Alternativas de gestão de demanda de água em setor hoteleiro de Campina Grande - PB.

Abstract

Water scarcity has become a frequent environmental problem in the life of the population of some Brazilian regions, especially in the Northeast, which, in the past, suffered one of the major drought ever faced in the region. On the other hand, despite the scarcity in these regions, the demand for water is increasingly being consumed by different types of use, among them the hotel sector, considered a major consumer. Aiming at reducing the demand of water of supply reservoirs, alternative sources and technologies that facilitate the management of water resources are being sought. Among existing alternative sources, the use of water-saving devices and the use of rainwater are very efficient in their goals. Thus, in this study, it was investigated the technical-economical feasibility of exchanging conventional hydro-sanitary devices to water-saving devices, as well as the deployment of a Rainwater harvesting system (RWHS) within a large hotel in the city of Campina Grande – PB. For the accomplishment of the research, it was studied 14 different scenarios of replacing conventional hydro-sanitary devices to water-saving devices and 3 scenarios (dry, normal and rainy) of reusing rainwater from Rippl and Simulation methods. Finally, it was evaluated the economic and water sustainability viabilities of exchanging the devices and the deployment of RWHS. Generally, the exchange of devices compared to deploying a RWHS is more viable and profitable, given that your best scenario (exchange of 100% of the showers) generated a greater economy of water (29.33%), demanded a smaller investment and obtained a shorter return time (1.32 months with annual return of 907.95%), while for the best scenario (rainy) of RWHS these values were 14.51%, 8.42 months and 142.56%, respectively. Despite the difference in economy, it can be concluded that both proposals will provide a relevant cost reduction for the hotel, also reducing the water impact that, in the situation of water scarcity experienced by the city of Campina Grande, is quite positive and significant.