Water and Energy are strongly connected. Water is needed to extract and generate electricity, while energy is needed to extract, deal with and distribute water, as well as to reduce the use and pollution of water.
As a result of the water-electricity connection, each demanding scenario must be managed concurrently.
Energy, water and environmental sustainability are strongly intertwined and are now essential not just to the financial system but also to the health and well-being of all humans.
As a result of the near interrelationship between water and electricity, the layout and operation of water and wastewater structures have to consider the Energy factor.
Similarly, strength manufacturing can’t be deliberate without taking water assets and water excellence into consideration.
Water availability is commonly underestimated and regarded as a right. Population growth, climate change, urbanization and environmental demands all call for a more integrated strategy.
The structure of our cities, suburbs, residences, and household appliances has a significant impact on water and energy consumption.
As a result, we can no longer continue to waste and overspend on basic resources like water and electricity.
Energy in water distribution
Water and wastewater treatment, delivery, and consumption consume between 1% and 18% of the electricity generated in cities and regions.
Furthermore, the energy required for water use – mostly heating water in homes and industries – is typically ten times greater than the energy required to supply clean and cold water and deal with wastewater.
Energy in the water treatment
Dealing with impaired water consumption requirements calls for greater Power. Most water treatment plant life these days is gravity draining via sand with a few chlorines added.
But as contaminants grow, antique generation doesn’t work. Either membrane or thermal water treatment is extra Energy more extensive than conventional methods.
Cooling water
Thermal Energy plants require significant amounts of cooling water. For example, approximately 39% of all freshwater withdrawals inside the United States are used for thermoelectric electricity generation.
This is roughly the same amount of water required for irrigation.
The majority of the cooling water is recycled, although only around 3% is consumed, largely through evaporation.
Water availability has become a problematic major problem for thermoelectric energy plant life, competing with the needs of communities, agriculture and various sectors.
The relationship between water and electricity has been identified throughout the last few years.
“The Energy safety of America is inextricably linked to the country of its water assets,” wrote Allan Hoffman (Senior Analyst at the Department of Energy, Washington DC) in 2004.
If the United States wants to gain strength in the coming years and decades, water assets cannot be considered a right. Simultaneously, water protection in the United States cannot be ensured without a cautious interest in related energy issues. “The problems are inextricably intertwined.”
In the United States, the Energy-Water Nexus effort was launched in 2004 as an informal DOE National Laboratory initiative to increase a higher understanding of the nation’s electricity and water aspects.
The scientists conducted preliminary tests that revealed that the dependency between energy and water substances was far greater and far deeper than previously anticipated.
There is an increasing risk that water and electrical hobbies will meet.
Some examples can help to demonstrate this. It is critical to understand the critical roles and responsibilities associated with the management, operation, and usage of water and energy assets.
This includes government agencies, personal businesses and character users.
The interdependence of water and electricity must require us to plan and execute activities in such a way that both the water and energy flows are tracked.
Such a structural evaluation must understand all of the machine’s inputs and outputs, as well as the storage reservoirs for the entire device.
What should be done?
Photovoltaic solar power and wind production utilize the least amount of water to create; according to the American Wind Energy Association, wind power uses 1/500th the amount of water as coal per unit of electricity produced.
More crucial than switching energy sources are energy and water consumption reduction and conservation.
Given the link between water and energy, lowering our collective carbon and non-renewable energy footprint is one of the best strategies to safeguard water supplies; similarly, reducing water usage is an important strategy to reduce our carbon and energy footprints.
Such solutions are not simply dependent on the actions of individuals, but can also be viewed as policy functions.
According to Erica Gies of the New York Times, the Santa Clara Valley Water District “saved approximately 1.42 billion kilowatt-hours of energy, equivalent to the annual power used by 207,000 households, through financial incentives, advisory programs and infrastructure investments that cut water consumption” between 1993 and 2006.
The most critical step, then, appears to be one of awareness—recognizing that the energy-water link is ever-present and designing both water and energy solutions with the entire system in mind.
References
- Gleick, P. H. (1994). Water and energy. Annual Review of Energy and the environment, 19(1), 267-299.
- Olsson, G. (2015). Water and energy: threats and opportunities. IWA publishing.
- Kenway, S. J., Lant, P. A., Priestley, A., & Daniels, P. (2011). The connection between water and energy in cities: a review. Water Science and Technology, 63(9), 1983-1990.
- Jacobson, M. Z., & Delucchi, M. A. (2011). Providing all global energy with wind, water, and solar Energy, Part I: Technologies, energy resources, quantities and areas of infrastructure, and materials. Energy Policy, 39(3), 1154-1169.
- Cherubini, F., Bargigli, S., & Ulgiati, S. (2009). Life cycle assessment (LCA) of waste management strategies: Landfilling, sorting plant, and incineration. Energy, 34(12), 2116-2123.
- Understanding the Crucial Connection Between Water and Energy [online] available at: https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2010/10/15/understanding-the-crucial-connection-between-water-and-energy/
