SoCal Agencies Take Action, Save Water and Energy 

California is in the midst of one of the most severe droughts on record. Experts now predict a 20% to 50% chance that our current drought could escalate into a "megadrought," potentially lasting 35 years. Energy resources are also in short supply, which with a decommissioned San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, stringent air quality regulations and the staggering expense of procuring new energy, spells an insecure water and energy future for CA.

Public awareness about the inextricable tie between our water consumption and energy use is critical. We consume water at every stage of power generation; from the processing of raw materials, construction of energy technology and infrastructure, to the actual generation of electricity. We also use large amounts of energy to move and process water to satisfy all the water dependent activities of daily life-- this energy consumption is therefore embedded in our water-use. 

Support from The Energy Network empowers enrolled agencies to take action and improve the way energy is used when water is processed, transported, consumed, and ultimately treated as wastewater. Energy Network engineers working with The City of Oxnard identified opportunities to improve the operability and reliability of the plant while significantly reducing overall energy consumption on site. Oxnard found that in bypassing their aging biotower treatment process and making a series of process optimization upgrades to their wastewater treatment plant, they could simultaneously optimize energy savings and improve operability without making costly investments in rebuilding the biotower. The City now expects to reduce annual energy consumption by several million kWh with an implementation cost that is significantly lower than the expected biotower rehabilitation construction costs.  

Working with The Energy Network, Yucaipa Valley Water District expects similar success through their plans to make a series of process upgrades to their water and wastewater treatment plants, district-wide pumping operations and retrofits to their headquarters building, potentially producing millions of kWh in annual savings. Rounding out their energy efficiency project portfolio, the agency is considering a series of building lighting and mechanical retrofits at its headquarters in Yucaipa, CA to not only save money and improve comfort for the district's employees, but to demonstrate the district's commitment to fiscal responsibility to its customers. Additional considerations include a potential suite of energy efficiency measures that could reduce the agency's electricity and gas consumption by nearly 25 percent of its historical average.

In addition to agency retrofit projects, The Energy Network has developed the Water/Energy Nexus Pilot, a water conservation program funded through the CPUC that focuses on the embedded energy consumption in water-use. The Pilot evaluates the energy saving opportunities of incentivizing end-use water efficiency and will yield a calculation methodology that can be used to determine the embedded energy savings of water efficiency and water conservation retrofit projects. To learn more, join the team at the Central Coast Sustainability Summit on 11/13/14 where The Energy Network's expert panel, The Water Energy Nexus - What is Ventura County Actually Doing About It? will discuss aggressive measures that public agencies are taking to address their water and energy issues.  For more information about The Energy Network's water agency projects and the Water/Energy Nexus Pilot, contact Jamie Ferro.