Treating water for human consumption and moving treated water to the consumer is an extremely energy-intensive undertaking; every liter of water that passes through a water system represents a significant energy cost. Globally, energy is among the top three costs to water facilities, and cities in developing countries spend 50-60% of their budget on the energy-intensive process of moving water around. Typical problems in municipal pumping stations are inefficient pumps and motors, mismatch in head and flow, inadequate pipe sizing, excess contract demand and system over-design. These problems can be combated by new and efficient pumps, leak management, automated controls, pressure management systems, and comprehensive metering and monitoring.

Low Cost/ No Cost Efficiency Interventions:

• Surrendering of excess contract demand ( KVA)
• Improvement of power factor (PF) ( 0.95)
• Improvement in O&M practices
• Separation of LT & HT Load
• Minor rectification in pump
• Leak detection and repair
• Review of electricity tariff and opting suitable tariffs
• Monitor all important system parameters like: motor kW, pump head, flow, temperature

Medium Cost Efficiency Interventions

• Replacement of low efficiency pump set
• Impeller replacement
• Improvement in piping – suction & header
• Installation of energy efficient motors
• Enhancement of contract demand – in case of shortfall

Introducing energy efficiency programs to municipal water and wastewater services can help reduce energy and water consumption, improve water services, and provide more revenue for system upgrades and new customer connections. These programs repay themselves rapidly, often within 1-3 years. Over the past 13 years, the Alliance to Save Energy has helped more than 100 cities in 9 APEC countries realize significant energy, water, and monetary savings through technical and managerial changes in water supply systems—providing consumers with quality water while using a minimum of water and energy. The objectives were met through a training course and distribution of reference training materials aimed to build the capacity of these countries to reap the benefits of improved energy efficiency in water supply a wastewater treatment systems.

The Workshop on Energy and Water Efficiency in Water Supply was carried out on March 9-1o, 2010 in Hanoi, Vietnam, and mimicked the curriculum provided for municipal water supply managers and technicians. The first day consisted of a classroom-style training session covering the following topics:

• Introduction to Water and Energy Efficiency in Water Supply
• Energy Audit Methodology in Water Supply
• Energy Management in Water Supply Systems
  o Pumping Systems, Electrical Motors, Electrical Systems, Cost Analysis and Life-Cycle Costing
• Financing Options for Water and Energy Efficiency Projects and an Overview of Carbon
• Financing and Carbon Trading
• Energy Accounting, Metering & Monitoring
• Importance of Measurement & Verification (M&V)

On the second day, workshop participants toured a local water treatment plant and then participated in a hands-on sample energy audit exercise that included training on how to analyze and issue recommendations for efficiency improvements.