Water is an irreplaceable resource and the strain on it is getting tougher. Around 40 per cent of the water withdrawn in Europe is for industrial use. With a growing population and an increased demand for food and energy per capita, the demand and pressure on our water resources will increase. CEEQUAL is a rating scheme for the civil construction industry and has raised the water footprint as an important sustainability issue to consider when choosing building materials. There is however little knowledge within the industry of how to do this. This paper offers information regarding available water footprint tools and gives a practical example using two of the most developed methods; the Water Footprint Network (WFN) method and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). The case study showed that the results are very dependent on which method one chooses. The LCA method gives a bigger footprint since it is more inclusive than the WFN method. There are however some similarities when looking at which of the materials that are high-risk and low-risk materials when it comes to freshwater footprint. Among the studied products, steel was the material that uses and consumes the most water per kilogram, and could also be imported from water scarce areas. Fill material had a low water consumption and use per kilogram, but the huge amount used in the project makes it the material that used and consumed most water in total. Fill material is most often produced locally because of the large amount used, and was therefore not as significant when weighting the results by a water stress index. Calculating a water footprint can be used as a part of declaring the environmental performance of a project by including it in an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), a sustainability report or by setting up an Environmental Profit and Loss (E P&L) account for water. It can also be used to identify and assess risks related to water use. / Färskvatten är en begränsad, men förnybar resurs som på grund av sina unika egenskaper saknar substitut i många processer och användningsområden. Resursen är ojämnt fördelad över världen och många lever idag i vattenstressade regioner. I Europa står industrisektorn för cirka 40 procent av det totala vattenuttaget. Med en växande befolkning och ökad efterfrågan på mat och energi per capita kommer konkurrensen om vattenresurserna att bli hårdare. Vi måste därför anpassa oss efter denna verklighet och framtid och börja använda våra färskvattenresurser mer effektivt. Certifieringssystemet CEEQUAL har lyft vattenavtryck för byggprodukter som en viktig fråga vid val av material. Inom branschen vet man i dagsläget inte hur man ska hantera den frågan och utgångspunkten för denna rapport är att ge vägledning bland de metoder som finns tillgängliga idag samt att ge ett praktiskt exempel på två av de mest utvecklade metoderna, Water Footprint Network (WFN) metoden och livscykelanalys (LCA). Som ett praktiskt exempel utfördes en fallstudie som visade att resultatet av en vattenavtrycksanalys beror väldigt mycket på vilken metod som väljs, vilket innebär att harmonisering inom branschen är viktigt. LCA-metoden ger ett större avtryck än WFNmetoden då metoden inkluderar fler typer av vattenanvändning. Av de studerade materialen visade sig stål vara det som både använder och förbrukar mest vatten per kilogram. Det är också ett material som i betydande grad importeras från regioner som kan vara vattenstressade. Fyllnadsmaterial var ett av materialen med lägst vattenavtryck per kilogram, men då det används i så stora mängder i anläggningsprojekt är det detta material som bidrar med störst totalt vattenavtryck. På grund av den stora mängd som används utvinns fyllnadsmaterial dock oftast lokalt. Detta gör att vattenavtryckets signifikans minskar när det viktas med ett vattenstressindex, då det generellt finns gott om vatten i Sverige. Vattenavtryck kan användas till deklaration av potentiell påverkan på vattenresurser genom att inkludera resultatet i en miljövarudeklaration eller hållbarhetsrapport. Det kan även användas i ett naturkapitalkonto (E P&L) för vatten eller för att identifiera risker kopplade till vattenanvändning samt ge vägledning vid materialval och val av leverantör.

This dissertation sets its goal in application of the water footprint indicator, which is a practical and multi-layered indicator of water sources consumption. Of human activities, agriculture presents the most significant demands on water sources consumption. Therefore I have turned my focus to the widely-discussed issue of biofuels production, because the input materials for production of this kind of energy are agricultural crops (in the Czech republic those are: oilseed rape, sugar beet, Indian corn and winter wheat). The calculated results of water footprints of the selected industrial crops (m3 /t) and of water footprints of the heating value units of that crops (m3 /GJ) offer us a concrete notion of energy requirements of water of that chosen industrial crops in the conditions of the Czech republic. Keywords: water footprint indicator, biofuels, oilseed rape, water consumption, biodiesel, bioethanol, evapotranspiration.

