Is wastewater treatment economically feasible?
In the field of wastewater treatment, an economically feasible WWTP means that all the benefits arising from this process exceed its total costs and, therefore, it is shown that wastewater treatment is a positive process not only from an environmental point of view, but also economically.
Why invest in water and sanitation?
Every $1 invested in water and sanitation provides a $4 economic return from lower health costs, more productivity and fewer premature deaths. "People living in poverty are often the hardest hit by water scarcity and these are the people Water.org helps." Matt Damon, Co-founder
What is the total benefit derived from wastewater treatment?
Therefore, the total benefit derived from wastewater treatment is the sum of the environmental benefits and profits from the sale of the treated water.
What is the economic impact of poor water and sanitation?
An estimated $260 billion is lost globally each year due to lack of basic water and sanitation. Improving household water and sanitation access impacts household finances and ultimately the economy at a macro level. For instance, access to safe water and a toilet at home can reduce a family’s health care expenses.
How does wastewater treatment affect the economy?
Wastewater treatment offers a double value proposition, the report says. In addition to environmental and health benefits, wastewater treatment can bring economic benefits through reuse in different sectors. Its by-products, such as nutrients and biogas, can be used for agriculture and energy generation.
How does water contribute to economic growth?
The poor gain directly from improved access to basic water and sanitation services through improved health, averted health care costs and time saved. Good management of water resources brings more certainty and efficiency in productivity across economic sectors and contributes to the health of the ecosystem.
How does clean water help the economy?
Our cherished way of life depends on clean water: healthy ecosystems provide wildlife habitat and places to fish, paddle, surf, and swim. Our economy depends on clean water: manufacturing, farming, tourism, recreation, energy production, and other economic sectors need clean water to function and flourish.
What is the benefit of wastewater treatment plants?
Wastewater treatment is highly beneficial in manufacturing companies and other industrial businesses. Aside from preserving water and avoiding water pollution, wastewater treatment boost productivity avoids equipment damage and promotes efficient operations.
What economic activities depend on water?
From semiconductor manufacturing, to agriculture, to hotels and restaurants, virtually all sectors of the economy rely on water.
What economic value does water have?
Water is the lifeblood of our economy. We rely on it for manufacturing, energy production, to transport materials across the globe, and more. One-fifth of the US economy would grind to a halt without a reliable and clean source of water.
Why do we need economics for water resources?
It is not only used as an input to economic activity such as irrigation, household and industrial water use, and hydropower generation, but also provides ecosystem services such as the maintenance of wetlands, wildlife support, and river flows for aquatic ecosystems.
Why is water treatment so important?
Water treatment removes contaminants and undesirable components, or reduces their concentration so that the water becomes fit for its desired end-use. This treatment is crucial to human health and allows humans to benefit from both drinking and irrigation use.
Why is water important to economics?
Water gives numerous intangible benefits due to features and difficult to measure unless understanding the reasons why individuals value water. Consumers have different consumption patterns determinated by different factors. They may be consumptive, such as use of water for irrigation or the harvesting of fish, or they may be non-consumptive such as recreational swimming, or the aesthetic value of enjoying a view. Also different sources may be selected for different domestic uses (e.g. drinking, cooking, bathing, and clothes washing), and they may vary seasonally. Although the extent to which this is
How does economic analysis inform decision making?
Economic and financial analysis can inform decisions at the project identification and preparation stages by contributing to strategic choices for offering specific levels of service . These analyses are essential for designing appropriately scaled, cost-effective projects as well as avoiding unnecessary costs of delay and unwise investment. Key areas for analysis are the demand for different levels of service, the use and targeting of public subsidies, and how to reform tariffs and improve utility finances Both economic and financial appraisal are vital parts of project monitoring and evaluation (URL 1). At the same time, economic and financial analyses are clearly distinguished with respect to analytical perspective. Economic analysis considers benefits and costs of a project for the society as a whole and compares alternatives that address an identified problem and objective. Each alternative is analyzed using the same period of analysis and baseline conditions. Financial analysis should be completed if the economic analysis demonstrates that the project is justified. A financial analysis is concerned mostly with a project’s ability to generate enough revenues to pay back financial costs incurred in facility construction and operation (Souza et al. 2011). Therefore, distinction between financial and economic analysis is an important for the project. For example, if the financial and economic boundaries of a project are the same, as in public utility projects differences between financial and economic returns come down to differences between financial and economic prices. The main differences between the economic and financial values of project costs and benefits (Nielsen, 2005). Because, for instance, when calculating the discount rate, inflation is included in financial analysis, which uses nominal prices. Discount rates are used in economic analysis to convert benefit and revenue streams to monetary units of a year of reference thus real prices in economic analysis excludes inflationary effects, but accounts for individual price changes. Similarly, the marginal cost of raw water comprises not only the investment and operation and maintance costs calculated as average incremental cost, but also the opportunity cost of water. The opportunity cost of water is the benefit forgone in the next best alternatives of water. On the benefit side, financial benefits may include both quantifiable and nonquantifiable benefits associated with water from alternative sources being displaced by the project, and new and additional sources of supply becoming available (ADB, 1998). But both approaches include an evaluating process for each alternative then compared to the “without project” scenario, the alternatives are ranked, and the best alternative is selected (Souza et al. 2011).
