LAHORE COLLEGE FOR WOMEN

UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

ASSIGNMENT;
WATER CONSERVATION

DATED: NOVEMBER 28TH, 2016 SUBMITTED TO:

AR. ASIA JABEEN
SUBMITTED BY:
KHIZRA SHAHZAD
ROLL # 1428
 WATER CONSERVATION
INTRODUCTION:
Water is essential for life and is always the talk of the town either due to too
much of it or too little of it.
Water conservation are economical and environmentally sound ways to
reduce water consumption and store water for future use.
Water conservation is the careful use and protection of water resources and
involves both the quantity and quality of water used.
Water is indispensable resource for the sustenance of all life and is the basic
need for all activities right from domestic use to agricultural and industry.
With the ever-increasing pressure of human population, there has been a
severe stress on water resources.
Neglect of traditional water bodies like tanks and ponds, indiscriminate and
exploitation of groundwater, improper maintenance of surface water systems
has aggravated the problem still further and is likely to increase in the years to
come
 FACTORS REGARDING STRESS OF WATER
 Population
 The world's population is expanding rapidly. Yet there is no more
freshwater on earth now than there was 2,000 years ago, when the
population was less than 3% of its current size.
 The demand for freshwater has been rising in response to industrial
development, increased reliance on irrigated agriculture, massive
urbanization, and rising living standards.

 Inappropriate agricultural
 Industrialization
 Urbanization
 LEAKY municipal PIPES
 Poor watershed management
 Other imprudent practices
 Pollution
Due to untreated municipal sewage, toxic industrial effluents, and
harmful chemicals from agricultural activities.

GOALS OF WATER CONSERVATION:

The goals of water conservation efforts include as follows:
To ensure availability for future generations.
The withdrawal of fresh water from an ecosystem should not exceed
its natural replacement rate.
1.Energy conservation. 2.Habitat conservation.
WHY WATER SHOULD BE CONSERVED?
 Today the earth is in the need of water conservation as the quantity of
water is going down day by day.
 The earth is a blue planet but the reality is that only 3% of the total water
available fit for drinking.
 The objective of water conservation can be achieved through concrete
efforts on the conservation and utilization of water on sustainable basis
with a focus on holistic planning and sustainable development of sources
of water
 Some major effects are
1. Wars for Water
2. Conflict over Water
3. Water Pollution
4. Drought
5. Desertification

GREY WATER
 Grey water is all wastewater that is discharged from a house, excluding
black water (toilet water).
 This includes water from showers, bathtubs, sinks, kitchen, dishwashers,
laundry tubs, and washing machines.
 It commonly contains soap, shampoo, toothpaste, food scraps, cooking oils,
detergents and hair.
 Grey water makes up the largest proportion of the total wastewater flow
from
 households in terms of volume.
 Typically, 50-80% of the household wastewater is grey water.
 If a composting toilet is also used, then 100% of the household waste water
is grey water.
HOW IS GREYWATER REUSED?
 Grey water from baths, showers, washbasins and washing machines has to
be collected separately from black water, treated and eventually disinfected
for reuse as a non-potable water source.
 Reusing grey water can be as cheap and easy (but labor intensive) as
bucketing water outside, or as complex and costly (but convenient to use) as
installing automatic grey water diversion, treatment, distribution and/or
irrigation systems.
 Garden irrigation is most commonly applied, whereby grey water can be
bucketed or diverted to the garden for immediate use.
 Advanced systems are also available that collect, filter and treat grey water
for indoor use such as toilet flushing or laundry washing .
 Laundry washing accounts for 10-30% of the average household water use.
 Grey water from laundry is easy to capture and, with the right choice of
laundry products, the treated grey water can be reused for garden watering
or irrigation.

