Understanding the water-energy-carbon nexus in urban water utilities: Comparison of four city case studies and the relevant influencing factors

Energy

Volumn 75, Issue , 2014, Pages 153-166

  Venkatesh, G ^a   Chan, Arthur ^a   Brattebø, Helge ^a  

^a NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY   (Norway)

Author keywords

Energy; GHG emissions; Urban water systems; Wastewater treatment; Water; Water treatment

Indexed keywords

CARBON; GREENHOUSE GASES; SANITATION; WASTEWATER DISPOSAL; WASTEWATER TREATMENT; WATER; WATER QUALITY; WATER SUPPLY; WATER TREATMENT;

ENERGY; GHG EMISSION; POLICY INTERVENTION; SANITATION SERVICES; URBAN ENVIRONMENTS; URBAN WATER SYSTEMS; WASTEWATER COLLECTION; WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITIES;

RIVERS;

CLIMATE CHANGE; ENERGY PLANNING; ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING; ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION; URBAN AREA; WATER PLANNING; WATER QUALITY; WATER USE;

CANADA; FRANCE; ITALY; NORWAY;

EID: 85027923440     PISSN: 03605442     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2014.06.111     Document Type: Article

References (68)

1. Alber G. Gender, cities and climate change. Thematic report prepared for cities and climate change - global report on human settlements 2011.
2. Alberstat J. Halifax water taps into turbine power 2013 Jan 23, Chronicle Herald, [Sect. Business].
3. Amores M.J., Meneses M., Pasqualino J., Anton A., Castells F. Environmental assessment of urban water cycle on Mediterranean conditions by LCA approach. JClean Prod 2013, 43:84-92.
4. Beatley T. Wild urbanism: deep connections to forest+ Fjord in Oslo 2012, Available from:, [accessed March 2013]. http://biophiliccities.org/wild-urbanism-deep-connections-to-forest-fjord-in-oslo/.
5. Blanco H., Newell J., Stott L., Alberti M. Water supply scarcity in Southern California: assessing water district level strategies 2012, Center for Sustainable Cities, Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Available from:, [accessed February 2013]. http://sustainablecities.usc.edu/research/publications.html.
6. Bonton A., Bouchard C., Barbeau B., Jedrzejak S. Comparative life cycle assessment of water treatment plants. Desalination 2012, 284(0):42-54.
7. Cassardo C., Jones J.A.A. Managing water in a changing world. Water 2011, 3:618-628.
8. Chan A. Characterising the water-energy nexus of Toronto's urban water system 2012, [project report], Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim.
9. CML CML 2002 impact assessment method 2001, University of Leiden, Institute of Environmental Sciences. http://www.leidenuniv.nl.
10. De Sousa M.R.C., Montalto F.A., Spatari S. Using life cycle assessment to evaluate green and grey combined sewer overflow control strategies. JInd Ecol 2012, 16(6):901-913.
11. EGC Water consumption. European Green Capital Award Nantes 2012-2013 2012, Available from:, [accessed March 2013]. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/EGCNantesUKChap9-F.pdf.
12. Encyclopædia Britannica Public health. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition 2013, Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., Available from:, [accessed January 2013]. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/482384/public-health.
13. Environment Canada Canadian climate normals 1971-2000 2011, Available from:, [accessed October 2012]. http://climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_e.html?stnID=5051%26lang=e%26dCode=1%26province=ONT%26provBut=%26month1=0%26month2=12.
14. ESMAP Aprimer on energy efficiency for municipal water and wastewater utilities 2012, Technical Report, Energy Sector Management Assistance Program, World Bank, Washington DC, Report No. 001/12.
