Lesson 22: Adaptation to Climate Change · Climate Change Climate change adaptation as response to global warming is necessary in many regions of the world. This lesson shows how

29.10.18, 15*16How Treatment Technologies Impact the Climate: Overview

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Lesson 22: Adaptation toClimate Change

Climate change adaptation as response to global warming isnecessary in many regions of the world. This lesson shows how theadaptation of waste water systems can contribute to climate changeproofing.

Climate change and climate related disasters have certain implicationson the sanitation sector, which can affect the whole water cycle.Potential hazards should be identified and need to be addressedaccordingly.

Effects from climate change, such as temperature increase, changingprecipitation patterns and sea level rise, can cause water scarcity, droughts,flooding and pollution from changing material influxes. Therefore, climatechange adaptation in the sanitation sector is vital to increase resilienceagainst these threats to infrastructure, economy, public health and socialcohesion.

Climate change adaptation is a response to global warming andclimate change, that seeks to reduce the vulnerability of social andbiological systems to relatively sudden change and thus offset the effects ofglobal warming. Even if emissions are stabilized relatively soon, globalwarming and its effects should last many years, and adaptation would benecessary to the resulting changes in climate.

Adaptation is especially important in developing countries since thosecountries are predicted to bear the brunt of the effects of global warming.

The economic costs of adaptation to climate change are likely to costbillions of dollars annually for the next several decades, though the amountof money needed is unknown. The adaptation challenge grows with themagnitude and the rate of climate change.



Another response to climate change is known as climate changemitigation [discussed in the next lesson 23].

It advocates to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or enhance theremoval of these gases from the atmosphere (through carbon sinks). Eventhe most effective reductions in emissions, however, would not preventfurther climate change impacts, making the need for adaptationunavoidable.

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29.10.18, 15*18How Treatment Technologies Impact the Climate: Adaptation Measures


Adaptation MeasuresAdaptation to climate change ensures that sanitation systems can in thefuture – with a potentially different climate – still deliver services andmaintain safe hygiene practices to prevent the spread of diseases.

Adaptation measures include the planning for preparedness, prevention,protection, and response (relief and rehabilitation). Risk management andadaptation planning aims to develop different strategies based on thedifferent scenarios, by choosing technologies that are resilient to theexpected scenarios, by adapting operation and management of existingservices, and by taking into consideration socio-economic factors.

Furthermore, it is also advisable to separate the preparedness for extremeevents and adaptation measurements from expected perpetual challenges.Climate change proofing measures involve households, communities,service providers and governments alike.

In order to adapt sanitation systems to water scarcity, the measures that canbe taken include for example:

Wastewater Reuse

Especially greywater – treated to the appropriate degree for the intendeduse – can be reused for the irrigation of food crops, energy crops, parks,lawns and other public spaces, for groundwater recharge or as servicewater.

Water or wastewater irrigation methods should minimise water lossesthrough evaporation. Therefore, subsurface drip irrigation is generallypreferable although possible nozzle clogging should be considered.

In cases where potable water is used for irrigation, the use of treatedwastewater would substitute the extraction, processing and distribution ofpotable water and thus may lead to energy savings. The nutrient content of

29.10.18, 15*18How Treatment Technologies Impact the Climate: Adaptation Measures


the wastewater also reduces the need for mineral fertiliser input. Furtherinformation on wastewater reuse in agriculture can be found in WHOguidelines.

Dry Toilets

Dry toilet systems can be an alternative, especially in water scarce areas, towater-flushed toilets. Toilets, which do not require water for flushing, butcan nevertheless be indoors (such as urine diversion dehydration toilets(UDDTs) or composting toilets), save about 40L/person/day in comparisonto conventional flush toilets.

29.10.18, 15*19How Treatment Technologies Impact the Climate: Greywater Reuse in Jordan


The Potential of Scaling-upGreywater Reuse in JordanResearch and successful adopters of greywater treatment have shown thatreusing greywater for rural and peri-urban households can result inlower water and sanitation costs, reduced pressure ongroundwater resources and improve productivity as e.g. throughirrigated household gardens.

