Using regulation and standardization to promote the use of Greywater recycling

and preventing water scarcity

M. Adel 1 & E. Friedler 2

1 Coalition for Greywater Recycling (E-mail: mikiadel@gmail.com)2 Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion, Haifa, Israel (eranf@tx.technion.ac.il)

Israel’s water economy

Talk layout

SII GWR Standard

status

greywater recycling

Impact on system

proliferation

The water saving potential and the socio-economic feasibility of greywater reuse

within the urban sector -Israel as a case study

E. FriedlerDivision of Environmental, Water and Agricultural

Engineering, Faculty of Civil andEnvironmental Engineering, Technion, Haifa 32000, Israel

summary

water/energy nexus

Desalination is the fastest growing water source

What about decentralized reuse?

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

2010 2020 2030 2050

MCM

/yr

Deficit (SW desalination)

SW desalination and imports

Brakish desalination

Brakish water

Recycled wastewater

Fresh water

0.01 0.1 1 10 100 10000.01

0.1

1

10

Decentralized water production saves water and energy.

Source-Consumer Distance [km]0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000

Sp

ecif

ic E

ner

gy

Us

e [

kW

h/m

3]

10

1

0.1

0.01

SW Desalination

GreywaterReuse

WWTP Effluent Reuse

Decentralized Centralized

High Energy

Low Energy

Natural Water Sources

Urban demand is the fastest growing consumption sector

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

2012 2020 2030 2050

MCM

/yr

Agriculture - fresh water

Ariculture - brakish water

Agriculture - recycled wastewater

Lake recharge

transfer to neighbors

nature recharge

Industry - fresh

Industry - brakish

Urban demand

What is GWR and how can it effect Israel’s water economy?

Onsite reuse of light GW :1. shower/ bath2. washbasin3. washing machine

Reuse for:4. Toilet flushing5. Garden irrigation

GW treatment

system

Treatment Unit

What would happen if from 2015 all new apartment buildings were required to install GWR systems?

A typical installation in a multi-storey apartment building

Treatment

Storage Tank

Potable water top-up One-way

valve

Basement

Vertical Shaft

Ra

w g

reyw

ater – Sep

arate co

llectio

n

Tre

ate

d g

reyw

ater

co

nve

yan

ce

Tre

ated

gre

ywater – S

eparate d

istribu

tion

Urban consumption is the fastest growing segment of Israel’s water economy

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

2012 2020 2030 2050

ʮʬʮ

Ηʹ ʩhʥyʩ̡

CAGR 1.71%

MC

M

Source:

GWR can slow down the growth rate of urban water demand

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

2012 2020 2030 2050

ʮʬʮ

Ηʹ

ʩhʥyʩ̡ ʸ ʥʦʧ ʩʮʭ ʲ ʩhʥyʩ̡

By 2050 – 30% reuse only in buildings built after 2015

Urban Demand

Urban Demand with GWR

140 MCM(Avoided Desalination)

CAGR 1.47%

MC

M

EnergyGWR ≈ 1/5 EnergyDesalination30 m

30 m

30 km

300 m3.5

kWh/m3

Produce

Desalination

WWTP

1

kWh

/m3

1.5

kWh/m3

Convey

Onsite GWR

Reduce national electricity consumption by 560 GWh per year in 2050

Avert construction of 1-2 desalination plants by 2050

Prevent emission of 6-8·106 tonnes CO2 by 2050

GWR Standard in Israel • Status:

– In 2010, the Standards Institution of Israel (SII) established a panel of industry, academic and regulatory experts to tailor a standard for the specifics of the Israeli water eco-system. (SII #6147)

– 5 years later, despite the near unanimous agreement of panel members at multiple levels in the SII on the contents of the standard regarding methods of treatment, water quality standards and testing regimes, no such standard has been forthcoming.

– SII Standard based on British Standard with addition of on-line process monitoring.

• Impact:– “pump and bucket” recyclers have proliferated - a broad range of unregulated

solutions exist in the market place, primarily for garden irrigation. – Larger scale greywater recycling systems are almost entirely absent….

> 20,000 < 20

Where is the impasse?

• SII Expert committee

– Water quality standards

– Water quality testing regime

– Authority to decide on above

• Ministry of Health

– OK

– Not OK

– No clarity

Why is the testing regime so important?

0

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25

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2

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20

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100

NIS

/m3

Apartments per Building

Variable costs

Capital costs

apartments per block (%)

y = 6700x + 95000

-

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

0 10 20 30 40 50

ʤ́ʩʫy

ʺʫy

ʲʮʬʸ

ʩʧʮ

ʺʲʶ

ʤʤh

ʷʺ

ʤ-

ʹʧ

ʺ ʫy ʲ ʮʺ ʷʩɹʱ [m3/day]

Capital cost = 100k + 6.7k*ρ [NIS]

Because it destroys commercial viability.

0

5

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25

0

2

4

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5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100

NIS

/m3

Apartments per Building

Incremetal testing costs

Variable costs

Capital costs

apartments per block (%)

Viability point moves to 70 apartments per building

₪ -

₪ 1,000

₪ 2,000

₪ 3,000

₪ 4,000

₪ 5,000

₪ 6,000

₪ 7,000

₪ 8,000

₪ 9,000

₪ 10,000

MOH STANDARD

Yearly fixed costs

Electricity

service contract

BOD

TSS

Fecal coliforms

Sampling

Science of the Total Environment 538 (2015) 230–239

Summary - GWR in Israel can:

Reduce urban water demand by:

• 140 MCM per year in 2050

Reduce national electricity consumption by:

• 560 GWh per year in 2050

Avert construction of 1-2 desalination plants by 2050

Prevent emission of 6-8·106 tonnes CO2 by 2050

! Regulatory obstinacy is preventing realization of this opportunity…

~10%a

~0.5%a

~10%

Acknowledgments & sources

The water saving potential and the socio-economic feasibility of greywater reuse

within the urban sector -Israel as a case study

E. FriedlerDivision of Environmental, Water and Agricultural

Engineering, Faculty of Civil andEnvironmental Engineering, Technion, Haifa 32000, Israel

הקואליציה למיחזור מים אפורים בישראלhttp://www.graywater.org.il

backup

DeadSea

Sea ofGalilee

GWR can replace 1-2 of these!

ApprovedRecommended

By 2050, 15 million people will require ~15 desal plants over just 200 km of coast.

0

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1000

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1400

1600

2012 2020 2030 2050

MCM

/yea

r

Brakish water

Recycled wastewater

Fresh water

Agricultural water allocation is only marginally effected by GWR

CAGR 0.66%CAGR 0.49%

Agriculturalwith GWR

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

5

7.5

10

12.5

15

17.5

20

2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Sp

ecif

ic D

aman

d[m

3/(

pers

on·y

)]

Po

pu

lati

on

[Mill

ions

]

Population

Specific Wat. Damand(demand manage.)

Population Growth – Driver of urban water demand increase

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

5

7.5

10

12.5

15

17.5

20

2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

Sp

ecif

ic D

aman

d[m

3/(

pers

on·y

)]

Po

pu

lati

on

[Mill

ions

]

Population

Specific Wat. Damand(demand manage.)

Specific Wat. Demand + GWR

Population Annual Growth rate 2005-2030

Germany USA Israel China India

30% penetration only new buildings (2050)