ASSOCIATION OF HYDRAULIC SERVICES

CONSULTANTS AUSTRALIA

AHSCA and Sustainable Design

The AHSCA is committed to assisting its members and the community in cultivating the ideas, processes and design standards to enable sustainability at all levels of Hydraulic

Engineering in order to achieve the best and most sustainable engineering outcomes.

The Design process and Sustainability

ECONOMIC

SOCIAL

ECOLOGY

QUALITY

PROGRAM

Mendler, S. Odell, W. Lazarus, M A. (2006) The HOK Guide Book to Sustainable Designs. 2nd Edition. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Sustainable Design Decision Model

Drivers in the Australian Plumbing Design IndustryIm

pac

t /

Imp

ort

ance

Hig

hL

ow

Level of Uncertainty UncertainCertain

Sustainable Water Use.

Climate Change.

Water Trading.Carbon Trading.

Legislation

Economics. Natural Resources(Cost and

Availability)

Aging Population.

Population Density.

Global Warming effects on water health.

(Dengue Fever, Blue Tongue)

Transmission by water of newly-recognized pathogens and new strains of established pathogens.Increasing Urban

Populations.

Power and Energy

Travel and transport of people, goods and materials. Peak Oil

Peak Water

Global Epidemic.

Cost of Crude Oil

Disposable Income(Driver affect

affordability of products)

Politics.

ESG & CSR Reporting

Financial Institutions

Investment in CSR and ESG (Responsible Investment)

Responsible Investment Association Australasia; Responsible Investment. October 2007. [Available on line: http://www.responsibleinvestment.org/files/78RUBP9VVA/RIAA%20Benchmark%20Report%202007%20FINAL.pdf] Viewed June 2008.

Water and Energy

Water Efficiency is easy. Sustainable Water Use is the challenge. Plumbing Systems:

– Comprise from 4% to 10% of the construction costs.– Manage 95% to 99% of the total water volume within the built environment.

While a lot of attention is given to “Energy” or CO2e and the issue of Water stewardship, the GHG emissions from wastewater streams is not.

The link between Water, Energy and CO2e is strong.

If we want to implement smart sustainable solutions, the solution is a suite of minimisation and adaptation strategies.

For something to be managed, it has to be measured or accounted for.

Carbon and Water Accounting

Material Embodied Energy(Raw Material Only)

Embodied CO2e

(Raw Material Only)

Embodied Water(Raw Material Only)

Concrete 0.42 MJ/kg 39.1 kg CO2e/kg 2 L/kg

Steel 32 MJ/kg 2,970 kg CO2e/kg 40 L/kg

Aluminium 201 MJ/kg 18,700 kg CO2e/kg 88 L/kg

ABS 111 MJ/kg 10,330 kg CO2e/kg 185 L/kg

PVC 70 MJ/kg 6,520 kg CO2e/kg 185 L/kg

HDPE 103 MJ/kg 9,590 kg CO2e/kg 185 L/kg

MDPE 103 MJ/kg 9,590 kg CO2e/kg 185 L/kg

Scenario

Scenario: 1000 m of PVC Pipe with a flow of 20 L/s for 8 hrs per day. Compare PVC-U and PVC-M.

Pipe Type Energy to Pump Water

Embodied Energy(Raw

Material)

Embodied Water(Raw

Material)

Embodied CO2e

(Raw Material)

Embodied CO2e in

Power at Pump Motor

Embodied Water in Power at

Pump

PVC-M 1.027 kW 438.3 GJ 1158 kL 40.8 t 12.2 kg 29.3 L

PVC-U 1.125 kW 655.6 GJ 1733 kL 61.1 t 13.4 kg 32.1 L

Difference 0.098 kW 217.3 GJ 574 kL 20.3 t 1.2 kg 2.8 L

Pumping of water’s CO2e by State

Information based on:

1. Pump and driver efficiency of 70%.

2. National Greenhouse Accounts Factors, January 2008, (Table 5) Emission Factors for purchased electricity from the State grid.

CO2e for Pumping Water by State

0.000

0.050

0.100

0.150

0.200

0.250

0.300

0.350

0.400

10 20 30 40 50 60 70

m Head

kg.C

O2e/

kL

QLD

NSW & ACT

VIC

SA & WA

NT

TAS

Fugitive GHG Emissions in Plumbing Systems

Material Chemical Formula Global Warming Potentials (Horizons)

20 Years 100 Years 500 Years

Carbon Dioxide CO2 1 1 1

Methane CH4 56 21 6.5

Nitrous Oxide N2O 280 310 170

Nitrification De-nitrification

Plumbing Services Cycle

Legislators Financial Institutions

Raw Materials

Water & Energy

Processing of Raw

Materials

Emissions & Waste

Manufacture

Water & Energy

Emissions & Waste

Retail

Installation

Operation

End of Life

Recycle ?

Emissions & Waste

Water & Energy

Water & Energy

Emissions & Waste

Water & Energy

Emissions & Waste

Emissions & Waste ?

Design

Emissions & Waste

Water & Energy

Where to from here?

Increased education in Sustainable Water Use, not just water efficiency. Develop a framework to account for Embodied Water and CO2e along with

GHG Emissions. Manufacturing to develop rating system for embedded water and CO2e of their

products. Calculation of embodied water in construction.

We’re in this together.