Studies show that between 50-70% of the total wastewater produced by ahousehold can be treated and reused for irrigation, as well as for flushingtoilets.

In Jordan, greywater treatment systems have been researched, designed,piloted, tweaked and disseminated over the past 17 years. But all of thisresearch has not translated into large-scale adoption of the technology byhouseholds and smallholder farmers.

Identified barriers for the acceptance of grey water reuse are health andreligious concerns, lack of regulations as well as potential odor nuisance.

For a broader uptake of greywater reuse systems the followingmeasures should be considered:

A national strategy and regulatory frameworks that clearlydistinguishes between greywater and blackwater,Governments investment into the technology, Piloting and demonstration of the technology,Develop organic certification standards for commodities produced withgreywater and The reuse of greywater to create green spaces, e.g. at schools ormosques.

For further information please refer to the section «Further Resources»

http://www.dis-course.net/index.php?id=4026

29.10.18, 15*19How Treatment Technologies Impact the Climate: Greywater Reuse in Jordan


(WaCCliM fact sheet, 2017a and WaCCliM fact sheet, 2017b)

29.10.18, 15*20How Treatment Technologies Impact the Climate: Further Resources


Further ResourcesYou now have a rough understanding of the problems and conceptsdiscussed in this lesson. While the previous pages gave an overview, thefollowing resources are now meant to «dive deeper» and to learn more.

The resources offered here are carefully selected. The occupation which thepapers, videos, etc. raised here is therefore essential to complete this lessonsuccessfully

Video

WaCCliM - Water & Wastewater Companies for ClimateMitigation

WaCCliM - Water & Wastewater Companies for Climate Mitigation fromIWA on Vimeo.

WaCCLIM 2015: Supporting water and wastewater companies tobecome carbon neutral, 2:15min

https://vimeo.com/131406146

https://vimeo.com/131406146

https://vimeo.com/iwahq

https://vimeo.com/



[click the image to open the PDF, pages]

Water and wastewater companies are typically energy intensive. Thisindicates excellent opportunities for improving energy efficiency andgreatly reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through more energy-efficient systems, as well as recovering energy, nutrients and othermaterials from wastewater.

The Water and Wastewater Companies for Climate Mitigation projectworks across local, national and international levels, and engages withnational stakeholders around three pilot companies in Mexico, Peru andThailand. The objective is to use GHG emission-reducing technologies toimprove the carbon balance of water and wastewater companies whilemaintaining or even improving service levels and improving thesecompanies cost effectiveness.

DocumentsWaCCLIM, GIZ 2017: Water andWastewater Companies forClimate Mitigation - Jordan.Factsheet

Jordan, with an arid and semi-aridclimate and low levels of rainfall, isconsidered to be one of the world’smost water-scarce countries. Asituation that will intensify asclimate change makes waterresources even more insecure. Theenergy sector in Jordan accounts for73% of the nation’s total greenhousegas (GHG) emissions, a contributorto climate change. Jordan’s energyintensive water sector consumes 15%of Jordan’s total energy production, making it a significant contributor to

http://www.dis-course.net/fileadmin/climate_impact/resources/WaCCliM__2017a.pdf



[click the image to open the PDF, 2 pages]

GHGs. Under the Paris Climate Agreement’s Nationally DeterminedContributions, Jordan has set a target of reducing GHG emissions by 14%.Mitigating GHG emissions in the water sector would make a significantcontribution to achieving this target and reduces energy consumption.

WaCCLIM, GIZ 2017: Carbonfootprint assessment of urbanwater utilities. Factsheet

The Water and WastewaterCompanies for Climate Mitigation(WaCCliM) project is guiding waterand wastewater utilities on ajourney to energy and carbonneutrality. Four pilot utilities - inMexico, Thailand, Peru and Jordan -are tackling this global climatemitigation challenge.

