Urban Sustainability Incentives for Residential Water Conservation: Adoption of Multiple High Efficiency Appliances

Effects of multiple types of water use efficiency appliances on long term water savings and water use trend shifts were analyzed. The study group included senior and low income families in the urban areas of Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA. The participants in the study group experienced continuous and significant water savings within 3 years of the implementation of the water conservation incentives. Water savings were observed at approximately 200 l per household per day, which is about 31 % reduction in household water demand in comparison to the average residential water demand within the County. The water use profile of participants showed noticeable shifts over time in water demand frequency curves toward lower water consumption rates. The cost-saving analysis showed that adoption of multiple water efficiency appliances contributed to the highest annual monetary savings (i.e., high water savings and moderate product costs). Future conservation program planning efforts should take both water savings and product cost into account in order to achieve the greatest benefits.     

灌溉泵站流量调节及变频调速节能效益分析

为提高水泵机组运行性能和灌溉供水效益,根据水泵运转关联性函数,联合流量调节变频调速特性,对筛珠洞灌区三级泵站技改方案进行评估分析,并确定与工程实际相匹配的流量调节控制策略。结果表明:变频器智能运算生成与灌溉需水量相符的电源频率,经水泵转速改变实现管阻特性不变条件下的流量动态准确调节。通过合理更新升级改造,水泵机组电能转换效率和自动化控制水平得到全面提高,流量调节响应快,动作可靠性高,供水用电单耗降低。     

汾河三坝灌区秋冬水春用实践

汾河灌区近几年来干旱严重，汾河水源短缺剧增，农业用水大幅下降，而三坝灌区处于汾河灌区最下游，输水距离远，各种损失大，库水春浇只能满足正常引水的7．9％，甚至出现停灌针对这一大问题，三坝灌区在不影响作物正常生长与收获的情况下，秋季灌溉提前引水，以满足作物春季用水，利用拦河坝，对水资源在时间和空间上调控，提高水的利用率。     

A Desktop Analysis of Potable Water Savings from Internally Plumbed Rainwater Tanks in South-East Queensland,Australia

A methodology for the estimation of household potable water saving due to internally plumbed rainwater tanks (IPT) is presented in this paper. The methodology is based on a pairwise comparison of household water billing data between homes with IPT and without rainwater tanks (No Tank). These savings were compared with estimations using measured end use data and rainwater demand predictions using the Rainwater TANK model. The paper describes the application of this methodology to a case study in the south-east Queensland (SEQ) region of Australia. There was a significant reduction in mains water consumption for IPT properties in all regions studied in SEQ. Water reductions from mains supplies varied markedly across regions with mean values ranging from 20 to 95 kL/hh/y with an average mean of 50 kL/hh/y. Median water consumption values, ranged in mains water reductions from 28 to 52 kL/hh/y, with an average median of 40 kL/hh/y. Considering both measures an average water saving between 40 and 50 kL/hh/y can be expected from internally plumbed rainwater tanks. Water restrictions appear to have a strong influence on estimated reductions in mains water use. In regions where water restrictions were severe, water consumption was less varied between No Tank and IPT homes with a consequent reduction in estimated savings observed. Recommendations for further work include a survey to capture confounding factors that could not be fully controlled in the desktop study and a controlled pairwise experiment to monitor water consumption from raintanks.     

长沙市节水型社会建设的实践与探索

作为全国节水型社会建设第三批试点城市,湖南省长沙市紧紧围绕"两型社会"建设大局,坚持以提高用水效率和效益为核心,以制度建设为动力,以节水示范工程建设为重点,近3年来,有计划、有步骤地认真开展试点工作,成功创建了节水型社会建设"长沙模式",满足了全市人民生活和经济又好又快发展对用水的需求。     

宝鸡市多措并举强力推进节水型社会建设

2008年,宝鸡市被水利部确定为全国第三批节水型社会建设试点,按照节水型社会建设要求,宝鸡市以“强力推进、全面建设、突出重点、彰显特色”为宗旨,强化措施,狠抓落实,提前实现了预期目标,取得了良好的经济效益、社会效益和环境效益。     

