2nd International Conference Graz
October, 10th 2012
Techniques to save water quantity
PP5 (LCA)
PPs: LCA, LfULG, RNA
Overview
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Aim and importance of the adaptation
The techniques to save water quantity
The steps needed to adopt the techniques
The obstacles encountered and how these can
be approached
Aim and importance of the adaptation
• Evaluate and develop techniques to save water
quantity to be transferred to other countries
• High and rapid increase in the demand for water
• Higher temperatures and variability in
precipitation patterns
• Promotes sustainable groundwater management
and sustainable future planning throughout the
EU
Malta
• No surface waters of economical
importance
• Groundwater (44%) and Desalination
process (56%)
• 4 out of 15 groundwater bodies
classified as at risk of failing to achieve
the WFDs due to groundwater
quantity
• Both Mean Sea Level Groundwater
Bodies yield 66% of the total
groundwater extracted in the country
• Annual abstraction exceeding the
mean annual recharge
Source: MRA, 2011
Techniques
• Regulation of the private
water supply operators
• Metering of private
groundwater abstraction
sources
• Increase the capacity of
rainwater runoff storage
facilities
• Pilot projects on water
demand management and
supply augmentation
measures
Germany
• Rich in water resources (188
billion m3 )
• Some regions can only use a
limited volume of water
• Groundwater is the source of
approximately 75% of
Germany’s drinking water
• Few water bodies are of poor
quantitative status (4%)
• Quantitative deficiencies
occur due to mining activities
Techniques
• Regulation and laws (water
laws, drinking water
protection area)
• Artificial groundwater
recharge mostly by bank
filtration
• Most of the 80 dams in the
country are linked in a
composite system, in order to
allow prolonged dry periods to
be bridged
• Monitoring of the available
water resources
• Stormwater management
methods
How to achieve these water saving techniques?
• Water awareness
– Education and Politics
– Encourage local
stakeholders to use TSE
for agricultural
purposes
– Revise current local
policies and legislations
– Promoting water use
efficiency measures in
different sectors of the
economy
• Water Price
– Enforce new legislations on
boreholes to meter the quantity of
water extracted from each
borehole
– Increase control on urban water
demand through tariffs
– Monitor and conduct frequent spot
checks to minimise water theft and
billing anomalies
– Minimise water network leakages
such as service-pipe leakages
through better infrastructural
techniques
• Private and Public water
saving measures
– Stop function for toilet
flushing
– Self-closing water taps
– Water saving shower
heads, pressure regulators
– Water efficient washing
machines and dishwashers
• Rainwater Management
– Private household
rainwater can be used for
irrigation and toilet
flushing
– Water conserving
operations in agricultural
and industrial sectors
– Promote the collection of
stormwater runoff through
better water management
infrastructure techniques
Obstacles encountered and how to tackle them
• Consumption patterns may be
difficult to change
– Public perception is very
hard to change
– Regular meetings organised
with stakeholders to
evaluate their current
activities and advise them
to adopt water saving
techniques
• Lack of public awareness
– Stakeholders participate in
information meetings,
conferences, and onsite
sessions on the benefits of
using specific techniques to
save water quantity
– Informative documentation
to the public should be
made available promoting
the techniques to save
water quantity in each
economic sector
• Limited water management infrastructure to save
water quantity
– Techniques to safeguard water quantity exist but these
require efforts from the authorities to be implemented
– Strategic assessments are required to identify the areas
where water management infrastructure to save water
quantity can operate
• Techniques and systems are more or less expensive
– Costs and efforts to provide sufficient water for household,
agriculture and industry are expensive
– Infrastructure is costly and should be flexible
Conclusion
• Promote sustainable
techniques to save
water quantity
• All methods and
techniques to save
water quantity are
useless unless we
address the problem of
poor water quality
Thank you
Emma Cassar
Water Resource Specialist,
AIS Environmental Limited
www.aisenvironmental.com