Analysis
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Manufacturing industries
Intake water – Source, purpose and treatment
Total water intake by Canadian manufacturing industries in 2007 was 4,573.1 million cubic metres. As indicated in Chart 1, five industries accounted for almost 93% of the 2007 intake. The largest quantity of water withdrawn was by the paper industries, at 42.9% of the total. This was followed by the primary metal industries at 25.9% and the chemical industries at 9.2% of the total water intake by manufacturing industries. The petroleum and coal industries accounted for 8.2% of water withdrawals and the food industries, another 6.4%.
Geographically, manufacturers located in Ontario and Quebec accounted for most of the water intake, with Ontario taking 39.4% of the total and Quebec responsible for another 22.5% of the total. British Columbia manufacturers took a 18.4% share of the total intake and the Prairies were responsible for 11.0%. When the results are aggregated by drainage region, 54.7% of water intake was derived from the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence basin. The Pacific Coastal basin and the Fraser – Lower Mainland basin combined for 12.7% of the total water intake.
Self-supplied surface freshwater (i.e. lakes, rivers, etc.) was the source of 77.0% of manufacturers' water supply and 13.2% came from public utilities (that also tend to source from surface freshwater). The paper industries accounted for 48.5% of the surface freshwater withdrawals and the primary metal industries took another 31.3%. Significant water intake from surface freshwater was also made by the chemical industries (9.1%) and the petroleum and coal industries (6.9%). Almost 26% of the water taken from public utilities by manufacturers was used by the paper industries, followed by food (26.0%).
Geographically, 43.7% of the surface freshwater taken by manufacturers occurred in Ontario and 23.8% was taken in Quebec. British Columbia accounted for another 18.5%. Ontario manufacturers were responsible for 35.8% of the water intake from public utilities and Quebec took 25.6% of the total. These results are also reflected by drainage region where 58.2% of manufacturers' withdrawals from public utilities occurred in the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence drainage region and 59.3% of the surface freshwater withdrawn also came from that drainage region.
The major purposes of the initial use of water by manufacturers are for process (51.3% of total intake) and for cooling, condensing and steam (39.2% of the total). The paper industries used 73.9% of their water intake for processing and 21.8% for cooling, condensing and steam. The chemical industries, on the other hand, used 11.7% for processing and 82.1% for cooling, condensing and steam.
Many manufacturing establishments need to treat their water before it can be used in their processes or for cooling, condensing or steam generation. Often they must use several treatment processes, such as screening, followed by filtration and chlorination, prior to using the water. This can result in the same intake water being counted several times if it has been used in several treatment processes, which must be kept in mind when examining Table 6.
Tables
Table 1 Water use parameters in manufacturing industries, by industry group, 2007
Table group 2 Water use parameters in manufacturing industries, 2007
Table 3 Water intake in manufacturing industries, by month and industry group, 2007
Table 4 Water intake in manufacturing industries, by source and industry group, 2007
Table group 5 Water intake in manufacturing industries, by source, 2007
Table 6 Intake water treatment in manufacturing industries, by type of treatment and industry group, 2007
Table 7 Water intake in manufacturing industries, by purpose of initial use and industry group, 2007
Water recirculation
In this survey, water recirculation is defined as the process of using the same water more than once by the facility. The water must leave a system or sub-system and re-enter it or be used in a different sub-system. The recirculation of water reduces the need for the facility to take in "new" water.
The 2007 survey indicates 2,665.2 million cubic metres of water was reported as recirculated water. The primary metals industry accounted for 43.3% of this volume of recirculated water. The paper industries reported recirculation volumes representing 33.8% of the total and the petroleum and coal industries had another 15.0% share of the total.
The recirculation rate for manufacturing (recirculated water as a percentage of intake) stood at 58.3%. The petroleum and coal industries indicated a recirculation rate of 107.5% (the same water may be recirculated many times, resulting in recirculation rates > 100%). Most of this recirculated water was used for cooling, condensing and steam. The primary metals industries had a recirculation rate of 97.6% almost evenly split between process water and cooling, condensing and steam.
Tables
Table 1 Water use parameters in manufacturing industries, by industry group, 2007
Table group 2 Water use parameters in manufacturing industries, 2007
Table 8 Water recirculation in manufacturing industries, by purpose and industry group, 2007
Wastewater – Treatments and points of discharge
Total water discharged by the manufacturing industries was 4,121.5 million cubic metres. Most of this water (76.7%) was discharged to surface freshwater bodies and to public/municipal sewers (10.9%). The balance was discharged to tidewater, groundwater or other points.