英国气候变化风险评估

英国政府目前正在着手对因气候变化造成的风险进行全面评估,并将制订适应气候变化的计划,以便为应对气候变化提供明确的指导,提高各行业适应气候变化的能力。以水的供需平衡为例,简要阐述了风险评估的过程与结果。结果表明,未来需水量会随温度的上升而增加。因此,有必要采取节约用水和提高用水效率等措施。     

Water Consumption in the Kitchen – A Case Study in Four European Countries

As there is a limited availability of information on the domestic water consumption through kitchen taps, data collected in a study on dishwashing habits in four European countries has been analysed to gather common habits in the water end-use of households. This paper provides empirical data based on water consumption measurements in 81 households. With the help of a simultaneous webcam observation of the kitchen sink, it was possible to assign the metered consumption data to a specific water use, such as cleaning, drinking or cooking. Water end-use has been analysed with this approach at a very deep level. The study shows that there are, in some measure, large country-specific differences in diurnal water use, as well as in the composition of kitchen activities. Furthermore, the research findings indicate that small households use much more water per person and day than bigger households. This is rather important as demographic shifts are causing a decreased average household size - particularly in urban areas - and, therewith, a growing demand. Water-saving measures at the household and individual level should meet this trend. This paper, therefore, also provides information on to what extent particular kitchen tasks are influential for water consumption in the kitchen, respectively, which activities are important to concentrate on for consumer advice regarding water conservation.     

南水北调受水区生活用水影响因素与节水潜力

为持续推进水资源节约工作,保障南水北调受水区经济社会可持续发展,开展居民用水习惯问卷调查,分析 南水北调东线和中线受水区各省（直辖市）居民家庭用水现状及差异特点,识别生活用水的主要影响因素,设计节 水情景模拟家庭节水潜力。结果表明,受水区居民用水习惯呈现较明显的地域性差异,其中：天津市和河北省居 民整体节水意识较高,河南省和山东省现状人均日用水量比北京市、安徽省和江苏省低 12%;从用水行为上看,家 庭洗浴日均用水量浮动范围达 30%,是造成用水差异的主要环节。节水情景模拟结果显示,通过进一步提高居民 节水意识、替换高等级节水器具、增强家庭内部废水循环利用等措施,受水区居民人均日用水量可下降 12%～29%。根据受水区各省 (直辖市) 针对其生活用水特点,提出了进一步开展节水器具普及工作、完善节水管 理体制机制、提升居民节水意识以及合理利用废水等节水建议,因地制宜持续推进节水工作。     

Water Pricing Under Joint Benefits

Abstract

A cubic functional form of an econometric model for residential water demand estimation is used in order to accommodate different price elasticities for different levels of water demand. Precise estimates of these different price elasticities offer a useful tool to water authorities for urban water demand management through price-based policies. Panel estimation methods (fixed and random effects) are employed to estimate model parameters. The results show that a cubic form of the demand equation can provide appropriate estimates of price elasticities for different “consumption groups” of residential customers. In addition, the effect of public awareness and information on water conservation is also evaluated after controlling other parameters affecting demand for water. Thus, another implication of this study is that well-informed consumers, aware of issues of water conservation and of techniques for water efficient use, may be more inclined to reduce their water consumption.     

Blueprint for a greener city: growth need not cost the earth.

The current human use of global natural resources exceeds the long-term sustainable capacity of the planet. New and more sustainable ways of building cities and providing urban water services are needed. The Australian city of Sydney is expected to grow by more than 1 million people over the next 30 years. Water use from the Hawkesbury-Nepean River system already exceeds system capacity. Current proposals to allocate a greater proportion of low flows to meet environmental flow needs will limit urban water allocations and require the development of more efficient water and sewerage systems for new and existing urban development. This paper presents a hypothetical case study of how water supply and sewerage services might be provided for an additional 1 million people over a 25-year period. It compares traditional service provision with alternative scenarios incorporating water conservation measures, rainwater harvesting and water reuse. The paper presents both economic and environmental comparisons. The economic comparisons include valuations of environmental externalities in the form of environmental levies. It shows that the extra capital costs of water conservation, alternative water sources and water reuse scenarios are offset by operating savings and environmental benefits. Ecological footprints are reduced because of lower water diversions, discharges, energy use and CO2 emissions. The paper also discusses the implication of alternative infrastructure ownership and water pricing arrangements, and the opportunities to create incentives for additional investment in water conservation and reuse projects.     

