Sydney's Water Sustainability | Biocity Studio

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Water Sustainability the emergent ways to address our water crisis

description

Sydney is experiencing long-term droughts, low rainfall and a high demand for water. What can we do to help solve the water crisis? Water restrictions are only a short-term fix. Other solutions are desalination and recycle water plants, water management, and artificial precipitation.

Transcript of Sydney's Water Sustainability | Biocity Studio

Page 1: Sydney's Water Sustainability | Biocity Studio

Water Sustainabilitythe emergent ways to address our water crisis

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Sydney’s Water System

History:

• Drinking water is essential to human survival therefore water supply influenced location of settlement and the development of Sydney.

• Population growth and lack of potable water (from pollution and drought) in Sydney led to the continuous search for new and larger supplies.

• Health and sanitary issues led to the development of an underground sewerage system to take wastewater away from the city and dump it into the ocean.

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Facts of Sydney’s Water System

Now in 2015, our population has reached 4.6 million.151000 litres/person annually OR annual total of 684,460 mega

litres; this equals to around 22 Kilolitres/sec.Sydney’s average annual rainfall is 1217mm, but now we have GLOBAL WARMING issues.

In 2015, Sydney treats 482,020ML/year, or 69.4%

of total water usage. Recycled water only accounts for 10% of water supply.

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Sydney Water Crisis

With a population of 4.6 million and long term drought, water restriction itself is not enough. Now we have 520GL of water. If our water inflow is further reduced by 25% to 431GL. This amount is only enough to

keep our water supply for just 2 years. After a long time of drought and with insufficient rainfall, we are experiencing

serious water shortage.Environmentalists call for emergent action to further reduce water use and carry out solutions to achieve water sustainability.

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Effects:Immediate effects of water shortages include:• The system becomes less sustainable• Government enforced water restrictions• Crop failure due to lack of water• Import of food increase• Industrial production may decline• Increase in price for water• Water ecology stressed from decreased flows

Mid-term effects include:• Large scale agriculture dies• Local farms close• Certain areas become uninhabitable• Food shortages – increase in import• Increase cost for food• Evaporation rates may increase.

Long term effects include:• Large scale agriculture dies• Local farms close• Certain areas become uninhabitable• Food shortages – increase in import• Increase cost for food• Evaporation rates may increase.

Sydney Water Crisis (continued)

Where can I drink waterSource: http://raviramanathan.blogspot.com/2007/05/water-shortage.html

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Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/20/2039055.htm

Save me, I am trapped!

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Solution and Water Sustainability

Analysis:

• What is the annual shortfall or deficit?

• Where and how much can we obtain the extra water from?

• What can we do with the supply and demand?

• Theoretically, can we achieve water sustainability without rainfall at all?

253.21GL or 37%

Save water?

Save money?

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Solution and Water Sustainability (continued)

Possible Solution:

• Reduce water usage

• Desalination

• Recycling

• Management

• Artificial precipitation

• Reduce carbon

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Solution and Water Sustainability (continued)

Possible Solution:

• Reduce water usage

- Pricing policies

- Water restriction: conservative?

- Increasing people’s awareness

- Water efficiency products

Resource: http://www.waterrating.gov.au/

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Castle Hill STP Rouse Hill STP

Expanding the Western Sydney Recycling Scheme

Source: Metropolitan Water Plan 2006

13 GL33 GL

Similar model at the West Camden, Glenfield, Liverpool and Fairfield inland treatment plants to supply 53 GL of drinking water per year.

53 GL

86,000,000,000 litres of water treated to drinking standards annually

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Solution and Water Sustainability (continued)

Possible Solution:

• Recycling

- Case study: Liberal Coalition Water Plan

- Retrofits existing STP to create a new system for recycling

- It is proposed that the treatment plants will recycle 86GL (18% of Sydney’s annual needs) of drinking water and also increase environment flows by 13 GL per year

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Solution and Water Sustainability (continued)

Possible Solution:

• Recycling VS Desalination

- Half the price and twice efficient- Desalination plant is already being built

- Recycling plan uses same technology as desalination i.e. reverse osmosis (RO)

• Opportunities

- Modifying the desalination plant: If we divert water which has been treated to a tertiary level from surrounding treatment plants into the desalination plant and use the desalination plant as a final treatment process we could potentially provide more water and use less energy.

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http://www.sydneywater.com.au/OurSystemsandOperations/

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Desalination RecyclingVolume Yearly 45,000 ML 86,000 MLVolume Daily 125 ML 235 MLCapital Cost $1.9 Billion $0.949 BillionRecurrent Cost of water ($/GL) $ 3,000 / ML $1,000 / MLTime Frame Minimum 26 months 18 – 24 months

Solution and Water Sustainability (continued)

Possible Solution:

• Recycling VS Desalination

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BASIX and Dual Reticulation Systems

• Existing BASIX guidelines have been set to reduce water consumption by up to 40% through better design

•“Toilet flushing, watering gardens and car washing accounts for approximately 40% of current total water demand.” – 2006 Metropolitan Water Plan

• Separating recycled water for non-drinking purposes allows residents to conveniently water of lower quality for flushing toilets, washing cars watering gardens and other outdoor activities.

• “On average the Rouse Hill scheme has reduced demand for drinking water by about 40%.” – Sydney Water

• We believe that where feasible all new large scale residential development should adopt this system as it would be easiest to implement the system before construction and to save water in the long run.

Images: Metropolitan Water Plan 2006 p. 36

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Beyond BASIX and Dual Reticulation Systems

•Improving natural environment by incorporating stormwater treatment in new developments

• May include Stormwater Quality Improvement Devices for removal of litter and sediments or naturalistic wetlands to filter nitrogen and phosphorus from stormwater

• Dry basins used for storage and controlling downstream flow Images:

http://www.sydneywater.com.au/SavingWater/RecyclingandReuse/RecyclingAndReuseInAction/RiverManagement.cfm

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Solution and Water Sustainability (continued)

Possible Solution:

• Management

-Centralise VS Decentralise

Decentralised System

Grey-water recycle systemRoof runoff catchment

Save up to 50%Precedent: UK water management system

Assume that greywater accounts for more than 60% of household wastewater

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Constraints

Reduce water usage• Population increase• Effectiveness of the policy

Desalination• Costly• Environment impact• Low efficiency

Recycling• People’s perspective to recycled water

Management• Hard to establish decentralised system over existing urban area

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