Respondents were asked to report only the highest level of treatment their discharge underwent. This was done in order to eliminate double-counting of water that underwent more than one treatment type and to highlight the most advanced treatment. Of the water discharged by manufacturers, 32.9% was not treated before being released. The most advanced level of treatment for 16.5% of the total discharge was primary treatment while 43.8% of the total effluent underwent secondary or biological treatment as its highest level of treatment before discharge. Only 6.8% underwent tertiary or advanced treatment.
The top two manufacturing industries discharging the most water were the same industries that withdrew the most water (paper industries, primary metals industries). The paper industries accounted for 45.4% of the total water discharged by manufacturers and 80.3% of their discharge went to surface freshwater bodies. The paper industries put 83.2% of their water discharge through secondary or biological treatment. The primary metal industries were responsible for 25.5% of the total water discharged by manufacturers with surface freshwater bodies the destination for 93.8% of their discharge. Most of their discharge (41.6%) went untreated with 24.0% undergoing primary or mechanical treatment while 20.6% underwent tertiary or advanced treatment and 13.8% underwent secondary or biological treatment.
Distribution of water discharge by geographic location reflects a similar trend as water intake in that the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence drainage region and the Pacific Coastal drainage region not only saw the largest water withdrawals, but also the largest discharges.
Tables
Table 1 Water use parameters in manufacturing industries, by industry group, 2007
Table group 2 Water use parameters in manufacturing industries, 2007
Table 9 Water discharge in manufacturing industries, by point of discharge and industry group, 2007
Table group 10 Water discharge in manufacturing industries, by point of discharge, 2007
Table 11 Water discharge in manufacturing industries, by type of final treatment and industry group, 2007
Table group 12 Water discharge in manufacturing industries, by type of final treatment, 2007
Water consumption
Water consumption (intake minus discharge) provides an indication of the amount of water lost during production, most commonly through the incorporation of water into the products or through evaporation. The consumption rate expresses this consumption as a percentage of water intake.
In 2007, water consumption for manufacturing industries was estimated at 451.6 million cubic metres or 9.9% of the total water intake of 4,573.1 million cubic metres. Of this total water consumption, the primary metals industries were the largest consumers of water, consuming 132.7 million cubic metres or 29.4% of the total consumed water. The chemical industries were the next largest consumers of water at 89.9 million cubic metres or 19.9% of the total consumed water. The paper industries were also significant consumers at 19.2%.
Tables
Table 1 Water use parameters in manufacturing industries, by industry group, 2007
Table group 2 Water use parameters in manufacturing industries, 2007
Water costs
The Industrial Water Survey collected cost information on the acquisition of water, on the treatment of intake water before use, on wastewater treatments and on costs related to the recirculation of water. Excluded from the determination of water costs were capital costs or depreciation of self-supplied water acquisition facilities. The costs of water acquisition were defined to include amounts paid to public utilities for water, amounts paid to provincial or territorial ministries for a licence to take water and for operation and maintenance costs incurred in the upkeep of self-supplied water acquisition facilities. The cost of wastewater treatment was defined as the operation and maintenance costs of in-house treatment, though it may include sewer surcharges by the public utilities.
The cost of water acquisition in 2007 was $447.6 million. The largest portion of the acquisition costs was attributable to public utilities, which accounted for 79.2% of the total costs. Payments for operation and maintenance costs were responsible for another 20.1% of the total acquisition costs while licensing fees contributed only 0.7% of the total.
At the national level, water acquisition was responsible for 34.1% of the total water costs. However, acquisition costs varied by province and territory from a low of 15.3% in Quebec to a high of 93.3% in the Yukon and Northwest Territories.
Costs for treatment of intake water before it was used totalled $212.1 million. Almost 85% of these costs were borne by five industries, with the paper industries paying 24.1% of the total, chemical industries at 22.8%, petroleum and coal industries at 16.4%, food industries at 13.2% and primary metal industries spending 8.0% of the total costs for treatment of intake water.
The costs related to the recirculation of water were $158.8 million in 2007. The paper industries spent $74.9 million on the recirculation of water and the primary metals industries spent $36.1 million.
The total 2007 cost of wastewater treatment was $493.4 million. Of this total, the paper industries spent $214.3 million or 43.4% of the total. The food industries spent $99.9 million or 20.3% of the total and the primary metals industries accounted for $46.4 million or 9.4% of the total spent on the treatment of water discharge. The chemical industries spent $40.5 million or 8.2% of the total.
Total water costs in the manufacturing industries in 2007 were $1,311.9 million. As indicated in Chart 2, costs for the treatment of effluent accounted for 37.6% of the total costs while treatment of intake water before it was used represented another 16.2% of total costs. Costs related to the acquisition of water were 34.1% of total costs and costs related to the recirculation of water were another 12.1% of the total.