The need to better comprehend the relationship between societies and the hydrological cycle led scientists to develop sophisticated mathematical models in order to predict how these relationships will be in the future. However, some transformations might not be predicted in such socio-hydrological models, what makes necessary to search for new methods to build scenarios. In this way, the present work seeks to understand how societies will change the way they deal with water resources regarding different drivers of change, such as population growth, changes in climate, land cover, patterns of consumption and influence of governmental institutions. To do so, this work employs not only official data sets that are public available, but also information provided by citizens through citizen observatories concepts of crowdsourcing, participatory governance and environmental monitoring. Such volunteered information is based on their own experiences, knowledge and individual patterns regarding water management and sanitation aspects from the study area, São Carlos city. The conclusions reveal that the new tool presented in this work, the Socio-Hydrological Observatory for Water Security (SHOWS), makes possible to outline future trajectories of coevolution in coupled human-water system and provide assessment on water security scenarios. This work integrates the water security component facing climate changes, from INCT-MC2 (FAPESP 2014/50848-9), contributes to better comprehend socio hydrological aspects in UK Academies (FAPESP 2018/03473-0) and provides a new tool, the SHOWS, which assists decision makers in resilient cities, in the context of CEPID/CEMEAI (FAPESP 2011/51305-0) e do SPRINT-Warwick (FAPESP 2018/08413-6). At international level, it is a contribution to the activities of \"Panta Rhei – Everything Flows 2013-2022\", promoted by the International Association of Hydrological Sciences, which seeks to understand, estimate and predict the hydrological dynamics to support societies under change. / A necessidade de compreender as relações entre as sociedades e o ciclo hidrológico levou cientistas a elaborarem sofisticados modelos matemáticos para prever como estas relações serão no futuro. Porém, determinadas transformações podem não ser previstas nestes modelos sócio-hidrológicos, sendo necessário recorrer a novos métodos para elaborar cenários. Desta maneira, o presente trabalho busca entender como as sociedades irão modificar a maneira que lidam com os recursos hídricos frente aos vetores de mudanças, como crescimento demográfico, alterações climáticas, mudanças do uso e ocupação do solo, influência de instituições governamentais e padrões de consumo da população. Para isto, este trabalho emprega não somente o uso de dados oficiais, disponibilizados em plataformas públicas, mas também as informações fornecidas por cidadãos através dos conceitos dos observatórios cidadãos, como crowdsourcing, governança participativa e monitoramento ambiental. Estas informações voluntárias são baseadas em suas experiências, conhecimentos e padrões individuais em relação a aspectos necessários a gestão dos recursos hídricos e dos sistemas de saneamento da área de estudo, o município de São Carlos. Ao fim, conclui-se que, a partir da ferramenta Observatório Sócio Hidrológico para Segurança Hídrica (SHOWS), é possível interpretar possíveis trajetórias de coevolução entre os sistemas sociais e naturais de maneira a avaliar os cenários de segurança hídrica. Este estudo integra a componente de segurança hídrica frente às mudanças climáticas do INCT-MC2 (FAPESP 2014/50848-9), contribui para a compreensão dos aspectos sócio hidrológicos do UK Academies (FAPESP 2018/03473-0), além de testar uma nova ferramenta, o SHOWS, que serve de auxílio à tomada de decisão em cidades resilientes, no contexto do CEPID/CEMEAI (FAPESP 2011/51305-0) e do SPRINT-Warwick (FAPESP 2018/08413-6). Em âmbito internacional, é uma contribuição às atividades da década científica \"Panta Rhei – Everything Flows 2013-2022\", promovida pela International Association of Hydrological Sciences, a qual busca entender, estimar e prever dinâmicas hidrológicas para apoiar sociedades sob mudanças.

