Eficiência hídrica na obra da Unidade Acadêmica no Cabo de Santo Agostinho da Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco

Abstract

Civil construction is an important industry for Brazil's economic development. However, it is considered a great generator of environmental impacts, consuming 34% of the world's water supply. Thus, measures to reduce impacts are aimed. The application of the criteria of sustainability in public works, as in the case of the construction of the Academic Unit of Cabo de Santo Agostinho of the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, besides being a legal requirement by Federal law n. 12,462 of August 4, 2011, provides the application of environmental actions. One of the most widely discussed sustainability criteria is the reuse of water, either by rainwater harvesting or reuse of wastewater treatment plant, the use of such water may be sufficient in certain types of works, guaranteeing the water efficiency of the enterprise. The municipality of Cabo de Santo Agostinho is located in an area of extensive rainfall throughout the year, which makes the Academic Unit of Cabo de Santo Agostinho with the capacity to achieve in part its water efficiency through the use of rainwater. In this context, the objective of this work was to evaluate the water efficiency by rainwater harvesting and effluent reuse in the Academic Unit of the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco in the Cabo de Santo Agostinho. A survey and analysis of rainfall data was carried out in the municipality of Cabo de Santo Agostinho from 1987 to 2017, with the historical basis of the pluviometric monitoring of the Pernambucana Water and Climate Agency. ClimAp 3.0 software was used to analyze the precipitation data series. For the calculation of the water consumption during the operation of the academic unit, the described descriptions of the work were consulted. In order to estimate the reuse water consumption, it was necessary to identify the characteristics of the sanitary appliances, the frequency and the time they are used based on the catalogs of the equipment used. The areas covered by the buildings were calculated by calculating the projections of the building in plan. According to NBR 10844: 2009, the area of rainwater abstraction is given by the sum of the areas of the surfaces as result, it is estimated that the precipitation in the municipality of Cabo de Santo Agostinho was considered high, with average throughout 1987 to 2017 of 1,863.4mm, with months more rainy in May, June and July and month with scarce rains from September to December. Precipitation calculations were extremely important for the estimation of irrigation consumption, since precipitation days reduce the outflow of the reservoirs. The consumption of discharges is 63.15% of the total consumption of the unit. The amount of green area of the unit makes the consumption of non-potable water reach values that requires the consumption of drinking water for the months of November and December. The total water efficiency of the unit is 100% for non-potable water and its legal applications. It was observed that water efficiency was reached throughout the year, even on less rainy days, confirming that rainwater harvesting and storage conditions are fundamental for water efficiency in buildings.