformed: Sustainable Water Solutions Adapting to Changes in Water Availability Industrial & Commercial Sectors Lecture 2.1: The Economic Case for Sustainable Water Solutions Educational Aim The aim of this lecture is to explain the economic case for sustainable water solutions and to provide an overview of the understandings, facts and figures needed to properly comprehend the opportunity presented by such initiatives. Historically, water and wastewater prices have been low, and hence investing in water savings has not been high on business’s or governments agenda. However this is changing in Australia and around the world, due to ongoing droughts and the threat of reduced water availability from climate change. Hence there is now growing demand for capacity building courses in the operational and technical aspects of implementing water saving opportunities and productivity improvements. However undergraduate courses are only slowly being updated with such content. Before expanding on these areas we first focus on outlining the key components of the economic case for water demand reduction, to better prepare design, engineering and technical staff to communicate the opportunities, and policy makers and business leaders to identify the benefits. Learning Points 1. Freshwater is not only essential for life but it is also critical for every kind of economic development activity across all countries, ranging from primary sector activities (agriculture, forestry and mining) to industrial production, energy generation or service sector development. Hence, water is a necessary condition for business and economic prosperity, with CSIRO cautioning that, ‘If we continue to waste water as we do now, water will be the limiting factor in Australia's economic development.’1 Over the years businesses have become accustomed to cheap and plentiful water supplies. However prolonged droughts in many parts of the world, along with the current and forecast impacts of climate change, is going to change this situation. Climate change is already changing the water cycle and affecting water availability. Further rising temperatures will boost evaporation rates leading to altered rainfall patterns, as well as reduce snow pack and glacier levels that feed into many of the world’s river systems. 2. Climate change is set to result in decreases in rainfall across Australia, exacerbating already serious drought conditions in many areas. In Perth for instance, inflows into reservoirs have already decreased by 50 per cent since the mid twentieth century while domestic water demand continues to increase. In the south-eastern states, near-record lows in reservoir water levels were recorded in 2002-2003 due to low rainfall and high temperatures.2 The most recent five year inflow into the Murray River was the lowest ever on record.3 Internationally, as the IPCC has stated, 1 CSIRO (2001) Water Limit to Australia 's Economic Growth, CSIRO Media Release, Ref 2001/151, 20 June. Pittock, B. (ed) (2003) Climate Change: An Australian Guide to the Science and Potential Impacts, Commonwealth of Australia, pp1-3. 3 Bates, B.C., Kundzewicz, Z.W., Wu, S. and Palutikof, J.P. (eds) (2008) ‘Climate Change and Water’, Technical Paper of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Geneva, p119. 2 Prepared by The Natural Edge Project 2009 Page 3 of 14 Water Transformed: Sustainable Water Solutions “Climate change is expected to exacerbate current stresses on water resources from population growth and economic and land-use change, including urbanisation. On a regional scale, mountain snow pack, glaciers and small ice caps play a crucial role in freshwater availability. Widespread mass losses from glaciers and reductions in snow cover over recent decades are projected to accelerate throughout the 21st century, reducing water availability, hydropower potential, and changing seasonality of flows in regions supplied by meltwater from major mountain ranges (e.g. Hindu-Kush, Himalaya, Andes), where more than one-sixth of the world population currently lives.”4 3. Decreases in rainfall will provide a constraint on the development of the farming community and significantly decrease production in the Murray Darling food bowl of Australia. Without an appropriate water management strategy, Australia’s economic production will fall 12 per cent by 2030, 49 per cent by 2050 and 92 per cent by 2100. 5 Furthermore, there will be costs associated with higher occurrences of algal blooms and from reduced water quality (such as changes to levels of dissolved oxygen, nutrient loading, and salinity, as well as other water chemistry indicators) resulting from higher water temperatures, higher evaporation levels and reduced stream flows.6 4. At the business or organisation level there are a range of economic reasons to adopt improved water management strategies. As well as reducing water costs, such a focus can rapidly deliver a range of secondary economic benefits such as improving water supply security and reducing the costs of energy, chemicals, labour and maintenance activities that are associated with water use. If we consider the food processing industry, secondary benefits from reducing water demand include reduced: treatment of incoming water to required levels, heating or cooling of water, treatment