Providing wastewater and drinking water service to citizens requires energy — and a lot of it. The twin problems of steadily rising energy costs and climate change have made the issue of energy management one of the most important issues facing wastewater and water utilities today.
The Environmental Protection Agency has issued a new guidance to help utilities assess their current energy costs and practices, set performance improvement goals, and monitor and measure their progress. The guide, “Ensuring a Sustainable Future: An Energy Management Guidebook for Wastewater and Water Utilities,” is available for download at www.epa.gov/waterinfrastructure/bettermanagement_energy.html.
EPA’s Office of Water worked closely with a number of utilities and others in developing the guidebook. It was specifically written to provide water and wastewater utility managers with a step–by–step method, based on a Plan–Do–Check–Act management system approach, to identify, implement, measure, and improve energy efficiency and renewable opportunities at their utilities.
Water and wastewater utility energy consumption is generally on the order of 30–60% of a city’s energy bill. Energy represents the largest controllable cost of providing water or wastewater services to the public. Most facilities were designed and built when energy costs were not a major concern. With large pumps, drives, motors, and other equipment operating 24 hours a day, water and wastewater utilities can be among the largest individual energy users in a community.