Light or Dark Greywater for Water Reuse? Economic Assessment of On-Site Greywater Treatment Systems in Rural Areas

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorLeiva, Eduardo
dc.contributor.authorRodriguez, Carolina
dc.contributor.authorSanchez, Rafael
dc.contributor.authorSerrano, Jennyfer
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-20T22:03:06Z
dc.date.available2025-01-20T22:03:06Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.description.abstractWater scarcity is causing a great impact on the population. Rural areas are most affected by often lacking a stable water supply, being more susceptible to the impact of drought events, and with greater risk of contamination due to the lack of appropriate water treatment systems. Decentralized greywater treatment systems for water reuse in rural areas can be a powerful alternative to alleviate these impacts. However, the economic feasibility of these systems must be thoroughly evaluated. This study reports an economic analysis carried out on the viability of greywater reuse considering scenarios with light greywater or dark greywater to be treated. For this, data obtained from the assembly and monitoring of greywater treatment systems located in the north-central zone of Chile, supplemented with data obtained from the literature were used. The results showed that both scenarios are not economically viable, since the investment and operating costs are not amortized by the savings in water. In both evaluated cases (public schools), the economic indicators were less negative when treating light greywater compared with the sum of light greywater and dark greywater as the inlet water to be treated. The investment and operating costs restrict the implementation of these water reuse systems, since in the evaluation period (20 years) a return on the initial investment is not achieved. Even so, our results suggest that the best alternative to reuse greywater in small-scale decentralized systems is to treat light greywater, but it is necessary to consider a state subsidy that not only supports capital costs but also reduces operating and maintenance costs. These findings support the idea that the type of water to be treated is a factor to consider in the implementation of decentralized greywater treatment systems for the reuse of water in rural areas and can help decision-making on the design and configuration of these systems.
dc.fuente.origenWOS
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/w13243637
dc.identifier.eissn2073-4441
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.3390/w13243637
dc.identifier.urihttps://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/94017
dc.identifier.wosidWOS:000742400300001
dc.issue.numero24
dc.language.isoen
dc.revistaWater
dc.rightsacceso restringido
dc.subjectgreywater
dc.subjectlight greywater
dc.subjectdark greywater
dc.subjectwater reuse
dc.subjecteconomic evaluation
dc.subject.ods06 Clean Water and Sanitation
dc.subject.odspa06 Agua limpia y saneamiento
dc.titleLight or Dark Greywater for Water Reuse? Economic Assessment of On-Site Greywater Treatment Systems in Rural Areas
dc.typeartículo
dc.volumen13
sipa.indexWOS
sipa.trazabilidadWOS;2025-01-12
Files
Collections
Artículos de revistas