18 October — Water and Electricity Infrastructure Coordination for Affordable, Decarbonized, & Resilient Water Supply

Date: 18 October 2021
Time: 12:00pm ET
Location: Wean Hall 3701 & via Zoom
Speaker: Dr. Meagan Mauter
Topic: Water and Electricity Infrastructure Coordination for Affordable, Decarbonized, & Resilient Water Supply

Abstract:  Municipal water utilities often spend > 25% of their operation and maintenance costs on electricity. These costs are rising as water utilities tap distant or more challenging source waters, water quality regulations necessitate energy intensive treatment processes, electric power suppliers increase rates to support grid decarbonization, and water utilities invest in backup power supplies to mitigate outage risk. Controlling these costs will require a combination of traditional efforts to improve energy efficiency throughout the water supply chain, minimize leaked water, and incentivize water efficiency. It may also require non-traditional approaches whereby water utilities coordinate with electricity markets to shift load to off-peak hours when electricity is less expensive, sell energy services (e.g., demand response, frequency regulation) back to the grid as a revenue source, or install infrastructure upgrades (e.g., water storage, onsite solar generation, or onsite battery storage) that enhance water system flexibility and reliability. This talk will highlight progress toward a computational framework for coordinating water and electricity infrastructure across the entire water supply chain and applying this framework to support multi-objective water system management, including quantifying the magnitude of electricity load shifting and reduction potential in water supply systems; assessing the financial, carbon, and resiliency benefits of operational changes or infrastructure upgrades; and limiting the water quality or emergency response implications of the proposed interventions.