Impact of droughts on industrial emissions into surface waters
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Impact of droughts on industrial emissions into surface waters Vasanthakumar N. Bhat 1 Received: 6 August 2019 / Accepted: 20 July 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract In this paper, we examine the impact of droughts on industrial emissions into surface waters and transfers to publicly owned treatment works (POTWs). We use industrial discharges into surface waters data from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) database. We employ runoffs normalized using previous 61-year average runoffs as a proxy for drought. We match both the discharges into surface waters and the runoffs at the 8-digit hydrologic unit code (HUC) level. Our analysis indicates that normalized runoffs of the current and previous years positively influence industrial emissions into surface waters. We also find that the impact of uneven availability of water on emissions is higher on larger facilities. Normalized runoffs of the current and previous years do not have a statistically significant influence on transfers to publicly owned treatment works. However, normalized runoffs of the previous year do affect transfers of larger facilities. Businesses are dependent on water not only for their operations but to discharge their pollutants as well. Climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of droughts and floods. Therefore, every business that requires significant quantities of water must plan to cope with uneven availability of water. Keywords Drought . Industrial emissions . Surface waters . Toxics Release Inventory . Publicly owned treatment facilities . Environmental justice
Introduction Water pollution caused by emissions from industrial facilities constitutes one of the several risks to water quality. Polluted water can adversely impact everything we do. When facilities discharge waste into waters, a small quantity of waste can spoil a large quantity of water. As a result, discharge of waste into waters is regulated through permit systems. In addition, the states (provinces in the USA) are required to assess the quality of their waters periodically and make a list of waters that do not meet water quality standards. So when the quality of waters deteriorates, the states may prevent facilities from discharging waste into the waters. Though water covers about 70% of our earth, freshwater accounts for only 1% of that water. A secure source of water supply is essential for our life and economic well-being.
Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues * Vasanthakumar N. Bhat [email protected] 1
Lubin School of Business, Pace University, New York, NY 10038, USA
According to Gleick (1996), humans need 0.5 gal of water per day for survival. A person uses 80 to 100 gal of water in the USA. Water for residential use accounts for 12% of US total water withdrawals in 2015. Total water withdrawals per day were 322 billion gallons. More than three-quarters of water withdrawals are for irrigation and thermoelectric power production. Industrial water withdrawals pe
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