Limiting climate change to 1.5°Crequires substantial reductions ingreenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inall sectors. The urban water sector has under-recognized opportunities toreduce carbon emissions that will contribute to the successfulimplementation of the Paris Agreement through increasing the NationallyDetermined Contributions (NDCs) of supporting countries.

The Energy Performance and Carbon Emissions Assessment andMonitoring (ECAM) Tool, offers a solution for utilities to quantify theirGHG emissions and contribution to NDCs through reducing indirect anddirect emissions from energy use and wastewater management.

WHO (2006): Guidelines for the Safe Use of Wastewater, Excretaand Greywater. Volume 4: Excreta and Greywater Use in

http://www.dis-course.net/fileadmin/climate_impact/resources/WaCCliM__2017b.pdf




Agriculture. World HealthOrganization, Geneva, CH.

Discussion of health risks andrecommended guidelines forapplication

http://www.dis-course.net/fileadmin/climate_impact/resources/WHO-Guidelines_Vol4-eng.pdf



Lesson 23: Mitigation of ClimateChange

Climate change is considered to be one of the main challenges towastewater systems in future decades and will modify therequirements for wastewater infrastructure. How can climate changeeffects be mitigated?

Achieving more sustainable sanitation offers opportunities to reduce thecarbon footprint of sanitation. There is a diverse set of measures linked towater and sanitation development that can contribute to reduced GHGemissions and contribute to climate change mitigation, including

Avoidance of methane emissions,Resource efficiency measures,Renewable energy production, andCarbon sequestration.

(e.g. Andersson et al. 2016; Ingle et al. 2012).

Sanitation and wastewater management approaches focus on the reductionand recovery of wastes. They can not only mitigate GHG emissions but alsocontribute to the reduction of emissions from other sectors of the economy.Capturing the energy content in excreta and wastewater is not only anefficient way to produce renewable energy, but also an effective climatemitigation measure.

Climate change mitigation consists of actions to limit the magnitude or rateof long-term climate change. Climate change mitigation generally involvesreductions in human (anthropogenic) emissions of greenhouse gases(GHGs). Mitigation policies can substantially reduce the risks associatedwith human-induced global warming.

The provision of drinking water and the treatment of wastewater require



tremendous amounts of energy, the production of which is responsible forhigh amounts of CO2- emissions. The water sector is increasinglyrecognising its high potential to reduce energy demand and thus contributeto the overall goal of climate change mitigation.

During wastewater and sludge treatment, greenhouse gases (GHGs)including carbon dioxide (CO2) from aerobic (oxidation processes),methane (CH4) from anaerobic processes and nitrous oxide (N2O)associated with nitrification/denitrification processes, as an intermediateproduct, are emitted to the atmosphere. The processes of wastewatertreatment offer various options to reduce carbon emissions (see figurebelow). Some of these measures and their respective potential for CO2-reduction are described in the following examples.

29.10.18, 15*21How Treatment Technologies Impact the Climate: Reducing GHG


Measures with can reduceCarbon Dioxide EmissionSome of the measures and their respective potential for CO2-reduction inwastewater treatment are described in the examples:

Biogas Energy Production

Biogas electricity has an enormous potential to contribute to carbon neutralwastewater treatment. At present, German wastewater treatment plantscover about 25% of their energy demand by use of biogas. This number shallbe doubled in future, leading to annual savings of 1,100,000 t CO2 per year.

Several examples show that in combination with high-energy efficiency,wastewater treatment plants can cover around 80% of their energydemand.

Hydropower Generation

Turbines can be placed all along the water supply and wastewater system,i.e. within water/wastewater pipes instead of pressure breakers, and beforeor after a treatment plant. However, the suitability of these measuresdepends much on the local topography.

Good example: The As Samra treatment plant in Jordan coversca. 80% of its energy demand by wastewater hydropower and biogaselectricity.

