Improving efficiency in water use and conservation in Spanish hotels

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 273-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Cobacho ◽  
F. Arregui ◽  
J.C. Parra ◽  
E. Cabrera
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Fundamental Component ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Water Scarce

Hotels are a fundamental component within the tourist Spanish sector, and their role in water management turns out even more relevant taking into account the fact that tourist areas, in which they are generally located, are water scarce. Trying to go further from the standard ratios and estimations to plan water conservation, this work intends to really measure and quantify water use in rooms. Only by doing this, can subsequent conservation actions, now able to be reliably specified for each specific use, achieve a real success.

scholarly journals Water for sustainable development in the Berg Water Management Area, South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 114 (3/4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan J. Cole ◽  
Richard M. Bailey ◽  
James D.S. JCullis ◽  
Mark G. New
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Water Losses ◽  
Freshwater Aquaculture ◽  
Management Area ◽  
Water Scarce

Water is fundamental to human well-being and economic growth. Measuring how water contributes to sustainable development is an important aspect of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, ‘Water and sanitation for all’. This importance is especially significant for water-scarce developing countries such as South Africa. Appropriate indicators can support decision-making and highlight key issues on inequality, unemployment and sustainability. In this paper, additional indicators for SDG 6.4 on water-use efficiency are proposed that focus on how individuals and households benefit, both directly and indirectly, from the allocations and use of water resources. The Berg Water Management Area (WMA) in the southwest corner of South Africa is used as a case study to illustrate the results. Residential per capita water use and municipal water losses were determined for all towns in the area. Figures for jobs and income per unit of water use were calculated for the heavily water-dependent industries, namely, agriculture, agriprocessing, freshwater aquaculture, mining and steel processing. This approach to measuring the socio-economic benefits of water use are relevant for other countries seeking to measure the role that water plays in achieving inclusive sustainable development, and could be included in the final SDG 6 indicator suite.

Integrated water cycle planning for towns in New South Wales, Australia

2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 87-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Schneider ◽  
A. Davison ◽  
A. Langdon ◽  
G. Freeman ◽  
C. Essery ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Use ◽  
State Government ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Urban Centre

Integration means different things to different people and as a consequence appears to only partially deliver on promised outcomes. For effective integrated water cycle management these outcomes should include improved water use efficiency, less waste, environmental sustainability, and provide secure and reliable supply to meet social and economic needs. The objective of integration is the management and combination of all these outcomes as part of a whole, so as to provide better outcomes than would be expected by managing the parts independently. Integration is also a consequence of the Water Reforms embarked on by the NSW State Government in 1995. The key goals of the reforms are clean and healthy rivers and groundwaters, and the establishment of more secure water entitlements for users. They are also essential for meeting the Council of Australian Government (COAG) water management strategies. The policies and guidelines that formed the NSW Water Reforms were the basis of the Water Management Act 2000 (NSW) (WMA) which is the legislative framework for water management in NSW. The NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation has developed an approach to integrated water cycle management for rural centres in NSW based on a catchment and policy context. This approach includes consideration of catchment wide needs and issues, environmental sustainability, government policy and community objectives in the development of an integrated water cycle plan. The approach provides for a transparent assessment of priorities and how to deal with them, and while specific to urban centres, could easily be expanded for use in the management of the whole of the catchment water cycle. Integration of the water cycle is expected to offer benefits to the local environment, community and economy. For instance, any unused proportion of an urban centre's water entitlement, or an offset against this entitlement created through returned flows (such as via good quality sewage effluent discharge to a river), can provide a surplus which is available to be traded on an annual basis. Further, improved demand management within an urban centre can be expected to result in a reduction in abstraction against the licence entitlement. This may result in the increased availability of in-stream water for environmental or other purposes and is expected to increase the economic value of returned water. Improved water use efficiencies are also expected to result in reduced capital works (and their associated costs) as the efficiency of service delivery and resource use improves. In this paper an example of the application of this process is provided and the outcomes discussed.