La gestion intégrée de l'eau à l'échelle des grandes villes est un réel défi. Cependant, la quantification des flux et des impacts environnementaux liés à l'utilisation de l'eau n'est pas encore suffisamment développée. Dans ce contexte, la question de recherche de la thèse est: "comment modéliser le système d'eau urbain complexe d'une mégapole pour l'évaluation de ses impacts sur l'environnement et des services fournis aux usagers de l'eau, dans le cadre de l'analyse du cycle de vie (ACV)?" Le cœur de la thèse est le développement d'un cadre général définissant les flux d'eau et les impacts environnementaux associés aux trois composants principaux du système d'eau urbain, à savoir, les technologies de l'eau, les usagers de l'eau et les ressources en eau. Le modèle proposé de système d'eau urbain (nommé WaLA) se construit à travers une approche modulaire permettant l'interopérabilité des trois composants. Le modèle fournit des indicateurs d'impacts et de services rendus qui peuvent être utiles aux décideurs et aux parties prenantes. Il simplifie l'évaluation des scénarios et diminue la complexité du système tout en assurant sa bonne représentation du point de vue de l'ACV. En plus de cet objectif principal, la thèse vise à raffiner les indicateurs d'impact sur la privation d'eau afin qu'ils soient pertinents pour les systèmes d'eau urbains. Une méthode qui permet d'évaluer la privation d'eau à l'échelle du sous bassin versant en intégrant les effets en aval a ainsi été développée. Cette méthode permet de différencier les impacts selon les points de prélèvements et de rejets dans un même bassin versant. Enfin, le modèle WaLA et les indicateurs associés sont mis en œuvre pour évaluer les impacts environnementaux du système d'eau urbain de la banlieue parisienne (périmètre du Syndicat des Eaux d'Ile-de-France). L'intérêt et l'applicabilité du modèle pour évaluer et comparer des scénarios actuels et prévisionnels sont ainsi démontrés. / To improve water management at the scale of large cities is a real challenge. However, the quantification of flows and environmental impacts linked to water use are not yet sufficiently developed. This is the objective of the thesis: “how to model complex urban water system of a megacity for assessing its environmental impacts in relation to the provided services to water users, within the life cycle assessment (LCA) framework?” The core of the thesis is the development of a generic framework defining water flows and environmental impacts associated with 3 categories of items – i.e., water technologies, water users and water resources – from a LCA point of view. The UWS model (termed WaLA) is built through a modular approach allowing the interoperation of these three components in an integrated way. The model provides indicators of impacts on services which may be useful to decision makers and stakeholders. It simplifies the evaluation of forecasting scenarios and decreases the complexity of the urban water system while ensuring its good representation from a LCA perspective. In addition to this main objective, the thesis also aims at refining water use impact indicators at a relevant scale for UWS. A methodology that assesses water deprivation at the sub-river basin scale in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) integrating downstream cascade effects has been developed. It allows differentiating the withdrawal and release locations within a same river basin. The WaLA model and its associated indicators are applied to assess the environmental impacts of the water system of a Paris suburban area (perimeter of Syndicat des Eaux d'Île-de-France). It shows the interest and the applicability of the model for assessing and comparing baseline and forecasting scenarios.

