A Preliminary Estimation on Carbon Footprint of Raw Water from the Reservoirs for Domestic Use in Taiwan

Journal Title: International Journal of Environment and Climate Change - Year 2014, Vol 4, Issue 1

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the carbon footprint of raw water from reservoirs for domestic use in Taiwan. It also provides a preliminary measure and reference database for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission of reservoir systems in Taiwan. Four reservoirs, Feitsui (F.T.) and Liyutan (L.Y.T.) in subtropical zone and Nanhua (N.H.) and Tsengwen (T.W.) in tropical zone, were selected as the cases to be examined for carbon footprint inventory, including the GHG emission from the water body and from human activities. Carbon footprint inventory followed PAS 2050 (2011 Specification for the assessment of the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of goods and services). GHG emission from water body followed the instruction of UNESCO guidelines. The boundary of this inventory covers the water intake works, impoundment region, the dam, the affiliated hydroelectricity power plant, the administration center and other facilities. In this study, the floating chambers with gas chromatography (GC) were chosen to measure the GHG flux from the water body. For the emission of CH4 and N2O from the water body, there are no significantly difference between the fluxes during the daytime and nighttime. For carbon dioxide, the instantaneous flux during the nighttime is higher than the daytime flux. The two reservoirs in tropical zone emit more CO2e from the water body than those in subtropical zone. Summarizing the direct and indirect GHG emission, for the four reservoirs, the annual emission quantities ranged from 653 ton of CO2e to 23,146 ton of CO2e. The carbon footprint of water supply for domestic use ranged from 0.002 kg CO2e/m3 to 0.028 kg CO2e/m3. Roughly speaking, the total GHG emission quantity of the 24 main reservoirs in Taiwan was estimated to be around 121,800 ton of CO2e with the total yield of 4.35 billion m3 of water annually using the highest carbon footprint 0.028 kg CO2e/m3.

Authors and Affiliations

Y. H. Wang, C. Y. Su, W. C. Huang, Y. C. Kuang, Y. D. Huang, W. L. Wu, C. P. Chu, Y. J. Chung

Keywords

Related Articles

Monitoring Drainage Water Quality during Green Roof Irrigation Trials Using Synthetic Greywater

Aims: To evaluate the potential for substituting green roof mains water irrigation by irrigation using lightly loaded synthetic greywater. Study Design: The planted green roof system was designed to be operated and teste...

Analyzing the Role of Poor and Developing Nations in Global Climate Agreements

Increasingly, countries are gathering to address concerns surrounding climate change. The 2015 United Nations Conference of Parties, COP21, saw the emergence of a landmark agreement for collective global action. The tagl...

Projected Changes in the Dynamics of Flood Hazard in the Grand River Basin, Canada

In this study future flooding frequencies have been estimated for the Grand River catchment located in south-western Ontario, Canada. Historical and future climatic projections made by fifteen Coupled Model Inter-compari...

An Exploration of Disaster Risk in Farmer’s Community of Angaria Sub-sub-district in Bangladesh

Aims: Analysis of risk, farmer’s perceptions on risk and their adaptation practices through exploration of agriculture based farmer’s community perceptions were lack on the perspective of Angaria sub-sub-district of Dumk...

Soil Water and Nitrogen Balance Study of Maize Using CERES Maize Model in DSSAT

Simulated studies indicated that early sowing i.e 15th April (D1) predicted highest grain yield during all the years from 1986-2013. Under irrigated conditions increasing levels of N predicted increased grain and stover...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP350424
  • DOI 10.9734/BJECC/2014/8573
  • Views 163
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Y. H. Wang, C. Y. Su, W. C. Huang, Y. C. Kuang, Y. D. Huang, W. L. Wu, C. P. Chu, Y. J. Chung (2014). A Preliminary Estimation on Carbon Footprint of Raw Water from the Reservoirs for Domestic Use in Taiwan. International Journal of Environment and Climate Change, 4(1), 45-65. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-350424