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preparation
Multiple choice questions
In the Aquatic center in the water treatment circuit in the pump room:
Energy consumption is one of the significant problems faced in the aquatic center,
which parts consume the highest energy?
a) UV unit
b) The pump: The second highest is the pump that used to treat the water. Review Lecture
c) The filter
d) Heating system: Uses the most energy.
Energy consumption of the aquatic center is nearly 2x or 3x higher to the office building
What are the most prominent water losses and how are they minimized?
Evaporation is the most significant loss thus we can cover the pool. Back wash in the water
treatment circuit is the second most prominent water loss.
How can we minimize the amount of water which is required to treat stone water?
The best practice to separate contaminated stone water and un-contaminated water is a bounded
area, separating the two.
Firstly, what kind of water is suitable, high, low or bottom or middle. High quality is used otherwise
causes scaling, fouling where the water evaporates and leaves it contaminates.
Essay Questions
*Explain the differences between ‘water conservation’, ‘water use efficiency’ and
‘water management’.
Water conservation:
Water management
• Requirements of DEP licensing System.
• Water source investigation, allocation, pricing and protection/remedial action.
• Includes water management diagram: Simple Systemisation
• Solutions to aid a system where protection has not succeeded.
• Includes Audits
Combined Example
• Limited groundwater yet water usage is rising
• Environmental and ecological legislation protects additional water sources.
• Regulation for withdrawal volume limiting ingress of seawater.
• Water providers increase price of water limiting demand and providing capital expenditure
needing to dam.
• From this human behaviour is changed
Discussion
• By using water management and water use efficiency we interact with water conservation.
• Water source allocation is a complex interaction between government, water providers, the
community, the environment and ecosystems.
• Can use economical instruments to maximise benefits from a given water source
Define water auditing and explain the process involved in conducting a water audit.
Having the basic structure of that of ISO 14010:1996, Water auditing:
Brief
The brief must identify water usage from the sources used at the domain to
Part 1 of phase 1 consists of the audit schedule, Resources and selection of the audit
team
The Audit Schedule
• Time-line mutually agreeable to the auditor, client and auditee.
• Fees charged to the client are agreed.
Resources
• Money where fees, budgets and contracts are needed
• People: team and role designation
• Site visit and client to auditee discussion
• Instrumentation and data processing equipment
Phase one Part 3 consists of unit operations, the flow diagram and development plans.
Water Flow diagram or water Management diagram is
• Consistent with scope.
• Systematises tool for the water auditor.
• Enables comprehension of the system/simplification.
• Arrows depict water flow (Kl/yr).
• One line can represent several pipes of the same function.
• It will need a site visit where the identification of:
1. Sources: reuse, recycled, seawater, surface water, ground water, storm water or
scheme water.
2. Unit operations: Process water usage, general water usage, personal water usage,
reticulation and water treatment.
3. Sinks: weather removed as product, water disposal, discharged to ocean, sewer,
ground water recharge, watercourse or evaporated.
Development Plans
Are Plans for future development of processes
Phase 2 Part 1 consists Material balance or flow measurement, Input and out-put water
quantity.
Flow measurement and accuracy
• What proportion the flow represents of the total flow through audited domain,
• An issue of water quality might need greater accuracy.
• Consider cost to benefit ratio of devices and techniques.
• Review past audits.
Part 1 of phase 3 : Lists water waste reduction, reuse and recycling options.
• Internal processes
• Deployment of discharges internal to the domain
• External discharged canvassed
• Geographical Proximity.
• Zero discharge: Attains ‘cleaner production’
• Hierarchy of water streams: asses discharge quality for input for other processes.
1. High stream quality: at least potable used for boilers
2. Middle: still adequate for plant operations but mainly for Cooling systems
3. Low: dust control, mine de-watering, undercover vehicle washdown.
4. Bottom: Derived from contamination from materials transport.
Unit operation Uses Typical source of Typical Unit Process Typical Quality of
water discharge
High quality water Scheme water Steam generation High or middle
(treated) Food preparation
Fresh lake water Process Water
(treated)
Distilled or ion
exchange resin
discharge water.
