WaterRF Toolbox Seeks Common Methodology For GHG Emissions
Anew Water Research Foundation (WaterRF) report recommends water utilities develop a common framework for tracking and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that incorporates the full urban water cycle and can be applied to a range of regulatory situations worldwide. The report, Toolbox for Water Utility Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emission Management, evaluated different approaches used by water utilities throughout the world to track energy use and emissions from treating drinking water and wastewater.
No universally accepted methodology covering all aspects of the urban water cycle exists, the report said. Certain knowledge gaps first must be resolved, including incomplete or inaccurate emissions calculation methods, the lack of a holistic methodology for considering the entire urban water cycle and unknowns in future regulatory shifts. Recommendations for a single emissions methodology include researching a “bottom-up” approach to GHG calculations at the facility level to make the data generated more specific and taking into account a broad scope of both direct and indirect GHG emissions.
The report is found online at http://waterrf.org/PublicReportLibrary/4224.pdf.
New Reports Highlight Fracking's High Volume Water Consumption
Beyond the potential water contamination of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), high levels of water consumption in the fracking process is becoming a significant issue in the public discussion. Two recent reports addressed the issue:
Gone for Good: Fracking and Water Loss in the West (www.worc.org), by the Western Organization of Research Councils, provides an overview of consumptive water use in four arid western states. The report concludes: “There is mounting evidence that the current level of water use for oil and gas production simply cannot be sustained, and that projected increases in use may lead to a crisis.”
Hydraulic Fracturing & Water Stress: Growing Competitive Pressures for Water(www.ceres.org/resources/reports/hydraulic-fracturing-water-stress-growing-competitive-pressures-for-water/view) reports that in the time frame studied, 47 percent of fracking wells were operating in areas of high or extremely high water stress, and 75 percent were operated in areas of medium or higher water stress.