Final published version
Licence: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Mains water leakage: Implications for phosphorus source apportionment and policy responses in catchments
AU - Gooddy, Daren Clive
AU - Ascott, Matthew J.
AU - Lapworth, Dan J.
AU - Ward, Robert S.
AU - Jarvie, Helen P.
AU - Bowes, Mike J.
AU - Tipping, Edward William
AU - Dils, Rachael
AU - Surridge, Benjamin William James
PY - 2017/2/1
Y1 - 2017/2/1
N2 - Effective strategies to reduce phosphorus (P)-enrichment of aquatic ecosystems require accurate quantification of the absolute and relative importance of individual sources of P. In this paper, we quantify the potential significance of a source of P that has been neglected to date. Phosphate dosing of raw water supplies to reduce lead and copper concentrations in drinking water is a common practice globally. However, mains water leakage (MWL) potentially leads to a direct input of P into the environment, bypassing wastewater treatment. We develop a new approach to estimate the spatial distribution and time-variant flux of MWL-P, demonstrating this approach for a 30-year period within the exemplar of the River Thames catchment in the UK. Our analyses suggest that MWL-P could be equivalent to up to c.24% of the P load entering the River Thames from sewage treatment works and up to c.16% of the riverine P load derived from agricultural non-point sources. We consider a range of policy responses that could reduce MWL-P loads to the environment, including incorporating the environmental damage costs associated with P in setting targets for MWL reduction, alongside inclusion of MWL-P within catchment-wide P permits.
AB - Effective strategies to reduce phosphorus (P)-enrichment of aquatic ecosystems require accurate quantification of the absolute and relative importance of individual sources of P. In this paper, we quantify the potential significance of a source of P that has been neglected to date. Phosphate dosing of raw water supplies to reduce lead and copper concentrations in drinking water is a common practice globally. However, mains water leakage (MWL) potentially leads to a direct input of P into the environment, bypassing wastewater treatment. We develop a new approach to estimate the spatial distribution and time-variant flux of MWL-P, demonstrating this approach for a 30-year period within the exemplar of the River Thames catchment in the UK. Our analyses suggest that MWL-P could be equivalent to up to c.24% of the P load entering the River Thames from sewage treatment works and up to c.16% of the riverine P load derived from agricultural non-point sources. We consider a range of policy responses that could reduce MWL-P loads to the environment, including incorporating the environmental damage costs associated with P in setting targets for MWL reduction, alongside inclusion of MWL-P within catchment-wide P permits.
KW - Phosphate
KW - Eutrophication
KW - Mains water leakage
KW - Health
KW - Policy
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.11.038
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.11.038
M3 - Journal article
VL - 579
SP - 702
EP - 708
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
SN - 0048-9697
ER -