Determination of the water footprint in the coplex Hatuey of Santiago of Cuba

Abstract

The amount of water used annually by the industry is increasing, so the sector will start to compete more and more strongly for limited water resources together with the demands of urban growth and agriculture. The objective of this work was to determine the water footprint in the main productions of the Hatuey complex in Santiago de Cuba, for its calculation the methodology proposed by Hoekstra was used, to which adaptations were introduced in order to bring it to the scope of this study. The result obtained from the water footprint in 2017 was 815,821,36 m3/year together with a gray water footprint and a blue water footprint of 791,080.21 m3/year and 24,741.15 m3/year, respectively. Demonstrating the reduction of the water footprint up to 44 % during the last 4 years, due to the measures and projects for saving water and the reduction of residuals. It was also demonstrated that thanks to the modifications made in the production of alcohol over the years, a great reduction in the water footprint has been achieved, this being 9,202,741.5 m3/year in 2003 and 674,364.13 m3/ year in 2010.