Environmental performance of an integrated water supply and wastewater system through life cycle assessment - A Brazilian case study.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the environmental performance of an integrated water supply and wastewater system that employs a system of ponds at the wastewater treatment system. Additionally, this study aimed to understand the contribution of each stage of the system to the analyzed impact categories, and to evaluate alternative scenarios that consider the reduction of water losses in distribution, as well as the operation of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor in the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The evaluation was performed through life cycle assessment (LCA) that considered the stages of water withdrawal, treatment, and distribution along with wastewater collection and treatment.