15. EUCO2 European future project against climate change 2011, Emission scenarios, Turin.
16. Flower D.M., Mitchell V.G., Codner G.P. Urban water systems: drivers of climate change?. 3rd International Rainwater Catchment Systems Conference and 5th International Water Sensitive Urban Design Conference. Sydney 2007.
17. Gambert P. Eau: l'usine de la Roche bientÔt reconstruite - Nantes. Ouest France 2013 Mar 20, Available from:, [accessed April 2013]. http://www.ouest-france.fr/actu/actuLocale_-Eau-l-usine-de-la-Roche-bientot-reconstruite-_44109-avd-20130320-64784288_actuLocale.Htm.
18. Hofman J.A.M.H., de Graaff M.S., Vliegen S.M.J.A.J., de Man A.W.A., Klaversma E., van Loosdrecht M.C.M. Energy in the watercycle: two case studies. World Congress on water, climate and Energy 2012, International Water Association, Dublin.
19. Hofman J., Hofman-Caris R., Nederlof M., Frijns J., van Loosdrecht M. Water and energy as inseparable twins for sustainable solutions. Water Sci Technol 2010, 63(1):88-92.
20. Ijjaz-Vasquez E.J. Uzbekistan energy efficiency in urban water utilities in Central Asia. ESMAP technical series 2005, Energy Sector Management Assistance Program, World Bank, Washington DC.
21. Invest Toronto Economic overview 2013, Available from:, [accessed May 2013]. http://www.investtoronto.ca/Business-Toronto/Business-Environment/Economic-Overview.aspx.
22. Kenway S. Energy use in the provision and consumption of urban water in Australia and New Zealand 2008, Water for a Healthy Country Flagship Report, CSIRO.
23. Kupferman S. Unseen city: the R.C. Harris water treatment plant. Torontoist 2011 Jan 3, Available from:, [accessed October 2012]. http://torontoist.com/2011/01/unseen_city_the_rc_harris_water_treatment_plant/.
24. Lamprea K., Ruban V. Pollutant concentrations and fluxes in both stormwater and wastewater at the outlet of two urban watersheds in Nantes (France). Urban Water J 2011, 8(4):219-231.
25. Lofrano G. Green technologies for wastewater treatment: Energy recovery and emerging compounds removal 2012, Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht.
26. Lundin M., Morrison G.M. Alife cycle assessment based procedure for development of environmental sustainability indicators for urban water systems. Urban Water 2002, 4(2):145-152.
27. Mahaut V., Andrieu H., Joannis C. Impact of climate change and urban development scenarios on waste water overflows from the combined sewage in Nantes, France. 12th International Conference on Urban Drainage 2011 Sept 11-16, Porto Alegre (Brazil). Available from:, [accessed April 2013]. http://web.sbe.hw.ac.uk/staffprofiles/bdgsa/temp/12th%2520ICUD/PDF/PAP005550.pdf.
28. Mehta V.K., Malghan D., Goswami R., Kemp-Benedict E., Wang D. The political economy of a seventeen-hundred million-liters-per-day soda machine: the water-energy nexus in Bangalore, India. International Conference on Inequality and Sustainability 2012 Nov 9-10, Tufts University, Medford (Massachusetts), Available from:, [accessed February 2013]. http://www.urbanmetabolism.in/bangalore/presentations/political-economy-seventeen-hundred-million-liters-day-soda-machine-water-energy-nexus.
29. Minne L., Pandit A., Crittenden J.C., Begovic M.M., Kim I., Jeong H., James J.A., Lu Z., Xu M., French S., Subrahmanyam M., Noonan D., Brown M.A., Chandler J., Chen Y., Williams E., Desroches R., Bras B., Li K., Chang M. Energy and water interdependence, and their implications for urban areas. Electrical transmission systems and smart grids: selected entries from the encyclopedia of sustainability science and technology 2013, 239-270. Springer Science+Business Media, New York. 10.1007/978-1-4419-0851-3. M.M. Begovic (Ed.).
