User:ClimateSmartWater

= ECAM = ECAM is the Energy Performance and Carbon Emissions Assessment and Monitoring tool, which is an open-source software tool. It was designed for assessing the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) that water utilities can control within the urban water cycle. It prepares these utilities for future reporting needs on climate mitigation.

Background
The water industry is a source for carbon emissions arising from energy consumption as well as emissions from nitrous oxides (N2O) and methane (CH4) emissions in water supply and wastewater systems. The opportunities to reduce carbon emissions and contributing to the successful implementation of the Paris Agreement through increasing the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of supporting countries are therefore substantial.

Scope of Application
The ECAM tool is the first of its kind allowing a holistic approach of the urban water cycle to drive GHG emission reduction in utilities: It is designed to assess the carbon emissions that utilities can control and offers a solution for utilities wanting to quantify their GHG emissions and contribute to NDCs through reducing indirect and direct emissions from energy use and wastewater management.

Basic Function
ECAM considers all stages of the urban water cycle and the interlinkages between them. It includes water supply, wastewater and faecal sludge management processes (water abstraction, treatment and distribution; wastewater collection, treatment and discharge/reuse; faecal sludge containment, treatment and reuse/disposal).

The tool offers water utilities the following:


 * Assessing GHG emissions and finding reduction opportunities within the water sector.
 * Assessing the carbon footprint, energy consumption and service levels.
 * Finding opportunities for reducing operational costs.
 * Strengthening performance monitoring and decision making.
 * Developing scenarios on future impacts of GHG reduction measures.
 * Calculating emissions within the water sector, a prerequisite for accessing climate financing.


 * Monitoring, reporting and verifying the water sector's GHG reduction contribution to the NDCs.

The ECAM tool only requires data, which is typically available in utilities in developing and emerging economies. The methodology used within the ECAM tool can be applied to utilities nationwide, facilitating national benchmarking and knowledge exchange between utilities.

The GHG Assessment
Three categories of GHG emissions are included in ECAM. Direct emissions that are not associated with grid energy usage, indirect emissions associated with grid electricity usage and other, e.g. emissions arising from truck transport (non-grid energy). The non-grid energy related GHG emissions are associated with activities within the boundary of the utility or which are a consequence of the services provided outside of the utility boundary.

The emissions are counted in terms of CO2 equivalents ( CO2 -eq). The equivalence for methane and nitrous oxide correspond to the 100-year global warming potential (GWP) for greenhouse gases (GWP100, AR5) reported by IPCC. In ECAM users can choose which values for the GWP are applied by selecting the preferred IPCC report.

Tiered Approach
The ECAM tool works with the help of a tiered approach. There is an increasing level of detail from Tier A to Tier B.

Tier A - Initial GHG Estimation
In Tier A, the ECAM tool focuses on grid energy consumption for the drinking water, the wastewater and faecal sludge systems. It approximates both direct emissions and other indirect emissions being not related to grid-energy consumption based upon reasonable assumptions and typical wastewater and faecal sludge treatment design conditions. The intent is that the user can quickly gain an estimate of the global emissions and identify where the biggest opportunities for GHG reductions exist and what areas to focus on in terms of data collection and assessment. The output figures are pie charts and donuts representing respectively all GHG emissions and all electrical energy use in the water cycle. Color coding is applied to distinguish GHG and energy related emissions from drinking water and wastewater systems.

The Initial GHG estimation approach is just a first approximation and quantification of GHG emissions at first glance. It does not include detailed assumptions, but rather includes first estimations of GHG with the help of basic information given by water utilities.

Tier B - Detailed GHG Assessment
Tier B focuses on analyzing system performance in detail with more accurate and more complete data inputs. Some of the inputs might be the same as in Tier A; however, in Tier B there is an opportunity to be more precise by spending time collecting and verifying the data. Depending on the stage, it also includes data inputs related to pumping performance, the use of topographic energy, water efficiency, sludge management, treatment type and performance, biogas production and many others as mentioned below. Along with the detailed analysis, the tool can assess energy performance & GHG emissions at different stages and substages of the urban water cycle.

Tier B - Advanced Assessment: Substages
This assessment level focuses on stage specific GHG emissions and energy performance for the three parts of the water cycle, i.e. drinking water, wastewater and faecal sludge, as opposed to the former drinking water, wastewater and faecal sludge emissions obtained from Tier A. The output figure under energy summaries is a donut representing all electrical energy use in the water cycle by stage, color-coded for each of the stages of the urban water cycle. Tier B also allows assessing the energy consumption in more detail. By providing further data, the user can zoom in at the performance of specific facilities (also referred to as substages) such as individual pump stations, which may be benchmarked. Outputs are represented by a donut indicating the electrical energy consumption, color-coded by stage of the urban water cycle.

Opportunities
Opportunities for reductions of GHG emissions can be identified while possible solutions can be evaluated with the help of ECAM, keeping in mind that the different stages of the urban water cycle are interlinked and that a holistic approach is necessary prior to defining specific measures.

Weblinks
ECAM Tool