Energy-Water Nexus: Potential Energy Savings and Implications for Sustainable Integrated Water Management in Urban Areas from Rainwater Harvesting and Gray-Water Reuse

AbstractSaving water saves energy. Consequently, implementing integrated water management (IWM) measures that reduce potable water consumption, stormwater runoff, and wastewater generation can potentially translate into significant energy savings. In this paper, the energy savings associated with IWM measures of rainwater harvesting and gray-water reuse are estimated, both at national and local utility scales using published data. At the national scale, it is estimated in this paper that up to 3.8  billion kWh and $270 million can potentially be saved annually by replacing landscape irrigation and other outdoor water uses through rainwater harvesting alone, and up to 14  billion kWh and $950 million in combination with gray-water reuse. Similarly, in Charlotte, North Carolina, the local water utility can potentially save up to 31  million kWh and $1.8 million annually. However, annual energy and associated cost savings per household are low at either scale, ranging between 1 and 120 kWh with associated co...

[1]  P. Mayer.  Residential End Uses of Water , 1999 .

[2]  Yoram Cohen,et al.  Cost-Benefit Analysis of Onsite Residential Graywater Recycling: A Case Study on the City of Los Angeles (PDF) , 2015 .

[3]  Steven J. Burian,et al.  Water Supply and Stormwater Management Benefits of Residential Rainwater Harvesting in U.S. Cities , 2013 .

[4]  Rodney Anthony Stewart,et al.  Energy intensity of rainwater harvesting systems: A review , 2014 .

[5]  D. Commerce.  Statistical abstract of the United States , 1978 .

[6]  C. Scott,et al.  Policy and institutional dimensions of the water–energy nexus , 2011 .

[7]  Carey W. King,et al.  The energy-water nexus in Texas , 2011 .

[8]  M. Webber,et al.  Evaluating the energy consumed for water use in the United States , 2012 .

[9]  Nancy L. Barber,et al.  Estimated use of water in the United States in 2005 , 2009 .

[10]  Benjamin Sovacool,et al.  Identifying future electricity-water tradeoffs in the United States , 2009 .

[11]  C Anand,et al.  Economic and environmental analysis of standard, high efficiency, rainwater flushed, and composting toilets. , 2011, Journal of environmental management.

[12]  Michael Burek,et al.  Toward An Integrated History to Guide the Future , 2011 .

[13]  Peter H. Gleick,et al.  Waste Not, Want Not: The Potential for Urban Water Conservation in California , 2003 .

[14]  Tiax Llc.  Commercial and Residential Sector Miscellaneous Electricity Consumption: Y2005 and Projections to 2030 , 2006 .

[15]  Michael E. Webber,et al.  An integrated energy, carbon, water, and economic analysis of reclaimed water use in urban settings: a case study of Austin, Texas , 2011 .

[16]  Christos Makropoulos,et al.  Economic assessment tool for greywater recycling systems , 2005 .

[17]  Zita L.T. Yu,et al.  Critical Review: Regulatory Incentives and Impediments for Onsite Graywater Reuse in the United States , 2013, Water environment research : a research publication of the Water Environment Federation.

[18]  David E. Rosenberg,et al.  Heterogeneous Residential Water and Energy Linkages and Implications for Conservation and Management , 2014 .

[19]  Alina I. Racoviceanu,et al.  Life-Cycle Perspective on Residential Water Conservation Strategies , 2010 .

[20]  L. Allen,et al.  Overview of Greywater Reuse: The Potential of Greywater Systems to Aid Sustainable Water Management , 2010 .

[21]  Benjamin K. Sovacool,et al.  Running on empty: the electricity-water Nexus and the U.S. electric utility sector , 2009 .