ADVANTAGES:
The grey could help us in many ways like in;
1. Agriculture
2. Landscape
3. Public parks
4. Golf coarse irrigation
5. Cooling water for power plants and oil refineries
6. Processing water for mills and plants
7. Toilet flushing
 GREY WATER

LOW LOAD HIGH LOAD

SHOWER, BATHTUBS & KITCHEN DISHWASHER
HAND WASH BASIN & WASHHING MACHINE

GREY WATER GARDEN

WASTE WATER:

Wastewater is water that has been contaminated to the degree that it is no

longer beneficial, and therefore must be treated before it can be used or
released back into the environment.
Four major types of wastewater are;
1. Domestic/Municipal wastewater
2. Industrial
3. Urban runoff
4. Agricultural runoff

Preliminary Treatment
Primary Treatment
Secondary Treatment
Tertiary Treatment
PREMILINARY TREATMENT:
Removal of waste water constituents such as rags, sticks, floatable grit, and
grease that may cause maintenance or operational problem with the treatment
operations, processes, and ancil1ary systems.
Removal of a portion of the suspended solids and organic matter from
the wastewater.

PRIMARY TREATMENT:
Primary treatment consists of following processes/units
• Sedimentation
• Primary Settling Tanks
• Coagulation
• Secondary Settling Tank
• Flocculation
SECONDARY TREATMENT:
Removal of biodegradable organic matter [insoluble or suspension
state} and suspended solids. Disinfection is also typically included in
the definition of conventional secondary treatment.
Secondary treatment consists of following processes.
• Activated Sludge Process
• Oxidation Ponds and lagoons
• Trickling Filter

TERTIARY TREATMENT:
Removal of residual suspended solids (after secondary treatment),
usually by granular medium filtration or micro screens.
Disinfection is also typically a part of tertiary treatment. Nutrient removal is
often included in this definition

FUNCTIONS OF WATER TREATMENT UNITS:

 RAIN WATER HARVESTING

 Rain Water Harvesting RWH- process of collecting, conveying & storing

water from rainfall in an area – for beneficial use.
 Storage – in tanks, reservoirs, underground storage- groundwater
Hydrological Cycle.
 RWH technology consists of simple systems to collect, convey, and store
rainwater. Rainwater capture is accomplished primarily from roof-top,
surface runoff, and other surfaces.
 RWH either captures stored rainwater for direct use (irrigation,
production, washing, drinking water, etc.) or is recharged into the local
ground water and is call artificial recharge.

WHY RAINWATER HARVESTING?

 Conserve and supplement existing water resources.
 Available for capture and storage in most global locations.
 Potentially provide improved quality of water.
 Supply water at one of the lowest costs possible for a supplemental
supply source.
 Capturing and directing storm water (run-off) and beneficially use it
 Commitment as a corporate citizen - showcasing environmental
concerns.
 Replenishing local ground water aquifers where lowering of water tables
has occured
 Condensation
Rainfall Definitions

Intensity – Quantity per time of

Precipitation the rainfall event (mm/hour)
Duration – period of time for the
precipitation event
Average Annual and Monthly
Precipitation – Average rainfall
over one year period and
monthly intervals and usually
based on 30 or more years of
Consumption
data

Surface Water
WATER SOFTENERS:
Water softeners can save significant amounts of money and energy in the
home, a major new study by the independent Battelle Institute revealed.
Hardness minerals precipitate out of the water and form energy robbing scale.

GAS WATER HEATERS:

Gas water heaters operated on softened water maintained the original factory
efficiency rating over a 15-year lifetime.
Each five grains per gallon of hardness
causes an 8% loss in efficiency and 8%
increase in cost when using 100 gallons
of hot water per day. (On 30 gpg hard
water, that’s 48% less efficient than
with softened water.)

TANKLESS HEATERS:
Instantaneous gas water heaters operated on softened water
maintained the original factory efficiency rating over a 15-year
lifetime.
The study found that tankless water heaters completely failed to
function because of scale plugging in the downstream plumbing
after only 1.6 years of equivalent hot water use on 26 gpg hard water.
Softened water saves 34% of costs compared to operating
on 20 gpg and saves 47% compared to operation on 30 gpg hard
water.
 HOW WATER SOFTENERS WORK REGENERATION CYCLE

Capacity to
Hard water Many gallons soften water
Water Softener
enters later now ending

Sodium Softened water Partially exhausted, Regeneration with

charged ion containing sodium but still delivering salt brine now
exchange resin ions 100% soft water required
Waste water
containing Softener still Excess salt
hardness in discharging brine also Regeneration
exchange for waste water removed complete
sodium

