One of the benefits of CEE’s Industry Partners Meeting is that it brings together a broader array of perspectives and expertise in specific areas than would ordinarily be present at a CEE meeting.
Such was the case at the most recent meeting in Dallas, where engineering experts, researchers, pump manufacturers and consultants serving the municipal water and wastewater sector provided their insights to members during two breakout sessions.
Facility designers and engineers can play a key role for efficiency since their recommendations on treatment process and equipment often have a direct impact on facility operating performance, including energy consumption.
According to Michael Dimitriou of ITT’s Advanced Water Group, energy represents a substantial and rising cost to water and wastewater utilities, making it one of the sector’s top five long-term concerns.
He noted that new, more effective water treatment technologies, such as ozone and ultraviolet, are becoming more popular, requiring significantly more energy than conventional treatment processes.
In light of these trends and the opportunity for significant energy savings, CEE launched its Municipal Water/Wastewater Facility Initiative last year. Its primary goals are to increase awareness about the benefits of energy efficiency and to support market adoption of “best practices.”
In his presentation, Dimitriou suggested some strategies for program administrators to consider when implementing efficiency improvements in these facilities.
Some of the recommendations involved a general monitoring of the system (such as “know when the station power meter is read and monitor power bills”) while others required technical adjustments (“analyze pump stations for pressures, flows and storage requirements for peak operational demands”).
He also suggested that programs help water facilities utilize supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system, which uses a computer for gathering and analyzing real-time data, to monitor and manage energy.
Click here for the ITT presentation. Other water/wastewater presentations can be accessed on the CEE Web site.
During the discussion, Scott Jarman of Austin Energy said that offering assistance early in the planning process can enable program administrators to have an opportunity to “insert” energy efficiency into the design of new facilities.
From an operational perspective, Angie Ong-Carrillo of PG&E noted that a lack of knowledge and/or management strategy is a primary barrier to efficiency in the sector.
“Water and wastewater facility managers do not generally have the ability to compare the energy performance of their plants over time, and they’re not paying the bills, either,” she said. “So their awareness of energy usage can be minimal.”
CEE Industrial Program Manager Ted Jones, who manages the initiative, pointed out that the American Water Works Association Research Foundation (AwwaRF) benchmarking project could help address this need (see related story).
Pumping systems are another significant opportunity for energy savings within water and wastewater facilities. In a separate breakout session, Dave Flinton of ITT described how pump system efficiency can be improved by better understanding how pumps and systems interact (see related story).
Next steps
“These are just the type of design, system and operational efficiency opportunities that members want to identify as ‘best practice’ and share with each other through the CEE Water and Wastewater Initiative,” said Jones.
“The engineering and pump industry experts provided us with many good ideas and suggestions. During the January CEE meeting in Long Beach, the Water/Wastewater Committee will have the opportunity to review this information and identify the most effective measures for members to incorporate into their programs.”
For further information about CEE's efforts in water/wastewater, contact Ted Jones.
[ back to top ]
