Assessing eco-efficiency of wastewater treatment plants: A cross-evaluation strategy
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Date
2023
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Abstract
Evaluating the eco-efficiency of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is crucial for enhancing environmental and economic performance in the water utility sector. Previous studies in this area estimated WWTP eco-efficiency through self-evaluation, which might have led to overestimation and biased policy recommenda-tions. To address these issues, this study applies a cross-evaluation strategy, combining self-evaluation and peer -evaluation, to assess the eco-efficiency of WWTPs. The empirical application focuses on a sample of Spanish WWTPs, yielding the following key findings. Average eco-efficiency scores were 0.353 and 0.230, for self -evaluation and global peer-evaluation approaches, respectively, confirming the overestimation of eco-efficiency scores based on self-evaluation. If WWTPs were eco-efficient, they could potentially reduce green-house gas (GHG) emissions by up to 0.39 kg CO2eq/year. The application of reliable methods, such as peer -evaluation, for eco-efficiency assessment of WWTPs provides water regulators with a comprehensive under-standing of the environmental and economic performance of WWTPs. This knowledge guides decision-making, policy development, and resource allocation, facilitating sustainable and efficient wastewater management practices.
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Keywords
Performance, Regulation, Greenhouse gas emissions, Benchmarking, Data envelopment analysis