30. OECD Regional economic disparities. OECD regions at a glance 2011, Available from:, [accessed October 2013]. http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/reg_glance-2011-en/03/06/index.html;jsessionid=1s2dvipa67ub0.delta?contentType=%26itemId=/content/chapter/reg_glance-2011-11-en%26containerItemId=/content/serial/19990057%26accessItemIds=/content/book/reg_glance-2011-en%26mimeType=text/html.
31. Olsson G. Water and energy: threats and opportunities 2012, IWA, London.
32. Oslo Kommune European green capital application 2008, City Chief Commissioner's Department, Oslo, Available from:, [accessed February 2013]. http://www.oslo.kommune.no/getfile.php/byr%25C3%25A5dsavdeling%2520for%2520milj%25C3%25B8%2520og%2520samferdsel%2520%2528MOS%2529/Internett%2520%2528MOS%2529/Dokumenter/presentasjoner/Oslo_ECG_aplication.pdf.
33. Oslo Kommune Cleaner water in the Akers River 2013, Water and Sewage Works, Miljøportalen. Oslo, Available from:, [accessed May 2013]. http://www.miljo.oslo.kommune.no/english/water/cleaner_water_in_the_akers_river/.
34. Oslo VAV Skullerud vannbehandlingsanlegg 2008, Vann-og avløpsetaten, Oslo, Available from:, Accessed February 2013. http://www.vann-og-avlopsetaten.oslo.kommune.no/getfile.php/vann-%2520og%2520avl%25C3%25B8psetaten%2520%2528VAV%2529/Internett%2520%2528VAV%2529/Pdf/Skullerud%2520brosjyre%2520aug%25202008.pdf.
35. Oslo VAV Oset water treatment plant 2008, Vann-og avløpsetaten, Oslo, Available from:, [accessed February 2013]. http://www.deich.folkebibl.no/arkiv/brosjyrer/brosjyre177.pdf.
36. Oslo VAV Water supply in Oslo 2008, Vann-og avløpsetaten, Oslo.
37. Oslo VAV New water treatment plant in Oslo 2008, Vann-og avløpsetaten, Oslo, Available from:, [accessed February 2013]. http://www.vann-og-avlopsetaten.oslo.kommune.no/getfile.php/vann-%2520og%2520avl%25C3%25B8psetaten%2520%2528VAV%2529/Internett%2520%2528VAV%2529/Dokumenter/ThinkWater/City%2520of%2520Oslo/New%2520water%2520treatment%2520plant%2520in%2520Oslo.pdf.
38. Oslo VAV Oset vannbehandlingsanlegg 2008, Vann-og avløpsetaten, Oslo, Available from:, [accessed February 2013]. http://www.vann-og-avlopsetaten.oslo.kommune.no/getfile.php/vann-%2520og%2520avl%25C3%25B8psetaten%2520%2528VAV%2529/Internett%2520%2528VAV%2529/Dokumenter/Nye%2520Oset/Oset-%2520teknisk%2520brosjyre%25202008.pdf.
39. Perez A. Oslo case study. Nature needs half; undated. Available from: , [accessed April 2013]. http://natureneedshalf.org/oslo/.
40. Perrone D., Murphy J., Homberger G.M. Gaining perspective on the water-energy nexus at the community scale. Environ Sci Technol 2011, 45(10):4228-4234.
41. Pitas V., Fazekas B., Banyai Z., Karpati A. Energy efficiency of the municipal wastewater treatment. JBiotechnol 2010, 150:163-164.
42. PRé Consultants Simapro 7.1.5 2008, PRé Consultants, Amersfoort, the Netherlands.
43. Racoviceanu A., Karney B., Kennedy C., Colombo A. Life-cycle energy use and greenhouse gas emissions inventory for water treatment systems. JInfrastructure Syst 2007, 13(4):261-270.
44. Real M. The behaviour of large solar power stations in the Swiss Alps. Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference 1982, 51-56. Springer, Netherlands. W.H. Bloss, G. Grassi, E.C. Fourth (Eds.).
45. Romero Lankao P. Water in Mexico City: what will climate change bring to its history of water-related hazards and vulnerabilities?. Environ Urbanization 2010, 22(1):157-178.
46. Roveri C., Genon G., Glacosa G., Morello G., Meucci L. Ground water nitrate removal: comparison between reverse osmosis and heterotrophic bacterial process 2000, IWA Publishing.
