Public policy for the use of reclaimed water

This article documents the general need to reuse water reclaimed from sewage effluents for beneficial purposes and then considers in detail which specific uses will be most beneficial. The analysis begins by describing five levels of wastewater treatment: primary, secondary, tertiary, advanced, and advanced plus complete treatment. Next, five major uses for reclaimed water are identified: groundwater recharge, industrial use, irrigation, recreational lakes, and direct municipal reuse. Subcategories of reuse falling under each of the five major reuse categories are also identified and discussed. The analysis then proceeds to review significant literature available on health and environmental effects, treatment and distribution costs, and public opinion concerns in relation to each of the five major uses and their related subcategories. The paper concludes with a cumulative numerical analysis of the disbenefits associated with each specific type of reuse summed over the health effects, environmental effects, treatment costs, distribution costs, and public opinion concerns. Uses of reclaimed water for industrial purposes and for irrigation of fodder and fiber crops are found to be most beneficial by the analysis here employed, and use for aquifer recharge and direct municipal reuse are found to be least beneficial.     

INDUSTRIAL WATER DEMAND WITH WATER REUSE1

ABSTRACT: This work establishes an industrial water demand (IWD) model for a short term estimate, which considers water reuse technologies and discharge regulations, for the integrated circuit (IC) industry in northern Taiwan. Based on the optimization of an industrial water cost system, a computerized system dynamics model (SD model) is developed to generate individual firm IWD using data from year 2000. A market IWD is further constructed for 25 1C firms in the study area and is approximated by an inverse logistic curve. Analytical results demonstrate that price elasticity varies with water price in cases involving water reuse.     

THE PRODUCTION OF WATER FROM GEOTHERMAL RESERVOIRS: SOME ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS1

ABSTRACT: Liquid dominated geothermal systems are expected to account for most of the growth in geothermal energy production in the coming decades. Production of water from such systems could significantly augment fresh water supplies. The feasibility of water exploitation is clouded by potential problems related to seismic impacts, land subsidence and the composition of geothermal brines. If these problems can be overcome at little cost, desalination of brines may be feasible. Estimates of water production costs are presented for a variety of desalination technologies, plant sizes and brine water compositions. These estimates show that production costs will range from $139.10/A.F. to $436.00/A.F. at the plant boundary. Economies of scale and brine composition are important determinants of cost. Production costs are substantially in excess of the value of water in alternative uses. However, in certain unique situations, it may be efficient to desalt brines for use in upgrading the quality of municipal water, industrial process water and irrigation water. Unique situations aside, geothermal brines are not likely to provide an economical source of fresh water in the absence of striking changes in the patterns of supply and demand for water.     

COST EFFECTIVE OPERATION OF URBAN WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM USING DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING1

ABSTRACT: Efficient operation of a city water supply system is an important goal of all municipalities. Efficient operation should result in minimum operation cost through reduction in total energy use and/ or reduction in on-peak energy consumption. An optimization model was designed for operating the water supply systems of cities using groundwater. The Newton-Raphson pipe network was used for network analysis and a dynamic programming optimization algorithm was used for determining a schedule for pump operation in the pipe network system. The model is most suitable for use in small cities with up to 45,000 in population, but with large-scale disintegration techniques may also be used for larger cities. The savings in operation costs are a function of energy cost and energy use pattern and water use pattern in the area.     

秦皇岛市水资源现状与可持续利用对策研究

随着社会经济的发展,水资源消耗日益增加,供需矛盾日益突出。秦皇岛市已面临水资源日益紧张的严峻形势,节流和开源,建立节水型社会体系,积极开发利用再生水、海水和雨水等非常规水源以及合理地配置和利用水资源,是实现秦皇岛市水资源可持续利用的有效措施。     

A NONLINEAR MULTILEVEL MODEL FOR REGIONAL WATER RESOURCES PLANNING1

ABSTRACT: A nonlinear multilevel transportation model is developed to study large-scale allocations in a water resources system. The model uses a modified transportation matrix formulated with nonlinear cost functions as the basic subregional model and the goal coordination method for multilevel decomposition and optimization of the overall regional system. The model is applied to projected water requirements for Salt Lake County in 1985. Sources of water supply - surface water, ground water, import water, and reuse of reclaimed wastewater on a restricted basis - are available to satisfy water requirements for municipal, industrial, and agricultural sectors in four subregions. The conjugate gradient projection method is used to optimize the first level subregional models having cost functions of the form of C = aX^b, and the second level problem is solved using the conjugate gradient method.     