Rain water from a
clean roof and gutter
system (with filtering)
Bottom blowdown
water
Middle quality water Storm water from Cooling water systems Low or bottom
‘clean’ areas Wash-down
Treated mine de-
watering water
Contaminated water
system discharge
Low quality water Mine de-watering Material transport Bottom
water dust control
Uncovered
contaminated water
system
Bottom quality water First ‘flush storm Once through cooling Bottom
water sewage. systems (clean but
Concentrate from saline)
distillation water Material transport
treatment Landscaping
Sea water or hyper
saline water
Part 3 of phase three: Evaluate options and conduct financial assessment of each option
• Evaluates water issues: Reality testing for external sources including; internal recycling,
reuse options and discharge proposals.
• Environmental issues: Lower quality for cooling could lower efficiency and raise emissions
• human: Automation can affect families and local economies.
• Plant operations: Plant may need to run at a lower level while modification is being installed
and Loss and benefits analysis must be applied during shut down.
• financial issues: Pay back periods considering training, employees, new systems or
technology, operating costs. Water savings per annum/capital cost = capital payback period.
Part 1 of Phase four: Audit report writing, and liaison contains participants
Participants
• client, auditee, audit team members, auditees representatives, operation managers, union
representatives.
• Acknowledgments
• Confidentiality issues
Part 2a of phase 4 Audit report: The brief. The brief consists of:
• Starting point conditions
• Scope and objectives
An Introduction
• Previous water audits
• Evaluation of past water management strategy
• Economical and financial background.
• Reasons for current audit
• Water resource availability and publications associated
• Changes in water use on site – historical and projected.
Description of site
• Complex site description
• Site Principal usage
• Interaction with location
• Water availability
• Environmental sensitivity
• Arrangement of buildings
• Operations on site
Part 3 of phase four of the audit report: Communication and presentation of results to
client, auditee.
Raw options for improved water use efficiency
• Management strategy outcomes
• Brainstorming
• Raw material for future evaluation.
• Constantly revisited.
• No quantitively analysis
Conclusions
• Water management strategy
• Summary
Process issues
• Challenges to notional linear process
• Challenges from all fields.
• Suggestions from stakeholders
• Counter suggestions
*Explain four of the conceptual tools available for developing a water management
strategy.
To develop a water management strategy Four conceptual tools must be considered. These
conceptual tools are; cleaner production, zero discharge legalities, hierarchy of water streams and
geographical proximity.
• Resource substation
• Measurement
• Recycling
• Reuse
• Reduction of water
• Separation of waste streams
Zero Discharge:
European Community:
• No contaminated discharge at all during dry weather either continuous or intermittent until
after a storm of prescribed intensity and duration.
• storm is usually expressed in mm of rain per hour and the duration in minutes or hours.
• Evaporation and evapo-transpiration still occur.
• Clean water can leave boundaries of licenced site.
Hierarchy of water streams: Assess whether the discharge from processes where high-quality
water is used is suitable input to processes where lower quality water supply is needed.
We are looking for suitable water quality for the purpose. If we use this for washing, we should avoid
the use of high quality. These conceptual tool gives us the information to intelligently determine the
minimum quality of water that is needed for the process.
Geographical Proximity:
• Enterprises within reasonably close geographical proximity might have water resources that
can be shared.
• Output from one can be used as input for the other
• When such shared arrangements are possible they can be very significant savers of water
from primary water sources.
5. How should the raw options for improved water use efficiency be dealt with in the
water audit report?
Raw options for improved water use efficiency
• Management strategy outcomes
• Brainstorming
• Raw material for future evaluation.
• Constantly revisited.
• No quantitively analysis
Part 3 of phase three: Evaluate options and conduct financial assessment of each option
• Evaluates water issues: Reality testing for external sources including; internal recycling,
reuse options and discharge proposals.
