Leakage Emissions Initiative
Improving our air by preserving our water
Resources
The official IWA published, LEI Preliminary White Paper Version 4.3. This is the Leakage Emissions Initiative's initial methodology for calculating a utility's carbon emissions as a result of leakage. This paper will set the stage for further adjustments and improvements intended to guide utilities with how to reduce those emissions through leakage reduction. Click the link to access the paper through the IWA website.
This is the most recent presentation on the Leakage Emissions Initiative, presented at the Water Loss 2024 Conference in San Sebastian, Spain, in April 2024. Steve Cavanaugh, Chair of the LEI, developed this resource to educate and inspire action on the critical issue of leakage emissions.
WB- EasyCalc was designed in 2006 to help water utilities and consultants to properly apply the IWA Water Loss Specialist Group Methodology. It has now become the preferred NRW analysis tool for water utilities around the globe. The program was enhanced in 2023 to include the carbon balance as well as the water balance and was thus renamed WCB-EasyCalc.
Stuart Hamilton, Bambos Charalambous, Steve Cavanaugh, Will Jernigan, and Andrew McCarthy have collaborated to establish an educational flowchart which depicts the lifecycle of an active LEI project. This framework is intended to educate the community on the operational implementation of the intended program. This flow chart may be subject to further updates as we continue to develop and expand the methodology.
Alexis de Kerchove presented the Leakage Emissions Initiative at World Water Week on August 22nd of 2023. Click the link above to view his slide show. Click here to view the presentation.
An article from Gold Standard that explains why carbon offset pricing can vary between different project types.
NC Currents has published their most recent issue which includes an article (page 49) on the Leakage Emissions Initiative. LEI Chair and author of the article, Steve Cavanaugh, discusses the importance of carbon reduction within leakage reduction and how the LEI will help us to achieve both.
An Excel spreadsheet version of the LEI methodology which carbon emissions for leakage are calculated.
A guidance document that explains emissions scoping and how they relate to Leakage Emissions.
Leakage Emissions Announcement
The official proposal document for the Leakage Emissions Initiative, published July 22nd, 2022 by Steve Cavanaugh.
A recap of the inaugural Leakage Emissions Initiative meeting led by Steve Cavanaugh where we define what the Leakage Emissions Initiative is and why it is important that we enact this intiative.
A discussion on the Carbon Footprint associated with Real Loss during the August AWWA Real Loss Sub-Committee Meeting led by Max Sobhani and supported by Andrew Wallace, Michael Thomas, Isabel Szendrey and Margaret Hunter.
A presentation by Stuart Hamilton and Bambos Charalambous that discusses how reducing non-revenue water can help the world mitigate and adapt to climate change.
To establish a carbon balance for a utility, Roland Liemberger, has shared with us a basic order of operations to help us estimate how much carbon a given utility is emitting with their leakage. Using a combination of data inputs and default emissions values, we can approximately identify how much we can improve carbon emissions through proper leakage management.
A presentation by Ron Burke that details the energy savings associated with water conservation.
The California Water Efficiency Partnership (CalWEP) and UC Davis Center for Water-Energy Efficiency have collaborated on a Measurement and Verification Guidance Document Project to develop best practices and guidance outlining the different methods that can be used to verify the water savings of various conservation and efficiency programs. This document summarizes the goals of the project.
Leakage Emissions Initial Discussion
A recap of the inaugural Leakage Emissions Initiative meeting led by Steve Cavanaugh where we define what the Leakage Emissions Initiative is and why it is important that we enact this intiative.
Leakage targets can be set using Economic Levels of Leakage (ELL) which takes account of costs internal to the water utility such as power, chemical, and sludge disposal. In the early 2000's, the concept of Sustainable Economic Levels of Leakage were introduced which also take into account the costs that are external to the utility which impact society and the environment. Click the title above for a copy of the 2012 SELL report. Below you will find links to several UKWIR (United Kingdom Water Industry Research) projects:
https://ukwir.org/water-research-reports-publications-viewer/24abb649-1a7a-4ab8-af9f-d3d6b0914759
https://ukwir.org/water-research-reports-publications-viewer/c672908d-4d15-4c45-bb40-edff6bf3d0df
https://ukwir.org/water-research-reports-publications-viewer/d8ad3c7a-0f76-40c9-bb00-cc3ecc618666
https://ukwir.org/water-research-reports-publications-viewer/a43c5946-a61a-4a42-82fa-7f849df94e2e
Environmental Research Letters
Frank Loge from UC Davis has shared two research papers that detail the cost-effectiveness of energy savings through water conservation and the estimated impact of California's urban water conservation mandate on electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Steve Cavanaugh presents the Leakage Emissions Initiative to the Institute of Water and opens a discussion on the carbon balance for a utility's water.
ElectricityMaps.com is an interactive tool that shows the user how carbon intense a specific power pool is. The tool has data on the carbon intensity for a multitude of countries and regions across the globe.
Frank Loge shares his experiences in tracking carbon reduction for utilities in the state of California. The slides are from his presentation during the LEI Meeting on December 20th, 2022.