What are environmental externalities?
The Environmental externalities are those associated public health and ecosystem health. (Rogers at al. 1998). The environmental cost represents the costs of damage that water users impose on the environment and ecosystems and those who use the environment (e.g. a reduction in the ecological quality of aquatic ecosystems or the salinization and degradation of productive soils). Additionally, the environmental costs refer to those associated with the depletion of water ecosystem quality, which in turn leads to a decrease in the capacity of water-related resources to provide goods and services that are beneficial for human well-being (Koundouriat al. 2016.) On the other hand, water treatment industry can be responsible for global environmental impacts, the most common amongst which are the depletion of natural resources and indirect release of pollutants into the water, land and air through chemicals and energy consumption. From this point various environmental, impacts may arise from the various aspects of urban water service provision, including catchment management, the water supply system, water delivery, drinking water treatment, and wastewater treatment. These impacts can be either direct or indirect. To estimate the environmental damage, it is necessary to apply appropriate valuation techniques that allow the estimation of the total economic value of water resources across the various economic sectors, and willingness to pay for the conservation of water resources of all affected individuals (Koundouriet al., 2016). The identification of the potential ways, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) use in evaluating the systems in an environmental impacts – based an in a holistic way that enables the identification of critical processes and the potential improvements for existing structures. The LCA methodology helps to calculate of environmental impacts in a systematic and scientific way by regarding all the inputs and outputs of a system. Hence, it allows for comparison on environmental grounds. LCA has been used widely in the field of urban water management whether for a whole urban water system or for a part of the system
How does environmental impact assessment work?
During construction and start up of the facilities to the Drinking Water Treatment Plants environmental impact assessment provides a systematic process for identifying, describing and evaluating natural and human resources in order to improve decisions about their management. Because apart from the quality and safety of the finished drinking water, numerous other health and environmental protection issues are also evident when considering the impacts of desalination processes. At this stage the qualitative and quantitative data should show that the overall environmental impacts. For example use of land, use of natural resources, use of chemicals, waste generation, emissions, noise, etc. as well as reduction of health risk for population; employment at the plants and poverty reduction impact of the project should be assessed.
What are the full supply costs?
Full supply costs are composed of two separate items: Operation and Maintaince (O&M) Cost, and Capital charges, both of which should be evaluated at the full economic cost of inputs (Rogers at al 1988). Fully supply cost also can be classified as “financial costs”, which is included capital cost, operation and maintenance cost, and administrative cost (Figure 12.3). Treatment costs include operating and capital costs associated with the purification of source of water by the plant and distribution expenditures involve all costs incurred in delivery of the finished or treated drinking water to the consumer (Stevie & Clarck 1980).
What is economic value?
Generally, economic value is represented by the maximum amount a consumer is willing to pay for a commodity thus the worth of a good or service determined by people’s preferences. In addition, the economic value of water is defined as the amount that a rational user of a publicly or privately supplied water resource is willing to pay for it (Ward and Michelsen, 2002). Willingness to pay (WTP) is a set of valuation methods (Table 12.4) that relate the value of a water or improved domestic water supply services to what people are willing to pay for it.
How does access to safe water and sanitation affect the economy?
Access to safe water and sanitation increases economic return. Improving household water and sanitation access impacts household finances and ultimately the economy at a macro level. For instance, access to safe water and a toilet at home can reduce a family’s health care expenses.
How much money is lost due to lack of water?
This is time spent, and income not earned. An estimated $260 billion is lost globally each year due to lack of basic water and sanitation.
How many people lack access to water?
Time spent collecting water or seeking a safe place to go accounts for billions of dollars in lost economic opportunities. There are 785 million people in the world who lack access to safe water, and of them, women are generally tasked with water collection.