Salt brine, most Ready for ion

economical 15 to 20 Regeneration exchange
source of sodium minutes later almost completed softening
SOLAR HOT WATER:

Solar Collectors- Where the water is Heated

Collector Mounting System- how the collector is mounted
Solar Storage Tank- Insulated Water storage tank
Water Pump- used in active systems to circulate fluids
Heat Exchanger- Used in close-loop systems where one fluid transfers heat to
another without contact.
Expansion Tank- used in close-loop systems to account for gas expansion in the
sun.
Controls- in active systems using pumps, whenever the collector is hotter than
the storage tank, the pump should be on and the system circulating. When the
tank is hotter than the collector, the pump should be off, controls take car of
that.
Isolation Valve- Isolates the solar tank in case of a problem.
Backup Water Heater- ensures hot water regardless of sunshine.
Tempering Valve- saves you from water that got to hot.

CONVENTIONAL HEATER:

 1 household energy consumer is the hot water system

 Most expensive household appliance is a conventional hot water system
 35% of household cost is dedicated to hot water
 Produce 4-4.5 tons of greenhouse emissions each year
SOLAR BATCH HEATER:
ICS (integrated collector storage)
A container is placed in an insulated box, cold water is pumped into the
bottom of the system and hot water drains off the top into the bottom of
the backup water heater which causes hot water to be pushed out into
the house to be used. Potable water is heated directly, making this an
open-loop system. No pump is used to move the water from the
collector so it is passive. Commercially manufactured batch heaters
come at a relatively low cost, and are popular in moderate climates
were hard freezes are not an issue.
COMPOSIT TOILET:
 Many types of compost toilets are available today.
 They are designed to suit a variety of customs, cultures and climates, and
vary enormously in price.
 Composting of human feces is as old as the hills - it is Nature’s way of
safely reintegrating human waste with the soil. All compost toilets,
however simple or complex, are devices for helping .
 Compost toilets are often built with two chambers for simplicity of
construction and operation.
 The two chambers are used alternately; decomposition continuing in the
full one until it is emptied just prior to the other one becoming full.
 Each chamber has its own opening for removal of mature, non-odorous
compost.
 Some types of compost toilet batch the waste in movable receptacles on
trolleys or turntables whilst others generate the compost slowly and
continuously as the material progresses through the device.
 Some require electricity for small heating elements (in cold climates) or
fans (to ensure a positive airflow through the system). Some compost
toilets combine the urine and feces whilst others separate them.

APPROPRIATE USE:
The compost toilet described here
was designed to be a highly
effective solution to sanitation in
high water table and water logged
areas. However, it can be used as
a reliable and low cost water
conserving technology in many
other areas as well.
The compost toilet is suitable for
use by a family, or it can be built
in clusters for institutions, schools.
USING THE COMPOST TOILET:

 Remove the cover.

 Squat and defecate in the defecation hole and urinate in the urine
funnel. (A pedestal seat and urine catcher can be arranged if the
culture favors sitting rather than squatting.)
 Wash over the washing trough.

SUMMARY - ADVANTAGES OF THE COMPOST TOILET:

 No need to dig pits.

 No need for sewers and treatment plants.
 No need for external infrastructure.
 Safe and affordable for anywhere but especially high water table
and or water scarce areas.
 Does not pollute the ground or surface water or the soil.
 Does not produce flies or smell.
 Uses less water than any other toilet. A water flush toilet for a
family can use 100,000 liters of water a year for flushing, the
compost toilet saves all this water.
 Totally self-contained sewage treatment on site. There are no
sewage pipes, no septic tanks, and no dangerous emptying of
hazardous sludge.
 No mosquitoes. Septic tanks and pit latrines often have poorly
fitting covers or the covers are not carefully replaced after
emptying. These places then become prime breeding sites for
mosquitoes. In a compost toilet there is no place for mosquitoes
to breed.
 Produces safe, useful, non-odorous compost.
 The evaporative plant bed can support growth of attractive
flowers, fuel wood, vegetable or plantain