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Addressing the Life Cycle of Sewers in Contrasting Cities through an Eco‐Efficiency Approach

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  • Anna Petit‐Boix
  • Carla Arnal
  • Desirée Marín
  • Alejandro Josa
  • Xavier Gabarrell
  • Joan Rieradevall

Abstract

Evaluating the sustainability of the urban water cycle is not straightforward, although a variety of methods have been proposed. Given the lack of integrated data about sewers, we applied the eco‐efficiency approach to two case studies located in Spain with contrasting climate, population, and urban and sewer configurations. Our goal was to determine critical variables and life cycle stages and provide results for decision making. We used life cycle assessment and life cycle costing to evaluate their environmental and economic impacts. Results showed that both cities have a similar profile, albeit their contrasting features, that is, operation and maintenance, was the main environmental issue (50% to 70% of the impacts) and pipe installation registered the greatest economic capital expenditure (70% to 75%) due to labor. The location of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is an essential factor in our analysis mainly due to the topography effects (e.g., the annual pump energy was 13 times greater in Calafell). Using the eco‐efficiency portfolio, we observed that sewers might be less eco‐efficient than WWTPs and that we need to envision their design in the context of an integrated WWTP‐sewer management to improve sewer performance. In terms of methodological approach, the bidimensional nature of eco‐efficiency enables the benchmarking of product systems and might be more easily interpreted by the general public. However, there are still some constraints that should be addressed to improve communication, such as the selection of indicators discussed in the article.

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  • Anna Petit‐Boix & Carla Arnal & Desirée Marín & Alejandro Josa & Xavier Gabarrell & Joan Rieradevall, 2018. "Addressing the Life Cycle of Sewers in Contrasting Cities through an Eco‐Efficiency Approach," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 22(5), pages 1092-1104, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:inecol:v:22:y:2018:i:5:p:1092-1104
    DOI: 10.1111/jiec.12649
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Venkatesh, G. & Brattebø, Helge, 2011. "Energy consumption, costs and environmental impacts for urban water cycle services: Case study of Oslo (Norway)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 792-800.
    2. Cornelis Leeuwen & Jos Frijns & Annemarie Wezel & Frans Ven, 2012. "City Blueprints: 24 Indicators to Assess the Sustainability of the Urban Water Cycle," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(8), pages 2177-2197, June.
    3. Anna Petit-Boix & David Sanjuan-Delmás & Sergio Chenel & Desirée Marín & Carles Gasol & Ramon Farreny & Gara Villalba & María Suárez-Ojeda & Xavier Gabarrell & Alejandro Josa & Joan Rieradevall, 2015. "Assessing the Energetic and Environmental Impacts of the Operation and Maintenance of Spanish Sewer Networks from a Life-Cycle Perspective," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 29(8), pages 2581-2597, June.
    4. Anna Petit-Boix & Núria Roigé & Albert de la Fuente & Pablo Pujadas & Xavier Gabarrell & Joan Rieradevall & Alejandro Josa, 2016. "Integrated Structural Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Equivalent Trench-Pipe Systems for Sewerage," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 30(3), pages 1117-1130, February.
    5. Anna Petit-Boix & David Sanjuan-Delmás & Carles Gasol & Gara Villalba & María Suárez-Ojeda & Xavier Gabarrell & Alejandro Josa & Joan Rieradevall, 2014. "Environmental Assessment of Sewer Construction in Small to Medium Sized Cities Using Life Cycle Assessment," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 28(4), pages 979-997, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Emily Grubert & Jennifer Stokes-Draut, 2020. "Mitigation Life Cycle Assessment: Best Practices from LCA of Energy and Water Infrastructure That Incurs Impacts to Mitigate Harm," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-17, February.

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