Contribution of water and wastewater infrastructures to urban energy metabolism and greenhouse gas emissions in cities in India

This is a first analysis of end-use energy intensity (EUEI) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in water and wastewater (W/WW) sectors in India, and it examines their contribution to community-wide energy use and GHG emissions in cities in India. EUEI and related GHG emissions for W/WW infrastructures in Indian cities were analyzed and compared with data for cities in the United States. Data gathered by ICLEI-South Asia, Government of India, and the University of Colorado Denver were used to conduct this analysis. W/WW infrastructures were found to contribute 3-16% of community-wide electricity use and GHG emissions for 16 cities in India; for another 23 cities, the proportion was less than 3%. EUEI for drinking water supply and wastewater treatment averaged 0.3±0.2 W·h/L(n=7) and 0.1±0.05 W·h/L(n=5), respectively. EUEI for drinking water provision was more than double that for wastewater treatment, the reverse of typical cities in Colorado, likely a result of poorer source water quality in India. In general, although the sample size of Indian W/WW plants is small, EUEI in India appears to be much smaller than in the United States for both water and wastewater sectors based on this first review of quantitative data.