Modular life cycle assessment approach: Environmental impact of rainwater harvesting systems in urban water systems.

The environmental assessment of urban water systems through life cycle analysis can be facilitated by using a modular approach. This study aimed to use such an approach to assess the impact of implementing rainwater harvesting systems in buildings in the urban environment during their lifespan, from manufacture to disposal. For this purpose, urban systems were divided into components (water treatment plant, potable water distribution, consumer water use, wastewater collection and wastewater treatment plant).

Environmental assessment of a permeable pavement system used to harvest stormwater for non-potable water uses in a building.

The objective of this work is to present and to apply a method to environmentally evaluate a permeable pavement system used to harvest stormwater for non-potable water uses in a building. Two pavement systems were compared through life cycle assessment (LCA). The first system consists of a permeable pavement; in this case, the stormwater filtered by the pavement is used for non-potable water purposes in a building.