• Environmental issues: Lower quality for cooling could lower efficiency and raise emissions
• human: Automation can affect families and local economies.
• Plant operations: Plant may need to run at a lower level while modification is being installed
and Loss and benefits analysis must be applied during shut down.
• financial issues: Pay back periods considering training, employees, new systems or
technology, operating costs. Water savings per annum/capital cost = capital payback period.
Figure 6.1 First glance interpretation of the qualitative relationship between environmental auditing
and water auditing
7. Describe three ways of measuring flow rates in filled pipes. What are their
advantages and disadvantages?
1. Pitot tube: Traverse taking several velocity readings, which are then integrated across the
pipe to give rise to a flow rate.
Advantages Disadvantages
Less difficult installation Shouldn’t be fitted to a single tube with one
stagnation point
Associated electronic provide instant flow value Requires traverse
(as an average) Fouling
Accurate to 0.5%
2. The Venturi flow meter: Measures the relationship between the head loss from the
upstream to the throat of the venturi tube.
Advantages Disadvantages
Accurate to 5% More expensive than orifices
Doesn’t reduce flow rate Requires physical intervention: Cutting pipes
Smaller obstruction compared to orifices Needs flanges fitted
Water flow process needs to stop for
installation
Fouling
3. Orifices: Inserting a restriction to the flow and measuring the pressure drop across the
restriction
Advantages Disadvantages
Cheap to install between flanges Water must occupy full cross-sectional area of
Accurate to 5% the pipeline
Restricts the flow
Large permanent pressure loss
Reduces flow rate
Fouling
* What are the various types of hot water systems used and what factors relating to
hot water systems will the water auditor consider?
Types of hot water systems:
1. Gas
2. Electric
3. Solid fuel systems (storage systems or instantaneous systems
4. Solar systems
5. Heat pump systems
Factors the auditor need to consider:
1. Location
2. Temperature setting
3. Energy efficiency
4. Reduced payback periods if new systems are considered
Soil amendment offers direct savings in water use by reducing either run-off, or infiltration beyond
the plants' root zones.
Practice:
Physical amendment – applying loam to increase soil hydraulic conductivity (permeability) and
reduce run-off
Organic amendment – The addition of animal manures or organic fertilisers and mixing them with
the soil constitutes organic amendment, which is subsequently aided by organic mulch above the
soil.
Soil amendment – Soil amendment takes place prior to planting not after planting, for after planting,
the mixing processes destroy plant micro-roots. The soil amendment is applied to the top zone of
the soil where plant feeder roots are most active. Typically, the top 200mm of soil would be
amended.
*Explain the operation of a Biomax with a sketch of system
The Biomax is an aerobic treatment unit that can be used for domestic wastewater reuse since it
uses a secondary level of treatment. The system consists of a circular tank which is divided into 4
compartments:
1. Primary settling & anaerobic tank
2. Aerobic chambers with fixed media & bubble aeration facility
3. Secondary sedimentation tank where the sludge is pumped back to the septic chamber
4. Chlorination & storage chambers
Chlorination is by tablet chlorinator and the final effluent is pumped for irrigation when the volume
reaches a particular level.
Cons: The system needs regular maintenance & power requirements for aeration & pumping.
(power requirement is 2.5 kWh/ day)
* Below ground drip irrigation is the answer to all the disadvantages of sprinkler
irrigation. Critically evaluate this assertion.
Disadvantages of sprinkler irrigation systems: (drip irrigation mitigate these)
− Prone to vandalism
− Uses more water inefficiently (evapotranspiration)
Disadvantages of drip irrigation: (drip irrigation has cons of its own)
− Costly and difficult compared to sprinkler irrigation systems.
− Prone to blockages if not maintained
* What are the major sources of water loss in the aquatic centre?
1. Evaporation
2. Filter backwash
3. Spa activities