Among the various water use methods adopted by humanity, which uses more water is agriculture through irrigation procedure, allowing the crops in a larger space and being able to meet the demand for food both for human consumption as animal consumption. This work presents the concept of Water Footprint, which is the amount of water, directly and indirectly used in the production of a product. The water footprint is divided into three components: Green, Blue and Grey. The objective of this study was to determine the values of the water footprint of the blue and green components for the production of sweet potatoes through the traditional method using CROPWAT model during the years 2010, 2011 and 2012. The work developed in the Perimeter Irrigation Poção da Ribeira (PIPR) belongs to the Water Resources and Irrigation Development Company (COHIDRO), located in the municipalities of Itabaiana and Campo do Brito, Sergipe. The results showed that the Water Footprint Green in 2010, 2011 and 2012 was 494.75 (m³ / ton), 672.13 (m³ / ton) and 402.81 (m³ / ton) respectively. Have the Blue Water Footprint in 2010, 2011 and 2012 was 351.1 (m³ / ton), 448.4 (m³ / ton) and 570.06 (m³ / ton) respectively. The results showed no relationship between the average rates of crop yield with a higher consumption of water resulting in a higher Water Footprint, there is influence of precipitation on Water Footprint of sweet potato and that there is no direct relationship between productivity levels with weather variables used in calculations of the Water Footprint. / Entre os diversos métodos de aproveitamento da água adotados pela humanidade, o que mais utiliza recursos hídricos é a agricultura através do procedimento da irrigação, permitindo os cultivos agrícolas em um espaço mais abrangente e sendo capaz de atender a demanda por alimentos tanto para consumo humano como consumo animal. Este trabalho apresenta o conceito de Pegada Hídrica (water footprint) que é a quantidade de água, direta e indiretamente, usada na produção de um produto. A pegada hídrica é dividida em três componentes: Verde, Azul e Cinza. O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar os valores da pegada hídrica dos componentes azul e verde para a produção da batata-doce através do método tradicional utilizando o modelo CROPWAT durante os anos de 2010, 2011 e 2012. O trabalho desenvolveu-se no Perímetro de Irrigação Poção da Ribeira (PIPR) pertencente à Companhia de Desenvolvimento de Recursos Hídricos e Irrigação (COHIDRO), localizado nos municípios de Itabaiana e Campo do Brito, em Sergipe. Os resultados obtidos evidenciaram que a Pegada Hídrica verde em 2010, 2011 e 2012, foi de 494,75 (m³/ton), 672,13 (m³/ton) e 402,81 (m³/ton) respectivamente. Já a Pegada Hídrica azul em 2010, 2011 e 2012 foi de 351,1 (m³/ton), 448,4 (m³/ton) e 570,06 (m³/ton) respectivamente. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que há relação entre os índices médios de produtividade da cultura com um maior consumo de água refletindo em maior Pegada Hídrica, que há influência da precipitação na Pegada Hídrica da batata-doce e que não há relação direta entre os índices de produtividade com as variáveis meteorológicas utilizadas no cálculos da Pegada Hídrica.

Wassernutzung und Abbau der Frischwasser-Ressourcen sind heutzutage ein Thema, das als so wichtig wahrgenommen wird wie der Klimawandel. Wasser wird somit zunehmend Auswirkungen auf den ökonomischen Wert von Unternehmen haben. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es, den monetären Wert des Wassers mithilfe des Wasser-Fußabdrucks zu bestimmen. Hierfür werden nach einer kurzen Einführung in Kapitel 2 der ökologische Fußabdruck, der CO2-Fußabdruck und der Wasser-Fußabdruck kurz vorgestellt und in Beziehung zueinander gesetzt. Anschließend wird der Wasser-Fußabdruck diskutiert und sowohl in die Ökobilanzierung als auch in das Instrumentarium der Umweltleistungsmessung eingeordnet. Danach werden die Zielgrößen des Unternehmenswertes beschrieben und der Zusammenhang von ökologischer und ökonomischer Leistungsmessung dargestellt. Auf dem Stufenmodell zum Wertbeitrag aufbauend werden verschiedene Ansätze zur Integration ökologischer Aspekte in den Unternehmenswert diskutiert. In Kapitel 3 wird dann die Methode entwickelt, um den Wasser-Fußabdruck zu bestimmen und auszuwerten und anschließend mithilfe der Werttreiberanalyse, des Water Value Added und der Kumulierten Wasserintensitäten den ökonomischen Beitrag des Wassers zu berechnen. In der Fallstudie wird die Methode angewendet und anschließend in Kapitel 5 anhand der zuvor vorgestellten Kriterien bewertet. Abschließend werden einige Handlungsempfehlungen zur Anwendung und Weiterentwicklung der Methode gegeben. Als Ergebnis der Arbeit kann die Frage beantwortet werden, wie ein Unternehmen den Einfluss des Wassers auf den eigenen Unternehmenswert und den ökonomischen Wert des Wassers bestimmen kann.