THE IMPACT OF WATER QUALITY OBJECTIVES ON URBAN WATER SUPPLY PLANNING1

ABSTRACT: Optimal policies for supplying rapidly expanding urban centers with additional water supplies are shown to be dependent on water quality goals for the urban effluent. As effluents are required to meet increasingly stringent standards, the unit costs associated with adding capacity to existing wastewater treatment systems to renovate some waters for reuse are shown to substantially decrease. A nonlinear elimination algorithm is developed to delineate optimal policies. A model employing the technique was applied to the wastewater treatment system of a typical urban system and the water quality objectives varied. A comparison of costs with and without various levels of reuse were made and unit costs of reused water under these conditions determined.     

RECYCLING INPUT DATA DURING ANALYTIC ELEMENT MODELING NEAR INDIANAPOLIS,INDIANA1

ABSTRACT: Overlapping and adjacent ground water investigations are common in areas where aquifers are threatened by industrial development. In the Indianapolis area in Marion County, Indiana, a patchwork of ground water flow models have been used during the past 20 years to evaluate ground water resources and to determine the effects of local contamination. In every case these ground water models were constructed from scratch. Site specific finite difference grids or finite element meshes inhibit the direct reuse of input data when the area of interest shifts. Because the aquifer is not discretized into a grid or mesh with analytic element models, there are unique opportunities for direct reuse of model input data. In two applications of this principle we illustrate how the newly emerging analytic element method allows a fairly straightforward reuse of model input data from previous models in the same general area. In analytic element models of Central Indiana, streams and their tributaries are represented in different resolutions. Input data items of several modeling studies are stored and cataloged on disk in such a manner that they can be selectively retrieved by a data management program PREPRO. In this manner, a new ground water model can be set up quickly with input data which have been previously defined and tested during model calibration.     

工业园区水管理创新研究

随着工业化和城市化进程,中国的水环境和水安全问题凸显。工业园区在中国经济发展过程中贡献突出,但同时也是环境污染特别是水环境污染的重要来源之一。在日益趋严的绿色生态发展政策导向下,园区实施可持续水管理具有重要现实意义和理论价值。研究基于全生命周期思考和系统优化原则,提出园区水管理创新概念模型,包含供(取)水、用水、废水处理、排放、污水再生回用、污泥处理处置及资源化等与水管理相关的关键环节组成的全生命周期园区水管理体系,实现生命周期全过程管理,防范水风险,改善水环境质量。从多利益相关方的角度,协同园区、企业、周边流域三个层面,采用PDCA循环,设计包含水管理问题识别、成因分析、实施对策和绩效考核四部分的园区水管理创新概念、框架及基本流程,制定以园区管理机构和企业为实施主体的全方位园区水污染防治关键行动,以达到园区和企业水资源消耗总量与用水强度双向优化、周边流域源洁流清,实现可持续生态化绿色发展的长期目标。     

Cost-benefit analysis of electrocyclone and cyclone

We propose a new method of cost-benefit analysis to investigate whether the new air pollution control equipment-electrocyclone vis-a-vis cyclone has the potential for practical use. When the flow rate of waste gas is 1000 m³/min, the cost of cyclone is then compared with that of electrocyclone provided that the benefit side is being fixed. The results show that the capital cost of electrocyclone is higher than that of cyclone, but the operating cost of electrocyclone is much lower than that of cyclone. Straight-line depreciation method is used to calculate the depreciation of capital cost per year. The total cost of electrocyclone is NT$ 160 290 per year which is cheaper than that of cyclone NT$ 225 356.     

