Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Water

Transcription

1 Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Water Wendy L. Wilson 520 SW 6th Ave, Portland, Oregon

2 If just 2% of the earth s water is fresh 2

3 Then why are we using it to do this? 3

4 Watershed groups are a rapidly growing nonprofit sector Number of new org s registered with IRS 1,200 1, '90-'93 '94-'97 ' '02-'05 Natural Resources Water & Wetlands Land Conservation Wildlife (All Types) Alliances & Advocacy Environmental Education Pollution Abatement Forest Resources Energy Source: Straughan & Pollak, The Broader Movement,

5 Potential Watershed level actions:. 1. Maintain ground water/ stream flows through conservation 2. Reduce energy used for public water supplies 3. Reduce water-use impacts of energy development 4. Reduce local temperatures/ heat island effects 5. Sustain watershed functions and water yields 6. Create Climate-resilient communities - floodplains, wildlife corridors, water quality 5

6 Water Use Cycle Energy Intensities Source (kwh/mg) Water Use Cycle Boundary Supply & Conveyance [0-16,000] Water Treatment [100-16,000] Recycled Water Treatment [400-1,200] Water Distribution [700-1,200] Recycled Water Distribution End-use Agricultural Residential Commercial Industrial Discharge [0-400] Wastewater Treatment [1,100-4,600] Wastewater Collection Source Typical Range = 2,000 to 20,000 kwh/mg Source: California Energy Commission, 2005 Integrated Energy 6 Policy Report

7 Source water matters A pristine river A healthy aquifer Stormwater Greywater Leachate from septic tanks Treated wastewater 7

8 Waste water matters 75 billion kilowatt hours per year 3% of electricity More than pulp/paper and petroleum sectors combined Public bill = Already $4B/yr. * 60,000 drinking water treatment plants + 15,000 sewage treatment plants 8 Sources: Pacific Institute & NRDC

9 Total Water-Related Energy Use System inputs: Groundwater pumping, inter-basin transfers, pumping to drinking treatment plants and to homes, sewage treatment plants and discharge. (Typical range: 1,250 6,500kWh/MG) End use residential: Water heating End use commercial: Businesses and institution water heating, (no data on industrial heating & cooling) Indirect inputs: Concrete production, new pipelines, etc. Total: 9 137,864 MkWh 304,200 MkWh 79,100 MkWh 0 521,164 MkWh

10 Energy in our Water Estimated Water-Related Energy Use, 2005 Commerical/Ind H20 Heating 600,000 Residential H2O Heating 500,000 Waste water treatment 400,000 Agriculture 300,000 Commerical & Ind Water Supply 200,000 Residential Water Supply 100,000 - Nationwide in MkWh equivilent 10

11 Where is the carbon? Residential H2O Heating 58% Commerical/ Ind H20 Heating 12% Residential Water Supply 5% Commerical Water Supply 3% Agriculture 6% Waste water treatment 16% National Water-Related Carbon Emissions (290 million metric tons) 11

12 a carbon footprint of 290 million metric tons of CO2 is equivalent to 13% of U.S. electrical production. (Total production 3.92 Trillion kwh) 12

13 resource-library/carbonfootprint-water 13

14 Steps to Reduce the Energy Intensity of Public Water Supplies Assure energy-use data is collected from water utilities. Train nation s water supply and wastewater leaders promote conservation/ efficiency/ reuse through state policies, revolving fund projects and local programs. 14

15 Nationwide survey of water utilities 38% have conservationoriented rates Inverted Block Seasonal Uniform Block Declining Block Other Source: Adapted from the 2002 RFC Water and Wastewater 15 Rate Survey; 148 systems surveyed

16 Residential Indoor Savings Toilets Faucets Showerheads Washing machines Dishwashers Hot water heaters* * Tankless models save little water, but a lot of energy 16

17 Saving water reduces carbon Indoor water efficiency could save much of the current water-related energy use. but Outdoor conservation strategies could reduce need to develop new energy-intensive water sources. 17

18 Different priorities in each watershed Commercial sector can provide significant energy savings by targeting most energy intensive uses. Leakage reduction can have high water conservation impact but less energy savings. 18

19 Building Climate Resilient Communities LID and reuse strategies reduce wastewater treatment, increase groundwater and reduce pollution. Accelerate investments that create blue-cities Community-based green-jobs Reduce flooding, public health and safety hazards. 19

20 Forested before development Surface Runoff Shallow Infiltration Deep Infiltration 20

21 After typical development Shallow Infiltration Deep Infiltration Surface Runoff 21

22 An Emerging Perfect Storm Watershed Degradation + Climate Change = Loss of groundwater recharge and less reliable water supplies. 22

23 Water wasted by development Shallow Infiltration Deep Infiltration Surface Runoff 23

24 Future Development Impacts? A 10 foot drop in groundwater levels nationwide could: Increased energy used to pump groundwater by over 1.5 billion kwh Costs increase by $150 million for pumping-related energy Emissions increase of 2 billion pounds of CO2 Assuming 60% pump efficiency, 1.34 lbs CO2 per kwh, and $0.10 per kwh 24

25 What is a Wedge? A wedge is a strategy to reduce carbon emissions that grows in 50 years from zero to 1.0 GtC/yr. The strategy has already been commercialized at scale somewhere. Total = 25 Gigatons carbon 1 GtC/yr 50 years Cumulatively, a wedge redirects the flow of 25 GtC in its first 50 years. This is 2.5 trillion dollars at $100/tC. A solution to the CO 2 problem should provide 25 at least one wedge.

26 The Blue Wedge?? Reuse 40% Efficiency 25% Conservation 10% 26

27 Cross sector efforts: 1. Share results of pilots and at scale practices. 2. Policy incentives to break vicious cycle 3. Share training resources 4. Develop crosssector leadership groups 27