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Cost Evaluation of Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants Using Water Price Index

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Abstract

As various technologies are used for water and wastewater treatment, a global strategy with the objective of comparing and containing the price of water in the future is required. A study was carried out for this reason on production cost component of the price of water. This paper extends the concept of previously reported Water Price Index (WPI) as a metric for the cost of water production that can be adapted to water and wastewater treatment plants to evaluate their performance. Equations that define the contribution of capital and operational expenditure to the WPI are presented. Case studies from Eraring Power Station, Marquette Water Filtration Plant, Perth Desalination II and a theoretically modelled plant demonstrated the applicability of WPI and the benefit it brings to water practitioners.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Evoqua Water Technologies Membrane Systems, South Windsor, NSW, Australia

    Shivendra Kumar & Andrew Groth

  2. Intelligent Control Systems Laboratory, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia

    Ljubo Vlacic

Authors
  1. Shivendra Kumar
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  2. Andrew Groth
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  3. Ljubo Vlacic
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Correspondence to Shivendra Kumar.

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Kumar, S., Groth, A. & Vlacic, L. Cost Evaluation of Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants Using Water Price Index. Water Resour Manage 29, 3343–3356 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-015-1002-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-015-1002-2

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