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Environmental Assessment of Sewer Construction in Small to Medium Sized Cities Using Life Cycle Assessment

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Abstract

In a world with an increasing urban population, analysing the construction impacts of sanitation infrastructures through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is necessary for defining the best environmental management strategies. In this study, the environmental impacts of one linear meter of sewer constructive solution were analysed for different pipe materials and diameters used in Southern Europe; a unit of different sewer appurtenances (pump, manhole and inspection chamber) was also considered. The impacts of the pipe materials were compared considering different lifespan periods and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) turned out to be the worst option, being polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and concrete the most favourable ones. Few data are available on the material and energy flows in the installation stage; therefore, a comparative analysis of trenches with sand and concrete bedding was conducted. The results show that the installation stage represents up to 80 % of the total life-cycle impact of the constructive solutions. Concrete pipes with half-concrete/half-sand bedding are the best option and produce 20–30 % of the impact of HDPE pipes with concrete bedding. Hence, designers should focus not only on the pipe but also on the trench model. A methodology was presented to enable the impact aggregation of the different sewer elements, and Betanzos (Spain) was selected to conduct a pilot study in small cities. In the future, studies will need to incorporate the use and maintenance stage, as it is not standard and varies according to the physical features of the cities. Finally, this study provides basic concepts for developing eco-efficiency indicators.

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Acknowledgments

This study was carried out in the framework of the AQUAENVEC project (LIFE10/ENV/ES/000520) “Assessment and improvement of the urban water cycle eco-efficiency using LCA and LCC”. The authors would like to thank the Water Technology Centre (CETaqua) and CLABSA for supplying all of the data and for their technical advice. The authors are also grateful for the support of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science through the projects BIA2010-20789-C04-01 and CTM2010-17365.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sostenipra (ICTA-IRTA-Inèdit), Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Campus UAB, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain

    Anna Petit-Boix, David Sanjuan-Delmás, Carles M. Gasol, Gara Villalba, Xavier Gabarrell & Joan Rieradevall

  2. Inèdit Innovació SL, Research Park of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Campus UAB, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain

    Carles M. Gasol

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology Reference Network (XRB), School of Engineering (ETSE), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Campus of the UAB, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), 08193, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Gara Villalba, María Eugenia Suárez-Ojeda, Xavier Gabarrell & Joan Rieradevall

  4. Department of Geotechnical Engineering and Geosciences, School of Civil Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-Barcelona Tech (UPC), Barcelona, Spain

    Alejandro Josa

  5. Institute of Sustainability, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-Barcelona Tech (UPC), Barcelona, Spain

    Alejandro Josa

Authors
  1. Anna Petit-Boix
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  2. David Sanjuan-Delmás
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  3. Carles M. Gasol
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  4. Gara Villalba
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  5. María Eugenia Suárez-Ojeda
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  6. Xavier Gabarrell
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  7. Alejandro Josa
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  8. Joan Rieradevall
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anna Petit-Boix.

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Highlights

Different pipe materials and diameters were compared using LCA.

A sensitivity analysis for trenches with concrete and sand beddings was conducted.

Plastic pipes have the greatest impact due to their composition and durability.

The installation stage accounts for 80 % of the impacts in most designs.

The methodology helps to aggregate the sewer elements in any city configuration.

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Petit-Boix, A., Sanjuan-Delmás, D., Gasol, C.M. et al. Environmental Assessment of Sewer Construction in Small to Medium Sized Cities Using Life Cycle Assessment. Water Resour Manage 28, 979–997 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-014-0528-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-014-0528-z

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