Wassernutzung und Abbau der Frischwasser-Ressourcen sind heutzutage ein Thema, das als so wichtig wahrgenommen wird wie der Klimawandel. Wasser wird somit zunehmend Auswirkungen auf den ökonomischen Wert von Unternehmen haben. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es, den monetären Wert des Wassers mithilfe des Wasser-Fußabdrucks zu bestimmen. Hierfür werden nach einer kurzen Einführung in Kapitel 2 der ökologische Fußabdruck, der CO2-Fußabdruck und der Wasser-Fußabdruck kurz vorgestellt und in Beziehung zueinander gesetzt. Anschließend wird der Wasser-Fußabdruck diskutiert und sowohl in die Ökobilanzierung als auch in das Instrumentarium der Umweltleistungsmessung eingeordnet. Danach werden die Zielgrößen des Unternehmenswertes beschrieben und der Zusammenhang von ökologischer und ökonomischer Leistungsmessung dargestellt. Auf dem Stufenmodell zum Wertbeitrag aufbauend werden verschiedene Ansätze zur Integration ökologischer Aspekte in den Unternehmenswert diskutiert. In Kapitel 3 wird dann die Methode entwickelt, um den Wasser-Fußabdruck zu bestimmen und auszuwerten und anschließend mithilfe der Werttreiberanalyse, des Water Value Added und der Kumulierten Wasserintensitäten den ökonomischen Beitrag des Wassers zu berechnen. In der Fallstudie wird die Methode angewendet und anschließend in Kapitel 5 anhand der zuvor vorgestellten Kriterien bewertet. Abschließend werden einige Handlungsempfehlungen zur Anwendung und Weiterentwicklung der Methode gegeben. Als Ergebnis der Arbeit kann die Frage beantwortet werden, wie ein Unternehmen den Einfluss des Wassers auf den eigenen Unternehmenswert und den ökonomischen Wert des Wassers bestimmen kann.

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La produzione globale di cibo provoca impatti sia sull’ ambiente che sulla salute umana. Tra le molteplici sfide che la comunità globale deve affrontare, le risorse di acqua dolce della Terra sono state identificate come pericolosamente soggette a una crescente pressione sia in termini quantitativi che qualitativi. Una profonda comprensione del nesso acqua-cibo è pertanto cruciale per lo sviluppo sostenibile. Nella presente tesi è stato applicato il concetto di Water Footprint (WF) calcolata attraverso differenti metodologie – ovvero attraverso approcci di tipo volumetrico e per la quantificazione dei potenziali impatti – al fine di stimare gli impatti sul consumo di acqua conseguenti produzione e consumo di cibo. Per valutare diverse tecniche di produzione, sono state confrontate le prestazioni ambientali di due vigneti coltivati con metodi di agricoltura convenzionale e biologica. Inoltre, sono stati studiati gli impatti sulle risorse idriche in relazione a diversi scenari di consumo alimentare in Italia e Danimarca, per indagare come le scelte alimentari dei consumatori rappresentino una strategia di riduzione degli impatti sull’ acqua. Nel calcolo degli impatti ambientali, i risultati hanno evidenziato il ruolo chiave dell'origine dei prodotti alimentari consumati, insieme alla tipologia dei prodotti e la riduzione di sprechi alimentari. / Global food production has increasingly affected both the environment and human health in substantial and remarkable ways. Among the many concerns global community has to face, Earth’s freshwater resources have been identified as dangerously subject to increasing pressure in the form of consumptive water use and pollution. A deep understanding of the water-food nexus is crucial to support the exploration of more suitable avenues for a sustainable development. In this work, the concept of water footprint (WF) presented by different methodologies – volumetric and impacts oriented approach – has been applied to link impacts on water consumption to the food production and consumption. With regard to the study of the production side, comparison of environmental performances of two vineyard where conventional and organic viticulture were applied, has been performed. Additionally, impacts on water resources related to different Italian and Danish dietary patterns have been investigated to understand the positive impacts that demand-side solutions can have. The studies highlighted that the origin of consumed foodstuffs played a key role in the calculation of local environmental impacts. Finally, the analysis showed that consumer’s choices could tackle environmental impact on water use by changing their consumption patterns, selecting less water-demanding products and reducing food waste.

