Climate Action 2012-2013

AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND WATER
WATER AND ENERGY
EFFICIENCY
By Kathy Shandling, Executive Director, International Private Water Association (IPWA)
and Jeanette Brown, Board Certified Environmental Engineer, American Academy of
Water Resources Engineers
Improved efficiency in water and energy use is crucial in addressing global climate change. There is much
to be gained from the two industries working more closely together.
No one could possibly question the critical
role that energy and water play when it
comes to human development and sustainable
communities/municipalities. And it would be
hard to find any professional operating in either
the water or energy industry sectors who would
dispute the existence of the strong energy-water
nexus. It takes a significant amount of water to
create energy. And, it takes a significant amount of
energy to treat and/or transport water.
Water is very much a factor in the steam cooling
process of electric power plants that are driven by
energy sources such as oil, coal and natural gas. It
is very difficult to contemplate the construction
of a power plant in a region that has a challenging
access to sustainable water supplies.
The treatment and distribution of drinking
water as well as the conveyance and treatment
of wastewater collectively represent one of the
largest sector users of energy. Taking the USA
as an example, about 4 per cent of all energy
generated is used by the combined activities of
water and wastewater treatment operations. It
is also interesting to note that energy is a major
driver not only in the treatment of water but also
in the transport and delivery of water from place
of origin to the end user. For example, the energy
required for the both the treatment and delivery of
drinking water accounts for as much as 80 per cent
of its total cost. The insufficient supply of available
affordable energy will therefore have a negative
effect on the price and availability of water.
Energy costs also represent over 20 per cent of the
operating budgets of wastewater treatment plants.
Yet, despite this co-dependency, these two
industry sectors do not have an extended track
record of proactively working together. Also,
there has been little evidence that the end
users (particularly the industrial, corporate or
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