The document summarizes key elements of a water profile for the Canadian forest products industry, including:
1) Forest and forest management operations account for the vast majority of water usage, though precise estimates are challenging given the industry's broad landscape.
2) Pulp and paper manufacturing accounts for most industrial water usage, estimated through mass balance calculations, with over 90% of water inputs returned to surface water systems.
3) The entire Canadian forest products industry uses approximately 0.3% of the total freshwater produced annually through managed forests.
1. ncasi The Value of Current Knowledge – A Case Study of the Forest Products Industry Water Profile Canadian Water Summit June 17, 2010 (Toronto, ON) Kirsten Vice Vice President, NCASI
10. Forest Management Elements Precipitation – all water thatenters the system not lost toimmediate evaporation - Rainfall
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13. Snow (and melt)Runoff – all water thatleaves the system via surfaceor subsurface flow
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15. Snow (and melt)Runoff – all water thatleaves the system via surfaceor subsurface flow. Annual Evapotranspiration –calculated by subtractingrunoff from total precipitation AET = Precipitation - Runoff
16. Forest and Forest Management Assumptions: an ecozone-based approach Majority (>98%) of forestry occurs in nine ecozones (probably) Forested areas are unequally distributed among ecozones (true) Forestry operations are equally distributed among forested areas within ecozones (untrue – Boreal Shield has ~50% of forestry operations) Mean precipitation levels can be estimated across entire ecozones (??)
21. Pragmatically: Use available data and estimated data to estimate water withdrawals. This requires the use of an iterative calculation procedure for closing the water balance.
22. Wood Products – Undertake typical wood mass balances per wood product sub-category and typical moisture contents
25. 1.3% water inputs are imparted to residuals and product
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27. The Value of Current Knowledge –Opportunities and Limitations Breadth of forestry across Canada necessitates assumptions Local or regional estimates will always be more accurate Water consumption only roughly 10% of water use for P&P manufacturing Site-specific calculations optimal Process-specific knowledge required Balance can be struck between measurement devices & engineering estimation