基于物联感知的机关节水仿真系统建设探究

北京市机关用水占全市公共生活用水比例最高,因此开展机关节水对建设节水型城市意义重大。本研究基于物联网、仿真模型和大数据等技术,实时、智能计量机关楼宇用水,并实现不同维度的统计分析和日常监管的精细化。目前系统运行稳定,该成果为相关行业全面提升用水效率提供了数据支撑,也为全面建设节水型城市建设做出了表率和贡献。     

基于AHP的节水型社会建设评价

在研究节水型社会建设评价指标体系和评价方法的基础上,运用层次分析法(AHP)对成都平原某市进行了节水型社会建设评价,结果表明:生活用水节水程度对该市节水型社会建设影响最大;缺水和不缺水是相对的,在水资源相对丰富的地区也要进行节水型社会建设,提高水资源的利用效率;节水和治污是节水型社会建设中最重要的两个方面,要把节水和治污结合起来,统筹考虑水资源承载能力和水环境承载能力,在满足用水需求的同时维护良好的生态系统。     

Future Water Supply and Demand in the Okanagan Basin,British Columbia: A Scenario-Based Analysis of Multiple,Interacting Stressors

Surface water is critical for meeting water needs in British Columbia’s Okanagan Basin, but the timing and magnitude of its availability is being altered through climate and land use changes and growing water demand. Greater attention needs to be given to the multiple, interacting factors occurring and projected to occur in this region if water is going to be sustainably provisioned to human users and available for ecosystem needs. This study contributes to that goal by integrating information on physical, biological and social processes in order to project a range of possible changes to surface water availability resulting from land-use, climatic and demographic change, as well as from Mountain Pine Beetle infestation. An integrated water management model (Water Evaluation and Planning system, WEAP) was used to consider future scenarios for water supply and demand in both unregulated and reservoir-supported streams that supply the District of Peachland. Results demonstrate that anticipated future climate conditions will critically reduce streamflow relative to projected uses (societal demand and ecological flow requirements). The surficial storage systems currently in place were found unable to meet municipal and instream flow needs during “normal” precipitation years by the 2050s. Improvements may be found through demand reduction, especially in the near term. Beyond the implications for the District of Peachland, this work demonstrates a method of using an accessible modeling tool for integrating knowledge from the fields of climate science, forest hydrology, water systems management and stream ecology to aid in water and land management decision-making.     

Urban Water Demand for Service and Industrial Use: The Case of Zaragoza

Increased efforts to improve urban water management are focused on demand side policies, seeking to affect the behavior of users so that a “reasonable” use of water resources is reached. In this framework the accurate characterization of water demand play a major role in obtaining sufficient knowledge about this behavioral response to changes in price. In this paper we focus on the water demand of the services and industries connected to the public water network. To this end, we carry out an empirical estimation of urban water demand for service and industrial use in Zaragoza (Spain). The proposed model is a Koyck flow adjustment demand model, and a price specification, which is constructed as a function of the lagged average price, current marginal price and a price perception parameter. We use a dynamic panel data methodology to estimate the water demand function. As far as we are aware, this approach to service and industrial urban water demand is new in the literature. The analysis suggests that although price has a negative relationship with consumption, such an effect is reduced given that the price elasticity is lower than one in absolute value. Another relevant finding is that service and industrial urban users think that they pay a lower price than the actual price they pay.     

灌溉定额与灌溉水矿化度对春玉米水分利用效率影响研究

通过在甘肃省石羊河流域开展春玉米咸水灌溉田间试验,研究了灌溉定额和灌溉水矿化度对春玉米耗水量及水分利用效率的影响.研究结果表明:春玉米耗水量随着灌溉定额的增大而增大,随着灌溉水矿化度的增大而减小.而从充分利用土壤贮水的角度考虑,非充分灌溉能够提高土壤播前贮水的利用量,而咸水灌溉则会降低土壤贮水利用量;非充分灌溉有利于提高春玉米的水分利用效率和灌溉水分利用效率,而咸水灌溉会降低春玉米的水分利用效率和灌溉水分利用效率.本次试验得到淡水轻度缺水灌溉处理的水分利用效率和灌溉水分利用效率最大值分别为2.90 kg/m~3和4.23 kg/m~3.与淡水充分灌溉处理相比,在研究区若采用灌溉定额为340 mm和灌溉水矿化度为0.71 g/L的灌溉方式,春玉米的水分利用效率和灌溉水分利用效率可提高25%以上,同时可节水170 mm.     

