Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Household Water Supply: A Case Study Considering Consumption Patterns within a Life-Cycle Perspective

Valentina Zúñiga, Sofía Leiva, Cristian Riquelme, Gloria Gómez, Gladys Vidal and Patricio Neumann ()
Additional contact information
Valentina Zúñiga: School of Natural Resources Engineering, Faculty of Sciences, University of Bío-Bío, P.O. Box 447, Chillán 3800708, Chile
Sofía Leiva: School of Natural Resources Engineering, Faculty of Sciences, University of Bío-Bío, P.O. Box 447, Chillán 3800708, Chile
Cristian Riquelme: Basic Sciences Department, Faculty of Sciences, University of Bío-Bío, P.O. Box 447, Chillán 3800708, Chile
Gloria Gómez: Environmental Engineering & Biotechnology Group, Environmental Sciences Faculty, University of Concepción, P.O. Box 160 – C, Concepción 4030000, Chile
Gladys Vidal: Environmental Engineering & Biotechnology Group, Environmental Sciences Faculty, University of Concepción, P.O. Box 160 – C, Concepción 4030000, Chile
Patricio Neumann: Basic Sciences Department, Faculty of Sciences, University of Bío-Bío, P.O. Box 447, Chillán 3800708, Chile

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 3, 1-13

Abstract: Household water supply can cause different environmental impacts associated with the consumption of energy and materials, the generation of waste, and other inputs and outputs necessary to treat and distribute water. These impacts depend on the population’s consumption patterns, due to the potential availability of different water sources. In this work, the environmental impacts of water supply were evaluated from a production-consumption perspective, integrating life cycle assessment (LCA) and a survey for determining the end uses and sources of water at household level. The proposed method was applied in the city of Chillán (Chile), where three main sources exist: tap, bottled, and well water. Two household profiles were evaluated, differentiated by the presence of wells within the household. The results show that bottled water generates impacts up to three orders of magnitude greater than the other sources. Although it is the source with the lowest volumetric contribution (<1%), it accounts for 39–92% of the household impacts. Households with well access present greater per capita consumption of water, mainly associated with outdoor activities, but the environmental impacts are similar between profiles. Overall, this study demonstrates the importance of integrating a consumption perspective into LCA studies, generating better information for decision-making.

Keywords: water supply; life cycle assessment; sustainable production and consumption; consumption patterns; environmental assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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