Citation:

Ma, Cissy. Transforming Urban Water Systems Towards A More Sustainable Future - Cincinnati. 2022 Energy Exchange, Cincinnati, OH, October 25 - 27, 2022.

Impact/Purpose:

System-based accounting tools for such system-wide evaluations are showcased and provide in-depth analyses of the economic trade-offs, environmental impacts and system performances.  The detailed holistic evaluation helps the decision-makers design more robust, effective and sustainable water systems.

Description:

Water reuse, particularly coupled with wastewater as part of integrated water management, is at the nexus of water, energy, and nutrients. System analysis is needed to quantify the tradeoffs among alternative processes and to design efficient systems to optimize the connections between subsystems. Integrated assessment tools such as life cycle assessment, life cycle impact assessment, life cycle costing, quantitative risk analysis, and emergy analysis provide the complimentary dimensions of environmental impacts, financial expenditure distribution, human risk exposure, thermodynamic behaviors, and resiliency of water systems. Coupling multiple tools captures the complexities and connectivity of the systems, provides optimized solutions, and achieves overall system efficiency. Specifically, integrated assessment of local specificity will be explored on decentralized non-potable water reuse (NPR).  One-Water system designs incorporating water reuse, energy recovery, nutrient recovery, and decentralization will be explored. The metric and tools will aid partners in designing optimized water reuse systems for their specific needs.

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