of wastewater prior to disposal, disposal of wastewater, storage and pumping of water onsite, maintenance of equipment (e.g. pumps and pipe-work) and capital depreciation of assets. Hence the true cost to business for a kilolitre of water can be twice as much as the purchase price for cold water and five times as much for water heated to 80°C.7 5. Together with the direct and indirect economic benefits, companies and organisations that undertake water productivity improvement strategies often also experience a boost in staff morale, increased creativity and innovation, and improved internal communication. On the other hand, there are direct financial consequences of poor water management that are set to increase over the coming decades, leading to not only future costs but also loss of company reputation as water management is often also an environmental and social issue. 8 As such, poor water management can lead to loss of investment attractiveness, reduced shareholder value, impacts on licence to operate and challenges in attracting and retaining the best staff. 6. Significant cost effective water saving and productivity improvement opportunities exist in all major sectors due to a range of innovations in technologies, processes and strategies that have emerged in the last twenty years (see Table 2.1.2). Most of these opportunities have not been captured as the true cost of water has historically been heavily subsidised to farmers and industry. This is now changing, as water prices and wastewater prices are rising due to rising 4 Pachauri, R.K. and Reisinger, A. (Eds.) (2007) Fourth Assessment Synthesis Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland.. 5 Garnaut, R. (2008) Final Report to the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments of Australia, Garnaut Climate Change Review, Chapter 6: Impacts of Climate Change on the Australian Economy. 6 Garnaut, R. (2008) Garnaut Climate Change Review Final Report, Garnaut Climate Change Review, Australia. 7 Pagan, R., Prasad, P., Price, N. and Kemp, E. (2004) Food Processing Eco-Efficiency Manual, UNEP Working Group for Cleaner Production in Food, Australia Industry Group. 8 Hargroves, K. and Smith, M. (2009) The Natural Advantage of Nations: Business Opportunities, Innovation and Governance in the 21st Century, Earthscan, London. Prepared by The Natural Edge Project 2009 Page 4 of 14 Water Transformed: Sustainable Water Solutions demand and drought in Australia. Also, in some Australian states, businesses above a certain size and local governments must now undertake and produce water plans. In Queensland, medium to large water-using businesses are now required by law to achieve 25 per cent water savings due to drought-related pressures.9 7. In most sectors, water savings and productivity improvements in the order of 50-95 per cent have been shown to be cost effective (as shown in Table 2.1.3), with many companies reaping the associated rewards. However such achievements are not possible without senior level commitment and engagement with the water management process. This lecture, and the overall program, presents a range of supporting evidence to encourage such a commitment based on the potential economic opportunities for an organisation, rather than waiting for growing costs related to water consumption and disposal to force action. 8. Companies that are achieving such rewards often create a ‘Water Committee’. These ‘Water Committees’ work directly with representatives across the key areas of the business and with stakeholders to develop strategies and work plans to improve water management. This means that adequate human and financial resources are essential to implement water management initiatives. Failure to provide adequate training and capacity building can jeopardise the outcomes. Relevant responsibilities for water management across different areas of the company or organisation should be built clearly into job descriptions, and even reflected in bonuses or incentives. This helps to ensure that staff are motivated to, and rewarded for, taking a proactive rather than reactive approach to water management. 9. A crucial understanding in developing water management strategies is to take a whole systems approach, as most initiatives deal with only some elements of a water consuming system, not the whole system. Taking an incremental or localised approach is a large part of the reason why even proactive efforts in the past have not captured the true economic potential, leading to reduced organisational attention. Over the last twenty years, engineers using a whole systems approach to identifying water efficiency opportunities have achieved large water improvements with strong rates of return on investment. 