Advancing water footprint assessments: Combining the impacts of water pollution and scarcity

Éléonore Pierrat; Alexis Laurent; Martin Dorber; Martin Rygaard; Francesca Verones; Michael Hauschild

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161910

Advancing water footprint assessments: Combining the impacts of water pollution and scarcity

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Apr 20:870:161910. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161910. Epub 2023 Jan 31.

Authors

Éléonore Pierrat¹, Alexis Laurent², Martin Dorber³, Martin Rygaard⁴, Francesca Verones³, Michael Hauschild²

Affiliations

¹ Section for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark. Electronic address: easpi@dtu.dk.
² Section for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
³ Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Høgskøleringen 5, 7034, Trondheim, Norway.
⁴ Water Technology and Processes, Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.

PMID: 36736405
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161910

Abstract

Several water footprint indicators have been developed to curb freshwater stress. Volumetric footprints support water allocation decisions and strive to increase water productivity in all sectors. In contrast, impact-oriented footprints are used to minimize the impacts of water use on human health, ecosystems, and freshwater resources. Efforts to combine both perspectives in a harmonized framework have been undertaken, but common challenges remain, such as pollution and ecosystems impacts modelling. To address these knowledge gaps, we build upon a water footprint assessment framework proposed at conceptual level to expand and operationalize relevant features. We propose two regionalized indicators, namely the water biodiversity footprint and the water resource footprint, that aggregate all impacts from toxic chemicals, nutrients, and water scarcity. The first impact indicator represents the impacts on freshwater ecosystems. The second one models the competition for freshwater resources and its consequences on freshwater availability. As part of the framework, we complement the two indicators with a sustainability assessment representing the levels above which ecological and human freshwater needs are no longer sustained. We test our approach assessing the sustainability of water use in the European Union in 2010. Water stress hampers 15 % of domestic, agricultural and industrial water demand, mainly due to irrigation and pesticide emissions in southern Europe. Moreover, damage to the freshwater ecosystems is widespread and mostly resulting from chemical emissions from industry. Approximately 5 % of the area is exceeding the regional sustainability limits for ecosystems and human water requirements altogether. Concerted efforts from all sectors are needed to reduce the impacts of emissions and water consumption under the sustainability limits. These advances are considered an important step toward the harmonization of volumetric and impact-oriented approaches to achieve consistent and holistic water footprinting as well as contributing to strengthen the policy relevance of water footprint assessments.

Keywords: Freshwater; Impact assessment; Life cycle assessment; Sustainability; Water management.