Secondary Wastewater Products

The nutrients contained in wastewater, mainly phosphorus, nitrogen andpotassium can be used in agriculture to substitute the energy-intenseproduction of artificial fertilisers.

The co-incineration of de-watered wastewater sludge in power station and

29.10.18, 15*21How Treatment Technologies Impact the Climate: Reducing GHG


cement plants can substitute mineral fuels.

Important Considerations

For efficient biogas electricity production, wastewater treatmentplants should cover more than 10,000 capita. Smaller treatment plantscould take their sewage sludge to semi-centralised biogas plants.

Anaerobic wastewater treatment as well as decentralised sanitation systemsrequire much less energy and have lower operational costscompared to centralised activated sludge treatment. Thus, they can be aparticularly adequate solution in many countries.

The Nexus approach helps climate mitigation measures to be more ‘watersmart’ and less energy intensive aiming to avoid damaging consequences forfood production and other vital ecosystem services.

29.10.18, 15*22How Treatment Technologies Impact the Climate: Madaba, Jordan


Water & Wastewater Utilities inMadaba, Jordan

The WaCCliM project supports climate mitigation efforts in thewater sector by supporting utilities on the path towards climate neutrality.It uses a cross-sectoral approach that inter-links water with energy, foodsecurity and climate. The «energy performance and carbon emissionsassessment and monitoring» (ECAM), a carbon footprint tool for water andwastewater utilities, is a cornerstone to the WaCCliM roadmap.

While being on of the most water stressed countries world wide Jordan hasa very energy intensive water sector, which consumes 15% of Jordan's totalenergy consumption.

Madaba Governorate a WaCCliM project region is located 35 km south west of Amman. It has an population of 190,000 inhabitants. Water supply isvery energy intensive due to the prevailing topography.

After assessing the GHG emissions of Madaba utilities, three main areasto mitigate GHG emissions (as well as costs) have beenidentified:

29.10.18, 15*22How Treatment Technologies Impact the Climate: Madaba, Jordan


Improvement of energy efficiency of the water pumping system (CCmitigation measure)

Increase of water efficiency by reusing treated wastewater (climatechange mitigation as well as adaption measure)

Generation of energy from renewable resources such as solar energyand biogas, offsetting more than 10.000 tons CO2/year (CC mitigationmeasure).



Further ResourcesYou now have a rough understanding of the problems and conceptsdiscussed in this lesson. While the previous pages gave an overview, thefollowing resources are now meant to «dive deeper» and to learn more.

The resources offered here are carefully selected. The occupation which thepapers, videos, etc. raised here is therefore essential to complete this lessonsuccessfully

Video

Water and Wastewater Companies for Climate Mitigation (WaCCliM) …

2018, GIZ Online TV: Water and Wastewater Companies forClimate Mitigation (WaCCliM) in Thailand, 8:00

The Water and Wastewater Companies for Climate Mitigation (WaCCliM)project is demonstrating that the water sector can reduce GHG emissions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5JDUEKAD7w

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJLVqXctUDpmTmfMERGm25g




in the short-term by improving operational efficiency and adoptingenergy efficiency measures; in the long-term by proactively upgradingand reforming their drinking water and wastewater systems. Waterutilities working with WaCCliM are becoming sector leaders, and areseizing the opportunity to become more efficient and effective in anuncertain future.

DocumentsCGIAR, 2016: How to scale-upGreywater Reuse in Jordan andEgypt

Greywater – wastewater generatedby household water use, excludingtoilet water – is a potentiallyvaluable resource. Studies show thatbetween 50-70% of the totalwastewater produced by ahousehold can be treated and reusedfor irrigation, as well as for flushingtoilets.

In Jordan, greywater treatmentsystems have been researched,designed, piloted, tweaked anddisseminated over the past 17 years.Much funding and time has been invested into creating affordable,efficient and low-maintenance systems to treat greywater at the householdlevel. But all of this research has not translated into large-scale adoptionof the technology by households and smallholder farmers.

