Sustainable criteria for water saving technologies introduction

Abstract

Focus is on scientific and economic background, and implementation of resource saving
measures in the municipal economy, which would allow significant reduction of negative
impacts on the environment caused by municipal facilities and other infrastructures, as well as
to increase economic efficiency in municipal economy through resources and financial flows
management. The new approach to the evaluation of resource saving technologies for needs
of municipal economy has been developed on basics of economics and environmental
indicators.
The aim of this research paper is twofold: (I) to determine precautionary measures leading to
reduction in public water use, and (2) to develop appropriate indicators and criteria for
assessing the sustainability of measures for minimization of water use. The proposed
indicators will help owners of office buildings and investors to make decision in
implementation of such environmentally sound technologies as resource saving measures. In
order to achieve the goal of this research, extensive analysis of data was done. Principal data
sources were the Ukrainian National Surface Water Monitoring reports, provided by Regional
Office of the National Hydro-meteorological Service in Kharkiv, databases on point sources
emission provided by Kharkiv Municipal Water Works (Municipal Enterprise "KP 'Yoda"')
and Wastewater Treatment Facilities (Municipal Enterprise "Kharkivkomunochystvod"), data
from the Kharkiv Municipal Energy and Heat Supply Company ("Kharkivteploenergo"), and
the State Committee of Statistics' year fact books.
Options for dealing with water minimization are generated according such approaches as
changes of human behavior, water control implementation and water saving technologies
introduction. Criteria were developed by the result of preliminary research of water
minimization factors. The approach to criteria development is based on hierarchy, consisting
of small number of high level primary criteria, which would cascade down to a large number
of more specific, secondary criteria. According to the chosen criteria the necessary data
should be collected to use records, individual and group interviews, social survey. After the
data collection, indicators development the procedure of the decision support will be done
using the multi-criteria analysis.