[pt] O crescimento da população mundial junto de mudanças no estilo de vida resulta em uma crescente demanda por culturas de alimentos e energia. O Brasil tem aumentado cada vez mais a produção e o fornecimento destas culturas para outras partes do mundo. O Cerrado tornou-se o centro da indústria de soja do Brasil. A savana natural foi substituída pelo cultivo de monoculturas que estão associadas ao uso intensivo de fertilizantes e pesticidas sintéticos. Este estudo determina em que medida a aplicação de agroquímicos no cultivo de soja contribui para a poluição dos corpos hídricos no Cerrado. Como medida para quantificar este impacto, a pegada hídrica cinza (GWF) do cultivo da soja em uma fazenda típica no município de Correntina-BA foi calculada para 5 anos de cultivo. O poluente mais significativo para todos os anos foi o pesticida 2,4-D. O GWF do cultivo da soja para o estudo de caso no período variou de 7.661 a 13.587 m3 por hectare e 2.441 a 7.651 m3 por tonelada de soja. O valor médio do nível de poluição da água (WPL) associado com a produção desta cultura na bacia hidrográfica foi de 48,6 por cento com valores que variaram de 36 por cento a 83 por cento. Os valores de GWF e WPL calculados mostram uma grande variação entre os diferentes períodos. O GWF em 2013/2014 teve valores discrepantes sendo 43,6 por cento maior do que os valores em 2010/2011. A diferença é devida principalmente a uma maior aplicação do pesticida, de 0,80 kg/ha para 1,42 kg/ha. O WPL em 2013/2014 chegou a 83 por cento. Os resultados indicam que com a tendência de crescimento da agricultura de grande escala na região a poluição por agrotóxicos dissolvidos dos corpos hídricos se intensificará a tal ponto que é provável que viole em breve o padrão de qualidade de água local. / [en] The growing world population, coupled with changes in lifestyle, result in an increasing demand for food, feed and energy crops. Brazil is increasingly producing and supplying these crops for other parts of the world. The Cerrado has become the centre of Brazil s soybean industry. The natural savannah has been replaced by crop monocultures which are associated with intensive use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. This study determines to which extent the application of agrochemicals in the cultivation of soybean contributes to the pollution of local river basins in the Cerrado. As a measure to quantify this impact, the grey water footprint (GWF) of soybean cultivation in a typical farm in the municipality of Correntina-BA is calculated for 5 cropping years. The most significant pollutant for all years was the pesticide 2,4-D. The GWF of soybean cultivation for the case study in the period ranged from 7,661 to 13,587 m3 per hectare and 2,441 to 7,651 m3 per tonne of soybean. The average water pollution level (WPL) associated with the production of this crop at river basin level was 48.6 percent. The average water pollution level (WPL) associated with the production of this crop at river basin level was 48.6 percent with values ranging from 36 percent to 83 percent. The calculated GWFs and WPLs show a large variation among different cropping seasons. The GWF in 2013/2014 had discrepant values, being 43.6 percent higher than the value in 2010/2011. This difference is mainly due to a higher application of the pesticide, from 0.80 kg/ha to 1.42 kg/ha. The WPL in 2013/2014 reached 83 percent . The results indicate that following the local trend of further intensification of large scale agriculture, the pollution of local water bodies with dissolved agrochemicals will increase to the point that it is likely to soon violate the local water quality standards.