Tables
Table 13 Water acquisition costs in manufacturing industries, by industry group, 2007
Table group 14 Water acquisition costs in manufacturing industries, 2007
Table 15 Total water costs in manufacturing industries, by water cost component and industry group, 2007
Table group 16 Total water costs in manufacturing industries, by water cost component, 2007
Mining industries
Total water intake by the mining industries surveyed in 2007 was 535.8 million cubic metres. Most of this water (72.4%) was withdrawn by the metal mines. The amount of water recirculated by the mining industries was 2,123.4 million cubic metres, which when combined with the volume of water intake, resulted in gross water use of 2,659.2 million cubic metres. The recirculation rate of water in 2007 was 396.3%. The total volume of water discharged by the mining industries surveyed in 2007 was 755.0 million cubic metres. The discharge volumes were higher than the intake volumes of water due to the necessity of many operators to de-water their mines of groundwater in order to carry out their operations. This "mine water" amounted to 370.2 million cubic metres in 2007.
The source for most water withdrawn by the mining industries (84.5%) was self-supplied surface freshwater (i.e. rivers, lakes). Process water was the major use for water in the mining industries, accounting for 83.0% of the total intake. Another 12.0% was used for cooling, condensing and steam. Almost all water recirculated (99.1%) by the mining industry was used for process activities.
In the same way that most water intake was sourced from surface freshwater, most wastewater discharge (65.7%) was returned to surface freshwater. Another 16.2% was discharged to groundwater while 11.0% was discharged to tailing ponds. Most of the discharge to tailing ponds was made by metal mines. Of the total 755.0 million cubic metres of water discharged by mining operations, 58.2% was not treated before discharge and 35.7% underwent primary or mechanical treatment. Secondary or biological treatments were given to 3.8% of wastewater and 2.4% underwent tertiary or advanced treatments.
Total costs related to water use in the mining industries in 2007 was $123.3 million dollars. Costs for the treatment of effluent accounted for 40.3% of the total costs while treatment of intake water before it was used represented another 10.0% of total costs. Costs related to the acquisition of water were 23.1% of total costs and costs related to the recirculation of water were another 26.7% of the total.
Tables
Table 17 Water use parameters in mineral extraction industries, by industry group and region, 2007
Table 18 Water intake in mineral extraction industries, by month and region, 2007
Table 19 Water intake in mineral extraction industries, by source, industry group and region, 2007
Table 20 Intake water treatment in mineral extraction industries, by type of treatment, industry group and region, 2007
Table 21 Water intake in mineral extraction industries, by purpose of initial use, industry group and region, 2007
Table 22 Water recirculation in mineral extraction industries, by purpose, industry group and region, 2007
Table 23 Water discharge in mineral extraction industries, by point of discharge, industry group, region and type of final treatment, 2007
Table 24 Water discharge in mineral extraction industries, by type of final treatment, industry group and region, 2007
Table 25 Water acquisition costs in mineral extraction industries, by industry group and region, 2007
Table 26 Total water costs in mineral extraction industries, by water cost component, industry group and region, 2007
Thermal-electric power producers
Producers of thermal-electric power were the largest users of water in the industrial sectors covered by this survey, with almost all of the water (99.8%) used for cooling, condensing and steam. Total water intake by this industry was 27,834.4 million cubic metres. The volume of water recirculated in this industry was 4,373.5 million cubic metres, which when combined with water withdrawals equal gross water use of 32,207.9 million cubic metres. Total discharge of water was 27,312.6 million cubic metres, of which 87.6% went to surface freshwater bodies. Most of this water (74.7%) was not treated before discharge.
Total costs of water for the thermal-electric power generators were $137.9 million. Costs related to the acquisition of water accounted for 50.1% of the total costs. Included in these acquisition costs are payments to public utilities, operation and maintenance costs related to acquiring water and licencing or permit fees required to acquire water. Costs related to the treatment of intake water accounted for 26.5% of the total costs and costs related to the recirculation of water accounted for 14.9%. The remaining 8.4% of costs were attributable to the discharge of water.
Tables
Table 27 Water use parameters in thermal-electric power generation industries, by region, 2007
Table 28 Water intake in thermal-electric power generation industries, by month and region, 2007
Table 29 Water intake in thermal-electric power generation industries, by source and region, 2007
Table 30 Intake water treatment in thermal-electric power generation industries, by type of treatment and region, 2007
Table 31 Water intake in thermal-electric power generation industries, by purpose of initial use and region, 2007
Table 32 Water recirculation in thermal-electric power generation industries, by purpose and region, 2007
Table 33 Water discharge in thermal-electric power generation industries, by point of discharge, region and type of final treatment, 2007
Table 34 Water discharge in thermal-electric power generation industries, by type of final treatment and region, 2007
Table 35 Water acquisition costs in thermal-electric power generation industries, by region, 2007
Table 36 Total water costs in thermal-electric power generation industries, by water cost component and region, 2007
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