Optimization of Irrigation Scheduling Using Soil Water Balance and Genetic Algorithms

In arid and semi-arid countries, the use of irrigation is essential to ensure agricultural production. Irrigation water use is expected to increase in the near future due to several factors such as the growing demand of food and biofuel under a probable climate change scenario. For this reason, the improvement of irrigation water use efficiency has been one of the main drivers of the upgrading process of irrigation systems in countries like Spain, where irrigation water use is around 70 % of its total water use. Pressurized networks have replaced the obsolete open-channel distribution systems and on farm irrigation systems have been also upgraded incorporating more efficient water emitters like drippers or sprinklers. Although pressurized networks have significant energy requirements, increasing operational costs. In these circumstances farmers may be unable to afford such expense if their production is devoted to low-value crops. Thus, in this work, a new approach of sustainable management of pressurized irrigation networks has been developed using multiobjective genetic algorithms. The model establishes the optimal sectoring operation during the irrigation season that maximize farmer’s profit and minimize energy cost at the pumping station whilst satisfying water demand of crops at hydrant level taking into account the soil water balance at farm scale. This methodology has been applied to a real irrigation network in Southern Spain. The results show that it is possible to reduce energy cost and improve water use efficiency simultaneously by a comprehensive irrigation management leading, in the studied case, to energy cost savings close to 15 % without significant reduction of crop yield.     

农业用水和生活用水效率研究与探讨

水是万物生长不可缺少的元素之一。经济发展和人口的增长带来用水量的急剧增加,环境污染和用水浪费带来水资源的巨大损耗。为了满足社会发展对水资源需求量的增加,必须采用开源、节流、调整产业结构、利用外部资源等措施。其中节流针对的就是提高水资源利用效率进行管理。工业用水效率的研究比较多,本文主要针对农业用水和生活用水效率进行研究和探讨。从经济学的观点出发对农业用水的效率进行定量研究,对生活用水效率进行探讨性研究,提出从综合效益分析生活用水的效率,引入最优人均生活用水指标。而生活用水效率的定量研究有待进一步探讨。     

Groundwater Demand Management in the Great Lakes Basin—Directions for New Policies

Demand-side management should be used to maximize the efficiency of groundwater use. Implementation of conservation measures would decrease the volume of water use and also exert less pressure on the water distribution system as well as the wastewater treatment system. Allocation of ground water in the Great Lakes basin must conform to priorities established at the community level. Groundwater pricing should reflect the full costs arising from ground water use. A differential pricing structure would help conserve water in the residential and industrial sectors. A user-friendly database on ground water use, quality and quantity for the entire Great Lakes basin is also essential. New policies for sustainable groundwater allocation, regulating water prices for water conservation, conservation education, pollution prevention, recycling and reuse of water as well as effective information management provide new directions for managing the groundwater demand in the Great Lakes basin.     

空间信息技术在水利普查中的应用

2010年开展的全国第一次水利普查是建国以来水利行业水利基础数据全口径调查,分为清查阶段、普查阶段、数据汇总阶段和成果展示及开发利用3个阶段,涉及河湖基本情况普查、水利工程基本情况普查、经济社会用水情况调查、河湖开发治理保护情况普查、水土保持情况普查、行业能力建设情况普查、灌区专项普查、地下水取水井专项普查等8大专项。在3个阶段和8大专项中,空间信息技术都得到了充分利用。特别是河湖基本情况普查和水土保持情况普查调查,主要是依靠空间信息技术,采用内业获取和处理的方式获取相关信息。在成果展示及开发利用方面,以空间信息技术为技术支撑,实现了普查成果“一张图”展示,直观展示了空间信息技术在水利行业中全面和深入的应用。