Water footprint in civil construction: use and impacts of masonry

Abstract

The water footprint is an indicator of water consumption that considers its appropriation directly and indirectly. The aim of this research was to calculate the blue water footprint (WF_blue) of three different masonry (perforated ceramic block - PCB; solid ceramic brick - SCB and concrete block - CB), of way to identify the masonry that has the best water performance and which inputs contribute significantly. The necessary inputs for the construction of one square meter of each masonry were identified and quantified, considering or not mortar coating. After collecting data on water consumption of intermediate products and water consumption in the preparation of mortars, the calculation of water consumption by material, by WF component and by masonry was performed. The results indicated consumptions of 67.64; 75.05 and 270.85 L/m², for masonry without PCB, SCB and CB coating, respectively. Considering mortar coating, consumptions of 364.02 were identified; 371.43 and 567.24 L/m²for the PCB, SCB and CB masonry, respectively. The mortar coating was responsible for a large part of the water consumption in masonry (52.25 to 81.42% of WF_blue), resulting in 296.38 L/m² of masonry. WF_{blue,indirect}, corresponded to the higher water consumption of masonry and mortar coating.