Economics of Water Scarcity in China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Water Rights ◽  
Water Pricing ◽  
Wastewater Reclamation ◽  
Trade Offs

Water scarcity has long been recognized as a key issue challenging China’s water security and sustainable development. Economically, China’s water scarcity can be characterized by the uneven distribution of limited water resources across space and time in hydrological cycles that are inconsistent with the rising demand for a sufficient, stable water supply from rapid socioeconomic development coupled with a big, growing population. The limited water availability or scarcity has led to trade-offs in water use and management across sectors and space, while negatively affecting economic growth and the environment. Meanwhile, inefficiency and unsustainability prevail in China’s water use, attributable to government failure to account for the socioeconomic nature of water and its scarcity beyond hydrology. China’s water supply comes mainly from surface water and groundwater. The nontraditional sources, wastewater reclamation and reuse in particular, have been increasingly contributing to water supply but are less explored. Modern advancement in solar and nuclear power development may help improve the potential and competitiveness of seawater desalination as an alternative water source. Nonetheless, technological measures to augment water supply can only play a limited role in addressing water scarcity, highlighting the necessity and importance of nontechnological measures and “soft” approaches for managing water. Water conservation, including improving water use efficiency, particularly in the agriculture sector, represents a reasonable strategy that has much potential but requires careful policy design. China’s water management has started to pay greater attention to market-based approaches, such as tradable water rights and water pricing, accompanied by management reforms. In the past, these approaches have largely been treated as command-and-control tools for regulation rather than as economic instruments following economic design principles. While progress has been made in promoting the market-based approaches, the institutional aspect needs to be further improved to create supporting and enabling conditions. For water markets, developing regulations and institutions, combined with clearly defining water use rights, is needed to facilitate market trading of water rights. For water pricing, appropriate design based on the full cost of water supply needs to be strengthened, and policy implementation must be enforced. An integrated approach is particularly relevant and greatly needed for China’s water management. This approach emphasizes integration and holistic consideration of water in relation to other resource management, development opportunities, and other policies across scales and sectors to achieve synergy, cost-effectiveness, multiple benefits, and eventually economic efficiency. Integrated water management has been increasingly applied, as exemplified by a national policy initiative to promote urban water resilience and sustainability. While economics can play a critical role in helping evaluate and compare alternative measures or design scenarios and in identifying multiple benefits, there is a need for economic or social cost–benefit analysis of China’s water policy or management that incorporates nonmarket costs and benefits.

scholarly journals Water scarcity will constrain the formation of a world-class megalopolis in North China

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhuoying Zhang ◽  
Minjun Shi ◽  
Kevin Z. Chen ◽  
Hong Yang ◽  
Shouyang Wang
Keyword(s):  
Urban Development ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Agricultural Water ◽  
Agricultural Water Use ◽  
Conservation Measures ◽  
World Class ◽  
Water Scarce ◽  
Bth Region

AbstractThe formation of world-class megalopolises has been a goal of urban development agencies around the world owing to their economic advantages. On their bids of becoming a world-class megalopolis, water availability is a factor that requires consideration. China has set an ambitious goal of developing a world-class megalopolis in the water-scarce Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region. This study investigates the water challenge the BTH region faces and the effects of main water conservation measures in the region towards the goal. An inter-city input–output model was constructed for identifying the water gap in the region and analyzing the effectiveness of main water conservation measures under various scenarios. The results indicate a significant gap between the water required to achieve the goal of becoming a world-class megalopolis and the region’s available water resources. Although proposed water conservation measures of improving water use efficiency and reducing agricultural water use provide a modest improvement, the amount of water required for urban development still exceeds the availability. The study emphasizes the significance of agricultural water use reduction in Hebei through crop system replacement from water-intensive winter wheat to water-saving crops. The study also proposes an alternative option of adjusting the development plan through redefining the boundary of the BTH megalopolis by excluding part of cities in Hebei. The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of the effect of water scarcity on urban development and thus provide references for other water-scarce regions with ambitious urban development goals.