9 QWC (undated) Business Restrictions, Queensland Water Commission, Available at http://www.qwc.qld.gov.au/Business+restrictions Accessed 1 October 2009 Prepared by The Natural Edge Project 2009 Page 5 of 14 Water Transformed: Sustainable Water Solutions Brief Background Reading Freshwater is not only essential for life but it is also critical for every kind of economic development activity across all countries, ranging from primary sector activities (agriculture, forestry and mining) to industrial production, energy generation or service sector development. Hence, water is a necessary condition for business and economic prosperity. Over the years businesses have become accustomed to cheap and plentiful water supplies. However prolonged droughts in many parts of the world, along with the current and forecast impacts of climate change, is going to change this situation. Climate change is already changing the water cycle and affecting water availability, and further rising temperatures will boost evaporation rates leading to altered rainfall patterns and reduced snow pack and glacier levels that feed into many of the worlds river systems. Hence climate change will have serious consequences for many business sectors, particularly in the agricultural sector. Furthermore many countries heavily dependent on glacier melt-water during the dry season will be affected by climate change, with the potential to affect over 250 million people in China, significant parts of the Indian sub-continent, and at least 50 million people in the Andes.10 Virtually all glaciers are showing substantial melting in China, where spring stream-flows have advanced by nearly one month since records began. In the tropical Andes in South America, the area covered by glaciers has been reduced by nearly one-quarter in the past 30 years. Some small glaciers are likely to disappear completely in the next decade given current trends.11 Up to 40 per cent of agriculture in Andean valleys relies on glacier meltwater supplies.12 Parts of the developed world that rely on mountain snowmelt (Western USA, Canadian Prairies, Western Europe, South East Australia) will also have their summer water supply affected, unless storage capacity is increased to capture the ‘early water’. Sir Nicholas Stern, The Stern Review, 200613 Climate change will also reduce agricultural yields in OECD countries. The Stern Review stated that this would be the case for Southern Europe, the USA and Australia.14 An Australian study by Professor Garnaut found that over the next 100 years, unmitigated climate change is forecast to devastate the Murray Darling Basin, the food bowl of Australia.15 The study found that without dedicated efforts to reduce water demand from irrigation, climate change would result in economic production falling by 12 per cent by 2030, 49 per cent by 2050, and as much as 92 per cent by 2100. Such impacts would have a significant economic effect on the Australian economy. 16 Australia has been one of the first OECD nations to have a significant climate change induced reduction in water availability and food production, and the Australian government estimates the drought shaved 0.75 of a percentage from Australia's GDP in 2006. Drought has existed in many parts of rural Australia now since 2000 and by 2008, most of the 50,000-plus farmers in the Murray Darling Basin of Australia are operating on less than 20 per cent of their normal water allocations. 10 Barnett, T.P., Adam, J.C. and Lettenmaier, D.P. (2005) 'Potential Impacts of a Warming Climate on Water Availability in SnowDominated Regions', Nature, no 438, pp303-309. 11 Coudrain, A., Francou, B., et al. (2005) 'Glacier Shrinkage in the Andes and Consequences for Water Resources', Hydrological Sciences Journal, no 50, pp925-932. 12 Nagy, G., et al. (2006) 'Understanding the Potential Impact of Climate Change in Latin America and the Caribbean', Report prepared for the UK Stern Review. 13 Stern, N. (2006) Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Chapter 4.. 14 Pauchari, R. (2007) ‘Coping with Climate Change: Is Development in India and the World Sustainable?’, 2007 K R Narayanan Oration, rspas.anu.edu.au/papers/narayanan/2007oration.pdf, accessed 16 November 2007. 15 Garnaut, R. (2008) Final Report to the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments of Australia, Garnaut Climate Change Review, Chapter 6. 16 Garnaut, R. (2008) Final Report to the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments of Australia, Garnaut Climate Change Review, Chapter 6. Prepared by The Natural Edge Project 2009 Page 6 of 14 Water Transformed: Sustainable Water Solutions Already farmers in the Murray Darling Basin are pruning and cutting down significant parts of their orchards to try to survive the drought. Food production is down dramatically in water affected sectors such as cotton, wine and dairy. Mining in Australia has also been constrained due to the drought,17 and significant water restrictions in capital cities have forced businesses across all sectors to start to improve water management practices. Even without climate change, sustainable water solutions are needed because in many parts of the world freshwater extraction rates are exceeding natural water replenishment rates. To achieve a steady increase in global food production to match the growth in demand for food, countries have relied on irrigation from drilling bores and pumping freshwater from groundwater supplies. However, almost all of the world's wells have falling water levels and declining yield, and already many have run dry. A 2006 World Bank study reports that 15 per cent of India’s food supply is produced by mining groundwater.18 This means that the 175 million Indians fed with grain produced using water from irrigation wells risk going hungry, as current estimates suggest that these groundwater