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF WATER CONSUMPTION1

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of influence of various factors on municipal water consumption in Illinois. For the collection of basic data, questionnaires were sent to all public water works of incorporated towns. The questionnaire was designed to obtain information on factors which may have any effect on water use. The effects of the different parameters on water consumption were based on several correlation and regression combinations of predictands and predictors. It was found that in the Chicago region the percent of services and water used for commercial and industrial purposes and the age of the water works were the most important parameters influencing water consumption (gallons per capita per day) when pumpage is metered at the water works as well as at the customers. For the State, excluding the Chicago region, percent of public water use, persons per service, population and commercial and industrial water use were the most important parameters. It has been recommended that similar statistical analysis be conducted periodically to establish a trend or law of change from the influencing parameters.     

DISTRIBUTIONAL ISSUES IN WESTERN MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL WATER SUPPLY1

ABSTRACT Financing and repayment provisions of western water projects effect transfers of income among federal taxpayers, electric power users, local water users, and property owners. We use the Bonneville Unit of the Central Utah Project as a case study in the distribution of municipal and industrial water costs. We examine the distribution of costs among taxpayers and water users in different political/geographical jurisdictions, and how this distribution is affected by water law, cost allocation procedures, and the choice of revenue source for local repayment of reimbursable costs. In light of the magnitude of distributional effects of present water policy, we conclude that lack of open debate on water issues is unfortunate. We conclude with speculation on the relationship of western water policy to the motivation of western water leaders who are instrumental in its formulation     

浅谈钢铁企业工业污水处理现状和存在的问题

文章对钢铁企业工业污水处理现状和存在的问题进行了初步的分析和探讨。指出我国钢铁工业要进一步降低钢铁企业吨钢耗用新水量、提高钢铁企业水的重复利用率，需要积极推广应用少水或不用水的工艺技术装备，并应强化合理串级用水，以及加强工业污水的综合处理回用。     

POTENTIAL BENEFITS AND COSTS OF INGROUND STORAGE OF IMPORTED WATER1

ABSTRACT: In the near future, groundwater storage of imported water may become increasingly important as sites for surface storage are less available. This article explores the potential economic costs and benefits of groundwater storage. The costs include capital outlays, maintenance costs, land costs, legal costs, energy costs, and opportunity costs. The benefits include land cost savings, prevention of subsidence, aquifer protection, and higher economic use of surface lands that might be covered by a reservoir.     

COST BEHAVIOR AND WATER SYSTEMS1

ABSTRACT: Several factors theoretically affect the cost behavior of water systems. These factors include scale, consumer density, and per capita usage. This analysis examines the several possible influences on the unit costs of water service. The statistical analyses indicate that among the factors of scale, per capita use, and consumer density, only the first two factors are important influences on water system costs. Water consumers appear to benefit from being served by large systems and being located in service areas characterized by relatively high per capita consumption. There is little statistical evidence indicating that more dense areas can be provided water service at lower costs than less dense areas.     

再生水回用公众参与意愿两阶段影响因素分析

污水再生利用是减少水体污染、缓解水资源供需矛盾和促进城市经济社会可持续发展的重要途径,但公众的偏见和排斥严重制约再生水处理技术的推广和发展。本文整合技术接受拓展模型和技术准备度理论,构建公众参与再生水回用意愿影响因素模型,运用结构方程模型和人工神经网络进行两阶段实证检验。研究表明：感知有用性和感知易用性对公众参与再生水回用意愿有显著正向影响;便利条件和主观规范分别对感知易用性和感知有用性起显著提升作用;技术准备度的消极因素极大地阻碍了公众再生水回用意愿的提升。基于上述结论,本文提出提升宣传的有效性,完善城市再生水配套设施及相关激励政策,联合社区、学校、企业等平台协同推进再生水处理技术推广工作等对策建议,为政府制定科学有效的干预政策,引导公众使用再生水提供重要的理论参考和实践指导。     

