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This research was funded by FIC-R Fondo de Innovacion para la Competitividad Gore Coquimbo BIP nos. 30485965-0, CORFO-L2 L2 ISV93456 and FONDECYT 11191154 (2019-2022)

Analysis of institutional authors

Lozano-Parra, JavierAuthor

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Water Balance Assessment in Schools and Households of Rural Areas of Coquimbo Region, North-Central Chile: Potential for Greywater Reuse

Publicated to:Water. 12 (10): - 2020-01-01 12(10), DOI: 10.3390/w12102915

Authors: Rodriguez, Carolina; Sanchez, Rafael; Lozano-Parra, Javier; Rebolledo, Natalia; Schneider, Nicolas; Serrano, Jennyfer; Leiva, Eduardo;

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Abstract

Population growth, global warming, and increased demand for water have caused global concern about increasing water scarcity. Chile has an unequal geographical distribution of water resources. The north-central area where more than half of the country's population lives has an availability of less than 1000 m(3)/hab/year. Particularly, the Coquimbo Region has been one of the most affected by drought due to the great agricultural activity in the area. In this study, surveys were carried out in rural schools and households to determine water consumption habits. The results in the schools showed that between 42% and 72% of the wastewater generated comes from the washbasin, which represents light greywater, that is, with low organic matter content. According to the data obtained, the amount of greywater generated on average reached 12 L per capita per day. These waters have the potential to be treated and reused effectively for the flow of toilets or garden irrigation. In the case of households, the generation of greywater was 84% of the total water consumed, of which, more than 86% correspond to light greywater from the shower and washbasin. On average, the light greywater generated daily reached 204 L per person per day. Due to the heterogeneity of drinking water sources in rural areas of the Coquimbo Region, the high rate of greywater generation in both schools and homes indicates the great potential for water treatment and reuse in this area. These results contribute to a better understanding of water consumption habits in rural areas affected by water scarcity and the potential of implementing greywater treatment systems to generate a decrease in demand for drinking water.

Keywords

AridityExperiencesGreywaterManagementPrecipitationQualityScarcitySystemsWater consumptionWater scarcity

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Water due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2020, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Geography, Planning and Development.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from the Field Citation Ratio (FCR) of the Dimensions source, it yields a value of: 8.46, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: Dimensions May 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-05-31, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 14
  • Scopus: 23
  • OpenCitations: 18

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-05-31:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 79 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

    Leadership analysis of institutional authors

    This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Chile.