supplies will be severely depleted within a matter of decades. This 2006 World Bank study warned that India will face a severe water crisis by 2020 if the government, business and farmers do not work together to change reduce water demand.19 In China, the challenges are equally significant. The northern agricultural areas of China are virtually drying out. The water table under the North China Plain, which produces half of China's wheat and a third of the corn, is falling at an alarming rate.20 Under Hebei Province, in the heart of the North China Plain, the water level in the deep aquifer is falling at a rate of 3 metres each year.21 The decline of the water table has led to wells drying up, which means deeper wells have to be drilled. The consequent increase in pumping costs has forced some farmers off their land, while the demand for groundwater in cities and industry has continued to grow. The wheat crop, grown mostly in semiarid northern China, is particularly vulnerable to water shortages. This pattern of overuse of groundwater is repeated now in numerous countries.22 Significant cost effective water saving and productivity improvement opportunities exist in all sectors due to a range of innovations in technologies, processes and strategies that have emerged in the last twenty years (see Table 2.1.2). Most of these opportunities have not been captured as the true cost of water has historically been heavily subsidised to farmers and industry. Water is so cheap that in many parts of the world it costs almost nothing for farmers per mega-litre of water they use, as shown in Figure 2.1.1. Additionally, many nations have subsidized the costs of pumping groundwater for agriculture, leading to significant wastage. Water usage by industry and urban businesses, while more expensive than for agriculture, is still very cheap. Water usage costs represent less than 2 per cent of total costs of most businesses and households. So, as with agriculture, the lack of a strong price signal has meant most opportunities to reduce water demand or improve the productivity of its use have been largely ignored in the past. 17 Australian Mineral Council (2007) Strategic Water Management: in the Minerals Sector, Australian Minerals Council, Australia. The World Bank (2005) India’s Water Economy: Bracing for a Turbulent Future, The World Bank, Washington DC. 19 The World Bank (2005) India’s Water Economy: Bracing for a Turbulent Future, The World Bank, Washington DC. 20 Ma, M. (2001) ‘Northern Cities Sinking as Water Table Falls’, South China Morning Post., 11 August 2001. 21 World Bank (2001) China: Agenda for Water Sector Strategy for North China, World Bank, Washington, DC, ppvii, xi. 22 Brown, L. (2008) Plan B. Mobilizing to Save Civilization, The Earth Policy Institute. 18 Prepared by The Natural Edge Project 2009 Page 7 of 14 Water Transformed: Sustainable Water Solutions Figure 2.1.1 Comparison on Household, Industrial and Agricultural, Industrial and Household Water Prices for a selection of OECD countries Source: OECD (2004)23 Improved water management also leads to significant energy savings from reduced handling, treatment and disposal of water, thus improving the return on investment for water management initiatives. In addition to these, there are other hidden savings from water efficiency investments in reduced maintenance, chemical and labour costs. The true cost of water includes much more than just the purchase price.24 It also includes the costs of treatment of incoming water, heating or cooling, treatment of wastewater, disposal of wastewater, pumping, maintenance (e.g. pumps and corrosion of pipe-work and equipment) and capital depreciation. Table 2.1.1 provides an example of evaluating the full costs of water at ambient temperature and of hot water to businesses in the food processing industry. A study by the Australia Industry Group found that, while the purchase cost of water in Australia is approximately AUD$1.13, the true cost is actually AUD$2.33 for water at ambient temperature and AUD$5.13 for water heated to 80°C, as shown in Table 2.1.1. 23 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2004) OECD Environmental Strategy: 2004 Review of Progress, OECD, Paris. 24 Cohen, R., Ortez, K. and Pinkstaff, C. (2009) Making Every Drop Work: Increasing Water Efficiency in California’s Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional (CII) Sector, Natural Resources Defense Council. Prepared by The Natural Edge Project 2009 Page 8 of 14 Water Transformed: Sustainable Water Solutions Table 2.1.1 Example of the true cost of ambient and of hot water ($/kL) Purchase 1$1.13 Wastewater treatment2 $0.75 Wastewater pumping $0.05 Wastewater discharge (volume charge) $0.40 TRUE COST FOR AMBIENT WATER $2.33 Heating to 80oC3 $2.80 TRUE COST OF HOT WATER $5.13 1Purchase 2Based 3Costs cost based on Brisbane Water supply costs on assumption of typical treatment costs of an anaerobic digester for heating to 80oC using steam produced by a gas boiler Source: UNEP Cleaner Production (200425) There have been numerous technical innovations that now enable 50-90 per cent water savings, a sample of which is shown in Table 2.1.2. Companies that take a whole system approach to capturing such opportunities are achieving remarkable improvements