The energy – pressure nexus in the water supply system

Abstract

Due to the importance of overall sustainable development, efficient energy management should be as significant as water resource management within every water supply system. The pressure reduction, as a measure for loss reduction, not only guarantees less leakage but also minimizes energy consumption. The relationship between energy consumption and pressure in water supply systems has been the subject of many previous studies, mainly based on measurements in real systems. However, a methodology for beforehand assessment of energy savings which occur due to the pressure reduction, has not been proposed yet. The paper proposed a method for the assessment of energy savings in relation to pressure reduction, implemented it on the hypothetical water supply system and verified it on the real system. Results led to the conclusion that the proposed methodology can be considered as a successful tool for better energy and water management. It enables water utility management to estimate energy saving in water supply system in advance, based on the hydraulic model of the system.

Keywords

• energy-saving
• leakage
• pressure reduction
• water losses
• water supply system