Novara Environmental Statement 2007 English MEMC-NO ...

Water consumptionThe entire water supply for the site’sproduction processes is providedby underground aquifers.Water is taken from four wells(two in the fi rst aquifer and two inthe second aquifer) to which waterextracted from a piezometerlocated in the factory, downstreamfrom the fl ow direction of theaquifer, which is bled off continuouslyfor decontamination andmonitoring purposes, is added.As explained in greater detail inthe chapter dealing with groundcontamination, water extractedfrom said piezometer is sent to thesite’s waste purifi cation plant andthe annual amount is included inthe total industrial consumptionof water from the fi rst aquifer.Drinking water is supplied bythe mains water supply, whilefi re-fi ghting water is taken fromnearby, well-irrigated canalsand distributed by means of acollection and pump systemmanaged by an adjacent fi rm.Water consumption over the lastfew years is illustrated in the graphsshowing the quantity of waterconsumed for industrial and civiluse (sanitary services and canteen)expressed in m 3 normalizedrespectively to the productionvalues and typical number of employeesfor the year in question.With regards to the environmentalaspect, there is also a downwardtrend in absolute water consumptionfor industrial use followingto the fall in production, whilstthere is a slight increase in theindicator: water consumption forindustrial use normalized to productionvalues. As of 2007, someof the well water has been usedby the trigeneration plant to coolthe motors. However, in practice,if we reduce the site’s total waterconsumption by the amount ofwater consumed by the trigenerationplant (about 135,400 m 3 /year,calculated by means of a dedicatedfl ow meter), the site’s specifi cwater consumption for industrialuse would be comparable withthe value recorded in 2006, thelowest value achieved over thelast few years, thanks to changesmade to the software that managesthe washing machines, purposelydeveloped to reduce waterconsumption.TotalannualTOTAL WATER CONSUMPTION - INDUSTRIAL USE(1st and 2nd water-bearing stratum wells)2nd waterbearingstratum1st waterbearingstratumSpecific% Yearly specificconsumptionCIVIL WATERCONSUMPTION(town reservoir)AnnualYear m 3 /year m 3 /year m 3 /year m 3 /MSIE - m 3 /year2000 2.758.601 2.206.469 557.451 15.891 100 305212001 2.622.137 2.162.913 745.021 19.013 120 239982002 2.931.534 2.200.360 735.826 16.962 107 255532003 3.027.662 2.299.070 733.095 15.879 100 225192004 3.096.293 2.449.920 646.373 13.755 87 202252005 3.313.581 2.424.522 893.451 15.458 97 227132006 3.173.748 2.332.963 840.785 12.602 79 242872007 3.045.239 2.263.406 781.833 13.388 84 15864The site’s specifi c water consumptionfor industrial use represents the lowestvalue achieved over the last few years.16