across all major sectors, as shown in Table 2.1.3, and expanded in the remaining lectures of this Module. Companies are also increasingly undertaking onsite water recycling measures and finding that this is particularly profitable as many processes do not require potable water.26 Table 2.1.2 Enabling Technologies to reduce Water Demand Sector Buildings Commercial Buildings Enabling Technologies Various low flow showerhead designs exist to reduce water consumption by between 50-75%,27 resulting in sizable reductions in water consumption along with the requirement for water heating. Low-flow aerators reduce faucet water flow by 30-50% and can also reduce the energy costs of heating water by up to 50%. Water efficient appliances such as front loading domestic washing machines are 40-75% more efficient than top loading options. Toilets that use 6/3 litre dual flush systems are capable of reducing water usage by 67% compared with conventional models.28 Waterless urinals use liquid-repellent coatings and a lighter-than-urine biodegradable liquid to trap odours, and can save between 150,000 - 230,000 litres per year.29 Ultra-efficient water urinals can flush with as little as a half a litre. Hybrid Dry Air/Water cooling systems for large buildings have been optimised to reduce typical consumption of water by as much as 75%.30 25 Pagan, R., Prasad, P., Price, N. and Kemp, E. (2004) Food Processing Eco-Efficiency Manual, UNEP Working Group for Cleaner Production in Food, Australia Industry Group 26 United States Environmental Protection Agency (undated) ‘Watersense: Businesses’, epa.gov/watersense/tips/bus.htm, accessed 13 August 2009. 27 von Weizacker, E., Lovins, A.B. and Lovins, L. H. (1997) Factor 4: Doubling Wealth, Halving Resource Use, Earthscan, London. 28 Caroma (undated) ‘Caroma Dual Flush System’, www.caromauk.com/innovate/idea_1.htm, accessed 12 July 2009. 29 Hawken, P., Lovins, ,A.B. and Lovins, L.H. (1999) Natural Capitalism, Earthscan, London, p221. 30 von Weizsäcker, E., Hargroves, K., Smith, M., Desha, C. and Stasinopoulos, P. (2009) Factor 5: Transforming the Global Economy through 80% Increase in Resource Productivity, Earthscan, London. Prepared by The Natural Edge Project 2009 Page 9 of 14 Water Transformed: Sustainable Water Solutions Commercial Laundromats Highly efficient washers can reduce water consumption by 35-50% and achieve energy savings of up to 50%, with highly efficient washers requiring 50% less detergent. Restaurants Boiler-less compartment food steamers have been developed that use 90% less water. Water-efficient commercial dishwashers can save 25% of water usage. Payback periods for installing small efficient commercial dishwashers range between 1-4 years. In Asian restaurants, waterless wok stoves that use air instead of water for cooling can save nearly 90% of water consumption.31 Pre-rinse spray valves account for 14% of water consumption in commercial kitchens. Replacing a traditional pre-rinse spray valve can save between 25-80% of this water. Steam sterilizers are utilized widely in hospitals, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and research institutions to disinfect surgical instruments in hospitals, research and development laboratories and in the manufacture of products where sterilization is essential. Most sterilizers can be retrofitted with heat exchangers to cool condensate without the need to dilute the hot condensate water with tap water thus enabling the water to be reused again. Traditional X-Ray film processing generally uses a constant flow of potable water to cool the machine and develop the film, and 98% of water use can be achieved by recycling this water for use in the equipment. Medical and Health Source: Complied from NDRC (2009)32 unless otherwise noted Table 2.1.3 Leading Case Studies demonstrating the potential for Water Efficiency Improvements Sectors Leading Case Studies Residential Buildings As shown in Table 2.1.2 the use of water efficient appliances, toilets, taps and showerheads can improve the water efficiency for an average home by over 60%.33 Large rainwater tanks and greywater recycling systems can further reduce demand for potable water, as can designing gardens to be drought tolerant.34 Currumbin Ecovillage has shown that through using these strategies it is also possible to achieve self-sufficiency for a residential estate.35 Commercial/ Studies show that roughly a third of water usage in office buildings is through leaks, amenities (toilets, showers etc) and cooling towers. It is highly cost effective to stop waste of water through leakage. As Table 2.1.2 shows, technologies now exist to enable 80% or better efficiency improvements in amenities and cooling towers. Hence in theory, it is technically possible to achieve large water savings on most office/commercial buildings. Melbourne University's new Faculty of Economics and Commerce building shows what is possible through combining these technologies to achieve 90% reductions. The building achieves this through reducing cooling demand by utilising natural ventilation, using chilled beam cooling technology, and by the Office Buildings 31 Sydney Water (2009) Waterless Woks: Factsheet, http://www.sydneywater.com.au/Publications/FactSheets/Wok_stove_fact_sheet.pdf , accessed 10 April 2009 32 Cohen, R., Ortez, C. and Pinkstaff, C. (2009) Making Every Drop Work; Increasing Water Efficiency in California’s Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional (CII) Sector, NRDC. 33 Stasinopoulos, P., Smith, M., Hargroves, K. and Desha, C. (2008) Whole System Design: An Integrated Approach to Sustainable Engineering, Earthscan, London, and The Natural Edge Project, Australia, www.naturaledgeproject.net/Whole_System_Design.aspx, accessed 13 August 2009. 