Water and Energy - Draft Report of the GWRC Research ... - IWA

1. Introduction
1.1 Background
Over the last decade(s) the energy consumption by the water and wastewater sector has
considerably increased as a result of implementation of new technologies and approaches to
safeguard water quality and to meet new regulations. Also the price of energy has substantially
increased in the same period. Items like optimisation of energy use, more energy efficient
equipment and technologies, and energy recovery has entered the research agenda. But also the
emission of Green House Gases (GHG) and the use and/or production of renewable energy are
today part of the portfolio of the water and wastewater sector.
At the meeting of the GWRC Board of Directors in Sydney (November 2007) it was agreed to
add the area Water and Energy to the GWRC research agenda and to explore the potential for
collaborative research with the GWRC framework. A workshop was organised to review the
present knowledge and ongoing activities and to develop a phased research strategy.
This report represents a research strategy on Water and Energy that can be used by the GWRC
members to identify collaborative research opportunities.
1.2 Objective and Approach of the Workshop
1.2.1 Objective
The objective of the workshop was to present the current state of knowledge on the water and
energy nexus and to identify knowledge gaps and research needs. Based on the knowledge gaps
and the missing links, a research strategy represented by a number priority research projects was
developed.
1.2.2 Approach
As first step, information on ongoing and finish activities regarding water and energy by the
members was collected including initial data regarding energy use in the urban water cycle in the
member’ countries.
A workshop was organised to exchange and discuss the available information, knowledge and
know-how from various countries/regions of the world and to develop a research strategic within
GWRC on water and energy.
The workshop was held on 20 - 21 February 2008 hosted by UKWIR at the offices in London.
The participants at the workshop consisted of about thirty representatives of GWRC’s
organisations and invited experts. Countries and regions represented at the workshop included
France, Germany, Netherlands, Singapore, UK, USA and South-Africa.
GWRC Water & Energy - Draft report
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