Emergy evaluation of an integrated livestock wastewater treatment system

Wastewater treatment practices should pay more attention to their environmental performances due to their resources consumption and emissions’ impact. While reclaimed water reuse seems to have become a promising practice, is it always feasible in any condition? To address this issue, this study carried out an extended emergy evaluation of a holistic wastewater treatment system. On one hand, this method was extended to include the emissions’ impact. On the other hand, this study integrated a wastewater treatment plant, its excess sludge disposal system and treated water disposal system into an integrated wastewater treatment system (IWTS), so as to evaluate its performances more completely. And then several indicators, including cost per unit pollutant eliminated (CUPE), ratio of positive output (RPO), environmental load ratio (ELR), and sustainability index (SI), were proposed for evaluating the performances of an IWTS. Two scenarios (scenario A: wastewater treatment + sludge landfilling + treated water discharges; scenario B: wastewater treatment + sludge landfilling + reclaimed water reuse) for a livestock wastewater treatment plant in Sichuan Agricultural University located in Ya’an City in Southwest China, as cases, were researched. The results show that scenario B has lower positive output efficiency and greater environmental load than scenario A. Meanwhile, the reclaimed water reuse raises cost per unit pollutant eliminated compared with the treated water being discharged directly; emissions’ impact enhances the environmental load of the two scenarios to different degree; emissions’ impact has decisive effect on the sustainability of the two scenarios. These results mean that the reclaimed water reuse should not be advocated in this case. This study provides some policy implications: (1) wastewater treatment process should be comprehensively evaluated from its resources consumption and impact of emissions; (2) reclaimed water reuse should be carefully evaluated from its pros and cons simultaneously; (3) the local conditions should be considered when implementing reclaimed water reuse, such as local water body conditions, market demands, the related laws and regulations, corporations’ economic conditions, etc.     

油气田开发水资源高效利用探

在油气田开发过程中,尤其是干旱缺水地区,处理好生产用水与产出废水之间的关系是油气田企业可持续发展的重要问题。油气田开发水资源高效利用的最终目的是减少淡水的消耗量,主要体现在新鲜水的合理使用及产出废水的回收再利用两个方面。提出应以产出废水为生产水源,研发适合其水质特征的工作液体系,实现产出废水"免处理"再利用;建立油气田开发水管理体系,根据水的不同用途,科学调配新鲜水和产出废水,实现水资源的高效利用。     

ASSESSMENT ANALYSIS FOR WATER SUPPLY ALTERNATIVES1

ABSTRACT Providing adequate water supplies of good quality is becoming a serious problem in many areas of the United States. Some of the alternatives proposed for meeting the growing shortage of clean-water or cheap-water are reallocation, reuse, and importation. This paper outlines a methodology to assess all of these water supply alternatives by examining the amount and time-staging for development of water sources. In conceptualizing the problem, sources of supply are classified in three categories: primary or base supplies, secondary or effluent supplies, and supplementary or imported supplies. A model of the water system is formulated as a “transportation problem” in linear programming depicting the possible sources of supply which can be used to satisfy the requirements of various water users. The optimizing objective in the model is to minimize the cost of water under various assumptions for operating the system. A case study of the Salt Lake Qty, Utah, area is used to illustrate the application of the model in obtaining optimal water supply allocations for projected future demands. Assessment of alternatives in the study include redistribution of supplies, time-staging of supplies and related treatment facilities, and sensitivity of allocations to changes in costs.     

Emergy-based fuzzy optimization approach for water reuse in an eco-industrial park

The establishment of an eco-industrial park (EIP) provides opportunity for individual plants to cooperate with each other in order to utilize resources efficiently and thus reduce waste. The goal of an EIP is to “close the loop” through recycling and reuse of material and energy streams. Studies show with current freshwater consumption trends there would be water stress aggravated by global warming in the near future. This paper presents a model to design an EIP water reuse network that considers overall system sustainability as measured with emergy, as well as cost saving desired by individual plants. Case studies from literature are then solved to illustrate the advantage of this method in decision making. The illustrative examples show how the model achieves a compromise among the potentially conflicting fuzzy goals of the various EIP stakeholders.