WaCCLIM, GIZ 2017: Water and Wastewater Companies for

http://www.dis-course.net/fileadmin/climate_impact/resources/CGIAR__2016.pdf



[click the image to open the PDF, pages]

Climate Mitigation - Jordan.Factsheet

Jordan, with an arid and semi-aridclimate and low levels of rainfall, isconsidered to be one of the world’smost water-scarce countries. Asituation that will intensify asclimate change makes waterresources even more insecure. Theenergy sector in Jordan accounts for73% of the nation’s total greenhousegas (GHG) emissions, a contributorto climate change. Jordan’s energyintensive water sector consumes 15%of Jordan’s total energy production,making it a significant contributor toGHGs. Under the Paris Climate Agreement’s Nationally DeterminedContributions, Jordan has set a target of reducing GHG emissions by 14%.Mitigating GHG emissions in the water sector would make a significantcontribution to achieving this target and reduces energy consumption.

WaCCLIM, GIZ 2017: Carbon footprint assessment of urbanwater utilities. Factsheet

The Water and Wastewater Companies for Climate Mitigation (WaCCliM)project is guiding water and wastewater utilities on a journey to energyand carbon neutrality. Four pilot utilities - in Mexico, Thailand, Peru andJordan - are tackling this global climate mitigation challenge.

Limiting climate change to 1.5°C requires substantial reductions ingreenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in all sectors. The urban water sector hasunder-recognized opportunities to reduce carbon emissions that willcontribute to the successful implementation of the Paris Agreement

http://www.dis-course.net/fileadmin/climate_impact/resources/WaCCliM__2017a.pdf




through increasing the NationallyDetermined Contributions (NDCs) ofsupporting countries.

The Energy Performance andCarbon Emissions Assessment andMonitoring (ECAM) Tool, offers asolution for utilities to quantify theirGHG emissions and contribution toNDCs through reducing indirect anddirect emissions from energy use andwastewater management.

http://www.dis-course.net/fileadmin/climate_impact/resources/WaCCliM__2017b.pdf

29.10.18, 15*24How Treatment Technologies Impact the Climate: Questions?


Self-Test Module 8This page gives the opportunity to check yourself whether all of contentoffered in this module has been understood correctly. Perhaps you shouldre-read some pages? The decision about this and the identification ofcontent which has not been digested correctly is totally up to you!

Your answers in the «Self-test» section are not controlled. However, if youare able to give correct answers in these self-tests, you are also wellprepared for the obligatory online test at the end of the whole e-Learningcourse!

Following are some multiple choice (several answers per questions may becorrect in this case!) or «free text» questions. Please click on «± Proposedanswers» to learn if you can give a correct answer!

Question 1.: What are climate adaptation measures in the watersector?

[ ] Improved stormwater drainage

[ ] Reuse of treated greywater/wastewater

[ ] Incineration of sludge

[ ] Decentralised sanitation systems

[ ] Rainwater harvesting

Question 2.: Climate change proofing measures in the watersector involve...

[ ] Households

[ ] Drought affected refugees



[ ] Communities

[ ] Service providers

[ ] Governments

Question 3.: Why are dry toilets systems a better adaptationmeasure for climate change than water-flush toilets?

[ ] They do not require water for flushing

[ ] They do not use electricity as water flush toilets do

[ ] The waste is climate friendly

Question 4.: Climate change mitigation consists of...

[ ] Limiting the rate of long-term-change

[ ] Limiting the magnitude of long-term climate change

[ ] Adapting to hot climates

Question 5.: Sludge and wastewater treatment processes emit...

[ ] Carbon dioxide (aerobic processes)

[ ] Methane (anaerobic processes)

[ ] Free oxygen (all processes)

[ ] Nitrous Oxide (nitrification/denitrification)

Question 6.: CO2 reduction in wastewater treatment can be donethrough...



[ ] Hydropower generation (in wastewater pipes or after treatment)

[ ] Using more energy consuming pumps

[ ] Generating electricity from biogas