From Field to Bottle: Water Footprint Estimation …
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process [35, 43, 47] that require pump down to remove collected sediment. Lagoonbased systems require periodic dredging to remove accumulated sludge in order to
maintain adequate operating volume and treatment performance.
Where proximity allows, wineries can be connected directly to the sanitary sewer
system. Pre-treatment of WWW prior to discharge and/or surcharge fees may apply,
depending on local bylaws or other legislative requirements. The WWW is then
conveyed to the local municipal WWTP for treatment along with other domestic,
institutional, commercial and industrial wastewaters collected in the sewershed.
The vinification stage also results in the generation of a solid waste, called grape
marc or grape pomace, which is composed of grape skins, seeds, stems, etc. The rate of
grape marc generation is estimated to be 0.17 kg/L of wine [24]. This solid waste can
be used for the production of grape spirits [51], which are more commonly known by
regional names such as grappa (Italy) and marc (France). Grape pomace can be used
directly as an additive in animal feed, or treated using aerobic or anaerobic biological
digestion with the resulting digestate or compost utilized as a soil amendment [24].
Improper handling, treatment or disposal of the solid grape marc waste could result
in contamination of surface or groundwaters. Despite this, use of grape marc for
environmental remediation, particularly for heavy metal removal and recovery from
industrial effluent, has shown promise [51].
4.3 Wastewater in Other Areas
As noted in Sect. 3.3, incorporating “wine tourism” activities at wineries increases
water demands and, as a result, also increases wastewater generation rates from
facilities including restrooms, restaurants and accommodations, among others. As
with water demands, only the wastewater generated by employees directly involved
in the viticultural and vinification stages of production would contribute to the direct
WF of the wine-making process.
Additionally, wastewater is generated during the manufacturing of the chemicals,
cleaning agents, bottles, labels, glue and corking materials that are ultimately used
by the winery. As with the water demands associated with these products manufactured offsite, these wastewater generation data can be included in an environmental
assessment of wastewater effluent impacts. If included in a WF assessment, these
impacts would contribute to the indirect WF (see Sect. 5.1).
4.4 Effluent Disposal and Reuse
The discussion that follows is related to the disposal and reuse of treated WWW effluents generated during vinification, but does not include the discharge of non-pointsource wastewaters generated during viticulture. Methods to reduce the pollution of
water resources during viticulture were discussed in Sect. 4.1.
115
process [35, 43, 47] that require pump down to remove collected sediment. Lagoonbased systems require periodic dredging to remove accumulated sludge in order to
maintain adequate operating volume and treatment performance.
Where proximity allows, wineries can be connected directly to the sanitary sewer
system. Pre-treatment of WWW prior to discharge and/or surcharge fees may apply,
depending on local bylaws or other legislative requirements. The WWW is then
conveyed to the local municipal WWTP for treatment along with other domestic,
institutional, commercial and industrial wastewaters collected in the sewershed.
The vinification stage also results in the generation of a solid waste, called grape
marc or grape pomace, which is composed of grape skins, seeds, stems, etc. The rate of
grape marc generation is estimated to be 0.17 kg/L of wine [24]. This solid waste can
be used for the production of grape spirits [51], which are more commonly known by
regional names such as grappa (Italy) and marc (France). Grape pomace can be used
directly as an additive in animal feed, or treated using aerobic or anaerobic biological
digestion with the resulting digestate or compost utilized as a soil amendment [24].
Improper handling, treatment or disposal of the solid grape marc waste could result
in contamination of surface or groundwaters. Despite this, use of grape marc for
environmental remediation, particularly for heavy metal removal and recovery from
industrial effluent, has shown promise [51].
4.3 Wastewater in Other Areas
As noted in Sect. 3.3, incorporating “wine tourism” activities at wineries increases
water demands and, as a result, also increases wastewater generation rates from
facilities including restrooms, restaurants and accommodations, among others. As
with water demands, only the wastewater generated by employees directly involved
in the viticultural and vinification stages of production would contribute to the direct
WF of the wine-making process.
Additionally, wastewater is generated during the manufacturing of the chemicals,
cleaning agents, bottles, labels, glue and corking materials that are ultimately used
by the winery. As with the water demands associated with these products manufactured offsite, these wastewater generation data can be included in an environmental
assessment of wastewater effluent impacts. If included in a WF assessment, these
impacts would contribute to the indirect WF (see Sect. 5.1).
4.4 Effluent Disposal and Reuse
The discussion that follows is related to the disposal and reuse of treated WWW effluents generated during vinification, but does not include the discharge of non-pointsource wastewaters generated during viticulture. Methods to reduce the pollution of
water resources during viticulture were discussed in Sect. 4.1.