34 Troy, P. (ed.) (2008) Troubled Waters: Confronting the Water Crisis in Australia’s Cities, ANU E Press. 35 The Ecovillage (undated) ‘Sustainability Objectives’, theecovillage.com.au/site/index.php/C4/, accessed 18 April 2009. Prepared by The Natural Edge Project 2009 Page 10 of 14 Water Transformed: Sustainable Water Solutions installation of Muller 3C Hybrid Coolers, combined with rainwater harvesting and greywater reuse.36 (See Lecture 2.4) Paper Manufacture Visy, through its Australian paper and pulp mill in Tumut, New South Wales has achieved an 80% reduction in the average water consumed by pulp and paper mills compared to elsewhere in the world. In accordance with its site based ISO14001 certified environmental management system, no water is discharged off the site, and treated wastewater is used for the irrigation of pastures.37 (See Lecture 3.1) ICT Manufacture With manufacturing plants all over the world, and many in very dry places, Intel has invested US$100 million on water efficiency measures, saving more than enough water to supply 180,000 homes for a year. Intel’s 1000 acre (405 hectare) operation in Arizona includes processing equipment that uses 75% less water than the industry average (from 25 to 8 million litres per day). Additionally, Intel constructed a system that treats wastewater and then injects it into the local aquifer, treating and injecting more than 3.5 billion gallons (13.2 billion litres) of drinking-quality water into the aquifer since its inception in 2000.38 (See Lecture 3.1) Chemical Manufacture Since 2002, Qenos, a leading chemicals and plastics company, has reduced its annual freshwater consumption by over 30%, saving 1.2 billion litres of water per year. Further initiatives are planned with local water utilities to provide Qenos with 2 billion litres a year of Class A recycled water. This project - combined with Qenos’ planned facilities for onsite biological treatment and reuse of olefins sour water, and stormwater collection improvements - will make Qenos’ dependency on potable water negligible.39 (See Lecture 3.1) Beverage Industry Fosters Brewery at Yalata, Queensland has achieved a 75% improvement in water efficiency since 1993.40 Breweries, on average, use about 6-8 litres of water per litre of product, but the brewery at Yalata only uses around 2 litres of water per litre of beer.41 Pacific Coca-Cola has reduced its can line’s need for rinse-water by 79%, using air instead of water to clean the insides of cans. 42 (see Lecture 3.2) Food Processing Oberti Olives olive processing plant in Madera, California processes in the order of 128 tons of olives per day, involving washing, curing, storing and packaging. Through installing a best practice membrane filtration system to enable water reuse, the company has reduced its freshwater use by 91%, equating to more than 3.5 million litres per day.43 Steel Manufacture In the steel sector, water is used primarily for cooling and environmental treatment in the steelmaking process. There are two main methods for making steel: oxygen blast furnace (OBF) and electric arc furnace (EAF). Compared to OBF methods, EAF methods use 85% less water, and 70% less energy per ton of steel.44 BlueScope Steel’s Port Kembla Steelworks in Australia Muller Industries (2009) ‘5 Stars for Melbourne University’, Muller Industries News, April 2009. AusCID (2003) Sustainability Framework for the Future of Australia’s Infrastructure Handbook, Australian Council for Infrastructure and Development (Contributions by Toyne, P., Tate, A., Hargroves, K. and Smith, M.). 38 Cohen, R., Ortez, C. and Pinkstaff, C. (2009) Making Every Drop Work: Increasing Water Efficiency in California’s Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional (CII) Sector, NRDC. 39 City West Water (undated) ‘Water Use Efficiency Project: Ongoing Efforts at Qenos’, www.citywestwater.com.au/business/docs/Qenos-Case_Study.pdf, accessed 13 August 2009. 40 The Fosters Group (2007) ‘Yatala Brewery: Water Usage Facts’, www.fosters.com.au/about/docs/Yatala_Water_Fact_Sheet.pdf, accessed 19 June 2009. 41 Davis, C. (2007) ‘Crystal Balling Water for Industry’, Industrial Water Supplement, Waste Management and Environment (WME) Magazine, November, pp30-31, www.wme.com.au/magazine/downloads/IndustrialWater_Nov07_WME.pdf, accessed 1 June 2009. 42 Hawken, P., Lovins, A.B. and Lovins, L.H. (1999) Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution, Earthscan, London, p225. 43 The Pacific Institute (1999) Sustainable Use of Water California Success Stories, The Pacific Institute. 44 von Weizsäcker, E., Lovins, A. and Lovins, H. (1997) Factor Four: Doubling Wealth, Halving Resource Use, Earthscan, London. 