Following the events of September 11, 2001, in the United States, world public awareness for possible terrorist attacks on water supply systems has increased dramatically. Among the different threats for a water distribution system, the most difficult to address is a deliberate chemical or biological contaminant injection, due to both the uncertainty of the type of injected contaminant and its consequences, and the uncertainty of the time and location of the injection. An online contaminant monitoring system is considered as a major opportunity to protect against the impacts of a deliberate contaminant intrusion. However, although optimization models and solution algorithms have been developed for locating sensors, little is known about how these design algorithms compare to the efforts of
To
further understanding of the environmental implications of rainwater
harvesting and its water savings potential relative to conventional
U.S. water delivery infrastructure, we present a method to perform
life cycle assessment of domestic rainwater harvesting (DRWH) and
agricultural rainwater harvesting (ARWH) systems. We also summarize
the design aspects of DRWH and ARWH systems adapted to the Back Creek
watershed, Virginia. The baseline design reveals that the pump and
pumping electricity are the main components of DRWH and ARWH impacts.
For nonpotable uses, the minimal design of DRWH (with shortened distribution
distance and no pump) outperforms municipal drinking water in all
environmental impact categories except ecotoxicity. The minimal design
of ARWH outperforms well water in all impact categories. In terms
of watershed sustainability, the two minimal designs reduced environmental
impacts, from 58% to 78% energy use and 67% to 88% human health criteria
pollutants, as well as avoiding up to 20% blue water (surface/groundwater)
losses, compared to municipal drinking water and well water. We address
potential environmental and human health impacts of urban and rural
RWH systems in the region. The Building for Environmental and Economic
Sustainability (BEES) model-based life cycle inventory data were used
for this study.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.