47. Sahely H.R., Kennedy C. Water use model for quantifying environmental and economic sustainability indicators. JWater Resour Plan Manag 2007, 133(6):550-559.
48. Sandia National Laboratories Energy-water nexus overview 2005, Sandia Corporation, Available from:, [accessed October 2012]. http://www.sandia.gov/energy-water/nexus_overview.htm.
49. Siddiqi A., Anadon L.D. The water-energy nexus in Middle East and North Africa. Energy Policy 2011, 39(8):4529-4540.
50. Sima L.C., Kelner-Levine E., Eckelman M.J., McCarty K.M., Elimelech M. Water flows, energy demand, and market analysis of the informal water sector in Kisumu, Kenya. Ecol Econ 2013, 87(0):137-144.
51. Spears J. So who's going to pay?. Tor Star 2007 Jan 20, [accessed April 2013].
52. Stern N. The economics of climate change - the stern review 2006, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
53. Stillwell A.S., Hoppock D., Webber M. Energy recovery from wastewater treatment plants in the United States: a case study of the energy-water nexus. Sustainability 2010, 2(4):945-962.
54. Stillwell A.S., King C.W., Webber M.E., Duncan I.J., Hardberger A. Energy-water nexus in Texas 2009, University of Texas at Austin, Austin.
55. Swiss Centre for Life-cycle Inventories. Ecoinvent database v. 2.01. http://www.ecoinvent.org.
56. Tokyo Bureau of Sewerage. Water saver industrial commercial institutional incentive program. [undated] Available from: , [accessed March 2013]. http://www.gesui.metro.tokyo.jp/english/c40/img/Toronto.pdf.
57. Toronto Board of Trade Toronto as a global city: scorecard on prosperity - 2012 2012, Toronto Board of Trade, Toronto.
58. TRCA No power, no shower 2010, Toronto and Region Conservation, Toronto.
59. Urban Audit Nantes - city profile 2008, Available from:, Accessed March 2013. http://www.urbanaudit.org/index.aspx.
60. US EPA Energy efficiency for water and wastewater utilities - sustainable infrastructure 2012, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Available from:, [accessed October 2012]. http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/sustain/energyefficiency.cfm.
61. Vachon M. Nantes' and Oslo's urban water systems: assessing benefits from water-energy nexus interventions 2012, [MSc. Industrial Ecology thesis], Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim.
62. Vairavamoorthy K. Energy efficient water utilities inlower and middle income countries. World water week 2011, [Stockholm (Sweden)].
63. Venkatesh G. System performance analysis of Oslo's water and wastewater system 2011, [PhD dissertation], Institutt for vann- og miljøteknikk, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim.
64. Venkatesh G. Cost-benefit analysis - leakage reduction by rehabilitating old water pipelines: case study of Oslo (Norway). Urban Water J 2012, 9(4):277-286.
65. Venkatesh G., Brattebø H. Energy consumption, costs and environmental impacts for urban water cycle services: case study of Oslo (Norway). Energy 2011, 36(2):792-800.
66. Wang X., Lieu J., Ren N., Duan Z. Environmental profile of typical anaerobic/anoxic/oxic wastewater treatment systems meeting increasingly stringent treatment standards from a life cycle perspective. Bioresour Technol 2012, 126(0):31-40.
67. WRF Knowledge portals - energy management: energy efficiency & treatment FAQs 2013, Water Research Foundation, Colorado, Available from:, [accessed March 2013. http://www.waterrf.org/knowledge/energy-management/efficiency-treatment/Pages/faqs.aspx.
68. Zappone M. Environmental balance for the water treatment and distribution in the Turin area, definition and comparison 2012, [MSc thesis], Politecnico di Turin & Norwegian University of Science and Technology.