36 37 Prepared by The Natural Edge Project 2009 Page 11 of 14 Water Transformed: Sustainable Water Solutions have shown that a 5-fold improvement in water efficiency can also be achieved in OBF steel making, reducing water use from 55 to 9 million litres per day.45 (See Lecture 3.3) Aluminium Manufacture In the aluminium sector, water is largely used for cooling and environmental treatment in the aluminium smelting process. Alcoa, in their European Mill Products (EMP) business, which includes casthouse and rolling mills, has achieved a 95% reduction in water consumption through installing a closed-loop system that recirculates process water, and has committed to 70% reductions in potable water use throughout all global operations. (See Lecture 3.3) Tourism & Hospitality The Hyatt Regency Sanctuary Cove resort, Queensland, Australia has reduced water use by more than 65%, from 140 million litres in 1996 to 54 million litres in 2000, saving a recorded AUD$85,372 per year.46 (See Lecture 4.1) Medical and Health Saint Petersburg hospital in Florida, USA has saved 50% of its water, 47 while St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital in Brisbane, Australia has reduced its water use by 68%, from 105 to 33 million litres per year, in just four years.48 (See Lecture 4.2) University Campuses The Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia reduced water consumption by 50% between 2004 to 2007, equating to 200 million litres per year, and has since reduced its consumption by a further 5-10% across its campuses.49 The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia has reduced water usage by 48% since 2003.50 The University of California’s Santa Barbara campus reduced water usage by nearly 50% between 1987 and 1994, saving US$3.7 million, excluding energy and maintenance savings.51 (See Lecture 4.3) Source: Compiled by TNEP (2009) In recognition of the importance of CEO leadership in this area, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Kimoon and a group of committed businesses officially launched the ‘CEO Water Mandate’ in 2007; designed to assist companies in developing a comprehensive approach to water management. 52 This initiative provides documentation to provide evidence and strategic understanding to underpin a pro-active approach to sustainable water management and reporting. The CEO Water Mandate is also developing operational documentation to assist companies to address a range of specific water management issues, as discussed in Lecture 2.2. Despite this being a relatively new initiative, many CEOs of companies across most sectors of the economy have signed up. A particularly challenging aspect of developing and implementing water management programs to achieve water savings is the level of investment in staff capacity building. Staff training and skills development can be complimented by a range of incentives such as aligning bonuses to water savings, and in doing so ensure that staff are both motivated to act and are recognised for their efforts. Experience shows that there will be resistance to change, particularly if operations and maintenance personnel are not involved in developing new water savings opportunities. Thus there Hird, W. (2005) ‘Recycled water - case study: BlueScope Steel, Port Kembla Steelworks’, Presented at the International Conference on Integrated Concepts on Water Recycling, Wollongong, NSW, Australia, 14–17 February 2005. 46 SaveWater (undated) ‘Case Studies’, http://www.savewater.com.au/how-to-save-water/in-business/hospitality/case-studies, accessed 2 August 2008. 47 South Florida Water Management District (undated) ‘Hospital case study: A St. Petersburg hospital saves 50 percent of its water use!’, http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/conservation/waterwork/casestudy-hospital.html, accessed 7 August 2009. 48 St Andrews War Memorial Hospital (2008) ‘St Andrew’s Hospital Beats All Expectations in Reducing Water Usage’, http://www.uchealth.com.au/sawmh/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53, accessed 21 June 2009. 49 Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane - QUT (2009) ‘Sustainability@QUT’ http://www.fmd.qut.edu.au/pdfs/Sustainability_Feb_2009_FINAL.pdf, accessed 13 August 2009. 50 University of Queensland, Queensland – QUT (2009) ‘UQ Saves More Water’, http://www.uq.edu.au/news/index.html?article=18669, accessed 13 August 2009. 51 The Pacific Institute (1999) Sustainable Use of Water California Success Stories, The Pacific Institute. 52 UN Global Compact - CEO Water Mandate at http://www.pacinst.org/topics/globalization_and_environment/ceo_water_mandate/ceo_water_mandate.pdf accessed 16 October 2009 45 Prepared by The Natural Edge Project 2009 Page 12 of 14 Water Transformed: Sustainable Water Solutions are significant benefits for companies involving staff in their water management planning and processes. Opportunities are often missed when companies fail to tap into the well of innovative ideas staff may have about water efficiency. Along with business benefits, there are also significant economic benefits from water saving programs for governments and water utilities. Reducing water demand can delay the need for the construction of new dams and new treatment plants, as well as reduce the maintenance of the pipes and associated infrastructure used to deliver and remove water. Also water savings programs reduce energy consumption and the associated greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the use of energy to pump, treat, and pressurise water systems. Research led by Professor Stuart White at the University of Technology Sydney Institute for Sustainable Futures, indicates that in cities and towns facing water shortages, investment in reducing water demand can result in water savings of greater than 30 per cent at a unit cost that is less than supply augmentation costs, yielding net present value economic benefits in excess of AUD$100m for some capital cities.53 A significant study of California came to a similar conclusion. The 2003 report Waste Not, Want Not: The Potential for Urban Water Conservation in California54 found that, despite the progress already made in improving water efficiency, one-third of California’s current urban water use can be saved through conservation and efficiency in the residential, commercial, institutional and industrial sectors. At least 85 per cent of these savings are at costs below what it would cost to tap into new sources of supply and come without the social, environmental, and economic impacts that any major water project would bring. Studies show that improving water productivity in rural areas also provides a positive GDP return to the region.55 A 2009 study56 showed for the US economy that, The economic output benefits of investments in water efficiency range between US$2.5 and US$2.8 million per million dollars of direct investment. GDP benefits range between US$1.3 and US$1.5 million per million dollars of direct investment. Employment potential ranges between 15 and 22 jobs per million dollars of direct investment. Applying this model to the US economy, direct investment on the order of US$10 billion in water/energy efficiency could boost U.S. GDP by US$13 to US$15 billion and employment by 150,000 to 220,000 jobs and could save between 20 and 40 trillion litres of water, with resulting energy reductions as well. 53 White, I. (2009) Personal Communication with Professor Ian White, Australian National University, 1 August 2009 . Gleick, P.H., Haasz, D., Henges-Jeck, C., Srinivasan, V., Wolff, G., Cushing, K.K. and Mann, A. (2003) Waste Not, Want Not: The Potential for Urban Water Conservation in California, The Pacific Institute, Oakland, California, USA. 55 Centre for International Economics (2004) Socio-Economic Assessment of Water Efficiency Investments in the Murrumbidgee Valley, The Pratt Water Initiative. 56 Mitchell, D., Beecher, J., Chesnutt, T. and Pekelney, D. (2008) Transforming Water: Water Efficiency as Stimulus and Long-Term Investment, Alliance for Water Efficiency, Chicago, USA. 54 Prepared by The Natural Edge Project 2009 Page 13 of 14 Water Transformed: Sustainable Water Solutions Key References Sydney Water (undated) ‘Water Efficiency In Your Business - Best Practice Guides and Publications’, http://www.sydneywater.com.au/Water4Life/InYourBusiness/EDCPublications/BestPractise.cfm, accessed 10 April 2010 Sydney Water (undated) ‘Water Efficiency In Your Business - Fact Sheets and Brochures’, http://www.sydneywater.com.au/Water4Life/InYourBusiness/EDCPublications/BestPractise.cfm, accessed 10 April 2010 Sydney Water (undated) ‘Water Efficiency In Your Business - Business Case Studies’ http://www.sydneywater.com.au/Water4Life/InYourBusiness/EDCPublications/CaseStudies.cfm accessed 10 April 2010. Save Water (undated) ‘Saving Water in Business’, http://www.savewater.com.au/how-to-savewater/in-business, accessed 16 October 2009. Victorian Government (2007) ‘What is business doing to save water?’, http://www.ourwater.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/2502/Water_Industry_brochure.pdf, accessed 16 October 2009. Cohen, R., Ortez, K. and Pinkstaff, C. (2009) Making Every Drop Work: Increasing Water Efficiency in California’s Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional (CII) Sector, Natural Resources Defence Council. Gleick, P.H., Haasz, D., Henges-Jeck, C., Srinivasan, V., Wolff, G., Cushing, K.K. and Mann, A. (2003) Waste Not, Want Not: The Potential for Urban Water Conservation in California, The Pacific Institute, Oakland, California, USA. Waste Management and Environment (WME) (2007) ‘Industrial Water Supplement’, WME Magazine, November 2007. Waste Management and Environment (WME) (2008) ‘Industrial Water Supplement’, WME Magazine, November 2008. CEDA (2007) Water that works: Sustainable water management in the commercial sector, CEDA. http://ceda.com.au/member/nnx/publications/other/docs/water_that_works.pdf, accessed 16 October 2009. UN Global Compact - CEO Water Mandate at http://www.pacinst.org/topics/globalization_and_environment/ceo_water_mandate/ceo_water_man date.pdf accessed 16 October 2009 UNEP FI’s (undated) ‘Research on Water Issues and Business Risks and Opportunities’, http://www.unepfi.org/publications/water/, accessed 16 October 2009 Global Reporting Initiative (undated) ‘Water protocol’, http://www.globalreporting.org/guidelines/protocols/WaterProtocol030501.pdf, accessed 16 October 2009. Mitchell, D., Beecher, J., Chesnutt, T. and Pekelney, D. (2008) Transforming Water: Water Efficiency Stimulus and Long-Term Investment, Alliance for Water Efficiency, Chicago, USA. Prepared by The Natural Edge Project 2009 Page 14 of 14 Water Transformed: Sustainable Water Solutions