Applications of Life-Cycle Cost Analysis in Water and Wastewater Projects: Lessons from European Experience - Governing the Nexus: Water, Soil and Waste Resources Considering Global Change - page 141

of WLC is actually not taken into account. Additionally, in order to draw attention
back to the whole LCA, it should be mentioned that as far as LCA is concerned, a
practical implementation is not ascertainable in water and wastewater management
to the knowledge of the authors, only in the framework of research projects can
such an approach be applied (e.g. Ambrose et al. 2009 ; Gussem et al. 2011 ;
Slagstad and Bratteb 2014 ). When reviewing relevant literature, it is striking that

both on European and global scales, LCAs (often in conjunction with LCC) are
conducted in the context of qualitative de

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cits of water supply and wastewater
treatment (usually in the framework of research projects) (e.g. Reddy and Batchelor
2012 ; International Water and Sanitation Centre 2011 , 2012 ; Reddy et al. 2012 ;
Burr and Fonseca 2013 ). It seems obvious that a combination of both approaches
only receives relatively more importance where environmental and quality stan-
dards for water supply and wastewater disposal are not that strict. In this regard, a
North-South divide is observable in Europe, but such critical situations occur more
in emerging and developing countries outside Europe. These de cits in environ-

mental and quality standards may on the one hand be a result of gaps concerning
thresholds and standards that have to be kept. On the other hand, the more relevant
reason for these de

culties in implementing existing
standards and thresholds into planning practice. Introduction of the LCC man-
agement approach may foster qualitative improvement of water and wastewater
systems being characterized by such deficits.

cits must be seen in the dif

4.5.3 Standards, Norms and Regulation

In contexts where quality standards exist, threshold values are determined and
receive consideration in infrastructure planning. Moreover, the discussion to extend
LCC through environmental aspects is less distinctive. This is comprehensible and
leads to the conclusion that quality standards and environmental norms absorb the
tasks of an environmentally oriented assessment in case it is ensured that they are
adequately considered. It is advisable to concentrate on life cycle costs when the
development and implementation of resource ef ciency strategies in practice is

considered. The situation is to be evaluated differently where no suf cient quality

standards and norms exist, where existing regulations are not considered, or where
developments aim at the improvement of energetic and emission parameters. In
these cases, a combination of LCC and LCA or other methods considering envi-
ronmental aspects are virtually convincing tools.

5 Conclusions

In order to avoid merely academic discussions and to initiate activities in practice,
LCC and LCA management approaches should be embedded in adequate imple-
mentation strategies in order to develop its strengths as a management

tool.