scholarly journals Rational water use indicators for public schools in Recife, Brazil

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 207-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz Gustavo Costa Ferreira Nunes ◽  
Anna Elis Paz Soares ◽  
Juliana Karla da Silva ◽  
Simone Rosa da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Water Losses ◽  
Rational Use ◽  
Water Based ◽  
Conservation Actions

Abstract This paper seeks to propose rational water use indicators for public schools in Recife, Brazil. The methodology consists of a cadastral survey, the use of questionnaires, and identification of leakage in the hydro-sanitary facilities. The results indicate that even though water consumption is not as high as pointed out in the literature, the schools still present a considerable amount of physical water losses, in addition to having a low perception regarding the rational use of water. Based on these results, this study supports the development and application of water conservation actions within the school environment.

scholarly journals Water use, reuse and treatment in the food industry: A theorical study

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. e79
Author(s):  
Tatiane Valeria Rodrigues ◽  
Alexandre Meira de Vasconcelos ◽  
Denize Demarche Minatti Ferreira ◽  
Alessandra Rodrigues Machado de Araujo ◽  
Hans Michael Van Bellen
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Stress ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Water Reuse ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Wastewater Management ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
The Usa

This paper aims to analyze the scientific literature produced on water use, reuse, and treatment, in the food industry during the period between 2008 and 2018. The study considered articles indexed in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, as well as Brazilian theses and dissertations. The research used content analysis to explore the corpus, which was formed by the publications’ abstracts, and the software Iramuteq was used to support the analysis. The content was separated into two lexical blocks: a) “water management,” explained by the classes “water consumption indicators,” “rational use of water,” and “environmental management;” and (b) “wastewater management,” explained by the classes “fluent management” and “measurement and monitoring.” The study pointed to four emergent research opportunities on the theme: “water conservation;” “water reuse;” “new productive standards,” and “empirical studies.” The results show a high interest of Chinese, Indian, and European researchers in water management in all cycles of use, and scarce studies in highly industrialized countries with a strong projection of water stress, such as the USA, Japan, and Russia. Also, it is possible to observe that there is a growing interest in this subject due to the projection of water stress in the near future.

The implications of climate change on residential water use: a micro-scale analysis of Portland (OR), USA

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivek Shandas ◽  
Meenakshi Rao ◽  
Moriah McSharry McGrath
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Residential Water Use ◽  
Residential Water

Social and behavioral research is crucial for securing environmental sustainability and improving human living environments. Although the majority of people now live in urban areas, we have limited empirical evidence of the anticipated behavioral response to climate change. Using empirical data on daily household residential water use and temperature, our research examines the implications of future climate conditions on water conservation behavior in 501 households within the Portland (OR) metropolitan region. We ask whether and how much change in ambient temperatures impact residential household water use, while controlling for taxlot characteristics. Based on our results, we develop a spatially explicit description about the changes in future water use for the study region using a downscaled future climate scenario. The results suggest that behavioral responses are mediated by an interaction of household structural attributes, and magnitude and temporal variability of weather parameters. These findings have implications for the way natural resource managers and planning bureaus prepare for and adapt to future consequences of climate change.

Water Requirements and Conservation Alternatives for Northern Communities

1983 ◽  
Vol 15 (S2) ◽  
pp. 65-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
B C Armstrong ◽  
D W Smith ◽  
J J Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Basic Needs ◽  
Economic Aspects ◽  
Water Requirements ◽  
Rate Structure ◽  
Individual Household

This paper reviews water requirements and the alternatives for water conservation in small, relatively remote northern communities. Requirements are examined in terms of basic needs and desires for sanitation from an individual household and a community perspective. Presented are factors which influence water use such as the method of delivery, household plumbing, socio-economic aspects, rate structure, climate and plumbing codes. Similarly, factors which influence water conservation are identified. Outlined in detail are current methods of reducing water use within the northern household.

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