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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
According to the World Water Council about 12% of the world's population does not have access to
drinking water or water with quality for drinking. The
consequences of climate change and the unsustainable use of
water resources are demanding measures for minimizing the lack
of water in quantity and quality. The Portuguese National
Program for the Efficient Use of Water (PNUEA) [2] establishes
measures that serve as a basis for the efficient use of water,
promoting the valorisation of water resources. The high water
supply billing in the social and cultural center of Santo Aleixo
(Unhais da Serra, Covilhã, Portugal) (Image 1-a), led to the
concern of finding potential solutions for reducing water
consumption in the building. Thus, the objective of this study
was to evaluate the potential of untreated rainwater reuse in the
referred building (Image 1-b), proposing solutions for reducing
drinking water consumption and doing a study of technical and
economic feasibility of technical four solutions, which could be
replicated in other areas of the country.2. Experimental – Two options were studied for reducing the consumption of drinking water in the
building. The first involved a scenario of replacement and modification of some equipment, and the
second involved the study of three scenarios for the reuse of rainwater [3]. The technical and economic
feasibility of the four scenarios in the county of Covilhã were analysed.
3. Results and Discussion – In terms of water efficiency, the greatest saving was achieved with the
option of replacing water taps and flushing cisterns with hydraulically efficient equipments together with
the reuse of rainwater. This option has allowed an average annual saving of drinking water of about 80%
[3].
4. Conclusions – Rainwater reuse in buildings, in addition to bringing economic benefits in areas where
water billing reaches high levels, also brings environmental benefits by reducing drinking water
consumption.
5. References
[1] “World Water Council”, Janeiro 2008 (Online).
[2] Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente, “National Program for the Efficient Use of Water”, APA, 2012 (in
Portuguese).
[3] S. Abrantes, “Evaluation of the potential of water reuse in the social and cultural center of Santo
Aleixo in Unhais da Serra”. MSc Thesis in Civil Engineering, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã,
Portugal, 2017, p. 159 (in Portuguese).
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Keywords
Citation
Abrantes, Sofia; Silva, Flora; Albuquerque, António (2018). Recycling of rainwater in a social and cultural center. In EGTEIC - Environment, Green Technology and Engineering International Conference. Cáceres