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<p>As global water scarcity escalates, considering the environmental sustainability of agricultural groundwater systems requires estimations that extend beyond volumetric extraction. In Southeast Asia, groundwater development&#xa0;has grown more critical for sustaining paddy bowl regions; however, the environmental impact of its extraction infrastructure remains underexplored concerning water demand and availability. This research encompassed the Available Water Remaining (AWARE) model within Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to measure the Water Scarcity Footprint (WSF) of an auxiliary irrigation system for Malaysian paddy fields. Utilizing particular site hydraulic characteristics (transmissivity: 7.84 m<sup>2</sup>/day; pumping well yield: 107 m<sup>3</sup>/day) as secondary data inputs, their findings emphasized the aquifer capacity and pumping well operational realism. Core findings focused on outlining the extraction infrastructure’s impact on direct water usage beyond the LCA (WULCA) benchmark. The AWARE model indicated a WSF&#xa0;of ~ 0.4 m<sup>3</sup> equivalent deprived, significantly lower than the global normalized average, demonstrating strong local water availability and minimal hydrological stress. Despite this contribution, this study revealed a significant paradox: while physical water stress is negligible, the groundwater system possesses considerable virtual scarcity footprint attributable to infrastructure. Paradoxically, electric cabling accounted for 87.4% of the total impact from copper and plastic, significantly beyond operational energy use. These findings challenge the conventional energy-water nexus perspective, suggesting a material-water nexus whereas sustainability in water-deprived areas relies on optimizing material efficiency in well designs rather than merely limiting pumping rates. The proposed complementary perspective supports Sustainable Development Goals 6 and 9 by prioritizing material-efficient infrastructure structure as a crucial mechanism for environmentally sustainable&#xa0;groundwater development.</p>

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Deciphering water scarcity footprint of auxiliary paddy irrigation via Available Water Remaining (AWARE)-LCA model for sustainable groundwater infrastructure

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月13日

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  • Naseem Akhtar,
  • Abdulghani Essyah Musbah Swesi,
  • Syahidah Akmal Muhammad,
  • Muhammad Izzuddin Syakir,
  • Raed Sameeh Raja Hussain,
  • Pahmi Husain,
  • Ateyah Alzahrani,
  • Anwar Ulla Khan,
  • Ahmad Alghamdi

摘要

As global water scarcity escalates, considering the environmental sustainability of agricultural groundwater systems requires estimations that extend beyond volumetric extraction. In Southeast Asia, groundwater development has grown more critical for sustaining paddy bowl regions; however, the environmental impact of its extraction infrastructure remains underexplored concerning water demand and availability. This research encompassed the Available Water Remaining (AWARE) model within Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to measure the Water Scarcity Footprint (WSF) of an auxiliary irrigation system for Malaysian paddy fields. Utilizing particular site hydraulic characteristics (transmissivity: 7.84 m2/day; pumping well yield: 107 m3/day) as secondary data inputs, their findings emphasized the aquifer capacity and pumping well operational realism. Core findings focused on outlining the extraction infrastructure’s impact on direct water usage beyond the LCA (WULCA) benchmark. The AWARE model indicated a WSF of ~ 0.4 m3 equivalent deprived, significantly lower than the global normalized average, demonstrating strong local water availability and minimal hydrological stress. Despite this contribution, this study revealed a significant paradox: while physical water stress is negligible, the groundwater system possesses considerable virtual scarcity footprint attributable to infrastructure. Paradoxically, electric cabling accounted for 87.4% of the total impact from copper and plastic, significantly beyond operational energy use. These findings challenge the conventional energy-water nexus perspective, suggesting a material-water nexus whereas sustainability in water-deprived areas relies on optimizing material efficiency in well designs rather than merely limiting pumping rates. The proposed complementary perspective supports Sustainable Development Goals 6 and 9 by prioritizing material-efficient infrastructure structure as a crucial mechanism for environmentally sustainable groundwater development.