What is WTS in wastewater treatment?
Several wastewater treatment systems (WTS) and their related technologies have been improved in order to achieve efficiency in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). This increased number of available alternatives has made the WTS selection process even more complex.
Why is economic analysis important?
The economic analysis is fundamental for any kind of investment decision. From an economic point of view, investing in a project depends on the expected return: the more increase in future profits, the more attractive the project becomes.
What is primary treatment?
1. Primary treatment: This represents a sedimentation process performed before the main treatment system or second phase of the treatment. For domestic wastewater treatment, primary processes remove organic load and a part of the non-organic solids, approximately 25% of the total concentration.
What is WTS in economics?
The ideal configuration of wastewater treatment system (WTS) for attending cities specificities has become a complex decision, due to the fact that there are several available technologies, and a diversity of characteristics presented in the scenario of each city. Considering the importance of economic analysis, especially in developing countries, this work aims to demonstrate the economic feasibility considering cost-related indicators for the ideal WTS selection for specific features in these cities. Based on a literature review, 37 main WTS and two economic cost-related indicators (Net Present Value and Annualized Net Present Value) were considered. First of all, using a multi-criteria analysis these WTS were grouped in classes using the ELECTRE TRI method, based on criteria related to efficiency, and the weights were defined by appointments from research specialists in the literature appointments. The economic analysis was performed using the Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) method, which has been applied specifically to each WTS class, thus generating a framework of economic viability for this context. The WTS with low and high costs were appointed, considering the development level in each applied scenario. This work contributes to expanding the WTS study horizons to select an ideal system, considering the economic aspect.
Why is wastewater treatment important?
In the water resource context, it is known that wastewater treatment has important associated environmental benefits , and in economic terms we could define these as positive externalities. However, in most cases these environmental benefits are not quantified because they have no market value.
Why are wastewater treatment benefits left uncalculated?
However, these benefits are often left uncalculated because they have no market value. In this paper, using the concept of shadow price, a quantification of the environmental benefits derived from wastewater treatment is made.
Why is the quantification of wastewater treatment more complex than calculating costs?
The quantification, in monetary terms, of the environmental benefits derived from wastewater treatment is much more complex than calculating costs — because these benefits are not captured by the market.
What is cost benefit analysis of wastewater treatment?
This paper presents a cost–benefit analysis of wastewater treatment with a valuation of environmental externalities. This methodology enables economic feasibility studies to be made for wastewater treatment and water reuse projects that take into account the monetary value of the so-called environmental externalities.
What is a CBA in wastewater treatment?
Once the environmental benefits are estimated and the economic costs of the treatment processes are known , a CBA is made for each of the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) under study. In this way, a useful economic feasibility indicator is obtained for WWTP operation. Previous article.
Why is wastewater treated?
The main goal of wastewater treatment is to preserve the environment and keep the pollutants out of rivers and oceans. Water is used in a variety of industries for different purposes such as manufacturing, heating, cooling, as a solvent or rinse waters. This water eventually becomes wastewater and cannot be discharged to a municipal sewer system ...
What are the advantages and disadvantages of wastewater treatment?
Advantages: Saves on disposal costs; No need for storage or scheduling; Treated water can be reused in industrial processes or discharged to municipal sewers; Metals can be recovered from wastewater and sold generating a revenue stream; Positive environmental and social impact. Disadvantages: Initial capital costs;
How much wastewater is treated annually?
Billions of litres of wastewater are treated every year in wastewater treatment plants around the world. This wastewater, both industrial and municipal, can contain various pollutants depending on the source. Wastewater may contain soap, waste products, food scraps, human waste, oils and in some cases, metals.
Can wastewater be discharged to a municipal sewer?
This water eventually becomes wastewater and cannot be discharged to a municipal sewer system without prior treatment. Operating a wastewater treatment plant can be expensive taking into account initial capital costs, spare parts, reagents, labour and possibily even hazardous materials handling.
Do you have to treat wastewater onsite?
No need to treat wastewater onsite; Low labour and no maintenance; Convenience. Disadvantages: Disposal companies charge a lot for their specialized services; Effluents must be stored and segregated until scheduled removal; Does not contribute to sustainability objectives.
Is wastewater treatment sustainable?
Lack of proper wastewater treatment facilities and use of outdated facilities based on old technologies do not contribute to a sustainable future. Many wastewater treatment plants around the world are struggling to meet discharge limits and to comply with government imposed regulations.